2024 Road Scholar XVI: Mount Everest Flight (10/16/2024)

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Fortunately we brought enough cash, as cash was preferred when paying for a flight to see Mount Everest. We had to leave the hotel at 5:00!

Once at the airport, we were on our own, but
we found Buddha Air and presented our list of
participants and received boarding passes,
then were bused out to the plane;
pretty amazing when we had not yet paid!

Turboprop regional airliner ATR 42-320

Only the window seats were occupied for the
flight that would fly east past the Himalayas to the
north (i.e., for the passengers on the left side), then
make a U-turn and fly back for us on the right side

We happened to have seats by the propeller engines;
although foggy in Kathmandu, flights to Mount Everest
only leave if it is clear enough at the mountains (KSS)

We are above the clouds

The two flight attendants ran up and down the aisles
to point out mountains to each passenger;
here the highest peak is Makalu at 8,485 m/27,838',
the fifth highest mountain on Earth

Most of the Himalaya mountains are tall, which is why
Mount Everest does not stand out at 8,848.86 m/29,031' 8.5",
the highest mountain on Earth above sea level;
its Nepali name is Sagarmatha/goddess of the sky
and its Tibetan name is Qomolangma/holy mother

Zooming in on Mount Everest; to the right are Lhotse
(8,516 m/27,940'), the 4th highest mountain on
Earth, and Lhotse Shar (8,383 m/27,503')

Okay, not so zoomed in

Panorama from perhaps Numbur to Everest (KSS)

Glaciers

Gauri-Shankar (7,134 m/23,406'), Melungtse
(7,181 m/23,560'), and Chugimago (6259 m/20,535')

Zoomed in on Melungtse

Gauri-Shankar mountain

Langtang Lirung to maybe Choba-Bhamre (KSS)

Langtang Lirung (7,234 m/23,734')

Sunkoshi River in the Himalaya foothills

Bagmati River at the top of the photo

Kathmandu housing

On the way back to the hotel for breakfast, we passed the
statue (2008) of the Nepali poet, Chittadhar Hridaya 

Kalimati Fruits & Vegetables Market (est 1987),
the biggest wholesale market in Nepal

The Soaltee Kathmandu Hotel (1965-1966)