Matt Fioretti and Ama Dablam

A few years back my clients took an acclimatization hike toward a village called Dingboche.  I captured this photo on their return  and could not help but feel the immenseness of the mountains of the Himalayan range.  The mountain in the background is the Northern aspect of Ama Dablam.  To give you an idea of the size of these mammoth spirits………..   It would take about 4 hours to reach the base of the mountain from where they stand.  The summit is roughly another 3800 feet above the top of the photo or over a vertical mile from where the clients stand.  It takes an average of 22 days to climb to the summit from its base on the South West Ridge route the body working with 25% less oxygen.

  I have spent 105 days climbing this mountain over 3 different expeditions.  Thats 105 days in a tent, 105 days above 16,000 feet,  105 days without a shower?  HMMMMMM………………..

North Face of Ama Dablam.  Clients are standing at 16,000 feet.  click on photo to enlarge

Alive or Living

The definition of "alive".   We woke at 3am in the still, quiet, air of 15,600 feet. The thermometer sank to 21 degrees during the night, and a sliver moon back lit the night shyly.  You would think one would be inclined to burrow deep into the down sleeping bag and slumber back to a deep warm sleep.  Nope.  I was excited and very excited for my clients.  We were getting ready to hike to 17,800 feet to the summit of Gokyo Ri.  Yes a hike to 17,600 feet.  Clients stepped out into the night, none had been this high, none had attempted a hike of this magnitude, none had been out in the 3am dark donning high altitude down coats.  Our head lamps cut through the thin Himalayan air.  It was as if we were the only being on the planet as we walked between 20,000 foot peaks.  At the head of the valley stood Cho Oyu the 6th highest peak in the world.  The stream we crossed held the melt water of Cho Oyu. I could not help but think of the water flowing under me, how far has it traveled.  How far will it go.  A mystery for sure.

I thought about my life.  Am i alive?  As I walk to the base to start the 2400 foot vertical ascent with clients in tow, I felt 100% alive.  I could feel my breath, I could feel my heart beat.  I noticed the stars and the light reflecting off of snow,  thousands of winking crystals.  I was cognizant of every step, making sure to use my energy wisely.  The awareness of my thighs flexing every step up, made me mindful of the interlocking muscle groups, working together a kind of dance.  The moisture on my exhale visible, my body exuding water and mixing with the universe.  I could feel in these moments in this journey of thousands of mindful steps, that I was alive.

At home I live.  I go to work, pay bills, drive through the city numb.  I live but am not always fully alive. I rush.  I have appointments, the clock ruling me.  There are definitely times when I am alive but one has to pay attention or they pass.  

Alive or Living.  When alive we are fully experiencing our bodies, our breath, our movement.  When we are alive we feel the connection between our movements and our home, mother nature.  We are aware that we are apart of nature and that within this we, the grass, the snow crystal, the water flowing under foot all make up one.  The dried flower and dew drop, we are not separate.  

Bavarian Meats Seattle

I wanted to Thank "Bavarian Meats" in Seattle.  When your body is at altitude your heart rate is ramped up to accommodate the lack of oxygen.  For example your resting heart rate at sea level may be 60.  Above 15,000 feet your resting heart rate may be 75 or higher.  It is like you are on a long walk or jog 24 hours a day everyday you are at altitude.  For example this trek we jogged for 15 days straight 24 hours a day.  It is not uncommon to loose 5 to 12 pounds.  This trip I lost 6 pounds in 14 days.  Last trip eight.

 It is often not easy to keep up the calories because of this quickened metabolism.  I found that the Landjaeger Sticks that Seattle Bavarian meats supplied me made it easy to keep up my strength and calorie intake.  The meat is tasty.  I will use them on long runs, hikes, and alpine climbs.  They pack easy,  last, and are super yummy.  Definitely try the Landjaeger on your next outing.  I look forward to trying other meat specialties I spied when at the store in Pike Place Market.  Thank You Bavarian Meats.

