May 27 Namche to Lukla
Last night was spent in luxury at the Camp de Base hotel in Namche. For $25 Angus and I got a double room with a bathroom and a shower. The hotel sits one street up off the main hub so it is quite quiet for sleeping.
There is no heat in the rooms, but they still felt very warm compared to what we have been used to. I really wanted to have a shower as I had not had a real shower in six or seven weeks, but the cool temperature of the room was not welcoming. I decided to suck it up and go for it and was I ever happy I did.
The water was quite hot and it felt amazing, I just stood there for the longest time and let the hot water strike my body. I had no shampoo, but the room came with soap so I did get pretty clean. It was a great experience.
It will be interesting to step on a scale one of these days. My pants are quite loose and I know I have lost weight. The question is how much. We ate pretty well at BC so I think that helped. I think it is likely only around 15 pounds.
I think my body is trying to put some of the weight back on because I ate a ton last night at dinner and was still hungry. The challenge will be to put muscle back on and not fat. I don't think my body much cares. It just wants the weight back. I will need to be disciplined to put it back how I want.
We are almost out now and it still feels a bit like a dream. I didn't really know if I would summit when I came here. My dream was just to try. I believe I got very lucky with the group of people I was climbing with. We all got along well and we had little drama which was hugely important. Some teams were laden with drama and we watched them unravel in front of our eyes.
It was also great to be climbing with Angus. I think that gave me a huge advantage. We get along well and seem to work well together in an expedition environment. No matter what else was going on around us, I knew that I could count on Angus.
Really there is not much to write these days. The exciting stuff is behind me now. I will continue to chronicle my daily adventures until I get back to Canada, but there will not be as much to write.
Once home I will do a summary posting and write about lessons learned and what I would do differently if I were to do it again from the North side perhaps (just kidding Susan). If there are any specific questions about my climb or if anyone is thinking of climbing Everest and has questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

We are now in Lukla. It was a six hour day from Namche including a 1.5 hour lunch break. It is funny how everything here is up hill. Even today when were going lower it seemed it was mostly up hill.
Our walk started with a sharp down hill from Namche to the valley floor. We then followed the river for a long way crossing from side to side over huge suspension bridges. The trail then started to climb off the valley floor and up towards Lukla.
We stopped in Phad King for lunch and made it to Lukla by 3:00pm. We are staying at the Sherpa Coffee Shop where I have stayed several times. It is a nice spot and is 30 seconds from the airport so it will be very convenient for our departure tomorrow.
I heard that Ryan took a helicopter out yesterday. He will meet us in Kathmandu. After his summit he got frostbite on his big toe and walking out would have been very difficult.
Al, Angus, and I will spend the night here and hope to get an early flight out in the morning.
It will be an adjustment to go back to civilization. Especially since Kathmandu is such a crazy place.

Messages:

Karen, Phil, Nathan, Maggie,
Thanks for the Note of congratulations.

MC, thanks for the note of congratulations. Yes, people can be funny, even, or perhaps more so, on Everest.

John O, thanks for the note. It was great to mert you along the way. I hope you had a great remainder of your trip.

Melanie, thanks for keeping in touch. I will see you soon.

Boni Family, thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed reading my blog. I said hello to Angus for you.

Paula, thanks for the note. I look forward to seeing you soon and sharing photos and stories.

Barbara, glad I could make your travels more interesting. Thanks for your message.

Jay, nice to hear from you. No drama was definitely the way to go. Hope you and Kristen are well.

Mary, so your Mom wants to know what's next. Not sure right now. I think I'll stick close to home for a while. I've got some ideas, but will need to spend some time discussing them with Susan first. I will most likely look at finishing the seven summits at some point.

Colin, thanks for the note. I look forward to seeing you and the family this summer. We have a lot of catching up to do.

Cas, Ryan did summit (#2 for him) and he is now back in Kathmandu via helicopter. He suffered some frostbite on his toe and could not walk out. Thanks for following along.

Michelle and Pujan, I look forward very much to being back at the Courtyard. If all goes well that will be tomorrow. Thanks for your note of congratulations.

Sarah, thank you for your note of congratulations and your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed my storied. I too enjoyed writing, and living them.

Liana and QE, I got your flag photo. I will send you a copy when I get home.

WP, thanks for the note. Glad you enjoyed reading the blog.

Janyce and Leo, thanks for following along. Hope you are both well.

NZ Ken, thanks for the note. Glad you enjoyed the blog.

Jen, glad Kevin turned you onto the blog. Glad you enjoyed it. Hope you and the family are doing well.

Marta, glad you were able to find my blog. Perhaps we will have a chance to meet some day.