After 24 hours or so of travel, I was spilled out into the warm dusty sunshine of Kathmandu. Stops in London, Frankfurt, and Istanbul passed quickly and suddenly, after months of planning, I am here.

Kathmandu is always part chaos, part lively, part humanity in all its forms all wrapped up in a buzzing, teaming fashion. Today, on little sleep, all that commotion was a bit overwhelming so I hung out in Thamel just long enough to visit with Raj and having some lunch before heading back to the hotel for a mid afternoon nap.

Many favourite things welcome me back to Kathmandu. Prayer flags, prayer wheels, fresh Lemon soda, and enough horns to fill several orchestras.

The team met for dinner today. There are 9 climbers plus Tim Mosedale, our expedition leader. Most are from the UK, with one from Norway, Ireland, and me, from Canada. It’s the time for building connections and support within the team.

I can barely keep my eyes open, more tomorrow.