The Rest of Everest 3D (Anaglyph)
By Jon Miller
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Podcast Description
An Almost Unabridged Expedition Experience--Now In 3D. High Definition anaglyph format for viewing with standard red/blue glasses. Stereoscopic 3D footage from Season 5 of The Rest of Everest. This podcast simply augments the main podcast feed. If an episode from Season 5 contains 3D material--not all do--then it will end up here in it's entirety. For more information on The Rest of Everest, please visit http://www.therestofeverest.com
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| 1 | CleanVideoEpisode 169: Building Bridges | It's Not Just A Metaphor. The Kangshung region around Everest truly has some of the most remarkable campsites I've ever experienced. The one we're at for tonight is grassy and flat with a little trickle of a stream running through the middle of it. Beautiful. We were supposed to be spending a rest day here to get ready for the strenuous last bit of hiking towards base camp but unfortunately there was an error in our itinerary. We don't have time for the rest day...we've already used it. I had to break the bad news to the group over dinner tonight. I know most of the team will be fine without the extra rest but there are a few people who appear to be exhausted. Luckily the staff has stated that if some people want to stay behind and rest, they'll make it work. So, that's one less thing for me to worry about. There are many variables on this trip to the Kangshung Face of Everest. The region is still wild and relatively unknown. There are no towns, tea houses or outposts to speak of. There aren't even any other visitors here besides us. The only constant that I have is the amazing team of individuals that constitute The Staff. These men, ranging in age from early 20's to late 50's, are the rock that the success of our team is perched upon. They know the intricacies of a trekking expedition like the back of their hand. They know how much food to bring and what kinds of food to bring. They know how much water is needed on a daily basis. They know how many supplies will be needed and how many yaks and porters to hire. They intuitively know how to read the trekkers and understand who is doing well and who needs more attention and support. They instinctively know just how much exertion or bodies can handle and when we need a rest break. Even though only Chimi and a few of the yak men have ever been to Everest's Kangshung Face the staff is able to make us all feel at home here. Then, on top of all of that, tonight we discovered that each and every one of these guys has a bit of MacGyver in him. After dinner was over Roger mentioned to Pemba that the bridge crossing the river behind camp was missing. The primitive abutments were still in place but the bridge itself had washed away. A bridge looked like the only way to cross the river and head out of camp towards the next evening's destination. In the blink of an eye the entire staff descended upon the problem: the bridge must be rebuilt. Luckily the timbers that spanned the abutments were only washed a short distance downstream and so several guys jumped across the river and were able to recover them. Before long one beam was put back in place, then another and another until there was a working bridge spanning the rushing water. They weren't finished, though. Someone found some heavy gauge wire and the team of bridge builders set to work wiring the timbers together and reinforcing the entire structure with boulders and large rocks. Simon and Garfunkel eat your heart out. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 35:37 | 5/16/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 2 | CleanVideoEpisode 168: The Kangshung Face | Third Side's A Charm. This morning Everest finally revealed her last secret as we were able to get a clear view of her East Side, the mysterious Kangshung Face. The weather was as clear as it could possibly be and the white snow covering her flanks looked dazzling in contrast to the deep blue sky. We call this tallest mountain on the planet by three names. Westerners refer to her as Everest in honor of Sir George Everest, the British Surveyor General of India during the mid 19th century. In Nepal, she's officially called Sagarmatha which literally means "forehead of the ocean" but generally interpreted to mean "Goddess of the Sky". Interestingly enough,very few actually use Sagarmatha because the name was created by the Nepali government in the 1960s as a way to infer ownership over the peak. Ah, politics. In general, the local peoples surrounding the world's tallest mountain call her by the Tibetan name of Chomolungma or Qomolangma. Of course Chomolungma means different things to different people. Some believe it to mean "Goddess Mother of Snows" or "Highest Mountain". I've also heard that it means "Big Hen" as in a female chicken with it's feathers all puffed out. Luckily, the most adhered to definition of Chomolungma is "Mother Goddess of the Universe". Whether you call her Everest or Sagarmatha or Chomolungma, the tallest mountain in the world has 3 distinct sides (the South Face, North Face and East Face) and is therefore large enough to accommodate all of them. