A clean up expedition of the South West Ridge on Ama Dablam in planned for 2012.

Sorry for the long hiatus of updates. The trip to Ama Dablam this year was a very complicated and challeSorry for the long hiatus of updates. The trip to Ama Dablam this year was a very complicated and challenging one. Needless to say, my team is all home safely, no injuries and we area all still friends. A success in my opinion.

The Boys are still at it

I would like to thank all of the great Sherpa people who went out of their way to help everyone out. You guys are amazing. Stay tuned for my huge rant and upcoming ‘cleanup’ expedition to Ama Dablam next season. It breaks my heart to see that route in the condition it is in.

We are looking for Partners, Sponsors and Great thinkers

There as been no official date set yet for the 2012 Ama Dablam clean up expedition but Ganesh Adventures is looking for support and expertise in the areas of waste management, of couse financial backing to make it all possible. The goal of the expedition will not be to summit the peak but rather to make it a better place for future ‘aspiring alpinists’  to experience hard alpinism up high. If you have any thoughts, ideas or interesting theories please feel free to contact us at info@ganeshadventures,com and be part of this great and lasting project.

Chris from Kathmandu.

Alex, Samira and I all arrived in the Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar this afternoon. It was a great day of trekking and height gain up to the wonderful and bustling Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar. We will spend the next 48 or so hours acclimatizing to the increasingly thin air.

Namche Bazaar (also Nemche Bazaar or Namche Baza; Nepali: नाम्चे बजार)is a village and Village Development Committee (Namche) in Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of north-eastern Nepal. It is located within the Khumbu area at 3,440 metres (11,286 ft) (the low point that is), populating the sides of a hill. Namche is the main trading center for the Khumbu region with many Nepalese officials, a police check, post and a bank.

Namche Bazaar is popular with trekkers in the Khumbu region, especially for altitude acclimatization, and is the gateway to the highHimalaya. The town has a number of lodgings and stores catering to the needs of visitors as well as a number of internet cafés, making it one of the few places in the region where trekkers can access the internet.

Namche Market

On Saturday mornings, a weekly market is held in the center of the village while there may also be a daily Tibetan market where clothing and cheap Chinese consumer goods tend to be the main articles for sale.

The market is hardly something to get excited about but it is still something to see and a trip there always yields a great story or two.

After our time in Namche we will keep on trekking up the valley to Debouche. Located about 15 minutes past the famous Tengboche Monastery, Debouche is a cozy little settlement surrounded by rhododendron forest. It is quite amazing during the fall season. Thanks again for following along.

Chris from Namche Bazaar

Samira, Alex & I flew to Lukla today and have made the 4 hour, downhill trek to Phakding. As always, flying into Lukla is an experience that no one ever forgets. I’ve done it about 15 times now and each time feels like the first. It is such an amazing experience to leave behing the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu and fly into the Khumbu region of Nepal. Home to Mt Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and so so many more peaks, this is truly one of the most amazing places on the planet.

The first day of the trek is quite easy. After the 1 hour flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, expedition teams need to trek to a small tranquil village named Phakding. We stay in a lovely tea house located right next to the Dud Khosi (Milk River) before making the big jump the next morning up to Namche Bazzar, the capital of the Sherpa community.

Everyone is feeling great and we are all getting along famously. No doubt, Samira and I are just recently married so our compatibility is a given but the quick talking Alex is proving tobe a challenge for Samira as she copes with his British accent and speedy diction. No matter, i am sure that in a few days we will all be babbling on like old friends.

Tomorrow we trek up the big hill to Namche Bazzar where we will rest & acclimatize for 2 full days. Life is good in the Himalaya.

Chris Szymiec from Phakding.