All bags and expedition teammates arrived in Kathmandu without issue, which represents a major hurdle cleared.  Yesterday, we met with our Sherpa team for the Cho Oyu (26,906′) climb and even enjoyed dinner with a few of them last night (including our all-important expedition cook and our Sirdar – aka Sherpa team leader), which was a great way to start the expedition and begin building our collective team bond.  Today, we were up early and visited the famous “Monkey Temple” (Swayambhunath).  It is a special place to visit with a serene aura and great views of the entire Kathmandu Valley (at least as far as you can see through the perpetual smog).  This morning’s visit helped me fully realize that I am finally in Nepal and that this adventure is about to get underway.  All of the hustle and bustle between last-minute packing, wrapping-up final details, running between flights, clearing customs, securing visas, hoping your bags will appear at baggage claim and settling into hotels is behind us and it is time to get on with the expedition.  We had our quick visit with the Mountaineering Director of the Nepal Ministry of Tourism this afternoon to finalize our permits for Everest and Lhotse and discuss some of the new “rules” for this season.  Essentially, we’re being asked to bring down 8kg (17lbs) of trash from up on the mountain, which we’re happy to do.  Other than that, there are no other real significant changes to speak of.  So, with all of the official paperwork completed, we’re off early tomorrow to cross into Tibet for an intense month of climbing the world’s 6th tallest peak.  And, with that, the adventure begins…