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 36:43 | 5/9/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 3 | CleanVideoEpisode 167: Poolside On The Plateau | Uniquely Something Special. We finished our beautiful day of trekking towards Everest's Kangshung Face by descending into an amazing campsite. Tonight our little backcountry village has been set up in a stunning alpine cirque at the shore of a small glacial lake. I find myself searching for superlatives to describe these places we've been walking through. Beautiful. Amazing. Stunning and the like. Of course, words completely fail to do these places justice. You really have to be here to fully comprehend and understand. I hope that the video I'm filming will at least provide a small glimpse of how special this part of the world is. But there's a larger part of this experience that I know video will never be able to convey. The visual beauty of this part of Tibet is totally eclipsed by something that's even more difficult to describe: the feeling of this place. I've mentioned it before but I don't know if I've ever been able to do the concept justice. Everest doesn't exist by itself and the act of visiting the mountain or climbing it doesn't exist in a vacuum. Every step of the journey has a kind of richness to it that's tangible and real when you're here but dissipates into the ether when you return to your everyday life. It's not just the sense of adventure or camaraderie we're experiencing. This LAND has a certain mystical quality to it that you can actually feel. This is one of the reasons I film as extensively as I can on these trips. It's not to simply share the trekking experience with the world but to try and bottle some of that feeling. I guess all I can do is to do my best to describe what I'm experiencing and hope that people will be inspired by what they've seen. Inspired enough to come out here and experience all of this for themselves. If that's the case then my failure will be successful. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 34:17 | 5/2/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 4 | CleanVideoEpisode 166: See The Forrest For The Trees | It's My Show, I Can Do What I Want! All rested up, we left our camp this morning and headed out to make more progress towards Everest's Kangshung Face. This trek has already shown us several surprises. The most striking surprise has been the absolute absence of people besides our group. We're on our own and it's very cool. Today the next striking surprise was revealed to us. TREES! That's right, we walked right into a forrest today. Now, it wasn't a large forrest but it was dense and full of pine trees and Rhododendrons. Absolutely beautiful--especially because it provided some nice shade during the hot morning and had abundant views of high peaks around every corner. I really wasn't expecting to see any trees on this trek. This is certainly not my first time on the Tibetan Plateau and the one thing I just don't associate with Tibet is trees. Especially at our current altitude of over 4000m or 13,000ft. Obviously this stand of trees is a bit unique and they're pushing the envelope of existence. As I walked among the trees I began to realize that I was extremely happy, almost giddy. In fact things got a bit silly on and off camera as I filmed myself enjoying the morning. I guess it just goes to show how important trees are to our psyche. Yes, folks, you heard it here first. Trees are good. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 37:57 | 4/25/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 5 | CleanVideoEpisode 165: Women’s Work? | Sleeping The Sleep Of The Just. The Just Plain Tired. Our first full day trekking towards Everest's Kangshung Face was epic and exhausting so we were treated today to some much deserved rest. Apparently we were never meant to walk as far as we did yesterday but unfortunately the planned campsite didn't have a usable water source. Now that we've all had a good night's sleep I have to say that I'm quite impressed with our current camp and it's bountiful natural amenities. We have a box canyon at our backs which means there's no wind. The scenery to our front consists of beautiful snow-capped peaks. The yaks seem to have plenty of grass to graze on. We even solved the water issue