 Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Snowball Fight at the Top of the World (17,400')
Snowball Fight at the Top of the World (17,400')
We all made it and are feeling great. Summited Kala Patar at 18, 500' and went to Base Camp (17,400'). Spent three days and two nights at Everest Base Camp. Before we left, out last morning we had 6 inches of new snow and the sherpas (16 of them!) attacked us in a snowball fight, it was not pretty.
Internet sucks, so more detals later in the week...
Friday, September 05, 2003
Rest day at Namche Bizarre 11,500'
Rest day at Namche Bizarre (11,500')
We arrived yesterday at the sherpa village of Namche Bizarre and today is a rest day to deal with the altitude. Civilization, sort of, shower, internet (dial up speeds) and a warm bed to rest up for the push to base camp. Tomorrow we head to higher elevations well over 12,500' and eventually to 19,000' over the glaicer down to Base Camp (17,500') next week.
We did an early morning stroll to the outskirts of town to see the spactular mountaion views (photos to come when I get home) and got the first glimpse of Everest today, what a sight. We are still about 5 or 6 days out, depending on how strong we all are.
Wally got the permit to summit (at $60,000 US) for the climbers, so they are very excited it is a very special time, since we are the only expidition on the mountian with a summit permit. Since Wally has a permit, Kevin and I get to spend some significant time at Base Camp and witness the Sherpa Puja at the icefall on September 12th.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Dinner at Rum Doodle (4,500')
Dinner at Rum Doodle (4,500')
So many Everest summit trips have a farewell dinner at the Rum Doodle the night they leave Kathmandu and we are no different. A great night was had by all and we leave tomorrow to start our trek. I am all packed and ready to deal with the altitude, etc. Wish me luck!
Monday, September 01, 2003
Staging in Kathmandu (4,500')
Staging in Kathmandu (4,500')
Wally met with us today for the “talk” about the ins and outs of the expedition. Also met the climbing sidar Sherpa today, a very impressive man who has summitted 4 times. We fly to Lukla Wednesday to start the trek. We will be arriving at Mt. Everest Base Camp on September 11th, a strange day to make it there. A Buddhist ceremony early in the morning on the 12 marks the official beginning of the ascent for the rest of the team. Kevin and I will be spending at least 2 nights at Base Camp helping the expedition get settled in.
Here are the climbers bios:
Wally Berg, Canmore, Alberta
A four-time Everest summitter, Wally Berg is BAI’s founding director and head guide. His achievements in planning, organizing and guiding successful mountaineering expeditions have established him as one of the world’s foremost expedition leaders.
David Burger, Boulder, Colorado
David Burger has guided throughout the world for decades and has climbed to above 6,000m more than 50 times. In 2002, he was part of the successful BAI guiding team on Ama Dablam. When he is not guiding, David is an executive coach and senior team builder.
Maegan Carney, Seattle, Washington
Two-time World Freeride/Extreme Skiing Champion Maegan Carney aims to be the first American and first woman to complete a ski descent of Mt. Everest. Now making her home in Chamonix, France, her passion is for climbing peaks and skiing obscure, steep couloirs. In 2002, Carney made the first descent of 24,000-foot Cholatse Peak in Nepal.
Brad Johnson, Ridgway, Colorado
Brad Johnson has climbed 25 peaks between 17,000ft. and 27,000ft. high via 30 different routes and summitted Cho Oyu in 1999. He has participated in two expeditions to Makalu and K2. With over 20 years experience as a climbing and trekking guide, Brad spends much of each year leading mountaineering expeditions in Peru.
Garry Porter, Olalla, Washington
Since retiring from Boeing, Garry Porter has dedicated much of his life to mountaineering – and being a grandfather of four! He has reached the summit of Aconcagua, Denali, Cotopaxi, Island Peak, Huayna Potosi, Illimani and Ama Dablam with BAI in 2002.
To The Summit and Safe Return (4,500')
To The Summit and Safe Return
Train Harder. Climb Longer.
After more than 8 months of preparation, Kevin and I are in Kathmandu to begin our trek to Mt. Everest. We are waiting for the other 5 trekkers and 4 climbers. (who are going to the top!)
To all of my friends and family reading this, you know me well, I will be safe. Thanks for your support. And Dad, one day I will return to this mountain with you.
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Bangkok Day 2
Bangkok Day 2
After sleeping in I got up and got a haircut for about $0.30 and did my laundry that piled up while in KL.
Spent the day seeing the sights I have not seen before, spent a lot of time in the National Museum. Waiting for Kevin Collins to arrive in from Tokyo tonight then one more night of fun before we head to Kathmandu tomorrow!
Saturday, August 30, 2003
I ain't goin' out like no punk-bitch
I ain't goin' out like no punk-bitch
It seems that in KL they really like House of Pain’s Jump Around and the DJ at one club last night mixed it in with Kriss Kross’ Jump for an insane party. Add that to the almost local Panjabi, of course mixed with Jay-z. After an epic night of partying in KL with fellow speaker Chris Featherstone, it was time to say goodbye to KL.
So I have arrived in Bangkok and have to move from speaking/working mode to R&R mode for the weekend before moving into trekking to Everest mode on Monday. Bangkok is one of those places that I just seem addicted to and have to visit if I am in the region (Paris is another). Fun, cheap, and very friendly, Bangkok has lots to offer everyone including many Royal and Buddhist sights, awesome shopping (can you say custom clothing) and of course the wild and crazy nightlife. Now my third time to Bangkok in the last year and a half, I already know the cool places to party down at Pat Pung, so if any of you are down at Lucifers’ tonight or tomorrow, come dance with me to Indian Hip-Hop and a little old school Irish Rap (they like House of Pain here too)... And Tom, I am wearing my purple shirt that you hate so much…
Friday, August 29, 2003
The Malaysian Rainforest
The Malaysian Rainforest
Today a bunch of us speakers went on a trek for 8 hours in the Malaysian Rainforest where we did battle with malaria laden bugs, leaches and lots of natural obstacles. At times it was sweltering hot (to quote Tim) and we had to strip down and cool off.
This was a truly amazing experience. We used a machete to cut through the jungle and climbed through water, drank water out of roots and learned basic jungle survival (like how to cut a water bottle out of bamboo-I don’t think my bamboo water bottle is going to make it through Thai customs tomorrow).
The reward of the day was a phenomenal series of waterfalls and lots of wildlife.
DEV315 Using Regular Expressions in .NET
DEV315 Using Regular Expressions in .NET
The RegEx session went over very well. The crowd liked how my mom made my life difficult and helped me with this expression: Ste((v|ph)en|ve). They also found the flaw in this test for US Phone Numbers: 1-\(?\d{3}\)?-\d{3}-\d{4}
Code and slides avaliable here.
Thursday, August 28, 2003
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