I consider myself very lucky to be a part of this expedition. I'm here with my good friends Ben and Josh, and have been able to share the approach with my girlfriend M'Lin. And what an experience it has been!

When you think of Nepal, the first thing that usually comes to mind is MOUNTAINS. So even though I had been warned, it came as a shock when we landed our little Twin Otter on the grass strip of Tumlingtar in the middle of the jungle, with out a peak in sight.

One of the most striking features of Nepal are the people. It is almost like the people are genetically predisposed to be friendly. From the greeting of Namaste, to the rarely said yet deeply felt thank you of Dhanyabhad, the people I have met are kind and helpful.

This adventure has been a lot about perspective for me. It is difficult to get used to having people carry my gear, set up camp, and cook our meals. Yet as the trek went on, I realized that you can't do a trip like this on your own, the scale is to large. In addition, this is their job, and it is a continuation of the daily reality here. There are few roads and few pack animals. If goods are to travel from place to place, it will be on the back of a porter. By using porters we add to the local economy, and more importantly have the opportunity to interact with some pretty cool people.

Now that we are at base camp, I can think about the climb we are going to undertake. If I break it down, it all makes sense. Base camp is just under 17,000ft. The summit of Baruntse is at 23,390, so a gain of 6,390ft or so. I've done that before. The ski will be something under that, conditions allowing. Big, but not too big. So intellectually, big but doable. That doesn't stop me from looking out the tent door at Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, and saying Holy Sh--!

This was a bit of a ramble, but so much to say! Hi mom & dad!