with a clear, cold stream that flows gently through camp. All in all a nice place to spend a couple of nights! The stream also became a source of entertainment as Erin, Damion and Stephan took the opportunity to do some laundry. Well, more specifically I think Erin did laundry for all three of them. I'm going to chock that up as one of the wonders of Tibet. There's even rumor that they went swimming. Later in the day a small team decided to make their way up to what looked like a cave high up on the far side of the canyon. While they were up there the high vantage point provided a good view of the steep trail we descended yesterday. Apparently it wasn't really a trail at all but the dry remnants of what can only be described as a waterfall! That descent was incredibly difficult for everyone but I shudder to think what it would have been like it the water was flowing. Did we get off easy this time? I wonder what other challenges this wild trek has to offer? Jon Miller Total Running Time: 36:55 | 4/17/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 6 | CleanVideoEpisode 162: Lazarus of Lhasa | Welcome Back To The Land Of The Living! After lunch we headed back on the road for the last bit of driving towards our first campsite. The trekking portion of this trip is almost here!!! The Land Cruisers have been comfortable for the overland traveling towards Everest, but my feet are itching for some good hiking. We make a quick pit stop for some "bio breaks" this afternoon and as we walked back to our vehicles we noticed that there was an extra Land Cruiser parked amongst our caravan. As I was scratching my head, Lobsang walked over to me, pointed and simply said, "Damion!" I followed the direction of his outstretched arm and saw Damion standing against a wall, camera in hand, and though he was wearing a bandanna on his face I could sense that he didn't appear sick anymore. The team descended upon Damion and there was a joyful flurry of handshakes and hugs. We had all been so worried and concerned about him and now he was here and in great spirits. The reunion was short lived as we piled back into the vehicles for the last push to Camp 1. It was absolutely a great afternoon but it got even better. We pulled in to our camp site and those of us with previous Himalayan camping experience were astounded to see a trifecta of the best campsite attributes: a neighboring river and completely flat ground covered by soft grass. It was raining while we were setting up camp but there were obviously high winds aloft as they were pushing the rainclouds away with tremendous speed. The clouds parted and the late afternoon sun surrounded us with it's warm golden light. It was a day of miracles. We've seen Everest with our own eyes, Damion has cheated death and rejoined the team, Camp 1 is a perfect green oasis in a deep river valley on the Tibetan Plateau. Perhaps we've discovered Shangri-La? Jon Miller Total Running Time: 35:46 | 3/14/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 7 | CleanVideoEpisode 161: EVEREST! | The Tallest One In The Middle. This morning we passed a real milestone for the trek: we saw Everest in person with our own eyes from the top of Pang La. Crossing this pass is always a real highlight on the drive to Basecamp or in our case the drive to our first camp since we won't see BC for a couple of weeks. Topping out on Pang La is a real "event" and the road was coincidentally built to heighten the drama and anticipation. You start the morning not far from New Tingri and drive until you see a small dirt spur road marked by a simple sign. The sign is blue and shows a drawing of the North Face of Everest with an arrow pointing "thattaway". After passing through yet another military checkpoint you begin a long series of steep switchbacks. The road climbs and climbs and climbs higher and higher until you begin sensing that there's something up ahead out of view. It's something big but the view is completely obstructed. Finally the road levels out for a short distance and you make a right turn around a blind corner and BAM! There's an unobstructed view of some high peaks in the distance. Of course these aren't just any peaks...they're 4 of the highest mountains in the world, all in a line. There's Makalu the 5th highest in the world reaching 8,481m/27,825ft, Lhotse the 4th highest in the world at 8.516m/27,940ft, and Cho Oyu the 6th highest in the world at 8,201m/26,906ft. Then, in the middle, clearly taller than the rest is Everest. Chomolungma. The tallest mountain on the planet at 8,848m/29,035ft. Our weather was glorious and the peaks shone brightly against a deep blue sky. It was a perfect moment and the only thing we couldn't see was Everest's Kangshung Face. That mysterious place is our next destination. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 33:55 | 3/7/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 8 | CleanVideoEpisode 159: The Maitreya Buddha | Did I Mention That It's Big? We spent the morning today exploring the Tashilhunpo Monastery here in Shigatse. I've been waiting to return to this monastery since the moment I left it back in 2007. I was incredibly impressed with the large statue of the Maitreya Buddha but filming it was off limits. No so this year, but more on that later. The Tashilhunpo Monastery is truly a city within a city. Within the monastery's walls are a tightly regulated population of monks numbering in the thousands. Around 4,000 as I understand it. The monastery was founded during the mid 15th century by the first Dalai Lama and is the traditional seat of the "Tashi" or Panchen Lama. The monastery grounds are a labyrinth of walking paths and alleyways between buildings. One of the things that blows my mind is that even though it's crowded now, apparently 2/3 of it's buildings were destroyed during China's Cultural Revolution! Hard to imagine what this place must have been like 100 years ago. Hearing about the Cultural Revolution here in Tibet continually causes my heart to ache. In addition to the Panchen Lama, Tashilhunpo Monastery is also famous for a relatively new addition to it's ancient grounds, the century-old statue of the Maitreya Buddha. I went on and on about this statue in 2007 and it was no different this year aside from one small detail: this year I was able to film the statue! The Maitreya Buddha is the largest indoor statue of a sitting Buddha in the world and seeing it for the first time produces a true jaw-dropping moment. The buddha is enormous, gilded, colorful and beautiful. Everything seems to be big in this part of the world but still, the size of Tashilhunpo's Maitreya Buddha makes your head hurt. It's big. Very big. Extremely big. Amazingly big. Tremendously big. Magnificently big. I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that it's big. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 32:34 | 2/22/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 9 | CleanVideoEpisode 158: The Lhassi Club | Breakfast of Champions. We finished the day in Gyantse by touring the remarkable Kumbum, a 15th century temple containing "100,000" holy images of Buddha. Once again, the Kumbum was a building I was really looking forward to revisiting since exploring it in 2007. Kevin and I spent the afternoon together walking in and out of the Kumbum's 77 chapels. There's so much to see and never enough time. Each chapel is distinct and full of statues, murals and engravings which conspire, to inspire, a total visual overload. In addition to it's sacred imagery, the Kumbum is famous for it's unique architecture. You can climb from level to level through passages and stairs in it's center. After we had all made our way up to the top it was time to move on and we stopped for a quick lunch. The group has become particularly fond of Lhassi, a cultured yogurt drink popular throughout India and up into the tibetan Plateau. It's delicious, and through a series of inside jokes the group has created a Lhassi Club and declared Roger as President, an appointment that will last in perpetuity. After lunch we continued on our way to Shigatse but took a nice driving break at a small Tsampa mill. Tsampa is a staple food in Tibet and consists of roasted barley flour mixed with salty yak butter tea. When combined, the flour and butter tea form a pasty dough. Most tibetans eat Tsampa at least once a day and, for some, it's their primary food source. Lobsang always eats Tsampa for breakfast and will expound upon it's virtues if asked. He says it really sticks to your ribs and can give you energy to last all day long. There's also obviously a real ritual in how everyone eats it. Tsampa is always mixed freshly at every meal by hand. It was a lot of fun to watch the barley flour be ground in exactly the same way it has been for centuries by water power. Tsampa really is amazing. The only problem? It tastes like roasted barley flour mixed with salty yak butter tea. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 42:27 | 2/14/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 10 | CleanVideoEpisode 157: The Roger Huff Show | New Laughter From Old Jokes. We spent the night here in Gyangtse and spent the morning touring the Palcho Monastery. It's a wonderful place to visit but one of the most interesting events of the day happened well before setting foot inside the monastery's walls. Just after breakfast Roger, Thilo and Kevin were poking around outside of the restaurant when they were spotted by a group of schoolgirls. With all of our camera gear it's no surprise that we're a bunch of photographers and the girls asked to have their picture taken. When they discovered that these men also spoke English, the girls saw an opportunity to practice their school lessons and invited the travelers into another restaurant full of still more schoolgirls! I was busy planning the day's activities with Lobsang so I didn't get to see any of this happen but luckily Kevin filmed everything. All I can say is, the boys were a hit--especially Roger who is a schoolteacher in Japan when he's not eliciting a cacophony of laughter from Tibetan schoolgirls. Where's a good rimshot when you need it? Maybe at the Badum Ba Ching Monastery... Jon Miller Total Running Time: 29:55 | 2/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 11 | CleanVideoEpisode 156: O Canada | Maple Leaf, OK. Snow Lions, Not So Much. One of the highlights of the Friendship Highway--literally one of its highest points--is the beautiful Karo La. The pass is somewhere around 5000m or almost 16,500 feet high and the view from the roadway is dominated by the magnificent Karo La Glacier. Although I had the good fortune to visit this pass with Scott Jacobs back in 2007, the weather was poor and the view almost nonexistent. At the time I had no idea what was hiding behind the clouds and snowflakes. Today when we came over the pass in the Land Cruisers I stepped out and looked around thinking to myself "Hmmm, I've never been here before. We must be on a different road." After a few minutes, though, I began to get a strong feeling of deja vu and realized that I actually had been here before. Much like my previous visit, there were young Tibetan children running around entertaining themselves with the tourist visitors. They were in for a treat today. Kevin has brought several dozen small LED flashlights with him and decided Karo La presented the perfect opportunity to begin handing them out. Likewise, Geoffrey has brought many small Canadian flags with him and handed a number of them out to the kids. They went absolutely nuts waving the flags in front of all of our cameras. Once The Maple Leaf Melee was over we climbed back into our vehicles for the last push towards Gyantse. In our Jeep Kevin, Jill, Roger and I reflected upon that impromptu show of Canadian Pride. Flags may not seem like a big deal to most people but here in the Tibet Autonomous Region within the People's Republic of China, the Tibetan flag itself is illegal. The penalty upon discovery of a Tibetan flag is imprisonment. That fact makes those waving Canadian flags another truly beautiful view here at Karo La. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 28:30 | 1/31/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 12 | CleanVideoEpisode 155: Pulse Ox Playoffs | This Is Only A Test. We're continuing out of Lhasa and taking in a lot of mileage on our way to Gyantse. Personally, I am almost never simply a passenger in a car--I'm usually the driver. Sitting in the back seat of our Land Cruiser makes me act just like my two and a half year old son Sam: I am quickly lulled to sleep. Maybe it's the altitude. Maybe it's the constant traveling. Maybe it's the easing up of the emergencies from the past few days. Well, it's probably all three, but whatever it is I just can't seem to stay awake for more than a few minutes once we're moving. My seat mates Kevin and Roger are good sports about my sleep-induced bobble head. I keep waking up with my head on their shoulders. Luckily we're all a bit dehydrated from the Tibetan air so I don't seem to be drooling… Our little caravan stops every so often for "bio breaks" and pictures when a particularly beautiful vista comes into view. On these breaks it's become clear that a new game is quickly evolving amongst the team. "What's Your Pulse Ox?" A couple of the participants have brought pulse oximeters along with them. These are tiny computers that measure both your heart rate and the percentage of dissolved oxygen in your blood. You put the device on a fingertip and within just a few seconds can get a fairly reliable reading. The name of the game is to score the "best" reading. Basically, you want the lowest heart rate with the highest percentage of oxygen. It's becoming pretty competitive but you wouldn't really expect anything less from a group of people whose idea of fun is to trek at altitude in the wilds of Tibet, would you? Fortunately all of us up here have been winners and are passing the Pulse Ox Test. We're working through our discomforts and slowly acclimating. Then, of course, there's Damion. He had a "total fail" the other day at his Pulse Ox Test. But, he's working hard, putting in the hours and scoring lots of extra credit in the hospital. It'll be Damion FTW! Jon Miller Total Running Time: 24:49 | 1/27/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 