Burleson

Click to hear Todd Burleson's audio dispatch recorded over sat-phone.
From Burleson's Audio Dispatch:
Hi, it's Todd. I'm in Lukla [9,400'] right now. It took me two more days to get up here. It's the 10th my time; it's pitch black out here; some wild dogs running around. I had a small, bell helicopter fly me up today, and we got just beneath Shyangboche, which is where we land in Namche [11,300'], but it was just too clouded in to land, so we circled for about a half an hour, and they flew me down to Lukla.

Though I AM in Lukla, thank God -- spent 12 days trying to get out of Kathmandu. It's great to be up here. I'm all alone. I've hired a couple of porters; they'll move up with me tomorrow. I'll go direct from Lukla to Namche tomorrow. Looked through all my gear -- getting ready to go higher. I hope I catch up to the guys.

It's great to be in the Khumbu! The air is clean. It's been raining a lot and snowing in the mountains, so sounds like things are challenging. I talked to some trekkers coming down from Base Camp in the last 4 or 5 days, and everyday it's snowed in the afternoons. Hopefully, it's not going to make a big difference on the mountain.

Everything is good. I'm excited to be here and excited to get physical again and start moving my body around instead of being dormant in Kathmandu. I hope everybody at The Mountain Zone is doing great. You guys take care, and I'll keep you updated. Talk to you soon.

-- Todd Burleson, Expedition Leader