Episode 181: Crossing The Beer Line

Posted by on Nov 13, 2012 in All Podcast Episodes, HD Episodes, Season 5, Everest 2010 Trek & Photography Workshop | Comments Off on Episode 181: Crossing The Beer Line

Cheers, Salud, Skål, Sláinte, Na Zdorovje, Pyunu Hos! Just a few more hours in Tibet before we head back to Nepal and close out this Everest Kangshung Face trek.

Tonight we made it to Nyalam, a little town near the border with Nepal. This will be our last night in Tibet and we’ll drive to Zhangmu tomorrow morning, cross over into Nepal and be back in Kathmandu by the early afternoon. Although we’re all terribly aware that time is quickly running out on this adventure, Nyalam was a destination that many members of the team have been looking forward to. See, right now we’re only just over 12,000 feet (3660m) and it’s still all downhill from here. That can mean only one thing:

I’ve lifted the alcohol restriction.

For a couple of weeks now the team has been giving me grief about my prohibition of alcohol during the trek. Yes, I typically don’t drink but that’s not the reason. I throw down the rule about no alcohol because it can keep your body from acclimating properly to the altitude. We just don’t have the time on these trips to move at a slower pace so I ban (almost) all consumption of alcohol until the final descent.

There’s really no set altitude at which I decree “you can drink/you cannot drink” as it has more to do with what activities we’re undertaking. Still, the group has affectionately called this theoretical altitude as “The Beer Line”.

Think of it as the line that delineates “The Death Zone” up on Everest. Only, you know, for beer.

Jon Miller

Total Running Time: 31:41

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