Category Archives: Everest 3.0

Packing, Collecting Dreams, and a Minion for Jack

Packing and getting out the door to an expedition is always a stressful, rich and full time. Hundreds of decisions and poignant good-byes fill the space between putting gear into piles and then into duffel bags. The to do list … Continue reading

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Calling All Weather Favours: One Week and Counting to Mission 5959

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Mission 5959: Sizing the Skins

After shovelling out for a few hours, Marian and I came in for some lunch and then tackled a few more projects related to gear prep for my Mount Logan trip. My new Intuition Liners had arrived and it was … Continue reading

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Mission 5959: Boot and Ski Tuning

Doesn’t everyone use their kitchen as a ski workshop? Finally cleared some time this weekend to do some boot fitting/liner moulding/learn new ski bindings kind of stuff. Because my team is climbing most of the way up Mount Logan on … Continue reading

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Mission 5959: Climbing to the Summit of Canada with 5959 Dreams

On this 50th Anniversary of the raising of the Canadian Maple Leaf Flag, it seems fitting to officially announce my next climb. I will be climbing Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak in May 2015. Mount Logan (5959 metres), located in … Continue reading

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Snow in St. John’s as my Teacher: Life (and Snow) is Precious

The week of Valentine’s Day moves many of us to express our love to those near and dear to us. As well, this week, with our wonderful 45 cm snow fall, had me professing my love for snow days! Today, … Continue reading

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12 Reasons Why I Love Snow Days!

My apologies to all the snow haters but I LOVE snow days and and here’s why… 1) Snow days are like winning the time lottery. They provide an unexpected respite from “life all scheduled” and allow for fun things like … Continue reading

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Hats Off to a Yak Named Pringles

I have two missions with my climbing expeditions: to inspire myself to climb to new heights (figuratively, metaphorically, and literally) and to inspire others to do the same. Especially kids. Young ones. Students. Children. Young humans. Or as my friend … Continue reading

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It’s Not About the Summit

I’ve often find the title of Lance Armstrong’s book (too bad he’s fallen so far from grace), “It’s Not About the Bike,” coming to mind whenever I think about my return to Everest…I’ve frequently had the thought, “It’s not about … Continue reading

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Reflecting on my Yes-No Decision: Everest 3.0.2

The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn’t matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark. ― … Continue reading

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Raising Windhorse for 2015

According to the dharma practice calendar (DPC) , today was/is an auspicious day…one of the most, in fact and an excellent day for hanging prayer flags. So that’s what I did. We’d been wanting to change our prayer flags on … Continue reading

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L is for Lessons, Lots of Lessons: Ama Dablam Wrap-Up

Our stories are written both as we live them and as well tell them. Since arriving home Monday evening, I have been telling and re-telling the story of my recent Ama Dablam climb and I learn/reflect on the experience with … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 28: Fly Back to Kathmandu and Find Your Fit Friday

Today we hope the weather lets us fly safely back to Kathmandu where we can enjoy some yummy treats! 24 is my favourite number and the runway at Hilary Tenzing Airport (Lukla) is runway 24. Did You Know? Archaeological evidence … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 27: Trek to Lukla

This will be our last day in the mountains of Nepal as we trek back to the airport at Lukla. We’ll be watching the weather closely to see if we think we’ll get out of Lukla on schedule. This fine … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 26: Trek to Monjo via Namche Bazaar

Today is a big downhill day as we head all the way down valley to Monjo. Did You Know? Nepal is only slightly larger than the state of Arkansas. Find Your Fit Fact Walking has the highest compliance rate of … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 25: Back to Kyanjuma

We follow the trail from Phortse Tenga down to Kyanjuma. Visit Tashi’s lodge again. Did You Know? Cows are sacred in Nepal and are not eaten. Because the animal is holy, all traffic yields way to the animal and it … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 24: Down the valley to Phortse Tenga

Today we trek down the valley along the Dudh Kosi to Phortse Tenga Did You Know? Mount Everest was actually named after Colonel Sir George Everest who was a British surveyor. Find Your Fit Fact If you are walking outside, … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 23: Exploring around Gokyo

Today we will trek along the Ngozumba Glacier towards Cho Oyu base camp. Did You Know? In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay were the first people to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest. Find Your … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 22: Across the Ngozumba Glacier to Gokyo

  Today we cross the Ngozumba Glacier To Gokyo. The Ngozumba Glacier is the longest glacier in the Himalayas.     Did You Know? For thousands of years, the Himalayan mountain ranges served as a barrier to interaction between the peoples of … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 21: Over the Cho La (5420 m.)

