September 2000
Issue 105
Publication for World Travelers of America Associate Members
Travel Destination
Mount Everest - The Ultimate Journey
by Henry Scammell
Two such adventurers,
How high is 29,028
Karl and Cheri Schuch,
feet? Think of the Sears
made their three-week
Tower: put another one on
pilgrimage to Everest in
top of it, and then another,
October and November of
until you have a stack of 20.
last year, a guided group trek
Or, it’s the entire length of
planned through Mountain
the Verrazano Narrows
Travel Sobeck in California.
Bridge across New York
The Schuchs (he’s an
Harbor pointed straight up
aerobatic pilot, and they’re
and multiplied by seven. If
both skydivers and ocean
you could walk vertically, like
divers) heard about the
Spiderman, at the same rate
Sobeck organization
as the average person strolls
through friends, and
along the horizontal, the trip
The Schuchs’ Peak Experience
contacted them a year before
would take two hours; and
their intended departure after checking out their web
you could be gasping for breath, probably even
site. “Some tour groups over-promise and underfreezing to death long before you reached the top.
deliver, but they exceeded our expectations,” Cheri
Chomolungma, or Mount Everest as it is known
says. “The whole trip did.”
in the west, straddles the border between Tibet and
A packet of “Essential Pre-Trip Information”
Nepal. The first photo of its peak taken from an
arrived in short order, with detailed instructions on
airplane was in 1933, and its virgin conquest by
the physical preparations required for the Nepal trek.
climbers was less than fifty years ago. Today Everest
It recommended a six-month regimen to build
remains the ultimate romantic destination, not just
strength and endurance, including aerobics, weights,
for the handful of super-athletes and wannabes who
push-ups, sit-ups, squats and running (3-5 miles) or
challenge its summit, but for a new generation of
biking (1-2 hours, including hills.) It also listed
adventure travelers. Each year, thousands of them
immunization shots recommended for visits to
circle the globe for the privilege of standing halfway
Nepal: typhoid, tetanus, hepatitis A, and polio.
up its slope with the world at their feet and above
them its lofty eminence.
Continued on page 3
WTA Member Benefits
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WTA Wise Traveler Newsletter
WTA Onlinesm: www.worldtravelers.org
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You can access all of these benefits at
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Member Benefits
Frequent Flyer Miles Now Available on WTA Visa
WTA members can now accumulate Value
Miles when making purchases with their WTA
Visa® credit card. The Premier Value Miles Program
awards one mile for each dollar of net purchases on
your monthly statement. A maximum of 100,000
miles may be earned in a calendar year. And the
rewards can be reached quickly! With only 9,000
miles, you qualify for one free weekend night stay
at Wyndham Hotels, Wyndham Gardens,
Wyndham Resorts, Residence Inns, Courtyard by
Marriott or Fairfield Inns. For 9,000 miles, you
may also choose a two-day free car rental at Alamo
Rent-A-Car. Value Miles may also be redeemed for
free travel! * You may redeem 24,000 miles for a
free roundtrip ticket anywhere in the continental
U.S. on any major U.S. airline. Most airline
frequent flyer programs require 25,000 miles
before you earn a free ticket and you are restricted
to the airline that you signed up with. Want to
visit an exotic locale? You may redeem 28,000
miles for a free roundtrip ticket to select
destinations in Mexico or the Caribbean: Cancun,
Acapulco, Puerto Vallerta, Puerto Rico, St.
Thomas, or Jamaica. Alaska and Hawaii are only
40,000 miles and you can travel to select
destinations in Europe for only 60,000 miles. The
annual fee of $49.00 to join the Value Miles
Program is waived the first year for WTA members.
To join the Value Miles Program, call First USA at
800-305-4016. For more information, you may
call First USA or visit WTA Onlinesm
www.worldtravelers.org.
* Award trip must be booked 21 days in advance and include a
Saturday night stay. Awards are subject to availability. Value Miles
are not transferable to other frequent traveler programs. Flight
awards are not available to residents of Alaska or Hawaii. Other
restrictions apply. See membership guide for complete details.