13 | CleanVideoEpisode 152: HAPE and Red Tape | The Potala And Priorities. Our first day in Lhasa started out just as I had imagined it. We spent some quality time in and around the Jokhang Temple, the holiest temple in Tibetan Buddhism. As a tourist, the Jokhang does not disappoint. There are throngs of religious pilgrims praying, chanting and prostrating around the temple and it's grounds. There are a multitude of small chapels full of statues and icons to view and yak butter lamps burning everywhere. There is nothing like this place back home and it's a feast for the senses which adds to the mysticism of Lhasa. But Lhasa can be overpowering. Well, let me rephrase that: Lhasa's altitude can be overpowering. This ancient city stands at nearly 3500 meters or nearly 12,000 feet. It's one of the highest cities in the world. That's an awfully high elevation to fly into after visiting Kathmandu which stands thousands of meters lower. Sudden, dramatic positive elevation change can be dangerous. Our bodies just were never designed to cope with it. Now, most people visiting Lhasa feel pretty lousy for a bit at first. I certainly did my first time coming here. I know that the mental breakdown episode from my 2007 trip was an unforgettable moment in the podcast and it was fueled by the altitude and how crappy it made me feel. Luckily for me I just had mild altitude sickness which is (ironically) like having seasickness. Unfortunately for Damion, the luck of the draw dealt him the most serious form of altitude sickness. The dreaded HAPE, or High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. His symptoms began turning up at dinner after visiting the Jokhang and exploded overnight. His condition deteriorated so much that hospitalization became an absolute necessity. We called for an ambulance and he was picked up and taken to a military hospital a few miles away from the hotel. What day is it now? Only the second day in Lhasa? Really? Wow. The adventure has only just begun... Jon Miller Total Running Time: 36:12 | 12/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 14 | CleanVideoEpisode 149: The Marquardt Scale | Everybody Poops. The thing is, most people don't want to talk bout it. But when you're traveling in the himalayas, what comes out of your body is just as vital to know about as what goes into your body. It's even more important to know these details when we're trekking at high altitude. If you're not feeling well, the consequences to your hiking performance can be enormous. IF you can't get from point A to point B, well, then, there's a problem. The Marquardt Scale came about out of the 2009 trekking group's need to quickly, succinctly and emphatically give the leaders of the group this vital intestinal information. Yes, Chris came up with the scale and then realized that it was extensible. I'll let the episode we do on The Scale explain all of that. What I can say here, is that The Marquardt Scale has become an invaluable reference for me and anyone who joins us for these trips. I think it should be adopted as an international standard. Jon Miller Total Running Time: 28:27 | 3/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 15 | CleanVideoEpisode 148: A 365-Step Program | A Toursit, Not A Sherpa Shortcut. Today was a day of many rituals. The entire team has arrived and so it was time to get back to business. Firts order of the day? One of the infamous Thamel haircut/massages! After the shave/haircut/massage/chiro adjustment with Geoff it was time to explore around the Kathmandu Valley a bit. There are more temples here than any other place in the world but we are on a limited time budget before heading off for Tibet. So, we picked the "big" ones to explore and headed off towards Swayambhunath--popularly known by tourists as "The Monkey Temple" for obvious reasons. There are, er, a lot of monkeys living on, in and around the temple grounds. The Temple is located high up on a hill and has a long, steep staircase leading up from the bottom to the top where the stupa resides. As it turns out, the extremely steep hillside contains 365 steps. One step for each day of the year. Have I mentioned how steep the staircase is? Luckily I've been here many times before and know that there is a road that winds up the back side of the hill where taxis and busses can drop tourists right off at a ticket gate. I know many of us would rather take the pilgrimage route up the steep staircase to Swayambhunath instead of being dropped off at the top but it was not to be. No worries though. We can walk down the steps today. We'll have plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks to walk up steep hillsides... Jon Miller Total Running Time: 33:45 | 2/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 15 Episodes |
