Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch

April 29, 2009 – Team Arrives in Lukla

We were up early at the Yak and Yeti hotel for our flight to Lukla. We met in the lobby at 5:00 AM; at 5:30 we left for the airport where we met BAI guide Min. Wongchu Sherpa. He was watching over the confusion at the domestic airport as he always does so well. As our bags went through security and we walked onto the crowded terminal we could not have known how quickly we were going to be put on the plane of the mornings first flight to the famous Lukla airstrip.

We were in the air before 7:00am and on the ground in a completely different world by 7:25am. Stepping off the plane in Lukla is always like taking the first steps in to a world of adventure and we were all excited. Ang Temba and the rest of the BAI team were waiting for us. One of our team members is Phuri Shepa, BAI’s head chef on the trail. Phuri is a seasoned veteran and one of the most experienced expedition and trekking cooks in all of Nepal.

While we relaxed and tried to absorb the fact that we were finally on the way for our journey to Everest Base Camp, the BAI team was loading the Zopkio (Yak / Cattle cross animals that will carry our equipment along the way). We left Lukla but with excitement and our eyes wide open with wonder and surprise at the sights around us.