Mountain Madness Everest expedition back to KTM

May 26: This is Sarah Henley reporting from Kathmandu, Nepal.  The entire Mountain Madness Everest 2004 team has made it safely back to Kathmandu and are anxiously awaiting their departure time to get back home.

The hike out of the Khumbu region was beautiful.  Since spring has arrived there are flowers blooming and the hills are lush and green.  The beginning of the monsoon season seems to be here and the flights from Lukla to Kathmandu had been backed up for a couple days but the team managed to get lucky and got out on time.

Last night in Kathmandu the team had a farewell celebration dinner at the Rum Doodle restaurant.  The Everest summitters enjoyed a free meal since they made it to the top.  However, we all know getting to the top is not what mountaineering is about.  All the stages in between is when we learn about ourselves through the challenges we face.

As a side note:  Gene Rehfeld says, "hello Jenna and classmates in San Antonio from Grandpa on Mount Everest".

I would again like to congratulate Willie Beneges, Gary Ponder, Gene Rehfeld, Murray Rice, Phenden Sherpa, Undi Sherpa, and Mingma Sherpa for their amazing accomplishments during this expedition.  I would also like to thank Kili Sherpa, Rishi Sherpa, Tshering Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa, Mila Sherpa, and out entire cooking staff for their dedicated work.  This Everest 2004 Mountain Madness Expedition could not have been possible without these people.

arlier Dispatch: Day 55: May 20

The Mountain Madness team has been packing up all of our personal and group gear and getting ready to head back to Kathmandu.  The mood here is turning somewhat sad since the farewells are getting close.  Base Camp is a small enough place that in two months there are friendships that build.  Tonight we have a party with all the Sherpas to celebrate the mountain and the success of the whole entire teem.  Hopefully, the party will not go too late since we have to hike quite a ways tomorrow.  I will send one more dispatch in Kathmandu, so until then...

 

Altitech2: Digital Altimeter, Barometer, Compass and Thermometer. Time/Date/Alarms. Chronograph with 24 hour working range. Timer with stop, repeat and up function. Rotating Bezel. Leveling bubble. Carabiner latch. E.L. 3 second backlight. Water resistant. 4" x 2-1/4" x 3/4" 2 oz. Requires 1 CR2032 battery. See more here.

  Altitude pre-
   acclimatization

   Ascenders

   Atlas snowshoes

   Black Diamond

   Botas

   Brunton

   Carabiners

   CaVa Climbing Shoes
   Clearance

   Clif Bar

   CMI

   Crampons

   Edelweiss ropes
   Eureka Tents

   Featured

   FoxRiver

   Garmin

   Granite Gear

   Harnesses
   Headlamps
   Helmets

   HighGear
   Ice Axes

   Kavu Eyewear

   Katadyn

   Kong

   Lekisport

   Lowepro

   Motorola

   Nalgene

   New England Ropes

   Nikwax

   Omega

   Outdoor Designs

   Pelican

   PowerBar

   Princeton Tec

   Prescription Glacier

   Glasses

   Primus

   Rope Bags

   Seattle Sports

   Serius
   Sleeping Bags

   Stubai

   Suunto

   Tents

   Trekking Poles
   Ushba
   and more here