Ahmed and Phill

At this moment, I am enjoying Snowy Calgary...home of personal trainer extraordinaire Ahmed Marshall.

I've been training for Denali by eating my weight in ribs and my 72 hour pasta sauce on whole wheat pasta.
If any of you have ever had the displeasure of watching me eat, you know that I almost burn more calories in the process...than the amount of calories I consume. %^]

I've been watching the Spring 2008 'Everest Show' via the internet and television.
Ridiculous!
I'm glad we chose to postpone our Everest Traverse until Spring 2009.

Well well...we are spread out all over the planet....but soon we'll be converging in Seattle for Secret Spot Denali !

Currently, I'm cruising around North America...Chris is Irvine...Alex and Dawa are in Nepal...and Carsten is fuming in Indonesia about politics foiling his Carstensz Pyramid Trip! =^(
You would think they would let him climb a Mountain simply because it shares his name...huh?!
I guess he will have to wait until the war in New Guinea calms down?!
I plan on doing said peak in 2011...so maybe Carsten will wait until then?!
Time will tell...as it always does. =^]

Who the heck are these people I am referring to?!
Please check out our Team page at Secret Spot Denali...and then you be in the know.

Despite power outages in KTM...and feeling a little under the weather, Alex managed to squeak out an email dispatch before heading into the Himalayas, and out of communication, until May 3rd.

Here's what he had to say:

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Kathmandu is where the action is in terms of organizing, purchasing and executing plans... but it's not why you come to Nepal. It is where Nepal comes to greet the world. The time you remain here is determined by the luck in assembling your forward travels, your patience for hustle and bustle, and how much you have convinced yourself you need to 'get done,' get ready, or buy.

This past weekend we escaped to the river for white water rafting and kayaking. I found out just how intense a small plastic boat can make class 2 or 3 rapids compared to the relative comfort of the big rubber raft. We lived like kings on safari with our river camp in the sand, multiple course meals and a nice camp fire brought us into our full moon night. Our guides were locals of the river, with each rapid named accordingly, from Landslide to Ladies Delight. More than a few times I had to bail out of the kayak, or torture chamber as I like to call it, to be swiftly saved by my paddler Maila. I did learn to roll on my own, and this kept me out of harms way more than a few times. As I noted to Joe, I've never learned more about a sport in a single day, or anything really, and mostly by necessity.

Our return trip taught me a few more things, such as the best way to transport kayaks is on the top of a oil or cotton truck, and of course if you need to bring a goat to the city, well it will have to sit on top of the bus as well, and don't mind if it naps on your knee for a couple hours.

After another blitz of action in Kathmandu, the standard food poisoning and struggle to get straight answers on pricing we are off again. I successfully made it in and out of the US Embassy while negotiating Visa issues for Dawa, and even ended up at the home of the Facilities Manager for coffee! Now Dawa and I depart on an adventure into the Lang Tang region of the mountains.

Ang Dawa and I will be attempting to cross the Gangja La Pass and cross into the Helambu valley in ten days time. Back with more stories and perhaps the earlier promised images on or around May 3rd!

Ciao!

ALEX MONDAU | Logistics Manager | Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits

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Soooo...I'll get some images and such into this blog once Alex sends them. I know, from my own experience in KTM, the local 'internets' (I've been dying to use that word in this blog since it was coined by a prominent world leader) can be sketchy.

Fortunately, I work closely with Eric at the Satellite Phone Store...so I'm almost always connected.
Eric is a person who is an expert in his field of endeavor...and I appreciate that...more than he knows! =^]

We will be beaming text and audio dispatches from Denali EVERY SINGLE DAY WE ARE THERE...or so we think. =^]

YOU will have to check it out!


Secret Spot Denali

Until Soon

Phill =^)

PHILL MICHAEL | Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits