[#AmaDablamTour Days 13 - 15] Climbing Lobuche East

Day 13-15 - Lobuche East [October 26-28, 2015]

It's been two years since our trip to Nepal. Time and distance brings introspection. I'm concluding my story with the benefit of hindsight, though it takes away from the "spirit of the moment" but helps me relate my experience to the larger scheme of things. In more ways than one, returning to my comfort zone made writing about my experience less urgent. If anyone felt robbed of a conclusion to my story, my sincerest apologies for this late post. For those reading this blog for the first time, you may want to read the start of this story here. Thanks for your support! 

Recapping where we left off in the story, we just returned to Lobuche from Gorak Shep after the team's forays to EBC and Kala Patthar. From here we parted ways with the ladies and Ang Kami as they continued to Pheriche. Someone proposed that maybe we can delay our bid for Lobuche East by a day to recuperate and better adjust to the altitude. We managed to discuss this with Dawa, who gave the sobering news that the weather might turn in the next two days, and that if we didn’t climb as scheduled, there’s a chance that the weather won’t be favorable. No choice but to move on as planned.

Getting Back

Re-starting something after being away for some time is always hard (except maybe riding a bike, which they say you never forget). Even the thought of re-launching this blog, for example, is taking an extreme amount of energy. What more to actually start writing content again?

So after a year since my last hike of significant elevation gain, I headed back up a mountain. This time, the Pantingan Peak of Mt. Mariveles in Bagac, Bataan. I hoped that muscle memory will make up for the utter lack of hiking in the past six months. Pantingan turned out to be a mountain you should not restart climbing on.

The approach to Pantingan Peak (right-of-center)

[#AmaDablamTour, Day 1] Welcome to Nepal!

Namaste!

We are now in Kathmandu, after a brief layover in Bangkok last night. We didn't get the most from our stop because we were a bit far from the city center. What I enjoyed most during both flights is that I got to catch up watching recent movies like Inside Out (was almost crying at one point). In-flight food wasn't bad either.

We arrived at Tribuvhan Airport past noon and I told Miko to rush and queue at the immigration booths to avoid the long lines. There was some confusion as to which line we should be, so we ended up at the end of the queue, anyway. It didn't matter too much because our bags were almost the last to come out of the plane. The airport still has the feel of a chaotic domestic airport back in the Philippines. But since I've been here before, it was more manageable and less shocking.

It was good to see Dawa again. He told us we had to wait for the next flight, where the others (Marie, Elaine, and two reporters from Rappler) were boarded. It was raining by the time we got out of the airport. I hope it's not a sign of things to come. 

With Dawa of Dream Himalaya Adventures

Soon, I am back in Thamel. For some reason this is one of the favorite places I've visited. Probably because its busy narrow streets are lined up with shops selling every mountaineering gear imaginable, both genuine and imitation. If only there is time to visit them all again.

First bad news of our trip is that Romi is stuck in Kuala Lumpur. His flight didn't push through that night, so he'll be arriving late tomorrow night, a few hours before we head out for Lukla. I just hope he gets here on time.

With Adrian, Marie, Elaine, Tik, Krista, Miko and Henry

First group dinner at Northridge Cafe. Prepare to shell out some moolah when you eat here.

Chicken tikka massala. Very delicious but surprisingly expensive.

Tomorrow is last minute shopping day for items we still lack. The first-time visitors will go on a half-day tour to see more of Kathmandu. I decided to skip this and just walk around Thamel and reminisce on my hunts the last time I was here.

We decided to use the hashtag #AmaDablamTour instead of expedition as it sounds "less ambitious", and according to Henry, puts less pressure on us. Hehe. 

This trip was made possible in part from the support of The North Face Philippines, Primer Group, and Lagalag Exploration.