Wrapping Up

November 4, 2008 Posted by Ted Alpine Climbing, Travel & Destinations 14 Comments

Though it has been five days since we’ve summited, there’s still quite a lot happening. We left basecamp yesterday after nearly three weeks there, and will be in Lukla tonight. If the weather holds we should be back at the hotel in Kathmandu tomorrow. We can’t wait to get into a new set of clothes.

Once we get home and get a chance to sort through the 1000+ photos we’ve taken, a more detailed trip report will come.

A short while ago we said good bye to Phurba and the boys, it was great to have a proper fairwell. The reunion is already set. Adrian, Lissa, the VT crew, Dirk, Christy, myself and the sherpa, agreed to head to Pumori together on another expedition, in two years. So it’s set then, Pumori 2010.

Ob-Ama Dablam ’08

Right now we are sitting in the Everest Bakery, in Namche, awaiting Obama’s acceptance speech. We watched the results of the election come in all morning here, in the kitchen of the tea house, on Al Jazeera news. Christy, Dirk and I voted before we left and were happy to see the pres-elect take Colorado by ten points. I guess our pact to stay over here had the results been different won’t come to be. Phew.

What a great end to the trip.

Tags: Ama Dablam Lukla

14 Comments

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Liz Mahon

November 5, 2008 at 9:26 AM

A great end to the trip AND the campaign.
OB-AMA Dablam ’08 tells it all!
Get home safely so we can all celebrate.
Love, Mom
ted

November 7, 2008 at 2:52 AM

a few more days here and we’ll be on our way home. it’s always nice to have everything go right according to schedule but theres a downside to a smooth trip it’s that your stuck trying to fill all the extra days you allowed for bad weather etc., at the end.

we’ve traded the sounds of yak bells and dung for car horns and pollution. still, we’re happy to be out.

so its three more days sightseeing here in kathmandu before we actually start the long connection of flights home.

we’ll be back on the night of the 10th.
Mary Ann and Pat

November 8, 2008 at 10:38 AM

So many reasons to celebrate. You guys are at the top (no pun intended) Safe trip home. Love, Mary Ann and Pat
Love for the USA

November 9, 2008 at 10:06 PM

Well, I was happy to see you had such a great time over there, that is, until you gave Al Jazera more respect than a man that almost died so you could climb, ski (sorta) and have a vote. I hope you don’t approach mountains with that same lack of respect. Oh, and in-case you didn’t already figure this out, I won’t be checking in on your over-glorified, self-proped site anymore, stud.
ted

November 11, 2008 at 4:40 PM

“Love for the USA”, thanks for the feedback, sorry to get you so upset. My brief mention of the name Al Jazeera had you sending a stream of personal insults my way.

Since you said you wouldn’t check the site anymore I guess the discussion is over. Sorry to see you go before we could have any sort of mature debate. I love getting into it with people who get personal yet are too cowardly to use a real name and email.

Still, I’m confused. Firstly, Al Jazeera is a primary news source, like CNN(or maybe Fox news for you), for a large part of the world. Did you know that have English speaking American reporters and one of their main news offices is in Washington DC? Secondly, am I to understand that you feel I owe my right to vote to McCain’s military service? If so, then thanks John, I used it to vote for Obama.
Love for the USA

November 12, 2008 at 6:11 PM

I find it funny and typical that you left out the part that made me so upset in your reply.

I don’t feel you owe McCain your vote. Are you joking? The beauty of this country is that many millions fought and died to give you the right to vote. In fact, I say this to you the day after Veteran’s Day.

Only someone that doesn’t understand or appreciate what they have given to you and me would say something like (and I quote you)
“I guess our pact to stay over here had the results been different won’t come to be. Phew.”

That’s what pissed me off. Would you say that to the face of gentlemen and Vets that marched through town yesterday in rememberence of their lost friends and commrads? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Thus, you can keep wondering who am as well.
Love for the USA

November 12, 2008 at 6:40 PM

P.S. Get an “edit” button on here so when you make other people upset (like me) they can at least correct their typos after they smash the submit tab.
Love for the USA

November 14, 2008 at 1:16 AM

So, you edit the comments you don’t like on your web site, but leave your disrespectful comment about not coming home to America if the election didn’t go your way? That says a lot about you and your lack of understanding about how great this country is. We should support our country no matter who is elected. I know I do and always will – no matter what.

Why taint a perfectly cool web site with politacal editorials? There is enough of that in our local papers, on tv, etc, etc. I know that I come to sites like this to escape from that stuff and I’m sure many others do as well.
Censored

November 14, 2008 at 1:19 AM

So, i see you are censoring your web site now – deleting my comments, but leaving your disrespectful comment about not coming home if the election didn’t go your way. So typical and it really says a lot about you. So sad.
ted

November 14, 2008 at 10:02 AM

You can’t quite stay away as you promised. Good to hear from you again.

Against my better judgement, your rant has been reposted, starting with the initial insult laden, confused thought. As the administrator of this site, I reserve the right to block any comments I consider to be out of line, in any way. Statements like yours, coming from an anonymous name and an email address of ‘[email protected]’, are the exact reason some basic rules need to be in place.