Seeing

“You’ve seen one mountain you’ve seen them all.”   This was iterated to me a few years back while viewing the sun set on a peak called Cholatse in the Himalaya of Nepal. It stands at 21,130 feet.  The North Ridge rises 5000 feet straight out of the ground, a kind of knife reaching to the heavens, splitting the jet stream like butter. 

The Alpenglow on the summit became a brilliant red as the sun dipped to sleep.  High winds were blowing spindrift creating a fire in the sky, an effect no cinema could produce.  The energy that surrounded these moments in this mountain drama were as if on a roller coaster ride with mother nature.  

I remember replying to the gentleman, as the reds turned to violet then lavender, “You’ve seen one flower, bird, or symphony, you have seen them all.”  I did not mean to start an argument but realize it was an edgy comment.  He began with “Yeah but.........…”  

The sun dipping to sleep, I thought, was a miracle in itself an occurrence which I often take for granted.  It reminded me that seeing has very little to do with the eyes.

                 
Alpenglow, Mt Everest and Nuptse, with the jet stream hammering the heavens

Real Face Time

Do you ever think about the quality of connection you have with your friends through facebook or technology?  It is something I think about often as it is such a presence in our life.  We spend hours a day on Technology and it is something I hope we are all critically assessing.  

I believe technology is an outstanding “TOOL”.  Here I am ticking away a blog entry that hundreds will be able to read in minutes, Beautiful!  I often wonder however if the tool is becoming a substitute for real interpersonal, intimate connection with the ones close to us.  My thoughts and questions on this topic were magnified a thousand fold when I witnessed two older Nepali Gentleman boarding the flight from Korea to Kathmandu Nepal.

The plane was on hold for a single passenger who was running late.  Ten minutes after we were supposed to take off an older Nepali gentleman enters the plane calmly, where most of us would have been rushing with embarrassment.  I watched as he calmly walked down my isle.  I see a hand reach out to his elbow from someone sitting in the isle seat 3 rows in front of me.  The late Nepali man stops with a startle and looks down.  A big smile creases every space on his 70 year old face.  A warm Namaste flows from his heart!  I can see they are now clasping hands, old friends who may have not seen each other in years.  They begin a conversation.

Now remember everyone in the plane is probably eager to take off, we are ten minutes behind schedule, 300 people waiting.

The old friends talk as if they were sitting in their home perched in a terraced rice field in the foothill of the Himalaya.  The flight attendant comes and waives him on but he does not budge, he smiles gently acknowledging the flight attendant,  the conversation continues.

I look around the plane.  People on there games, phones, computers.  One looks from screen to the engaged old friends with a scorn.  Like a drug being administered he forgets as he melts into his computer game.

The old friends laugh as if they were telling old fishing stories, or talking about the last crop of potatoes, often grown in the terraced hills of Nepal.  The steward prods the gentleman again.  They smile, still are shaking hands, laugh and connect.  They must have talked for 5 more minutes.  Another flight attendant comes down the isle.  She says something polite.  The friend standing smiles at her and turns back to his sitting friend.  They continue with, Hows family?  How is your brother?  Did you finish your roof?  Their friendship true, in no hurry, face to face.

At first I was upset.  Here we are 300 people waiting for 10 minutes and now another 5 while this conversation happens.  Then something hit me, a sudden transformation or realization.  As I looked back to the man buried in his game I realized I was witnessing something that may be fading in the human race.  These 2 Nepali’s were exhibiting that which is inherent in remaining a kind and awakened species.  Something that we as humans should never lose.  The ability to sit face to face, talk, connect, look eye to eye.  It is real face time and there is no substitute.  Like a drug being administered, technology may be dulling our abilities to sit face to face or even recognize that this beautiful gift may be fading.  Pay attention, the world is not in your computer.  

Suggested reading.  If you are a parent a book called "Last Child in the Woods".  Adults,  "The Shallows".  

Thank You SteriPen

I have been guiding the Himalaya for 20 years.  I am now preparing for my 35th season at altitude in the mountains of Nepal.  With this many years at altitude you become specialized.  One of the keys to acclimatization is water intake, hydration.  I want my water processing for my clients and I to be efficient, light, and 100%.  For this combination I have been counting on Steripen.  No pumping, no squeezing, Light, compact, no cleaning.  Steripen has passed the rigors of expedition life, trail life, heavy use, and no water born illness since I started using the Steripen in 2006.  

