Image courtesy of Tonya Riggs

From: Tonya Riggs
Boulder, Colorado , September 4, 2008

Packing for the Expedition

It is the night before we leave for Kathmandu, Nepal. Can you believe we will leave Denver, Colorado on Friday and land in Kathmandu on Sunday? It takes a long time to fly there, but also we will be crossing the International Dateline somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, which means that we lose a day. We will gain a day on the return trip.

As you can see by all the piles of stuff around me in this picture, we will be taking lots of gear - six large duffle bags. All this gear is needed to get us safely to, and up, the mountain. We will be living on very little for two months. The gear includes four sleeping bags (rated to -20 degrees), six tents, five stoves, warm down suits, heavy boots, headlamps, walkie talkies, ropes, harnesses, ice axes, crampons and and more. The best things we have in the duffle bags is chocolate and pop tarts. We bring tasty foods from home that can't be found in the high Himalayan villages.

We are very excited to get our trip underway and we look forward to sharing all of our adventures through future postcards. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the mountain we are climbing, please visit our website.

Brad and Tonya

Go to the next postcard

Postcards from the Field: Annapurna

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Our Trek From Kathmandu to Humde

Hi, this is Brad writing from Humde, Nepal on the 14th of September. We left Kathmandu five days ago, and it has been a busy five days! From Kathmandu we drove north to the town of Besi Sahar, and from...more

Brad Clement

I am the owner of Spindrift Films and a freelance producer and camera operator specializing in high altitude mountaineering and wilderness adventure subject matter. I have traveled to some of the most...more

Packing for the Expedition

It is the night before we leave for Kathmandu, Nepal. Can you believe we will leave Denver, Colorado on Friday and land in Kathmandu on Sunday? It takes a long time to fly there, but also we will be crossing...more

Blessings for Safe Passage

We arrived in Kathmandu yesterday after over 30 hours of travel. We are literally on the other side of the Earth, very far from home. Given that we changed planes in Los Angeles, California and again in...more

Blizzard at Base Camp

Hello all! It's James McKee, Communications Manager for the Dare to Dream 2008 Expedition. I just received an update from Brad Clement, Expedition Co-Leader. He called on his satellite phone to share what...more

Storm Breaks, allows team to ascend to Camp I

Hello all: This is just a quick update to inform you that the blizzard that kept the team pinned to the Annapurna IV base camp has lifted and allowed the expedition team to ascend to Camp I. Brad reports...more

Team Begins Descent of Annapurna IV After a Summit No-go

On October 4, Brad and Tonya called via satellite phone from a location of 6,705 meters (22,000 feet) on Annapurna IV. They announced that they would be descending Annapurna IV. They weren’t able to summit...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA