All systems go ...

A reasonably hassle free journey to Kathmandu with a Billy bonus complimentary upgrade for 4 of us on the second leg of the journey from Bahrain.

A quick turn around at the hotel, a fab Thai meal and a couple of sherberts at Sam's Bar before retiring, somewhat jetlagged, to bed at the Hotel Manaslu.

Having had breakfast and set some of the group off on their sightseeing tour I'm now sat in Java Coffee having a quick catch up with Kame, our Sirdar, so we can put the finishing touches to quite a complex logistical matrix.

Next stop is Iswari's office, our Kathmandu agent, for final paperwork and then some shopping for supplies.

Meeting the group shortly at Mike's Breakfast.

...

So, shopping now complete, gear all distributed to wherever it needs to be for the various collections over the next few days. We're being collected at 05.15 tomorrow morning for the first flight and, weather permitting, we'll be in Lukla for breakfast.

Then we trek. Our plan is to take a leisurely 3 weeks touring an area to the West of The Khumbu to enable us to chill, get trek fit, get acclimatised, cross a few high passes, climb a peak, contemplate the task ahead of us and, most importantly, to bond. We've got a great team and already they are getting on fantastically. Yes, Everest is a very personal challenge, but it's also a great place to be if you are sharing it with friends and, ultimately, it will make us a much stronger and dynamic team rather than a bunch of disparate (and desperate) clients if we all know and trust each other before getting stuck in to the Big job. The psychological pressure is enormous but we hope to alleviate that by having fun Fun FUN for the whole trip. Light hearted entertainment with a really serious undertone.

Just managed to fit in a quick shave at the barbers so now feeling a tad fresher. Got some repacking to do, meet the group, go for a pizza, have a beer, unpack, sort, repack, grab some sleep and then put the finishing touches to the unpacking and repacking.

Ciao for now. Tim and the team.