Namaste!

I arrived in Kathmandu on March 29 free of drama. That means my luggage also arrived and it didn't take long to find the other 9 Himex team members and guides flying into Kathmandu on the same plane.

The flights from SFO were mostly uneventful (and wonderful because I upgraded to BClass) except for a few things: Due to the fierce wind in Tokyo, our plane was wobbling like a weeble as we descended into Narita. About 10 seconds from the runway, the pilot suddenly thrusted the plane, and my lunch, upward. It took the entire 20 minute turnaround re-do time for me to recover from my nausea.

Someone told me that's a good sign - I've already had my bout with sickness, so the rest of the trip should go smoothly. I believe that.

The next flight was made cool by the fact that Ed Viesturs was sitting across from me. If you don't know who Ed Viesturs is, click on the link called "8000 Meter peaks." I was star struck but unable to muster the courage to say anything to him. Maybe later on the mountain I'll ask him to sign my copy of Outside magazine (he's on the cover).

From the airport, we drove through the crowded streets of Kathmandu, familiar to me now because not much has changed since my first visit here in 1999, and made our way to the Hotel Tibet. My fancy Suunto altimeter watch battery died the day we arrived. Come on! Luckily Russ said I can find everything I need in Kathmandu, and I was able to replace the battery.

So now I'm here in the hotel lobby using the computer. We had a dinner last night as most of our team members are now here. Alec Turner from Alaska apparently was delayed due to a volcano eruption??? Check out his blog at http://www.glacierboy.com/. Maybe he can fill you in on that. We hope to see him soon.

To avoid viruses and get over jetlag, I arranged to have my own room in Kathmandu but I was told I'm sharing with Monica, the team doctor. Apparently Hotel Tibet is booked.

I'm glad I arrived a few days early because we have a 12 hour, 15 minute time difference with San Francisco (I was wrong in my earlier post - it's not 12 hours 30 minutes). The jetlag can be extreme but so far I'm handling it really well, thanks to my best friend, Ambien.

Arriving early also makes it much easier to learn the names of ALL THESE PEOPLE a few at a time.

Speaking about my earlier post about Kathmandu, it seems I was wrong about everything. Usually when I'm here this time of year, it's been warm in the 80's, and everyone's wearing shorts and tshirts. Now it's more like the 60's with thunderstorms in the late afternoon/evening.

The exchange rate per Oanda, 84 rupees to the dollar, is obviously not the "working" exchange rate of 78 rupees to the dollar. Oh well, this is boring stuff.

So what's our agenda? Today we're sorting out our gear, preparing for our 6am flight to Lukla tomorrow morning. Last night Russ introduced his team and went through some of the logistics. Dick Coulthurst with Tigress Productions gave his best pitch to allow them to film us for Discovery Channel - it's entirely up to each individual.

The only difficulty I'm having so far is understanding the various accents. Despite all my traveling, I've never been very good at that!

I won't send a post again until we arrive at Base Camp around April 9.

I must go because people are waiting to use the computer!

The date and time is actually 3/30, 8:30 am.