Looks like the cold weather has started. This morning we woke to sub-zero temps and gray skies. At this elevation, with no sun, it feels quite cold. We have a little propane heater in the kitchen, but we're otherwise in our down jackets and hats all day long. There is some precip in the forecast for the next few days. We really can't complain, as you've all seen from the photos, we've had nothing but blue sky here for 6 weeks...but all good things eventually come to an end.

We're on the 2 week countdown to leaving Manang and the clinic. The numbers of westerners and locals is slowly tapering off. We did have another HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) heli evac this week. He was a 26 year old competitive nordic skier from Czeckloslovakia, the fittest one in his group withh an O2 sat of 70%. We heard he did well once he got to Kathmandu (at 1500 meters, much lower than Manang) only needing oxygen and meds for a few hours after his arrival there.

Martin and I will fly first down to Pokhara (only 800m elevation and much warmer!) the town where we stayed when we were here in 1998, and then on to Kathmandu for a couple days. I think we're both starting to dream about sushi and yummy seafood in Singapore after that. We're almost up to 60 days of dahl bat, the national dish of thin lentil soup and white rice, which is plenty.

Thanks to Dick and Mary for taking such good care of the house and yard, you are truly great neighbors! Amy, fun to talk to you, good wishes to Brian on his elk hunt!