The episode covers the descent down to Namche Bazaar and on to Lukla, two milestones of any trek on Everest's South Side. Namche represents the gateway to the High Himalaya, while Lukla is of course the location of the airport that shuttles trekkers and climbers back and fourth from Kathmandu.
One of the early images in the video that brought back memories for me was the sight of a Sherpa carrying a very heavy load on his back as he moved swiftly down the trail. It is amazing to watch them come and go on these very steep trails, usually passing us much slower visitors, as they deliver all kinds of supplies to the higher portions of the valley.
Jon Miller groupies will especially want to tune into this episode as at one point we get video of the ROE producer removing his base layers as the group descended to lower altitudes and the warmth really started to kick in. This was footage I couldn't relate to, because on my trek I rarely need to don the long johns. I think I put on those base layers only for the final leg from Gorek Shep up to EBC. After that, they came off again and went back into the pack.
One thing I could relate to was the brief discussion on the loss of weight while on the trek. By the time I returned home, my clothes were literally hanging off of me, and I actually felt underweight. As a runner and cyclists, I tend to stay in good shape and don't carry much extra weight anyway, but after a trek like this one, I really did feel too thin. It was not a good feeling.
The rest of the episode captures the typical great footage from the trek and it truly is the next best thing to being there. For those who haven't gone, this is excellent prep work for a future trek. For those of us who have been there, it's nostalgia central. It makes me really want to go back!
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