Keep it clean or the comments will be back in the trash. I can do WHATEVER I want here, it’s mine. At the same time I earned my right to vote, I also earned the right to free speech. Your feedback on how and what should be said and done here is appreciated though I might prefer to completely ignore it.
ted

November 14, 2008 at 10:35 AM

If you were seeking a reply-
Your complaint, which I think I understand, even though it seems to morph slightly everytime you speak, is a stretch. That somehow my strong feelings towards this election, and subsequent tongue-in-cheek threat to stay abroad had the results been different, is an insult to all of those who served, is at best a weak argument, and at worst, just nonsense.

I went to great lengths to vote early, because I felt it to be so important. I have never passed on an opportunity to vote in my life. There is the respect for my right to vote, and anyone who feels they deserve credit for giving me that right can have it. Maybe you want to take it?

My half sentence was not designed as ‘political editorial’. And much to your dismay, had the results been different, I still would have come home. It’s absurd to try to connect the few words said to disrespect towards vets. It is my opinion, and yours can differ, that great damage has been done to this country and everything it represents, by our recent administration. Include our soldiers and the entire military complex on the damaged list. To vote for McCain and more years of status quo, if I can make a reach like you did, is disrespect to our veterans. The election results, which I support and voted for, is how I show I care.

“Censored”, don’t hold your breath for the edit you seek to happen. It won’t. Once again, thanks for your feedback and sorry if you disagree.
Love for the USA

November 14, 2008 at 12:30 PM

You’re right – it is your site and you can do and say what you like. I would never try to diminish your right to free speech nor any of our other rights in this country. But, if you are going to speak freely then you should expect the same form others. Deleting my comments, although your choice, certainly doesn’t show that you are actually for free speech – it’s censorship.

I never used bad language, so I’m not sure where your “keep it clean” comment came from.

As I mentioned, I thought the site was pretty cool and I’ve been coming here to avoid politcal rants – whether “toung-in-cheek” or not. If you really didn’t mean what you said, then why not just remove that sentence instead of snapping back at me and censoring? But, since you seem to like talking about this stuff on a climbing and skiing web site, own-up to the fact that the recent administration involved a Liberal congress. It was this Liberal congress that deregulated the mortgage industry and caused the worst financial crisis of our times. Lastly, I never said that I thought our recent admin. did a good job or that I was happy about the problems. Nor did I ever say that I voted for McCain or that you should’ve voted for McCain. I only said that your comment about not coming home if you didn’t get your way was rather un-American of you.

The bottom-line: You opened this “can of worms”. Perhaps you’ll stick to skiing and climbing from now on. I’ll keep my promise.
ted

November 14, 2008 at 5:52 PM

I could only think of one thing you said I would consider to be a promise.

[from your first comment]”I won’t be checking in on your over-glorified, self-proped site anymore, stud.”

I love that one! I mean seriously, who talks to strangers that way? More importantly, is that the promise you’re talking about? If so, then let me see if I understand. I’ll stick to skiing and climbing, and you won’t check in anymore. Unless, I assume, I start saying things you disagree with and then you’ll be back, to keep me in check. So in reality, you’ll always be checking in, even though you promised otherwise, just to see that I’m behaving. You’d be like an auditor, to help maintain the integrity of the website.

I’m not sure I need an auditor.

Oh, and ‘keep it clean’ is in regards to a fight, your below the belt shots are cheap and don’t help your credibility.
ted

November 14, 2008 at 6:29 PM

FYI- It was your initial post that served as the foundation for my whole argument. Maybe we could revisit that one.

After reading it again, which I recommend you do, I don’t see any reason why, coming from a fake name and email address that was created specifically to insult, that I should entertain your comments after you take personal jabs at me. It deserved to be deleted. It still deserves to be deleted. It still could be deleted. I don’t call that censorship, I call it childish behavior being treated as such. Your claim to your constitutional rights here being denied to you are absolutely ridiculous. Don’t expect to be treated fairly when you don’t address others in that fashion. Being rude and anonymous, you don’t really deserve a seat at the table.

Back to the discussion, my comment about not returning home stems from caring about what happens next in this country. If I felt there was a serious impropriety in the statement, I would remove it, but I don’t. So stop asking. It won’t go away.
On the other hand, it is the indifferent American, who has no concern for where we are headed, who didn’t vote and doesn’t care, who I consider to be un-American, and is the one you should really want to have a talk with.

There is no ‘can of worms’. Because I don’t take myself too seriously, I can let you in on a little secret. If there’s twenty different people who read this post in the next few days, that would be a lot. Nobody reads this. It’s barely more than you and me here. So congratulations, this(you) represents the highpoint of ‘Stuck in the Rockies’ comment section, right here, today. If you’ll allow me, and at your request, I’d love to get back to talking about skiing and climbing and end this discussion. I would be better able to do that if I didn’t have to entertain you twice each day.

I only have one question I care to get a reply for: Yes or No- Can not two people respectfully disagree?