I am now in Kathmandu. My climbing partner Angus will arrive later today and we will fly to Lukla tomorrow morning. We will then start our trek to the mountain.

I have tried to upload some photos, but the system here at the hotel is so slow it keeps crashing every time I try. Sorry.

I have not been in Kathmandu since 2001, but it all came back to me pretty fast. This is not a place for one with sensory overload issues. Right from the minute I landed it was chaos. Once through the visa line I retrieved my bags. Although it was a little chaotic, it was nothing compared to what happened next. As soon as I stepped out of the airport what seemed like hundreds of taxi drivers were there just for me. They pounced on me and it took a bit of effort to push through the throngs to find my driver. Then came the drive into town. I'm not sure why they paint center lines on the road as no one uses them. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws, people, dogs and cows were everywhere. Horns are used for all communications. It is a deafening and chaotic scene, but somehow it all works.

I have found it difficult to adjust to the time difference and have spent a lot of time walking the streets. This is even more crazy. Traffic (human, animal, motorized and people powered) never stops. There are no sidewalks and I'm not sure how people are not run over, but once again it seems to work.

Street vendors and shop vendors and taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers and guys selling "smoke" are everywhere and they don't leave you alone. If I have said "no thank you" once I have said it ten-thousand times. But just like with my kids, when I say no it just means ask me again in a few seconds. It is a crazy place here.

I look forward to the flight in tomorrow and hope to have the technology working to do another post in a few days.

Until then, Dream Big.

Galen, thanks for the birthday wish and thanks for telling everyone my age. Maybe this is my mid-life crisis.

Janicke & Paul, thanks for your well wishes. I have already taken a ton of shots. I'll do a show when I get back.

Aeronik, thanks for following along. I followed your trip as well.  I will keep my will and focus strong. I hear the weather on the mountain is good and there have been many summits already. I hope the weather sticks good for a while longer.