Room 4, read to find out about the Himalayan Mountains and the people who live there, in Nepal on the Indian side of Mount Everest, and Tibet on the China side.
List things that are important to them. Which actions showed this?
Read about the Sherpas.
Where do the Sherpa people come from?
What can you find out about last names in the Sherpa culture?
John felt very privileged to be walking with Jamling, the son of Tenzing Norgay, who, with Sir Edmund Hilary reached the peak of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, in 1953, before any other climber in the world.
The people of Nepal revere these two men. They say neither of them were accomplished, but they accomplished great things. Both were regarded as humble and respectful. Jamling told us his father and Hilary could not communicate easily with each other because of the spoken language difficulties. But he said his father told him the chemistry between the two of them was very strong and their successful trip to the top of Everest was grounded on strong human values and a commitment to each other.
John has been posting messages and photos for us to follow his journey to Base Camp.
I'm walking in the Himalayas with Jamling Tenzing Norgay and 5 others from April 29 - May 20, 2016. I've set up this group to share what I see with my sister Pamela's primary school class in New Zealand, and my family and close friends who may be interested.
This is the itinerary. The walk to Everest Base Camp is beautiful at this time of year. It's Spring and the days are warm, nights are a little cold. Lukla and Namchee Bazaar are towns with maybe 1000+ people. The rest of the towns are very small, maybe 50 people at the most. I'll take a few photos along the way to try to show you the people, the culture, the animals and these monster mountains.
Eventually we made it to Jamling's aunty's home. She and her family treated us all to some hot lemon tea. I gave her a small bottle of Manuka honey as thanks for her hospitality.
We stopped so Jamling could lend some support to a campaign to install rubbish bins through the walk.
Today we encountered lots of porters carting loads up the mountain, and we gave these yaks a lot of room given their load was empty gas bottles coming down from Everest Base Camp.
Just back from Island Peak (day 14). We didn't get to the summit, 6160 metres. We made it to 5900 metres at 5am, but bad weather came through and we were climbing rocks that were getting icy, the snow and wind made it feel like -10c or colder. Jamling made the call it was not safe for us to continue. And the weather for the rest of the day proved his judgement right. We are all so grateful for his leadership, and very tired.
We made it to Everest base camp 5365 metres, Kalapatha 5600 metres and Island Peak 5900 metres over three days. I'm not at all disappointed we didn't make the summit, I'm more grateful for making 5900 metres and being back safe and sound.
Today we set off at 7am for Namche Bazaar. Every one was well rested, and we set off for a brisk 7 hour walk. Time is the best way to measure distance up here. There are so many different paths from one town to the next, that time is really the only common measure which seems to work.
We passed these very cool yaks who were on the way to Everest Base Camp to deliver more potatoes.
A lot more prayer walls for people to read and recite. These are Buddhist prayers. Most mountain people are Sherpas. Most Sherpas are Buddhists.
That's about all got now. All up to date now. Hello to the children of St Paul's primary school. Best wishes to you.
And here's what happens to your hair after two days of walking and no shower. Love it!
At lunch today, many local friends and relatives came to our table to give him gifts of potatoes, cooked dishes, cheese and beer. They like him because they know he cares for them. Anand, a good friend of mine, once said the definition of a good man isn't easy, but you know them when you meet them.
Leaving Namche from what must be one of the highest helipads in the world. To get up to the required speed at such high altitudes, the helicopters lift off to about 30 metres above the helipad then dive straight down towards the river below. Once the speed is right, the pilot levels out the flight path then climbs back up. A real thrill to experience. My guess is the distance from the helipad to the river below in the photo is about 1 kilometre.
We left sunshine in Namche but arrived in Lukla about 10 minutes later to be greeted by a lot of low level clouds.
Soon after we landed, the Lukla airport closed for the day, so we are on the first flight tomorrow morning back to Kathmandu. But we enjoyed the serenity and countryside views for a few hours.
We visited a Buddhist monastery to observe a singing and dance service, then headed back to the hotel for my last dal baht dinner in a while.
List things that are important to them. Which actions showed this?
Read about the Sherpas.
Where do the Sherpa people come from?
What can you find out about last names in the Sherpa culture?
John felt very privileged to be walking with Jamling, the son of Tenzing Norgay, who, with Sir Edmund Hilary reached the peak of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, in 1953, before any other climber in the world.
The people of Nepal revere these two men. They say neither of them were accomplished, but they accomplished great things. Both were regarded as humble and respectful. Jamling told us his father and Hilary could not communicate easily with each other because of the spoken language difficulties. But he said his father told him the chemistry between the two of them was very strong and their successful trip to the top of Everest was grounded on strong human values and a commitment to each other.
John has been posting messages and photos for us to follow his journey to Base Camp.
