The first night of sleep on the trail is always the deepest and the 2nd
   day on the trail is always the most painful. I was carrying a pretty
   light pack so I was lucky that my legs didn’t have any problems coming
   up the big hill to Namche Bazaar, the Mecca for all trekkers the world
   over.

   We are all strong and in good spirits; everyone on the team made it to
   Namche Bazaar before 2 pm... just as well since it started to pour down
   rain soon after we arrived. Right now as I look out of the window of our
   Lodge, Camp De Base, I can see a white topped Namche, covered in tiny
   M&M sized hail stones. As Nic puts it “I feel sorry for those suckers
   still stuck out there!”

   We woke up to an overcast morning, and the sun really never had a
   chance to shine through for any long period of time. Nevertheless, it
   will take a lot more than a few clouds to overshadow the beauty of the
   Khumbu. We walked through narrow trails lined with stone walls and
   green fields; through pine forests carpeted by millions of red pine
   needles; over cable bridges spanning deep gorges and the roaring Dudh
   Koshi river and of course up the famous hill to Namche that trekkers
   know to have had destroyed many.

   At the village of Monjo is the gate to the Sagarmatha National Park.
   Sagarmatha is the Nepali word for Mt. Everest and Chomolungma is the
   Sherpa word for her. All trekkers and climbers are required to sign in
   at the office of the national park located at the gate. Trekkers need
   to pay one thousand rupees per person (US $15) but climbers need not
   pay if they have a copy of their climbing permit with them.

   After registering, we walked over to the last village before Namche
   Bazaar, called Jorsale and had our lunch there; spaghetti Bolognese.
   Hmmm. It was only 10:30 am but we weren’t going to have anything to eat
   until Namche which was another two and a half hours away. I still
   remember when I was 17 and thought I was superhuman. I set off
   from Phakding to Namche without having any food. It was a rainy day and
   at one point I dropped to the ground exhausted and napped under a
   dripping tree for half an hour. Lesson learned and my mistake has not
   repeated since.

   The only member on the team who suffered a little today is my room mate
   for the night, Bud Allen, who is a little under the weather with the
   runs. Fortunately it’s improving, evident by the fact that he was
   considering a pepper steak for dinner. The others are just mucking
   about town, having cappuccinos and apple pies at the Bakery. Who says
   you have to “rough-it” in the mountains.

   Our plan for tomorrow is to leave Namche Bazaar and head towards Thame.
   It will be a gradual climb four hundred meters higher in altitude. We
   will be staying at Apa’s Lodge tomorrow night which everyone is looking
   forward to. In fact as I write this, Apa and Yangjin are on their way
   to Thame, walking ahead to prepare their lodge for our arrival. They
   are one of the “suckers” that Nic talked about.

Dawa Steven Sherpa

Editors Note: Sorry for the lack of posts this week. There are some technical issues we are working out. -- Brett

The Paradise Lodge is located next door to the Lukla airport and its
   world famous sloping runway. The airstrip measures 700m (2100ft) and on
   a clear day in the full swing of the tourist season it can see up to 30
   to 40 flights landings. Sir Ed himself built the runway back in the
   early 1960s to be able to fly up supplies and materials for the
   construction of the Khunde Lodge. Officially named the Tenzing-Hillary
   Airport, this tiny strip of tarmac, precariously resting on a ledge
   named Lukla, is the lifeline of the entire Everest Region.

    As it were, the window from my bedroom gave me a spectacular view of
   the twin propeller aircraft landing and if you think that you can have
   a long lie in in the morning, think again.

   After a hearty breakfast, we all set off on our walk to Everest Base
   Camp. We will be on the trail for 10 days before we finally arrive
   there. We all arrived in Phakding at noon. We sat in the yard,
   catching the glorious mountain sun and listening to the river thunder
   by at the edge bordering the lodge we are staying in tonight, Jo’s
   Garden. My mum’s name is Jo and this lodge is named after her by my dad.

   After lunch, we put our bags in the room and bundled up to go for a
   walk to the monastery in Rimijung village, located some 300m above
   Phakding, all the while enjoying the scenery of the rugged Dudh Koshi
   river valley. The Dudh Koshi river is fed by the glaciers located high
   on the slopes of our great mountain. The same glaciers that are melting
   away before our very eyes. One of the glaciers that is melting is the
   Imja Glacier, fast becoming one of the largest glacier melt lakes,
   called Imja Lake. The rate of melt for this glacier and the subsequent
   growth of the Imja Lake is 74 m per year, the fastest in the entire
   Himalayan region according to the International Center for Integrated
   Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

   This lake is threatening to burst its bank which would cause huge
   damage to lives, property and infrastructure, as it did in 1985 with
   Dig Tsho lake and 1977 with the Mingbo Lake.

   In fact, in 1985 Apa and his wife Yangjin lost half their farmland in
   Thame and had to trek to higher ground where they spent the freezing
   night with nothing to shelter them, but one sleeping bag they managed to
   bring with them. Apa knows the effects of our changing climate first
   hand and this is one of the main reasons he has been supporting my
   endeavour to raise awareness around the world and to prepare the local
   people for the eventual Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).

Apa is taking the WWF banner to the top of the world. It reads “Stop Climate
   Change. Let the Himalayas Live!”

   A Network of Sherpa students called Sherwi Yondhen Tshokpa and I
   are also organize the Imja Action Event on 18th and 19th of June.
   Partnering with THE NORTH FACE and the WWF, we are organizing a
   marathon starting at IMJA LAKE and following the path along the River
   Valley, where the GLOF would come rushing down. The run ends at the
   Khumjung School, the first school Sir Edmund Hillary built in the
   Khumbu. My father, Ang Tshering was a student in the first batch to
   graduate from the School.

   The next day, on the 19th of June we are holding the Khumjung Festival.
   The Festival will bring together the entire Sherpa community to show
   case our unique culture and way of life, which will need to be
   protected from the destructive effects that climate change brings with
   it. As few of the main items on the program are a tradition song and
   dance competition between all the youth clubs; inauguration the Khumbu
   Center for Citizen Scientists, an initiative I am taking on in
   partnership with ICIMOD to engage local people to participate in
   environmental research, thereby also heightening their knowledge and
   motivating them to participate in the protection of our mountain
   environment, flora and fauna; the award ceremony for the art and letter
   writing competition held between all the school children in the Khumbu
   during the months of April and May; Food stalls set up by the Mother’s
   association and selling Sherpa cuisine; etc.

   There will be no charge to take part in the run nor in the Festival. The more the
   merrier. If enough of us talk to our leaders about these problems, the
   more likely it is that they will take ACTION about this problems,
   whether on a small scale to help the local downstream communities to
   adapt to these problems or to make intergovernmental pacts to solve the
   situation. We all need to do our tiny bit to push for a more optimistic
   tomorrow.

Dawa Steven Sherpa