Preparations continue...and background information on lukla

By: Dan Piccininni, Kamloops BC

Preparations are continuing. Only small details to finalize from my end...extra snacks to bring, batteries, camera memory, some small supplies to pick up. Dave says he's working on similar things back in Toronto.

My second bedroom has become a staging area for gear, its easy to lay stuff out, figure out what I need, what I don't, what extra 'luxuries' will add a little more comfort to the trip. We have to be ready for any kind of weather, from hot and humid ~30 degrees C. in Kathmandu, to well below freezing at night. On top of that we have to keep the total weight to under 15 kg (33 lbs)

Dave and I are flying out of Toronto, through London, Bahrain, and Kathmandu (Elevation approx 1400m), where we will meet up with the rest of the group, as well as our guides and porters. In Kathmandu, we will spend some time going over the game plan including acclimatization strategies as well as site-seeing around the city, including several important Hindu and Buddhist sites)

From Kathmandu, we will take a 45 minute flight on a Twin Otter to Lukla (2840 m) where we will begin trekking. The airstrip at Lukla was built in the 1960's by Sir Edmund Hilary and is the closest airstrip to Everest. Most trekking and climbing expeditions hike in from Lukla. Before this airstrip, you had to travel from Kathmandu to Jiri by road. and then hike through jungle to Lukla. This added an extra week of difficult trekking each way to an expedition. The flip side is that there is less acclimatization time flying directly into Lukla.

The airstrip at Lukla is located in a narrow valley, is only 350 m long, and is inclined at a grade of 10 degrees, allowing the planes to stop quickly. From all accounts I've heard, landing in Lukla is a fairly unnerving experience. I will let you know if having this knowledge will make it any less so.