The last few days have had us on an emotional roller coaster over our Everest trip plans this year. First, the news is bad, then it is good, then it turns bad again, only to reverse itself and repeat the cycle.

Today, the news is good…well sort of good, at least for folks, like me, who are eternal optimists. On Friday, March 14, Nepal’s Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation announced that climbers on the South (Nepal) side of Mt. Everest will not be allowed to climb above Base Camp from May 1 to May 10.