I'm walking in the Himalayas with Jamling Tenzing Norgay and 5 others from April 29 - May 20, 2016. I've set up this group to share what I see with my sister Pamela's primary school class in New Zealand, and my family and close friends who may be interested.
This is the itinerary. The walk to Everest Base Camp is beautiful at this time of year. It's Spring and the days are warm, nights are a little cold. Lukla and Namchee Bazaar are towns with maybe 1000+ people. The rest of the towns are very small, maybe 50 people at the most. I'll take a few photos along the way to try to show you the people, the culture, the animals and these monster mountains. 
We started our walk at Lukla, threading our way through the streets towards the mountains.
Hello to the children of Saint Paul's primary school in New Zealand from Tashi, a person your age here in Namche.
Eventually we made it to Jamling's aunty's home. She and her family treated us all to some hot lemon tea. I gave her a small bottle of Manuka honey as thanks for her hospitality.
We stopped so Jamling could lend some support to a campaign to install rubbish bins through the walk.
Today we encountered lots of porters carting loads up the mountain, and we gave these yaks a lot of room given their load was empty gas bottles coming down from Everest Base Camp.
They dry out the yak's dung to make fuel for heating water.
Solar stoves! Brilliant! These two are boiling water and cooking tonight's soup!
I started the day with dal baht. I've eaten this every meal for the last 4 days to stay healthy.
Day 9; trek to Lobuche.
A relatively easy walk today. But we are now at 4935 metres and I'm starting to feel the high altitude when breathing. Targeting Everest Base Camp tomorrow so that's exciting.
There are memorials to many Sherpas..and some to foreigners whose bodies are still frozen in the ice.
And even though it was snowing, and windy the Sherpas kept on working. These guys are all cutting stone to build a house beside the tea house we are staying in tonight. Ciao for today.
Having an opportunity to follow Jamling's steps to Everest base camp is a memory I'll never forget.
Here we are at Base Camp.
1st task of the day. Go to Kalapatha and watch the sunrise over Mount Everest.the summit is above Ang Futi Sherpa's head. A 450 metre climb for about 2.5 km over rocks and dirt. This photo is about 5.30am.
Quite a workout to wake up to.
And here is our home for the night.
Next, we are going to climb to the summit of Island Peak.
We have to get up at midnight and start the climb. The landscape photo in this post shows Island Peak in the middle. At 5169 meters, it's still a small mountain compared to others.
Island Peak from a distance. We will climb up the right side.
Day 13 We are attempting to summit Island Peak.
Just back from Island Peak (day 14). We didn't get to the summit, 6160 metres. We made it to 5900 metres at 5am, but bad weather came through and we were climbing rocks that were getting icy, the snow and wind made it feel like -10c or colder. Jamling made the call it was not safe for us to continue. And the weather for the rest of the day proved his judgement right. We are all so grateful for his leadership, and very tired.
Naturally in this photo we are all a little disappointed, but as Jamling said, " At least we tried."
I really enjoyed the teamwork, people caring and helping each other. Walking in the dark with headlamps was difficult but only served to underline the importance of the team work.
Today we set off at 7am for Namche Bazaar. Every one was well rested, and we set off for a brisk 7 hour walk. Time is the best way to measure distance up here. There are so many different paths from one town to the next, that time is really the only common measure which seems to work.
We passed these very cool yaks who were on the way to Everest Base Camp to deliver more potatoes.
A lot more prayer walls for people to read and recite. These are Buddhist prayers. Most mountain people are Sherpas. Most Sherpas are Buddhists. That's about all got now. All up to date now. Hello to the children of St Paul's primary school. Best wishes to you.
And here's what happens to your hair after two days of walking and no shower. Love it!
The Sherpa people really know how to build strong and stable rock fences. We saw a lot of these today.
We then arrived at Tenboche. This is the Buddhist monastery which Tenzing Norgay sought guidance from the Buddhist monks on whether it was a good year to summit Mount Everest when he and Edmund Hillary succeeded in 1953. It also the same place which Jamling Tenzing Norgay visited for guidance when he successfully summited Mount Everest a few years ago.
It's an important and famous monastery for many reasons, not the least of which is because the regional Buddhist leader ( titled Guru Rimpoche) lives here. I've been there for prayers, it's a nice place to pray.
In the end there were 3 of us plus Jamling, plus 3 climbing Sherpas attempting to summit Island Peak.
We had a lot of fun along the way. Meet Dike. Dike is a golden retriever from Venice in Italy. He joined his owners to trek to Everest Base Camp and Kalapatha. As you can see, he also had his own back pack and was very friendly. A long way from home for Dike.
Jamling told us his dad had over 60 dogs on his property when he was young. His dad would carefully breed lasa apso dogs and Tibetan mastiffs, and give them away as gifts to friends and visiting dignitaries. He gave dogs as gifts to the Dali Lama, and the Indian Prime Minister Nehru among others.
