Nepal Expedition (Jan 2006) - Page 2

Here are some pics from my recent trip to Nepal.

The sunsets were great. This one is of Nuptse with the sun lighting up the clouds created by snow and ice being blown off everest (which is behind Nuptse).
This is of Lotse (8400 m, the 4th highest mountain in the world). I went outside and saw huge clouds spiralling at high speed up the face of the mountain then dissapearing as they came off the top. It was a mountain that looked angry. Earlier we hung some washing outside in bright sunlight but it froze solid in 10 minutes.
This photo was taken from Tangboche monastary (the highest in the world). You can see Ama Dablam (right) and the Nuptse, Everest, Lhotse trio in the middle. You can see the ice and snow being blown off Everest in the middle. Shortly before I took this photo I wandered into the monastary (off the left of the photo) and witnessed a tibetan buddhist ceremony where the monks, dressed in thick robes, used horns, drums, symbols and anchient chants to create a surreal atmosphere.
One of the many Buddhist monuments along the trail. You have to walk around these in a clockwise direction as the locals believe this released the prayer. The flags release the prayers into the wind. Understandable in this evironment their beliefs are often tied to the elements.
At the base of the Khumbu Glacier, Sherpas and climbers have places hundreds of rock pillars. Each one for someone who died on the moutain. While we were climbing the rockfall to this spot we noticed that one of our party was unwell. She had mountain sickness which caused her to become totally blind. Everyone was concerned as we were unsure whether she would recover. She had to be led down the mountain, step-by-step. After a few days her sight returned. Mountain sickness, which is quite dangerous and can easily lead to death, was a constant concern for all of us.
The local kids are without fear. This girl is the daughter of a local doctor. Part of our journey involved giving direct assistance to remote schools and health posts. As I took this photo we were being presented with a high Buddhist honour by her father and the community.
This photo was taken in the Annapurna region. You can see the heavily terraced hills, hand made stone paths that climbed 1000's of meters up steep mountains, and the ever present smoke.

The peak above always seemed to look different. It was one of the first big ones we saw.