大象传媒

Trekking up the Khumbu

• Kay
• 23 Oct 06, 09:16 PM

At the end of the Cho Oyu trip, a small group of the XE team headed out from Kathmandu to trek up the Khumbu to find tea houses or lodges for our trekkers to stay in next year. As we were acclimatised from having lived at 5600m for 3 weeks, we were able to move along the trail much faster than is normally the case. I had not been to the Khumbu before, and I must say the scenery was stunning. Having spent the last six weeks in Tibet, and in particular on the somewhat barren Tibetan plateau and higher, the Khumbu was a rich green contrast. The local residents are friendly, and only too happy to help.

The first lab will be based in the Summit Hotel in Kathmandu. This hotel is an oasis of calm in the midst of the big city. I will not spoil the surprise of this hotel by describing it in any more detail, but I am looking forward to going back again in March. In Namche and Pheriche we needed to find tea houses that could accommodate our labs and laboratory staff for the duration of the expedition. In both locations we feel we have found the perfect venues to meet our needs. We shall be in regular contact with all the lodge owners over the coming months to keep them informed of what XE are trying to achieve. This will be via email, as all the lodge owners appear to have reasonalble email contact.

Some of the office team are off to Los Angeles tomorrow, attending a course related to cardiopulmonary exercise testing. This will also be an opportunity to meet potential collaborators. I have spent a lot of the weekend trying to do my homework to prepare for the course, so I hope it pays off. So, time to pack, and as the weather will be warmer than here I need to find my suntan cream and sunglasses!