On our way back from base camp to Dingboche, a couple of small horses followed us right into the tea house we stopped at for a break.
We were exhausted when we finally arrived back. No surprise that we all slept a deep and long sleep last night.
Now this porter is about 20 years old. And on his shoulders are 4 pieces of 4x4 inch wood to be used as foundation posts for a room in a house. I couldn't tell what type of wood it was, but my sense is its medium weight wood. Therefore he's got probably more than 30 kg on his back and a 30 walk uphill ahead of him. Amazing.
The further down we travelled, the more we were greeted by trees cloaked with flowers in bloom like this rhododendron tree. We are still above 3500 metres where this tree is growing.
Namche is situated on the side of some incredibly steep hills, and is at about 3450 metres in altitude.
There were times when I wondered was I in Wellington or Namche Bazaar.
Just across from our tea house / hotel, several ladies were harvesting potatoes together. Lots of talk and laughter. Work? Yes, but I suspect a social outing as well.
Jangbu Sherpa, my walking buddy from yesterday, brought his wife and two boys to meet us all at breakfast before the boys (8 and 5 years old) left to go to school. The boys presented us with scarves of friendship, and spoke to us. Very respectful and polite. A really nice way to start the day.
Meet Andy. He was the highlight of my day. Andy migrated to Nepal from Tibet in 1959, and has lived in Namche Bazaar ever since. We talked about where we both came from, why I was here, and compared thoughts on the day. Such a warm and friendly guy. Like all these people Andy's English is limited, but his personality, generous efforts to communicate, and constant smile was inspiring. Such a nice guy.
Then it was off to the Friday markets. The markets in Namche is not only a time for people to buy their provisions for the week, but also to meet neighbours and friends. Lots of laughing and conversations amongst all who were there. I took some photos of some of the more unusual stalls to give you a sense of what they sell that might be a little different from our local supermarkets for your enjoyment. Starting with this block of Yak cheese sold in slices, as thick or thin as you like.
Believe it or not, these fish came from the local mountain streams. Dried and cleaned, they are the only source of fish available locally. This guy very kindly explained to me where they came from and what health value these fish would give me if I ate them. I bought 5 to chew on as I wondered around the town. Again, a very polite and respectful man.
This gentleman was making jokes and singing songs as he sold his eggs. Everyone around him was laughing. You can buy 1 egg or as many as you like. All the buyers shook each egg to check to make sure they were fresh and not too advanced.
The one butcher's shop selling pork, and buffalo meat. Dressed only one day ago. No fridges in the Sherpa's homes, so some meat is dried, or sold fresh. Remember Buddhists do not like to eat any animal but the tourists need to be fed, and some locals are ok with meat; most, however, are predominantly vegetarian.
This week cauliflowers were on special. Grown in Nepal.
Or maybe you need more chilies to spice up your dal baht. These chilies are super hot, as strong as Mexican chillies.
Or fresh bananas or ginger roots from India.
Then on to the seed shop stall where you can buy green vegetable seeds, since its spring, for your garden.
A visit to the local bookstore reminded me that Sir Edmund Hilary's name is still high in some people's minds here. We all know how much time Hilary spent in Nepal after he summited Everest with Tenzing Norgay. But once you spend time here with the people, the reasons why he was so dedicated and passionate about them become very obvious. They are good people, and he was a good man.
Jamling is similarly respected as a good man and Sherpa community leader, and his book continues to sell well. His book is beside the Hilary book in this photo.At lunch today, many local friends and relatives came to our table to give him gifts of potatoes, cooked dishes, cheese and beer. They like him because they know he cares for them. Anand, a good friend of mine, once said the definition of a good man isn't easy, but you know them when you meet them.
Flowers in the Himalayas
I'm dedicating this update to the Sherpa people.
As I'm sure many of you have experienced before, people in other countries are not as well off as we might be, but when it comes to values like respect for each other and being humble....they can be as inspiring as it gets. 
Leaving Namche from what must be one of the highest helipads in the world. To get up to the required speed at such high altitudes, the helicopters lift off to about 30 metres above the helipad then dive straight down towards the river below. Once the speed is right, the pilot levels out the flight path then climbs back up. A real thrill to experience. My guess is the distance from the helipad to the river below in the photo is about 1 kilometre.We left sunshine in Namche but arrived in Lukla about 10 minutes later to be greeted by a lot of low level clouds.
Soon after we landed, the Lukla airport closed for the day, so we are on the first flight tomorrow morning back to Kathmandu. But we enjoyed the serenity and countryside views for a few hours.
We visited a Buddhist monastery to observe a singing and dance service, then headed back to the hotel for my last dal baht dinner in a while.
To all the children of St. Paul's primary school, greetings from the Himalayas. I know you have been following John and our journey to the to roof of the world. I hope you learned something about our mountains and culture. I invite you all to join me one day to visit our part of the world.
