September 28 - Comfortable Routines in Kathmandu

This is Wally Berg calling in from Kathmandu.

After clearing the Yeti controlled customs line with 6 very large overweight bags full of BAI equipment for this seasons climbing and trekking, I walked out into the cool Kathmandu sunshine and saw Ram and Wongchu Sherpa from Peak Promotions. As always there is a lot of news to catch up with Wongchu about. We have been planning Berg Adventures treks and climbs In the Khumbu, on Ama Dablam and Everest next spring for months via e-mail, but it is good to be together and catch up on his latest adventures and old friends.

Later we arrived at the Hotel Tibet, where I always stay with old friends while preparing trips.

Within 10 minutes of arriving at the Hotel Tibet, I got my call from Elizabeth Hawley [see note below]. Her familiar voice is always a most comfortable greeting for me as an expedition climber. Liz always finds out when I am arriving and is eager to schedule time to discuss details of the climb. This year for the Berg Adventures Ama Dablam 2002 Expedition coming up next month.

We will be busy putting this year's details in place in the next days, but we have done it so many times before and the routines and familiar faces of Sherpa and friends in Kathmandu feels good.


Elizabeth Hawley, born in Chicago in 1923, historian by training and reporter by vocation, long-term resident of Kathmandu, has devoted herself since 1962 to recording mountaineering activities in the Nepal Himalaya. Her detailed and accurate reports are based on personal interviews with members of every climbing expedition. Her work has resulted in the production of a unique record of the story of climbing in Nepal. The wealth of data contained in her records represents an authentic and valuable information source for climbers wishing to plan future mountaineering expeditions to the Nepal Himalaya. Apart from her work as a journalist, Elizabeth Hawley is engaged in the affairs of the Himalayan Trust, an aid organization founded by Sir Edmund Hillary, which supports medical, educational, cultural, and reforestation projects in the Solu-Khumbu district situate SW of Mount Everest.



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