By Marshall Thompson Today we arrived in Tangbouche, the home of the most important monastery in the Khumbu Region of Nepal. We arrived in time to attend the evening prayers. After removing our shoes and filing into an ornate prayer room, the monks began to chant. The chants are very rhythmic and dissident resulting in [...]
By Marshall Thompson I took this photo from Namche today as I hiked in around 3:30 p.m. What you can’t see is that there are giant snowcapped mountains in the background. The reason why you can see them is the air is full of smoke. Yesterday, as I was hiking up to a monastery I [...]
–We received these posts late, they are presented in the correct order, but the timestamps from the blog are not necessary accurate– By Marshall Thompson Yesterday we were in Thame, Nepal, Apa’s hometown. He said he was excited to be there and see his family again. Apa was busy the whole time calling friends and [...]
By Marshall Thompson A question keeps bothering me while I’m here: Why do Sherpa guides get paid less than Western guides? Since the price people will pay to climb Mount Everest is governed by the free market, there’s no easy answer. However, Dawa Steven, our guide who is half Sherpa and half Belgian, speaks five [...]
By Marshall Thompson Sorry to use capital letters, but it was absolutely necessary. Today we hiked from Phakding to Namche, with an elevation change of about 2,400 feet. Just imagine climbing a ladder that goes straight up for nearly half a mile. You probably couldn’t do it. Just remember that and don’t be judgmental as [...]
Before we left Kathmandu, I rode around the city with Apa as he took care of last minute things and met with journalists. We often took taxis, and it was a lot of fun. In this short video I wanted to share with you a little bit of what it’s like to ride a taxi [...]
By Marshall Thompson Kathmandu, Nepal Yesterday, Apa and I went to the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, one of the holiest Buddhist shrines in the country. The tinkling of spinning prayer rolls, the ringing brass bells of every size, the chants of monks, and the heady odor of incense that constantly burned made the impressive structure [...]
By Marshall Thompson Kathmandu, Nepal Today Apa held a press conference with the World Wildlife Fund as part of their Climate 4 Life campaign. They’re helping the Eco Everest Expedition to clean up Mount Everest and they’re also raising awareness about the effects of climate change on the Himalayas. You can go to their website [...]
by Marshall Thompson Kathmandu, Nepal I saw the Himalayas for the first time yesterday. Including delayed flights and 12-hour layovers, it took me 48 hours of straight travel to get from Utah to Kathmandu, but it was worth it. As we flew in, Kathmandu was covered in a thick morning fog so our plane had [...]