Matt Fioretti    20 Expeditions, 34 seasons in Nepal, Bone Marrow Transplant survivor.    himalayahigh.blogspot.com

perception

Where your mind is at is where you are at.  If you are thinking in your mind that your situation is horrible then the situation cannot be anything but horrible.   However you have a choice.  Someone else in the same situation understands the possible horrible nature of the situation but experiences it in an entirely different way, perhaps more positive, by exercising choice of perception.

Our situation is only as our mind makes it.  Reading accounts of Prisoners of War who survived you will find they spent their days in the mind to find peace. They could find the positive in the retched. They could not be broken because of the mind, spirit connection.  Survivors understood that the retched captor could not capture the mind/spirit. It is only our mind that can truly jail us.

This mind spirit connection can be summed up by something I believe in.  "Where ever your mind is, thats where you are".  Further explanation comes from a quote by Pema Chodron.

"Whether we regard our situation as heaven or as hell depends on our perception"

The View from Renjo Pass

This photo was taken at 17,600 feet.  The central high peak is Mt Everest.  Notice the 3rd holy lake in the foreground.  If you look closely the village of Gokyo is upper left of the lake shore.  

Tibetan Yak Train

We crossed the Renjo La at 17,600 feet.  As we crested the pass heading West I could feel 600 years of Tibetan Yak trains.  Tibetans would load their yaks with bags of salt from Tibet, cross the Nangpa La into Nepal to pick up Rice.  This is no easy feat.  Imagine crossing, glacier with gaping crevasses and ice bridges with 800 pound animals.

Once on the Nepal side the tension subsides and Tibetan Folk songs ring through the valley.  Tibetans often whistle a tune that lulls Yak and herder into a meditation.  The occasional,  Ang Tashi, Ang Nima (yak names) echoing off the walls as the animals are persuaded to move faster.

On this trip I could hear the yak bells in the distance.  A kind of soft sound making one forget the miles under feet.

Spirituality is not a serious state

I always tease the Saddhus (holy men) at the Hindu Rain Temple.  I have found that they have great sense of humors and are very light hearted.

I was sitting with 2 holy men on a row of white painted steps.  Their red dress with dashes of yellow popped against the white.  Their dark eyes danced many a journey.   I joked with them "You like to sit here to watch the pretty girls."   A heaving body as they bowed their heads back and forth from the force of a big laugh.  They have sworn to celibacy.

I saw another Saddhu, sitting slumped, his body smeared with the clay of the holy temple grounds.  His hand held in a lazy Mudra (hand gesture of wisdom) "I jokingly said, "You look bored."  Thinking he would reply with some astronomical punctuation of wisdom.  He replied "Every Day"  with a big smile.

Thame Monastery Dog Rescue

We walked up the 300 year old trail to the Thame Monastery.  The final steps were steep.  We passed a grumpy, frumpy, monk descending the steps.  I said Namaste, he was silent.

As we walked into the courtyard we noticed a beautiful young dog laden with heavy chain around his neck.  The fir was warn away where the chain hung.  The dog had probably been chained since he was  a pup.

The clients and I moved closer.  The young dog wagged its tail and sat calmly has we glanced over his situation.  He had a water dish with drops of water in it.  He had a food bowl with a handful of rice.  To escape the elements he had nothing.  He was chained to a metal bar set in a cement wall that surrounded the court yard.  It was snowing now, he was wet.

I grabbed the chain around his neck and found the locking mechanism.  We decided to let him loose.

As the chains dropped from his neck he began sprinting around the court, a big smile on his face.  It was beautiful to see this dog and his first minutes of freedom.  He circled the monastery 3 times, darted toward Steve (a gentleman on our trek team) and because of the lack of experience with movement slid into his legs not knowing how to brake. His tail acted as a wild propeller, non stop turning, a happy dog for sure.

He went back to his food bowl and greedily finished his food.  He made a few more rounds around the monastery running, jumping, then exited the courtyard doors, a slight whirlwind flowing out into the expanses.

