Hey, Peter, this is Alpine Ascents International Ama Dablam 2002 Expedition. We are calling...this is Jim Williams reporting.

We are calling from Namche Bazar. All made it here last night, some taking a more scenic route via Phortse and Phortsetanga, over the (unintelligible) and into Namche. It was a beautiful day yesterday, not a cloud in the sky, a breath of wind. Virtually no one on the trail, we had spectacular views of Ama Dablam and Everest and everything.

We had 16 yak loads into Namche, and a few porter loads. And today we have picked up everything. Today is the 9th of December. We have picked up everything, put it on porters, and we are walking to Lukla. Boys all left early, everybody's feeling ok. There seems to be a cold, not just the temperature cold, but a chest cold, upper respiratory cold that's plaguing everyone, not just on the expedition, but people in town. Everybody seems to have a cold. It seems to be that time of year.

But we are all walking to Lukla today, and we hope to fly to Kathmandu on the 10th of December. And other than that, there hasn't been a single thing out of the ordinary. We're...I'm standing up here on the hill overlooking Namche. And the only thing that's really significantly changed is most of the traders from Tibet have left. I only see one, two, three, four, five, six-seven-eight, nine, ten...ten tents left whereas two weeks ago there were probably 40 tents here.

So winter is setting in and people are getting prepared here in the Khumbu Valley. The yaks that brought our stuff down from Pangboche are going back fully loaded, and this time they're going back with rice and sugar, milk, salt, the things they'll need to stay at home for the winter, it's (they're) taking as heavy loads back as they did coming here.

Anyway, things are changing, winter's coming on, and we're headed to Kathmandu. We'll talk to you tomorrow morning, hopefully, just before the plane arrives in Lukla to take us on to Kathmandu. Hope all is well. Bye.

— Jim Williams, Alpine Ascents International Senior Guide and MountainZone.com Correspondent