Episode 041 "Our Town"

Miller, Party of Five? When I arrived at Everest I couldn't get over how desolate it seemed to be here. More than a month later it feels like home.

When you first step foot at Base Camp, you haven't had proper time to acclimate to the altitude. It is over 17,000 feet after all. You have a headache, stomach ache, disorientation and lack of appetite. You miss your wife, your family and a good night's sleep.

I remember thinking that at the higher altitude I would feel closer to my father who had passed away in 1997. I thought maybe he'd be up there; so close to the sky. I was very disappointed when I arrived and felt that there was no way my dad was up here. It's just such a rough place. I wouldn't wish that on him. But now I've changed my mind.

See, Everest has evolved in my head while I've been here. I've acclimated, I've experienced so much of the beautiful culture up here, I've made so many wonderful friends. Tonight Rupert, Stuart, Julian, Richard and I headed into the little Tibetan village at the foot of Base Camp. There's a little restaurant there made out of tarps and other scavenged building materials. The food is wonderful and we've visited this establishment many times. It's like the neighborhood cafe. Good food, good chai, good company and conversation. It's not so bad here after all. We are our own little community.

It was a family joke that my father--a very friendly man--could have a pleasant conversation with a tree. He had quite the gift of gab. Well, I am my father's son. I've made friends with people from Russia, England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Tibet and Nepal to name just a few. I guess my father is here after all. He's inside me.

Jon Miller

Total Running Time: 24:07

Tibet 2007 Update:

Back to Everest!

On April 1st, 2007I'll be returning to Kathmandu and eventually Everest Base Camp to check in with some new teams and to generally have a new adventure. I am so grateful to all of you who have supported me and my little experiment in this new medium: podcasting.

I will be launching a new section of the website in the next couple of weeks to help document this new adventure. Please stay subscribed to The Rest of Everest for more information on how to follow along.

There's so much more to show all of you. Stay tuned.

Namaste!

Jon

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