A very dramatic exit!

Leave it to me....

My mountain adventure has come to an end folks. I got hit with high altitude sickness like a ton of bricks three days ago and was evacuated down the mountain in a helicopter this morning. It was very dramatic. I suppose if they actually had roads they might have driven me in an ambulance or something but they don't so... you get a helicopter! The heli was supposed to come yesterday but it was foggy between Lukla and Namche so they couldn't make it. It arrived this morning at 7:15 to whisk me down to a lower altitude.

I didn't want to come down but our guides wouldn't let me go any further... it would be very dangerous and potentially deadly. So I stayed behind as my group continued on from Dingboche to Lobuche. I was just 3000 feet below Base Camp.

I am terribly disappointed but you have to be smart and listen to what your people tell you on the mountain. I was so out of it that I couldn't have made the decision myself anyway. I am back in Kathmandu now and feeling much better. I'm trying to get on outta here, since being in Kathmandu for the next week alone sounds less than exciting.

So I hope that no one is disappointed in me... I am enough for myself. I'm sorry I couldn't make it guys but there is just nothing I could do about it. High altitude sickness is not picky or forgiving and it strikes when it wants to. Sucks for me but oh well. Just glad to be safe and clean.

Oh, if you heard about the plane crash in Lukla yesterday - don't worry, I wasn't on the flight! That runway is crazy; you have to land up a hill and the runway STARTS at a cliff. It looks like the pilot just came in too low and flew into the cliff below the runway. I saw the debris from the crash this morning when we landed in Lukla to refuel. I think Chris was the only one who heard about it (thank goodness mom didn't!!) as the only messages I got about it were from him. Everyone on board was killed but the pilot and he is in critical condition. They were mostly German but also some Aussies were on board. The scary thing is that it was Yeti Airlines, the airline we flew on the way to Lukla, and it could have been any plane coming in there. All it would take is a gust of wind or a bit of fog and you end up flat like a pancake on the side of a cliff. It's very dangerous and a scary place to land. I got a bit of footage this morning of a plane taking off downhill that y'all will have to see. It's unreal.

Love to you all!

Lindsey

Thursday, Kathmandu, 3:27pm