So I still have one post to write, the flight out and the last 3 three days in Kathmandu. But for now here is the whole trip. I also want to make one more (I’m likely lying and will in fact make further requests) request for a donation to the MMRF.
The MM4MM video. Gives me goose bumps
We had two photographers, John and Ben, with us and they just crushed it. Amazing work!
Day 12 of the #MM4MM Adventure: Escape from Himalayan Mountain
Someone was very concerned about snoring last night. Everytime either Ben or I started to snore we got a sudden, loud, and quite frankly, violent knock on the wall. At this time it seems prudent to remind my dear readers that everything man-made you see in the Himalayas has came up on the back of …
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Day 11 of the #MM4MM: The day we actually go to Everest Basecamp
Just like the day before we wake up early to get an early start on a big day but events conspired to push us our start time back. We met in the commons room of the tea house at 6:45, when we were promised breakfast. Cornflakes, porridge and hard boiled eggs weren’t served until 7:20. …
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Day 10 #MM4MM: The day we were supposed to go to Everest Basecamp
The plan was to get a slightly earlier start. Instead of rolling at 8:30 we were going to start hiking at 8:00. This didn’t happen. Renee had a rough night. She had a severe splitting headache. She was nauseated. She was a mess. It was an easy decision to evacuate her by helicopter. Shawn, of …
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Day 9 of the EBC adventure: Trekking to Lobuche
I woke up at the usual6 AM, but this time to bad news. Kirk had a rough night. Splitting headache, nausea, fatigue, and no sleep from 12:30 to 6 AM. He had acute mountain sickness (AMS). He scored 5 on the Lake Louise AMS scoring system, not including the headache. The move here is immediate …
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Day 8: The Trip to Dengboche
We started the morning in Tengboche. I slept through the night for the first time since coming to this side of the globe. Only took me a week to flip my biologic clock. We were sleeping at 12,000 feet, the altitude at the top of Breckinridge. Anytime I have been at the peak of Breck, …
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Day 7 of the #MM4MM EBC Adventure: We meet a real teahouse
After a rest day in Namche it is back to the dusty trail as we hike from Namche Bazar to Tengboche. Up to now our rooms on the trek have had amenities like electric outlets and in-room bathrooms, well we made it to Tengboche and the teahouse had neither of these. There are two wash …
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Day 6 of the #MM4MM Journey to Everest Basecamp: Vacation Day
Namche Bazar for a day with no hiking. We were spending a rest day before going any higher to help with acclimatization. This is the only non-hiking day we have on the trek. This meant a luxurious 9:00 Am breakfast time. After breakfast Silva, Jeff, John, Paul, and Jim walked about 20 minutes to the …
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Day 5 of the #MM4MM EBC adventure: Trekking
So the plan for the day was to wake up early and hike 3 hours to Phakding, meet the rest of the group, the 6 who slept there and the 7 who will be flying in by helicopter. Then hike 7 hours to Namche Bazar. A long day but one that puts us back on …
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Day 4: The Hubris of Himalayan Mountain Itineraries, #MM4MM
Today was the day we were going to the mountain. The itinerary was clear: fly from Kathmandu to Lukla and then hike 3 miles downhill to Phakding. It didn’t work out quite that way. We woke up at 4:45 for a 5:00 AM breakfast followed by a group picture and a bus ride to the …
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Day 3 of the #MM4MM Trek to Everest Basecamp, a day in Kathmandu
Today was the last day before we begin trekking. As usual I woke up early, though it is getting later and later as my biological time zone catches up to my geographic time zone. I had a decent breakfast with most of the team. After breakfast I needed to replace the toiletries that I left …
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Day 2 of #MM4MM, the trip to Kathmandu
All day I have been trying to think of a funny joke among the line of “What’s an interventional cardiologist’s favorite city? Kathmandu.” Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Keep the day job. I woke up at 1:00 AM Went back to bed until 3:00 AM Got up and started my day. Figured out to use …
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Day 1 on the #MM4MM: The flight of the endless sunset
So the trip to Everest Basecamp began yesterday. Cathy took Jeff, Silva and I to the airport Thursday morning. I dropped my altimeter (gift from Rose and John) going through security. 😢 First casualty of the trip. We then met John Raithel at the gate and boarded our A350. About this time it started snowing. …
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#MM4MM…And so it begins
Cathy (who didn’t want to be in the picture) drive us to the airport. Next stop Seoul and then Kathmandu.
Everest. Myeloma. And the centrality of hope.
John Raithel and his doctor @Amyloid_Planet are part of my team trekking to Everest Base Camp #MM4MM @theMMRF https://t.co/zhKawBE0El — Joel M. Topf, MD FACP (@kidney_boy) February 24, 2018 John Raithel and Jeffrey Zonder are on the Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma team going to Everest Base Camp. John’s story is incredible. Check out …
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