We returned to our tea house.  We found out the dog was actually the monks that we had passed on the steep stairs.  I thought about Buddhism and compassion.  I wondered what the monk what have felt like with a chain around his neck out in the open elements?  Maybe his intentions were pure but did not know how to take care of a dog?

What I do know is that we passed a grumpy, frumpy Monk,  and no dog should be chained in the elements without a roof over its head.  

Zing Bar

Thank You to the staff of Zing Bar.  When I get tired of Dhal Bhat, the staple Nepali meal, I would turn to a Zing Bar.  The Blue Berry flavor saved me on many a day when I was tired of rice and needed some energy to go higher.  This photo was taken after we crossed the 17,600 foot Renjo Pass.  I devoured the bar.

Comfort Zone

If we never get out of our comfort zone then we are staying still, nothing is changing.  If nothing is changing then we are not growing. Growth requires movement.  Thank You to my clients who show me every expedition and trek how they get out of their comfort zones and handle it with grace. Matt Fioretti

Freedom

On the way down from the Renjo pass we passed a older Sherpa gentlemen.  He was behind his stone hut working at something.  He raised his head and with a huge smile, hands pushed together centered at his chest and yells "Namaste!!!!"   He is so open and warm and I return with a healthy "Namaste".   He turns back to his task.

I glance over his situation.  He has a stone hut 8 feet by 9 feet long.  It is perched on a the only flat terrace on a broad mountain side at 13,200 feet.  As I glance back he is smiling while he sees us on.  He has nothing but a thick wool hat on, canvas pants darkened with mountain life, a smile that is as vast as the ocean.  Running near his hut is a small mountain stream, his life line.

I look miles to the north, only mountains and tundra, the border of Tibet beyond.  I look west, a great mountain wall looms.  I look to my left, East.  I see a small heard of huge beautiful yaks, his life's work.

I continue down and think of my life, our life in the United States.  We need insurances to keep from getting sued.  I have a mortgage which ways heavy.  Monthly bills.  Can our children walk to school alone as I once did?  Time seems to be a chain.  Can I move freely?  We fight to keep our guns.  If we need guns are we living in fear?  I do not know the answers but as I witness this Sherpa living in a stone hut with the cleanest water and unchained time, I believe we are missing something.  I can feel it in his smile.

I turn one last time and yell a "Nameste".  He stands, the happiest man on earth and returns "Namaste".

Renjo Pass, 17,680 feet

Greetings from the Renjo Pass.  All the group has made it over except for 2.  It is a beautiful walk which starts at the village of Gokyo and travels above the shores of the 3rd holy lake.  In1999 when I first crossed the pass there was a faint animal trail disappearing amongst boulders.  Once over the pass it was anyones guess as to the route down.  Now there is a good single track and built steps over the pass.  Still there were only 5 or 6 people traveling the route.  It remains peaceful. You can feel the spirit of the Tibetan Yak trains that used to carry salt over the Nangpa La pass to trade for rice.  A beautiful remote walk.  We all were in silence.  

Thank You to the Sherpas of Everest

Condolences and prayers to the families who lost loved ones in the Everest Avalanche.  Without your sons and fathers Everest would never get climbed.

 You are the ones that make it possible for all who do not have the skill or strength to fix rope.  You are the ones that make it possible for all.

I hope you realize how important you are, I hope you realize that Everest is your mountain.  The mountain does not belong to Western Guide Services it belongs to you.

You are the angels of everest both in the physical and, for those who have died on her slopes, spiritual.

Peace and prayers to the safe passage of lost ones and to the families left behind.  

outstanding clients

We have a group of outstanding clients.  The high altitude arena is a new frontier for most.  Often when we enter a new experience or arena we want to try to gain as much control as possible.  As we grasp the reigns the full possibility of the magic of travel in the mountains is often diminished.  I believe this to be true in life.  The harder we grasp the less the spontaneous and wild the experience.

 This is the first time to altitude for most of them and they have entered this new experience with open hearts.  We move up to 14,200 feet tomorrow.   I am excited to see friends in the Thame and Gokyo valley as well as get a closer look at a climb for next October.  Peace to all.