WTA Onlinesm Has New Look
WTA Onlinesm has a brand new look! See for
yourself at www.worldtravelers.org. You will still
be able to find the valuable information that you
always have, but now you can find even more! Our
new destination section will give you firsthand,
objective information on select destinations around
the U.S. and the world. You can also enter our
contest to win a travel prize, take our fun and
informative travel quiz, learn what you can do to
make travel safer and more affordable, access your
member benefits, and more. Visit today –
www.worldtravelers.org.
Magazine Discount Program Added to Member Benefits
WTA members can now receive guaranteed
lowest rates on many of the most popular travel
and general interest magazines. Take advantage of
savings of up to 50% off magazines such as
Caribbean Travel & Life, (regularly $28, you pay
only $16.97), Cruise Travel, (regularly $23.94, you
pay only $11.97), and Travel America, (regularly
$23.94, you pay only $11.97).
Discounts can be found on magazines like
Reader’s Digest (regularly $24.76, you pay $13.96),
Family Circle (regularly $16.98, you pay $11.97),
Car & Driver (regularly $21.94, you pay $11.97),
Golf Digest (regularly $27.94, you pay $16.77),
Ladies Home Journal (regularly $16.97, you pay
$12.00), and 1000 other titles. You can subscribe
online through Member Benefits at
www.worldtravelers.org or call our magazine
subscription line at 800-289-6247. Plus, for each
magazine you subscribe to, you help to support
WTA’s mission to keep travel safe, affordable, and
hassle-free! Place your order today!
Theme Parks & Zoo Added to Discount Program
Discounts on admission are now available to the
four U.S. ParamountTM Parks - Great America®
located in Santa Clara, CA; Carowinds® located in
Charlotte, NC; Kings Island® located in Cincinnati,
OH; and Kings Dominion® located in Richmond,
VA. Some of the most thrilling roller coasters in the
country are found at a Paramount theme park.
WTA members can also enjoy a discount
(approximately 10%) on admission to the Happy
Hollow Park & Zoo in San Jose, CA! Happy Hollow
Park & Zoo offers puppet shows and vintage kiddie
rides in the children’s creative areas, more than 150
animals in the close contact zoo and many rare and
endangered species such as lemurs, pygmy hippos,
and a jaguar.
Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, TX, Six Flags
New England in Agawam, MA, and Six Flags Over
Georgia in Austell, GA, have been added to the other
Six Flag theme parks participating in the WTA Theme
Park and Zoo Discount Program. For a complete list of
participating parks and zoos and to order your free
discount coupons, visit www.worldtravelers.org or
call WTA at 508-432-8846.
Enterprise Locations Added to Auto Rental Discount Program
As promised, WTA has been at work to bring
you additional Enterprise® Rent-A-Car locations
participating in the WTA Auto Rental Discount
Program. The new locations and discount codes
listed alphabetically by state are: AZ discount code
L63786, CA (northern) discount code R67751,
DE discount code NC258G, FL (northern)
discount code N43906, GA (Atlanta area)
discount code G22692, IL (Chicagoland) discount
code K4C2584, IN (northwestern) discount code
K4C2584, OH (Steubenville) discount code
GH1016, PA (eastern) discount code NC258G,
PA (western) discount code GH1016, NJ (southern) NC258G, and WV (Wheeling) discount code
GH1016. These locations are in addition to the
locations listed previously. For a complete listing,
visit WTA Onlinesm www.worldtravelers.org or call
WTA at 508-432-8846.
2
Travel Tip
You’re Getting Verrry Sleeepy…
Combating Jet Lag On Your Next Long-Distance Trip
by Lynn Seldon, Jr. - Travel Writer
Jet lag is a drag. “Plane drain” can make those
first few days at a new destination or back home
seem like you really do need a vacation.
To travel to some of the world’s top
destinations, you typically have to catch a plane.
