The Ascent of Rum Doodle

There is a classic novel which is a spoof on mountaineering called The Ascent of Rum Doodle. The short novel tells the tale of an ill-fated mission to climb a 40,000 foot peak called Rum Doodle with a navigator who is always lost, a medic who is always ill, a medical kit consisting of only champagne, and a very poor cook named Pong.

Since arriving we all took turns reading this classic and quoting it. We have also taken to calling any mountain of which we do not know the name or any day-hike which turns epic "the Rum Doodle". There is reportably a bar in Kathmandu named Rum Doodle which we intend to find on our return to Kathmandu.

There is a large hill across the river in Pheriche which we stare at all day which is part of the ascent to Taboche which has been nicknamed "HRA Hill" because every HRA volunteer attempts to summit it at some point during their stay. We are no exception. Unfortunately, it is quite steep and has only a rough trail which leads to yak trails, rocks, and basically misery. We made two attempts at this "Rum Doodle" ascent. In the first attempt, we had issues crossing the river and walked so far upstream that we nearly made it to Dughla. The second attempt was plagued with high winds, snow patches, an a disgruntled yak. We made it as far as the false summit (aka the North Doodle) before abandoning the mission and retreating for an Everest, the champagne of Nepali beers.