Holbrook

This is Mark Holbrook checking in from home after many days of traveling.

To take you back to our escapades in Tibet, we had a bit of trouble with the Chinese Mountaineering Association and their cost for extra yaks. Mr. Zhao, our LO, informed us that he was sorry about our friends but we owed the CMA an additional $8000 for the extra yaks required to haul our gear up and down.

Andrew stepped up to the plate and decided that a little confrontation with the CMA was due. The first argument lasted about three hours and had both sides leaving the table a few times. We offered $1000 and they did some "new math" and recalculated the total to $22,000. The negotiation ended in a stalemate with Andrew and Mr. Zhao deciding to continue the debate in Nyalam with the Tibet Mountaineering Association.

The rest of the team got the loads ready for the yaks and built a nice Chorten monument for Alex and David. We doubled the size of the existing Chorten and made it into a bench-like structure. Buddha and Chippi helped us carve two flat stones with Alex and David's names and we each left a small offering of remembrance.

The trek down took us two days and provided lots of time to remember the events and our friends. It was hard to leave such a beautiful place, but the thought of returning home and sharing some time with family kept us marching on. At the top of the upper bench ridge we met up with David's friends Heidi and Cherie. Both were trekking to ABC to pay their respects. We spent the night chatting with them about the accident and trip, then finished the trek to Nyalam.

Andrew had had some success with the CMA and they had arrived at a fair price of $3500. In the process, the interpreter, Mr. Wang, was fired as a way to save Mr. Zhao from losing face. Andrew said he derived great pleasure from the melee and at one point he told them that we would all just stay in Tibet and get jobs as Yak Men because they get paid so well.

The trip across the border was smooth and we arrived in Kathmandu early in the evening. We had a day to gather up our things in Katdu and then in the morning we went to the Boudhanath Temple for a candle-lighting ceremony. We lit 216 candles for Alex and David and another 108 candles for friends taken in the past. The flames leapt at us and into our minds, burning the vivid memories of our friends into them forever.

Finally it was off to the airport and the hassles that accompany having 40 something bags for seven people. The Thai Airways people were a big help and we had just a small excess bag fee. It is amazing that we needed so many baby strollers for this trip (no excess fee for these things). The flight was uneventful and offered a chance to catch up on sleep.

Yesterday, we all traveled a bit more and attended Alex's Celebration of Life in Bozeman, MT. It was a wonderfully planned celebration which included music, talks by friends, and lots of tears. I'm sure that Alex would have appreciated the comments.

This quote was given in the program and was found in Alex's office:

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." — Helen Keller

Most of the team is taking a few more days to ponder the meaning of what has happened. I'm not sure we will find any answers. In the next week or so, we will celebrate David's life and hopefully gain some insight into his extraordinary abilities.

Thanks for all joining us on our adventure! Hopefully we can do it again on better terms.

— Mark Holbrook, MountainZone.com Correspondent

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