The only glitch in this globe-trotting fantasy is the
toll air travel can exact on the body in the form of
jet lag.
The root cause of jet lag is the disruption of
the body’s circadian physiologic rhythm, which is
the internal 24-hour cycle that regulates a person’s
normal waking and sleeping periods. Specific
symptoms include: insomnia, daytime sleepiness,
fatigue, poor concentration, slowed reflexes,
indigestion, hunger at odd hours, irritability,
depression, lack of resistance to infections, muscle
aches, mood disturbances, loss of mental efficiency,
and headaches.
The following ten tips (courtesy of The
Aviation Health Institute) may keep jet lag on the
runway:
• Nap: A single 70 to 120-minute nap
taken prior to the flight can reduce the
decline in alertness over the subsequent 24hour period. After you arrive, try to take a
short nap after lunchtime.
• Stay Up To Midnight: For the first two
or three days at your destination, try to stay
up to midnight to merge with the body’s
natural free-running rhythms.
• Get Outdoors: Sunlight is an excellent
way to reset your internal body clock to
coincide with local time.
• Pack Lightbulbs: Exposure to bright
artificial light can also influence the body
clock. Two glare-free 150-watt light bulbs
placed three feet away can help.
• Go Local: Set your watch according to
the local time when you board the plane
and act accordingly—eat and sleep on the
schedule of your destination.
• Drink Water/Avoid Caffeine and
Alcohol: Because airplane cabins have low
humidity and a majority of recycled air,
dehydration is prevalent among airplane
travelers.
• Change Your Diet: Concentrate on
protein for breakfast and lunch and save the
serotonin-loaded carbohydrates for evening to
induce relaxation.
• Pack A Healthy Snack: Ditch the peanuts
and soda.
• Exercise: Sitting for hours immobile in
pre-flight is a bad strategy. It’s not too
late to even exercise at the gate. Regular
exercise before and after a flight will
make the adjustment easier.
• Take Two Aspirin: Once at your
destination, take two aspirin (unless allergic,
of course) before going to bed.
The use of melatonin as a natural sleeping aid
continues to fascinate vacationers. People who take
melatonin often have to experiment to find the
dose that’s “right” for them. For more information,
cybertravelers can check out the website called
‘Melatonin Central’ (www.melatonin.com).
Of course, many other jet lag ‘solutions’ exist.
Some of the possibilities include: specific diets;
pressure point treatments; chiropractic manipulation;
sleeping aids (e.g., blindfolds, ear plugs, neckrests, and
blow-up pillows); sleeping pills; and specific products
like No-Jet-Lag. You can find these products through
the WTA Travel Products Program at Member Benefits
at www.worldtravelers.org.
Mt. Everest - continued from page 1
through to the base camp of Everest and return.
Of the three who didn’t, one had to be
helicoptered out when he fell and hurt his ankle.
Continued on page 4
Their group, which started out with 14
strangers from across the US, aged 25 to 70, didn’t
all come together until Katmandu. Eleven of them,
including the 70 year old, made it all the way
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Travel Destination
Mt. Everest - continued from page 3
Another got altitude sickness at about 11,000 feet
and had to turn back at 14,000 for treatment in a
medical clinic. The third fell down the hotel steps
in Katmandu and never even started.
After a couple of days acclimatizing in the
4,000-foot Nepalese capital, they flew by 22-seat
Twin Otter to Lukla, landing on the side of a
mountain at 9,000 feet. From there on, it was all
uphill, and all on foot. They lived outdoors for the
next 16 days and nights, in a world without
wheels. The Mt. Everest base camp is just under
18,000 feet, but along the way they climbed
Kalapater, which is 1,000 feet higher, and stopped
at Lohtse and Nuptse, both famous for their views
of the ridge across to Everest. Their first glimpse of
their goal was at 12,000 feet, about the 4th day
into the trek. “We could just see the tip, with the
plume,” Cheri recalls, “and it looked a lot closer
than it really was. But it was breathtaking.”
