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Erick shares more of the negotiation that took place at Everest Base Camp over the yak fiasco. Listen to his Tibetan guide getting into a heated argument with the Bhuddist monk who supplied the group's yaks.

This 25th episode marks the end of the Everest Podcast. Erick shares some final thoughts about his trip, as well as some follow-up takeaways after attending a presentation by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Stanford University in November 2005.

Erick explores the city of Gyantse, and immerses himself even more in the richness of Tibet's Buddhist culture.

A day driving on some treacherous roads leads to a blown tire and a long delay waiting for another car to be pulled out of a mudhole. Erick then arrives in Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city, and sets off exploring the amazing city.

Erick leaves the Everest Valley and continues on through the heart of Tibet towards Lhasa. His highlights of the day include beautiful landscapes and a much-needed shower.

Erick completes his grueling adventure, and returns to Everest Base Camp. Hear how dramatically his speech improves after descending a few thousand feet. Erick also tries to deal with the disappointment of not being able to reach Base Camp 3.

Listen in on the sounds of Erick's kitchen tent, as his sherpa prepares dinner.

Erick interviews his sherpa and asks him some hard questions... like what the dating scene in Kathmandu is like.

Bonus episode! Erick takes some time after climbing to Base Camp 2 to chat and blow off some steam with his trekking partner and sherpa.

Erick makes his final ascent to Base Camp 2 (19,260 feet). A cloudless day rewards him with a spectacular, up-close view of Mount Everest.

Erick's trekking group loses 2 people to fatigue and a sherpa to advanced altitude sickness. Then, the group learns that their yakmen didn't bring enough food for the yak, and they can no longer reach Base Camp 3.

After suffering through one of the worst nights ever, Erick is forced to postpone his departure for Interim Base Camp. Meanwhile, he continues to battle a nasty cold that is just getting worse with the extremely dry, cold air.

Exhaustion, along with an unrelenting snow and hail storm, hit Erick hard on his climb from Everest Base Camp to Base Camp 1.

Erick's trek begins with a bang. On his hike to Everest Base Camp, he runs into snow, rain, and hail. A combination of dehydration and fatigue also leaves him with a splitting headache.

Erick arrives at Rongphu, home to the highest monastery in the world, as well as the last permanent shelter before Erick beings the actual Everest trek tomorrow. While visiting the Rongphu Monastery, Erick pegs a monk in the back of the head with a piece of bread, and has his shoes stolen by another monk.

Erick climbs 1100 feet in his first day of high altitude acclimatization in Nyalam, Tibet.

A day-long drive along the Friendship Highway takes Erick from Kathmandu into Tibet. Erick talks about a rather sketchy border crossing, and the rapid deterioration in accommodations.

First day in Kathmandu, Nepal. Erick watches helplessly as his passport is handed out of the window of a moving car. He also introduces a new recurring segment of the podcast entitled "Listen to Erick as he Gets Dumber." The segment will very unscientifically test the effects of the increasing altitude on Erick's brain.

Finally, the day of departure arrives, and Erick takes off for Everest from San Francisco. After 24 hours of flying, Erick lands in Bangkok and logs a quick podcast update.

After a little creative restructuring of his itinerary and a lot of cash to rebook his flights, Erick successfully salvages his trip to Everest.

There is now a chance that Erick can get around the travel ban and reach the Everest Region by reversing his itinerary and crossing the land border into Tibet from Nepal.

The punches just keep coming as Erick learns that his travel insurance policy won't refund any of his money if he can't fly to Everest because of the travel ban. Now in a desperate situation, Erick discusses possible options to salvage his trip.

A sudden, and completely unexpected, travel ban in Tibet threatens to toss Erick's entire travel plans out the window just one week before he's scheduled to fly to Nepal.

This is the second episode of the Everest Podcast. Erick talks about his preparations for the Everest trek: collecting trekking and photography gear, finding a trek operator, and getting visas.