Shiva Temple Kathmandu

Real Holy Men at Pashuputinath.  The Saddhu on the left had walked barefoot to upper Mustang valley.

Today our trekking group had a great time at the Shiva temple.  We witnessed bodies being prepared for cremation.  Most of the holy men at the temple are just for show.  We ran into these two who actually walk to holy places barefoot with only a cotton shawl.  We are talking Himalayan trails barefoot and often with snow.  They never know when or where there next meal will come from.  They just walk without fear.

Sherpa in Los Angeles

A Sherpa friend of mine was visiting Los Angeles.  His adventure was relayed to me by a friend who lives in Aspen.  I thought of my Sherpa friend and his life.  Waking at 5 a.m. every morning to the silence of the Himalayan dawn.  Only the wind and mountains brush the high atmosphere, stirring the soul.  A true nature bath. 

My friend would start his prayer meditation, as most Sherpas from the Khumbu region do, each morning.  His home is nestled in a hanging valley at 14,600 feet, higher than any peak in the lower 48.  After prayer he would start a fire in the stove, bundle himself and go for a walk in the shadow of holy Mt. Khumbila.  There are no trails where he walks.  He has shown me places in the Gokyo Valley where no foreigner has been.  Snow leopard dance here.

When my friend in Aspen relayed the story of my Sherpa friends travels in Los Angeles she laughed and paraphrased a statement that he had said.  He was riding in a car down Interstate 5 looking around, maybe a slight hint of discuss on his face.  He says to the person driving the car ( imagine a strong Sherpa accent). “Here we are driving down highway, coffee in one hand, steering wheel in other hand, texting on phone, and no one knows where they are going.”  I know this friend well and believe this statement had a physical as well as a spiritual meaning to it.  I believe he was speaking in metaphor.

I am a bone marrow transplant survivor.  Death seemed near on many occasion in the 3 year journey. There were times during the ordeal when I felt I was walking through an endless dark night with no light in sight, deep endless dark.  The beauty of such a severe journey is the awareness that comes.  I remember my life before transplant and know my life after.

My Sherpa friends statement “no one knows where they are going” reminds me to be awake and aware of how I spend my minutes. Every moment is sacred and being mindful of these sacred moments makes us truly alive.  

Stairway to moon

Several years back I was sitting around a small fire in the remote Himalaya.  We had a diverse trekking group.  It was dark but the stars in North Nepal on the border of Tibet cast a wonderful sprinkle of light.

The conversation turned to the moon.  How Beautiful, How blue, How mysterious, A spiritual teacher, How men had been there, and walked in the unknown.  On that comment a Sherpa from a small village of 8 stone huts interrupted.  "No man has been there!"  He said it with complete conviction.  We all smiled, humbled by the purity of the Sherpas statement.  I said "Well yes, man has flown there".  I grabbed a stick and mimicked a rocket flight.

The Sherpas are mountain people, they walk everywhere.  They will walk 3 days to make a 3 minute phone call.  2 days to visit a friend for an hour.  The trails are stony and steep.

The Sherpa interrupted again "No! No! No!  You show me the trail that goes there."  

Nepal Expeditions 2015

Hello Everyone,
I am excited to announce our 2015 schedule of climbing expeditions in Nepal.  In March we will be returning to Kangchung Peaks.  Rarely climbed, remote Base camp, and no crowds.  In October I want to announce our return to Ama Dablam, a peak that challenges every skill of the Alpinist.  Feel free to call or email with questions.  Matt Fioretti has led 3 previous expeditions on Ama Dablam.  Join us for a fast and light expedition.  We limit our group size to 4 climbers.  Matt Fioretti brings you to the summit and more importantly, back home.

Chad Kellogg

                                        

Chad, you were a brother.  You were a force.  You were a true mountain breathing dragon, mountains oozed from your cells and you taught me so much about this. Thank You for all you gave to me and to human kind, the gift of kindness and humility. You followed your dream, no obstacles, just flight.  Your brother-ship was true.    Now I know you are an even greater force traveling well. 

Love you, love you all.  Matt