first real view of Ama Dablam

ian decided to try and be a porter for a few kilometers 

some of the best tasting water (headwaters of the dudkhosi river)

dudkhosi river

the start of another day hike

my lil' em bug 

god damn i wish this was in focus 

found some snow and tried to go sledding without sleds

this is om mahabatur - such an awesome man and climbing guide.  he's smokes about a pack of cigarettes a day and has been to the top of everest twice

ian was a fast climber . . . 

made it to the top of the morraine 

humans are so fucking small

the western face of Ama Dablam

best (i.e. my favorite) pic of the trip 

g embracing the wind en route to khala patar

starting to get close to the base of khala patar 

view from halfway up the summit 

at the summit (18,500 ft) - the hardest physical challenge of my life thus far

of course om is fucking smoking at the top 

prayer flags at the summit - felt honored to have the chance to leave a few of my own

hippy in the front, everest in the back

very happy to be in nepal and very happy to have broken my elevation record by more than 4,000 feet ! 

back in lobuche - the second earthquake hit right as we were heading back from khala patar.  despite our objection, it was decided by the office back in the states that for our safety we head to lukla as quickly as possible, cutting the trip short by about five days 

packing up camp

headed out of the khumbu valley

improvisation 

hot tang was a favorite post-hike drink 

found a place that served chocolate cake 

found a grocery store and bought as much candy as we possibly could

walking around the streets - unfortunately a lot of the shops had closed because of the earthquake 

another one of my favorites.  these were four of our porters who were headed back to their home villages.  we never really got to know them - they almost always arrived to camp when we were in class and were asleep by the time we were finished.  i don't even know a single one of their names but i (and the whole group) were so thankful for their work and for allowing us naive white kids to get just a glimpse of their country and way of life

waiting for our flight back to kathmandu

headed back to kathmandu - can't imagine i'll have a more exhilarating take off ever again 

back in the capital 

mural of the earthquake someone painted 

some of the aftermath of the earthquake - didn't take too many pics of the destruction because it felt weird 

swayambunath still standing 

last morning at the hotel pilgrims 

managed to explore one last temple a few hours before heading to the airport to head back home 

last pic of the trip - headed to the airport and from there, tokyo