May 14, 2012
Dhaulagiri (7th highest at 8167m) from near Muktinath (Charlotte Austin)
Eben called this morning to say they had made it to Manang yesterday, and that they enjoyed food, showers, and entertainment (they watched “Vertical Limit†last night).  Pasang Nuri and Sante are headed back down to Besisahar with gear/porters and today the Sherpas are meeting the climbers at Yak Kharka and then they are headed to Phedi. Then, tomorrow, they cross the Thorung La (5,416m/17,769ft; La means pass) and descend to Muktinath and Jomsom, with the hope of flying back to Pohkara on the 16th. We had some sad news overnight — it sounds like one of the local Jomsom flights crashed today, so it is unclear how that event might affect the teams’ departure plans.  If necessary, they can depart Jomsom by vehicle (it is a very rough 12 hour drive or a 20 minute flight back to Pohkara). Either way, they should be back to Pohkara in the next couple days.
Eric Simonson