A field journal
Cory Explores
Trekking the Khumbu to Everest Base Camp, Alaska, and the small adventures in between. Written and photographed along the way.
From 2012 to 2015, I kept this: all the places I went and the people I met along the way. These entries were gathered and restored for continued enjoyment (mostly mine).
Jungle Tour, Helo Ride, and Farewell Nepal
Once we returned to Kathmandu, our group went to the Tibetan Refugee Camp where they make the famous Tibetan rugs. We got to watch the whole process, from making the threads to…
Read the entry→Last Day in the Khumbu
Today we started our final trekking day in the Khumbu, leaving Namche and headed for Lukla. Today's hike was supposed to be a mellow one, but most of our group was pretty tired…
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Trail Down to Namche
Today we were on a mission toward Namche (12,300 ft) which is another 12 miles and a drop of another 2,900 ft in elevation. Today was a long day, with a lot of big drops…
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Trek Down The Mountain
Today we started our trek back down the mountain. We leave 2 of our colleagues at base camp who are climbing up to camp 2. A third member became ill, so he is headed back down the…
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Big Day at Everest Base Camp
Today we woke up to a cold glacier! Our breakfast was pancakes and porridge. Then we were off to River Works, David Breashears' project documenting the loss of glaciers by…
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Gorakshep, Kala Patthar, and Everest Base Camp!
Amazing day! Today wake up tea was especially nice, because it's pretty cold here at 17,000 feet! There is nothing quite like getting up to hot tea served by my new Sherpa…
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Lobuche to Gorakshep and Kala Patthar
Today we continued our trek towards Everest Base Camp, with today's goal being Gorakshep. We had a nice easy trek today, as many people are feeling the altitude. We had to send…
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Pheriche to Lobuche
Today we had a later start. Morning tea was at 7am, so we had a leisurely morning. After a usual breakfast for me, chapati with jam and a cheese omelette, we were back on the…
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Rest Day in Pheriche
Today we had "wake up tea" a little later so we got started on our "rest day" at 7am. Pheriche sits at about 14,000 feet and it appears we are all acclimatizing nicely. Once tea…
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Tengboche to Pheriche
Today Mike Johnson and I were up early to take pictures. We got our first glimpse of Everest! What an amazing day! I hiked back up to the Stupa above Tengboche to get shots of the…
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"Rest Day" in Namche and Trek to Tengboche
We had a "rest day" in Namche. To Wongchu, a rest day means museums, a hospital, and a 4 hour hike! In Namche we went to a Sherpa museum. There were a lot of historical artifacts,…
Read the entry→Trekking Day 1 and 2
Lukla to Phakding Today was the start of our trek! We left the Kathmandu airport and flew 30 minutes to the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla (the most dangerous airport in the…
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Temples, Monkeys, and The Holy Man
Today was a tour of two Buddhist temples and a Hindu temple. The Monkey Temple, aptly named for the multitudes of monkeys, was first on the agenda. Basically, this is a beautiful…
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City Life, Bhojhan Griha, the Kama Sutra and the Yeti
Great day! 11 of us tourists along with our Peak Promotion guide, Ganesh Sharma, walked around the city for some shopping and sight seeing. The city was busier on Tuesday. More…
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Star Struck and Elevator Madness
Monday afternoon was spent walking a few of the nearby streets of Kathmandu. This city is, bar none, the craziest and most charming place I have ever been. The van trip from the…
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Travel Day, Easter Sunday, Kathmandu Arrival
I made it! I said goodbye to Boise and my beautiful wife at 0640am Saturday April 7th and traveled through Salt Lake City to JFK airport where I awaited my international flight…
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Kathmandu Here I come!
It's official. I'm off to Nepal! Boise to Salt Lake City to New York to Doha to Kathmandu!
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Nepal Gear!
Departing tomorrow and all my gear is ready to go. I have all of the prescribed items, including my snacks! Those of you who know me, snacks are pretty high on the list of things…
Read the entry→Countdown to Nepal
Dear Family, Friends, and Colleagues, I am on the final countdown until I leave for Nepal and Mt. Everest Base Camp! For those of you who don’t know, I am traveling with the…
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