I’m writing this two weeks after failing to reach the summit of Ama Dablam. With some time to reflect on the expedition since I descended from Camp 2, I’m more disappointed now than at any time since that morning I decided to head home. I can’t reproduce the feeling of hesitation that convinced me to…

November 4th 2017 I was thrilled when morning came at Camp 1. Despite 18 hours in a tent, and absolutely nothing to do, I managed less than three hours sleep. I wanted to get up and get out even though I was exhausted. When you try to sleep at 20,000 feet a strange thing happens….

November 4th 2017 – All memory of my glamping at Basecamp started to erode with the trip to High Camp yesterday. Tonight, the relative luxury of Basecamp is a foggy recollection as I share a two man tent with Rinji, the climbing sherpa, at Camp 1. We are perched on a small ledge of rocks…

November 3rd 2017 – This day makes me think of the old television series The Beverly Hillbillies. The opening jingle told the story of how Jed Clampett (the old mountaineer) accidentally discovered oil on his land so he packed up his family and moved to Beverley Hills. There is a wonderful scene of Jed and his…

November 2nd 2017 – I woke up this morning in my tent at Basecamp to find the water in my washbowl had frozen overnight. Binoy tells me that this kind of cold doesn’t typically roll in until mid-December. I guess picked the perfect year to attempt Ama Dablam. This place is a small village although…

October 31st 2017 – This morning we left Panboche for the trek to the Ama Dablam Basecamp. You have to cross the Imja River and then head up a pretty steep climb before things level off a bit and then climb again. Altogether you gain about 600 meters from Pangboche. The terrain is well above…

October 30th 2017 – Tomorrow the lodges give way to expedition tents at Ama Dablam Base Camp. We will cross the Imja River and head up to Base Camp at 4,600 metres, or 15,100 feet. Today I headed up the mountain on the Pangboche side of the river, while Binoy trekked over to the Base…

October 28th 2017 – Tengboche Monastery sits between Tashinga and Panboche on the route up to Everest Base Camp and other points north and east. It’s the home of the Rinpoche, who is believed to be the reincarnation of a previous Rinpoche, or holy teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. Binoy knows the Rinpoche so he arranged…

October 25th 2017 – In most of the lodges each room usually has two single beds, and if you’re lucky, an ensuite bathroom. The beds have sheets and a cover or two, but only the really brave would dare to sleep in the sheets in a room with no heating… in November… in the Khumbu….

October 24th 2017 – The day began in Kathmandu and ended in the village of Ghat. Between these two points is the town of Lukla at the centre of which is a precarious airport with a single runway. Most trekkers to the Khumbu Valley of Nepal start their journey with a flight from Kathmandu to…