Permit checkpoint to enter Qomolongma reserve

The road leads to Qomolongma

... that's Mt. Everest to you. The Friendship Hwy., the only road going up to Everest, and the road leading from Lhasa to Nepal, is a true wonder!

Himalayan high points

You could ALMOST see Everest from this point on the road. The storm was just starting to break, and though Everest itself is still obscured you can see a few of the Himalayas other highest peaks. Lotse, maybe... the names of the other peaks escape me now.

Coming down from Everest... lunch stop

Pubu, our driver, did not stop until we were well out of the snow. About 2 hours from Rongphuk we came to a little Tibetan village straddling the road. Pubu took us into a small homestyle teahouse, where we ate lunch. Thukpa(yak noodle soup) and mo mos were the order of the day. This small shrine was in the middle of the village.

Rhongpuk Monastery... in the morning

After a fit-full night we awoke to 4 inches of snow and a sky still full of huge, heavy flakes. It was a rough night for all. The extreme elevation had affected us all in different ways, making real sleep impossible. Whenever I did nod off I would wake myself up gasping for air, and I kept having nightmares that I was a fish that flipped myself out of water and could not breathe. We were there for only one night, and were told it takes at least 5 days for your body to adjust to the altitude. The storm and snow had the drivers very worried, and we ALL wanted to lose some elevation as fast as possible.

Yak herders tent

The big rigs of the Himalayas

The main method of transporting goods at this elevation seemed to be these pony carts. And the yaks are the classic Himalaya hikers. Thriving at high elevations, yaks are THE pack animals for summit attempts, and for going anywhere above BC 1.

Services of BC 1

Some of these tents are teahouses/places to sleep, some of them are stores of different kinds, and one is even an official post office. Climbers often get waylayed here, waiting for weather or permit dates, so there is a small community of Tibetans living here to cater to their needs. Basic supplies, food, hot tea, warm tent, hard wooden bench with yak wool and carpeting to sleep on, etc.. Here a lovely shopkeep shows Fish her selection of turqoise encrusted novelties.

Tallest point at BC 1

Once you hike the 5 miles from Rhongpuk to BC 1 you are greeted by all the people living up there to provide services to hikers and climbers. At the top of the valley, beyond which you must be permitted to climb the whole mountain, there is this hill... the tallest point you can hike to without a permit. At the top you are close to 19,000 ft.

Hiking to BC 1 at Everest

Behind us, actually behind the wall of storm clouds, lies Qomalongma herself .... that's Mt. Everest to us.

Rhongpuk Monastery

5 miles below Base Camp 1 the road comes to an end at Rhongpuk, the highest monastery in the world. Here we rented a room for the night, threw our gear down and hit the 5 mile trail to BC 1. We had high hopes for even a fleeting glimpse of the mountain we had come so far to see.... but an ominous storm front had other plans for us.

Back to Tibet.... On our way up to Everest

A small Tibetan village in the high plains of the Himalayas on the road to Everest.

Another season at The Bird.

Burning Man 2008... Sunset and billiards

Lamp lighters on the move!

The four main avenues and the interconnecting Esplanade are ringed with 15 foot tall wooden lamp posts. Each evening a crew of people carry and hang kerosene lanterns from the lamp posts, lining the entire city by the time their job is done.

Neighborhood burn platform

At the head of every major street there is a large metal receptacle of some sort. Ours happened to be a giant wheel barrow. These are for all burnable garbage... Burning Man is the largest leave no trace event in the world, which means everyone who comes plays with a "pack it in, pack it out" mentality. Used to be folks just burned it all, right there, down to couches, tires etc... Common sense, and the right to breathe, finally won out.... now you can only burn wood, paper, and compost... I bet some people miss the smell of smoldering plastic though...

Ready to ride!

David and I, geared up and ready for a sunset ride around the city. As always, never leave camp without a dust mask and your goggles. Dust storms, literal whiteouts, can overtake you in a matter of a few minutes.

Burning Man 2008... He falls!

... and the crowd rushes in to revel in the burning remains... the fire burns throughout the night, slowly putting itself out. But people stay around it well into the next day, ravaging through the charred remnants for momentos, pieces of The Man, and the elusive, perhaps even mythical, Golden Spike.....

Burning Man 2008... The Man Burns

Burning Man 2008... The Man Burns

... and with a mushroom cloud whoooooooooshhhhh.... the Man begins burning...