Only 36 short hours after my departure from Raleigh I made it to Kathmandu. It actually wasn’t bad as I got some decent sleep from time to time. Having the VIP lounge access in Doha, Qatar was the key since that was a 10 hour layover.

It was very humbling flying in as I saw the snow covered Himalaya mountains for the first time. We were at about 30,000 ft. and there they were at about eye level. Was awesome and scary at the same time thinking that we would soon be climbing in those mountains.

Here is a pic of John and I at customs. Most those bags are his…mine is just the yellow one. And I thought I over packed! John is summiting Everest. This will be his 6 summit of the 7 highest mountains on the 7 continents of the world. Just Russia left to do. Once he has completed that, he will be one of only about 350 people to ever accomplish that feat. Now that is amazing. He is an amazing person and great friend. Glad to be here with him.

Kathmandu is a very large and poor city. It was crazy at the airport and the ride to the hotel was crazy too. No street lights and more cars, motorcycles and bikes than you can image. And as expected, saw my first cow sitting in the middle of the road. They are sacred here. The town itself is very dirty and polluted. We Are having to wear bandanas over our faces to keep the pollution out. Our guide suggested it so we don’t get respiratory problems. Not good for the climb.

Was a good first day trying to get our legs back. Everyone has arrived and on Tuesday we begin our real journey. 8 am team breakfast, 3 pm gear check and weight limits (33 pound total limit – have no idea how I am going to get to that), and team dinner at 5:30 pm.