Bonus Episode: Annapurna IV Recap
Posted on May 28, 2008 | Comments Off on Bonus Episode: Annapurna IV Recap
https://googledrive.com/host/0B7avdjh4X856enRVc3NNUUpjTEk/annapurna-iv-postmortem.mp3 Ben Clark’s Spring 2008 Expedition – Postmortem. Ben and his climbing partners Josh Butson and Tin Clarke have returned from Nepal and their expedition on Annapurna IV. This year they went out to climb a 24,688′ peak called...
Episode 083: In The Company Of Giants
Posted on May 21, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 083: In The Company Of Giants
“You Cannot Believe That View!” It has taken Scott and I over 12 days to get to this point but we’ve finally been able to gaze upon Everest with our own eyes. What a morning this has been! It started out with leaving New Tingri and continuing to head south down the Friendship Highway. After an hour or so we...
Episode 082: The Rest of The Everest
Posted on May 7, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 082: The Rest of The Everest
Life Imitating Art. We spent the evening in Shegar, New Tingri hanging out in the tea house. Our acclimatization is going really well so we all felt great. It was a very enjoyable evening and very different from the routine we’ve been repeating up to now. The past few nights after the sightseeing was over Scott and I...
Episode 081: Shegar (New Tingri)
Posted on May 4, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 081: Shegar (New Tingri)
Everything New Is Old Again. We’ve rolled into the little town of Shegar, otherwise known as NEW Tingri. Man, what a sense of deja vu. I feel like I’ve been here before. Actually, in many ways I have. New Tingri looks and feels just like Old Tingri, the little town Ben, Major and I tried to acclimate in back in...
Special Announcement: Everest Trek 2009
Posted on Apr 30, 2008 | Comments Off on Special Announcement: Everest Trek 2009
https://googledrive.com/host/0B7avdjh4X856enRVc3NNUUpjTEk/everest-trek-2009.mp3 Everest Trek And Workshop For 2009! No video episode this week, but you may not mind. Please listen to this special episode and visitEverestTrek2009.com for more information. We’ll return with video episode 081 next week. Thanks for...
Episode 080: You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two
Posted on Apr 22, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 080: You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two
It’ll Stunt Your Growth. Today we had some memorable experiences with a bunch of kids. The image of 6-year-old children smoking is something I will not soon forget, but more about that in a second. The day started off with an hour or so in front of Tashilunpo Monastery so Scott and I could get the last of our photos and...
Bonus Episode: Annapurna IV
Posted on Apr 20, 2008 | Comments Off on Bonus Episode: Annapurna IV
https://googledrive.com/host/0B7avdjh4X856enRVc3NNUUpjTEk/AnnapurnaIVannouncement.mp3 Ben Clark’s Spring 2008 Expedition. Ben and his climbing partners Josh Butson and Tin Clarke are heading back to Nepal for a new expedition. This year they are going to climb a 24,688′ peak called Annapurna IV and once they summit...
Episode 079: Shigatse
Posted on Apr 16, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 079: Shigatse
Smile And Say (Yak) Cheese! We’re steadily making our way towards Everest and are now in the city of Shigatse. This is the 2nd largest city in Tibet and home to the 5th largest monastery, Tashilunpo. You’d think that Scott and I would be getting used to seeing monasteries, but you’d be wrong. Although they...
Episode 078: Gyangtse
Posted on Apr 9, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 078: Gyangtse
Instant Karma’s Going To Get You. Today we visited the Kumbum, the largest chorten, or stupa in Tibet. This place was a feast for the eyes, and I WAS able to photograph everything I wanted! Right next door to the Kumbum was a temple where the monks at this monastery prayed. We climbed to the roof and were able to look...
Episode 077: Finally, Heading Towards Everest
Posted on Apr 2, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 077: Finally, Heading Towards Everest
No Demons Here. We made it into Gyangtse today after some incredible scenery along the way. This is Tibet’s 4th largest city and the view is dominated by a fortress on a hill. Spectacular. We were all getting pretty hungry so Lobsang took us to get some Tibetan Noodles. I had never had any before and since the altitude...