The plan is to leave Dzonglha and head over the Cho La (a pass) to the settlement of Thangnak. There will be beautiful views looking back to  Ama Dablam. Did You Know? The country of Nepal has been recorded to … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 20: Trek to Dzonghla (4843 m) & Find Your Fit Friday

Trek to Dzonghla. This is the same route we followed in section two of the GHT this past spring. Lots of memories of our camping trek with Carm, Ray, Paul, Ed, Bill, our guides Juddha and Balram, our climbing sherpas … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 19: Change in itinerary, trek to Dingboche

From base camp we trek to Dingboche following a high route that contours Ama Dablam. Did You Know? The Himalayas cover about 75% of the whole country of Nepal. Find Your Fit Fact When walking at night it is best … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 18: Rest Day at Base Camp

This is a rest day. The point to remember is that every time we are on the hill we won’t eat enough, drink enough or sleep enough. So rest days such as this at Base Camp are vitally important to … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 17: Return to Base Camp and Rest

We pack the gear up and leave everything we can at C1. We descend, stash our climbing gear, and then drop back down to base camp. Did You Know? There are a lot of fast flowing rivers in Nepal which … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 16: Recce to Camp Two

Another easy start to the day. After breakfast and plenty of hot drinks, we’ll put the harnesses on and recce the route along towards Camp 2. The route is fabulous and is on great rock. The majority of the going … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 15: First Night at Camp One (5800 m.)

It’s now time to move and sleep further up the hill. We pack up and make our way up to the slabs below Camp 1 where we’ll have our harnesses, helmets, and climbing gear stashed. We’ll spend the rest of … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 14: Return to Advanced Base Camp

After a leisurely base camp breakfast, we rest for the morning. After an early lunch, we trek back up to ABC in the afternoon. It’s much easier the second time around because we will have left most of our gear … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 13: Find Your Fit Friday

It’s about a two hour descent back down to base camp so we may want to just pack and go have breakfast in the base camp. We rest and relax in the sun for the rest of the day and … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 12: Acclimatization Climb to Camp 1

Acclimatization day. The sun hits Advanced Base Cmap quite early and thankfully there is no rush to be up and about. So after a leisurely breakfast and having aired our sleeping bags we wander up to Camp 1. From ABC … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 11: First Climb to Advanced Base Camp (5350 m.)

After our final preparations for our first foray up the hill, we will have an early lunch at Base Camp. We start along the easy trail and then gradually gain height along the ridge as we pass the old airfield … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 10: Base Camp Puja

After the Base Camp Puja, which is conducted by a lama who visits from Pangboche, we will have time to start sorting the loads for our first carry. Did You Know? A popular fast food in Nepal are called Momo. … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 9: Rest and Technical Skills Day

This is a rest and technical training day. We have a very thorough session on the use of jumars, belay devices, prussiks and appropriate techniques for dealing with fixed ropes. It is very good to put all this in to … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 8: Reaching Ama Dablam Base Camp (4450 m.)

After breakfast, we visit the monastery at ‘Upper Pangboche.’ This is a beautiful quiet village just 15 minutes easy walking above Pangboche. After our first ‘puja’ (blessing) of the trip, we drop back down to Sonam Lodge for an early … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 7: Trek to Pangboche (3985 m.)

Today we drop all the way down to the Dudh Kosi to the village of Phunki Tenga, before making our way steadily back up to Tengboche where we stop for lunch. After visiting the monastery and looking around the visitor … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 6: Find Your Fit Friday

Today we’ll get our first proper view of Ama Dablam. We’ll trek up to the Everest View Hotel, a fantastic colonial style building, where we have tea on the veranda. The amazing view includes Taweche, Nuptse, Everest, Lhotse, Thamesurku, Kang … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 5: Trek to Kyanjuma (3450 m.)

After breakfast, we start on the trail alongside the Dudh Kosi (Milk River) which originates from the Khumbu Glacier some 50 kilometres away. We cross the river four times on the route today on some quite exciting (but very well … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 4: Fly to Lukla and Trek to Phak Ding (2650 m.)

We have an early morning flight to Lukla (2,800m). After arrival in Lukla, breakfast, and sorting the gear into loads, we will start trekking towards Ama Dablam. We will trek in and stay in a teahouse at Phak Ding (2,650m). … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 3: Sightseeing in Kathmandu

This morning we’ll be sightseeing and taking in key attractions in and around Kathmandu. The Kathmandu Valley has an amazing range of fascinating highlights. We will visit Pashupatinath and Boudhanath (two favourite places of mine). Did You Know? Kathmandu has … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 2: Arrival in Kathmandu

Today is arrival day in Kathmandu. It will be delightful to be back in this vibrant city, catch up with several friends, and start meeting my Ama Dablam teammates. Did You Know? The population of Nepal is approximately 27 million … Continue reading

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Climbing Ama Dablam Day 1: Leaving Home for Nepal

“You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So… get on your way!” ― Dr. Seuss Did You Know? Electric power load-shedding is a way of life in Nepal and power outages can last for … Continue reading

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