Meals were rice, potatoes, a lot of cabbage,
and every night a broth consisting of little more
than water and garlic. Chickens were everywhere,
but in a land where cows are sacred, breakfast eggs
were as close as the group came to any form of
meat. They hauled in supplies like canned goods,
but the rest was bought along the way from the
mountain people. A couple of times they stopped
for refreshment at tea lodges along the trail, in
people’s homes.
The group was tended by a staff of 20, which
included cooks, Sherpas, porters, and kitchen help.
The average income in the Nepalese Himalayas is
about $150 per year. The bearers carried 80-100pound backpacks, often greater than the burden
assigned to the six yaks, which carried the trekers’
baggage all the way to the top.
One of the most memorable aspects of the
trip for the Schuchs was the color of the sky, in the
thin air a deeper blue than either of them had ever
seen before. Except for one day when it clouded
and briefly snowed, they enjoyed crystal clarity for
the entire trip.
At one point, the trekkers caught sight of a
13-person expedition to the summit on adjacent
26,000 foot Amadablan. One of the mountaineers
jumped off the steepest side, and the Schuchs
watched with envy as the tiny figure parachuted
down to base camp.
Other unforgettable memories included two
avalanches, one close enough for them to hear its
eerie roar and echoes. The sights and sounds will
be with them forever.
The group trekked 90 miles each way, with
their clock divided into 8-hour intervals of hiking
(15 miles a day), resting and sleep. Despite some
early acclimatizing exercises, at about 11,000 feet
almost everyone started to experience headaches
from the altitude. They were all given a drug called
Diamox to increase blood oxygen, but Cheri
declined because of her allergy to sulpha. It was
there that the man with serious altitude sickness
began his symptoms.
Most of the Himalayan peaks are climbable
for only two periods during the year: in April, or
after the monsoons, from October into midNovember. Daytime averages in Katmandu at
those times of year are 59-67F, but temperature
drops as altitude rises; at 18,000 feet they can fall
below freezing, even below zero especially at night.
Basic costs for the trip were $1,800 per person
airfare, and $2,200 per person for the land
portion, everything included. You can contact
Mountain Travel Sobek at 6420 Fairmount
Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530-3606, telephone
888-687-6235, e-mail/visit at [email protected]
or www.mtsobek.com.
Travel Quiz
Test Your Travel IQ
6. Which beverages are safe to drink while
traveling overseas (choose all that apply)?
a. carbonated sodas without ice
b. hot coffee and tea
c. alcoholic drinks with ice
d. ice coffee
e. tap water
7. Which disease caused epidemics in the
Americas in 1990-1991 for the first time since
the turn of the century?
a. smallpox
b. yellow fever
c. cholera
d. leprosy
Answers:
1.d; 2.c; 3.b-the fourth floor is too high for
window burglars and the sixth floor is still low
enough for fire rescue ladders to reach; 4.d;
5.d-hotel staff can open room safes. The only
place where most hotels are legally responsible
for your belongings is in their main safe
behind the hotel desk; 6.a and b; 7.c
1. Which country provides the best overall
health care for its population?
a. Spain
b. Mexico
c. Poland
d. Singapore
2. Which disease kills the most people
worldwide each year?
a. AIDS
b. polio
c. diarrheal disease d. rabies
3. When checking into a hotel in a less
developed country, which floors should you
request for safety reasons?
a. 2-3
b. 4-6
c. 7-9
d. 10 and above
4. In which following country is tap water safe
to drink?
a. Italy
b. Egypt
c. Russia
d. Denmark
5. Where should you place your valuables when
staying at a hotel?
a. In a rolled sock in your luggage
b. In the room safe
c. Inside your facial cream jar
d. In the hotel safe behind the main desk
e. With the bellboy for safekeeping
(Quiz courtesy of Passport Health®)
World Travelers of America • P.O. Box 417 • Harwich Port, MA 02646 • (508) 432-8846 • www.worldtravelers.org
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