Episode 076: Altitude, Elevation and Elation
Posted on Mar 26, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 076: Altitude, Elevation and Elation
Movin’ On Up. We spent our last few hours in Lhasa this morning. Of course, Scott and I had to make a few more Koras around the Jokhang before setting out onto the Friendship Highway. Lobsang was very pleased with us. He told Scott that all of those Koras will make Scott a “very righteous man.” Cool. So,...
Episode 075: Half A World Away
Posted on Mar 19, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 075: Half A World Away
Homesick and Altitude Sick in Lhasa. Today was a day of contrasts for me. On one hand I was amazed and enthralled by the Potala Palace. On the other hand, I was sad beyond words. We began the day by visiting the Palace. We actually walked there from our hotel and it was good to see more of Lhasa that way. Scott was able to...
Rest of Everest Special Report: Violence In Lhasa, Tibet
Posted on Mar 18, 2008 | Comments Off on Rest of Everest Special Report: Violence In Lhasa, Tibet
https://googledrive.com/host/0B7avdjh4X856enRVc3NNUUpjTEk/rest-of-everest-lhasa-everest-closure.mp3 Violence in Lhasa And Everest Closures. As many of you know, Tibet has been in the news of late with violence in the capital city of Lhasa. There’s also been news that China has closed the North side of Everest to foreign...
Episode 074: News From Home
Posted on Mar 12, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 074: News From Home
Yak. It’s What’s For Dinner. After visiting the amazing Jokhang Temple, Lobsang took us to a nice restaurant to have dinner. After perusing the menu all three of us decided to go for the Yak. With Tibetan pop music playing over the ceiling speakers in the New Mandela restaurant we ate our first Tibetan meal. It was...
Episode 073: The Jokhang
Posted on Mar 4, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 073: The Jokhang
I Can’t Believe That IT IS Butter! This afternoon we left the hotel room and ventured across the street to the Jokhang Temple. This is the most sacred temple in all of Tibet and dates back to the 7th or 8th century. It’s extremely ornate and filled with religious pilgrims eager to show their devout respect to...
Episode 072: Lhasa
Posted on Feb 19, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 072: Lhasa
Did I Just Climb The Stairs Or Run A Marathon? We arrived in Lhasa and I have to say the city surprised me. It didn’t immediately look like we were in Tibet…more like somewhere in Europe or even Denver for that matter. There’s just so much new construction. Granted most of the writing is in Chinese characters...
Episode 071: Welcome To Tibet
Posted on Feb 13, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 071: Welcome To Tibet
Visas…They’re Everywhere You Want To Be. Would you believe we finally made it onto our plane to Lhasa, Tibet? The flight itself was uneventful, but the excitement started after clearing customs. When you enter Tibet and make your way through the customs checkpoint, you are given two sheets of paper which is...
Episode 070: Kathmandu…Again
Posted on Feb 6, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 070: Kathmandu…Again
Old McDawa Had A Farm. After leaving Pokhara we headed out on the long 200km drive back to Kathmandu. The weather was still hazy and the distant views were nonexistent, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything to see. After driving for a few hours we stopped on the shoulder of the road to take a pee break. You...
Episode 069: Pokhara
Posted on Jan 30, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 069: Pokhara
The Subterraneans. Before leaving Pokhara and heading back to Kathmandu, Scott wanted to check out a waterfall he had read about in his guidebook. I said I was game for anything. The place Scott had read about was called Devi Falls. Apparently, it was a waterfall that dropped into a hole in the ground and disappeared. Gone....
Episode 068: On The Road
Posted on Jan 24, 2008 | Comments Off on Episode 068: On The Road
Road Trip. Since we couldn’t get aboard the plane to Tibet today, we decided to carry on to Pokara about 200km west of Kathmandu. The Nepal national highway system is not your typical high-speed thoroughfare! We thought that the road trip would be pretty easy but we’re not in Kansas anymore…and 200km ended up...
Interested in photography? Check out Chris Marquardt's stellar podcast.
