2019 Mount Everest Marathon for SJCHS Relay For Life

On top of the world

Summitted Kalapatthar today. Best view of the peak of Everest. 5643m above sea level.

Lots to look at

Trekked into Gorak Shep - the last stop before Everest Base Camp. At over 5000m it is cold and difficult to breath, but the views don’t suck. Four more nights in the shadow of Everest and then it is race time.

Stay focused on the trail

Out for a jog in the hills

The boys have arrived above 4000m at Dingboche. We have been trekking on the marathon route and it is spectacular. Seven days until the race.

We head out from Namche tomorrow to a higher altitude with less reliable internet access. In exactly 10 days We hope to back at this very tea house with the marathon completed. A lot of people have asked why. The Canadian Cancer Society is the beneficiary, but I believe this sums up the personal agenda nicely:... But there are men for whom the unattainable has a special attraction. Usually they are not experts: their ambitions and fantasies are strong enough to brush aside the doubts which more cautious men might have. Determination and faith are their strongest weapons. At best such men are regarded as eccentric; at worst, mad... Everest has attracted its share of men like these....three things they all had in common: faith in themselves, great determination, and endurance. ~ Walt Unsworth Until we touch base again, please have faith.

Trek up to Everest view point....following in the steps of Sir Edmund Hillary. 5km acclimatization run in the books. Tough to run with a better backdrop.

Morning sunrise at the Sona Guest Lodge in Namche.

Choffe’s Go Pro on a river crossing

It’s been an epic two day trek so far. Lukla to Phakding to Namche Bizaar. Currently staying in Namche for two nights with an acclimatization run tomorrow. Caught our first glimpse of Everest today, fleeting but humbling. The surrounding mountains make you feel infinitesimally small. The beauty is mind blowing.... We rocked some awesome suspension bridges over river crossings, and the second pic is the view from our lodge.

The lads have powered through two days of hiking (Lukla to Phakding to Namche Bizaar). Settled into the Sherpa Mecca of Namche. We are here for the next two nights. Tomorrow we will try an acclimatization run and return to 3500m. (Side note: I have been preserving my phone battery and switched to my actual camera so have less photos to share...but will do my best).... We caught a short glimpse of Everest today on the hike. These Himalaya peaks make you feel infinitely small. Unlike anything I have ever seen before.

Not a bad view. I don’t like flying.

The plane landed...so that’s a bonus

Early morning start. Headed to Ramechhap airport...and hopefully landing in Lukla to start the trek to base camp.

Spent the morning wandering the labyrinth-like Thamel district of Kathmandu. Heading by bus to a rural airstrip for the night. Flight to Lukla tomorrow and the trek begins.

When you get informed at race briefing that you can’t fly to Lukla with more than 15kgs total.....some things won’t make the cut