The plan for today was to leave the Radisson at 5am for an early flight to Lukla. From there we would start our trek, walking about 3 hours to our first campsite, at Ghat. That was the plan…
The day started with a wake up call at 4 o’clock followed by a famous Radisson breakfast. We made it to the airport and layered on our heavy clothes to bring our bags under the 10kg weight limit. We were all pumped for the exciting but slightly nerve wracking flight into one of the world’s sketchiest airports, and to finally get up into the mountains. It wasn’t long before our departure was set back an hour due to poor visibility at Lukla. This delay was the first of many. The hacky sacks came out and we caused heaps of trouble in the airport, coming very close to taking out a few bystanders, some of which joined in on the fun. As the morning went on and the airport seats became increasingly uncomfortably, our hopes of flying were fading. If the conditions in Lukla didn’t improve by 1:30 we would have to make a plan B. Unfortunately things didn’t go our way. We headed back into Kathmandu for a late lunch/early dinner and checked back into the Radisson. The forecast for tomorrow looks promising, so if everything goes well we should be able to make up the lost time. Although the day was a bit disappointing, we were reminded of the reality of expeditions like these and now get to put ourselves through another buffet breakfast.
By Ryder