Everest Base Camp trek

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So were finally starting the Everest Base Camp trek - but I manage to hide my excitement on the way to Kathmandu airport as it’s only 4.30 in the morning and my spirits are still subdued as when we arrive at the airport - it’s closed, not a good start. Eventually the airport opens and after a short debate with custom officials who were after a quick backhander, Suzanne, myself and our guide, Panoy (a.k.a. Bob as we couldn’t pronounce his name properly just yet), are shown to our wee puddle jumper - or in this case hopefully our mountain jumper and after a quick flight with some amazing views of the Himalaya mountain range we arrive at Lukla airport - and what an airport. Due to the obvious lack of runway space in the mountains the runway itself is at a pretty high gradient to aid take off and landing which also makes for an “exciting” take off and landing. Basically as soon as the runway appears below the wheels of the airplane, you touch down on the runway and just before the entire plane crashes into the side of the mountain, the pilot hand brakes it into the tiny airport parking lot - all while dodging the other planes that are doing the same, I thought it was like being back at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and quite enjoyed it but I’m not so sure everyone on board thought the same…
So once Suzanne, Myself and Bob “safely” land in Lukla we head off to find a porter as to carry our sleeping bags and down jackets - apparently it’s the done thing and after all I doubt if we could do it without one… A short time later we are introduced to a local Sherpa who will be joining us on our trek called Sarki - yep, you guessed it - a.k.a. Bob 2…
After a quick blessing from a local lady as it was the Sherpa New Year, some minging alcoholic porridge to keep our strengths up we head off on our adventure. Day one was only a quick 3 hour hike in the lovely warm sunshine which was mostly down hill which although is a good start, thinking about it, it means that the end will be up hill - best not to think that far ahead really - especially looking at a few poor souls returning who look absolutely shattered. On our first night we spend the evening with a few other trekkers also heading up so it’s good to share a few stories. PS - once the sun goes down it gets pretty darn cold at night...
Day two starts at 06.30 with a very cold nose, and I’m not exactly jumping out of bed to put my freezing clothes back on - oh joy… A quick breakfast later and we’re off once again up the trail where we begin to realize just how much the porters have to carry. I feel guilty that our porter - Bob 2, has to carry a couple of sleeping bags, a couple of jackets and a few other bits and bobs but when you consider that there are obviously no roads here and the only mode of transportation is either porters or yaks which are more expensive, then you realize that everything for the lodges, homes, shops, businesses etc, has to be carried up the trail - and these guys carry a lot, everything from bottled water, beer, cigarettes, chocolate, souvenirs etc for the trekkers as well as tents, pots, pans and I’m sure I even saw a kitchen sink - very impressive but unfortunately they don’t get paid anywhere near enough what they should for what they have to do.
About four hours into the trek and about half way through the day, we get our first glimpse at the top of the world - Mount Everest. Already feeling the aches and pains and feeling the effects of the air starting to thin out I think about turning back but of course you cant - onwards and upwards. PS - it’s also pretty darn cold in the mornings before the sun comes up as we start so early - and it’s getting colder…
Day three is an acclimatization day so your body can produce more red blood cells and therefore carry more oxygen as the higher you go the more red blood cells are required. However as there are still shops at this altitude - we go shopping - it’s still cold…
Day four and we’re off up the trail again and you start to notice the beautiful scenery change from a winding river surrounded by lush trees to slightly less greenery as we go higher and higher. At the end of the hike we arrive at a monastery in the mountains where the monks have stripped off their robes to play football - not something you see everyday where I come from - especially with Mount Everest in the background - this has to be the best sport in the world… Our lodge is only a short walk away from the monastery and once again we are the only people staying there, another plus for to having the entire lodge to yourself for about 2 bucks is that you get the room with a Mount Everest view - now that’s value for money. PS - the days are brilliantly warm but the nights are getting colder, I’m starting to sleep with my clothes on…
Day five and it’s another beautiful day to be hiking in the Himalaya, it’s good to know that whatever we do or where ever we go everything just seems to work out, the weather is perfect during the day and you can see for miles, and there’s hardly a soul on the trail, apparently in peak season (and when there aren’t government warning against Nepal) the trail is packed full, the lodges are all booked and there are tents everywhere - since our first night we occasionally see a few familiar faces but generally we have the Everest Base Camp trail all to ourselves. PS - Colder still…
Day six is another acclimatization day to produce more of those wee red blood cells we need - personally I think it’s to get used to the cold and nothing to do with the lack of oxygen. And unfortunately I may have spoken to soon as the clouds and snow have arrived - as this is a rest day hopefully they will disappear just as soon as they arrived. PS - there is ice on the inside of the window…
Day seven and we are now getting quite high at about 4500 meters and you really notice the difference in the air, what would usually be an easy uphill walk turns out to take a lot longer with lots of rests to catch your breath, it’s actually quite a weird sensation to not be tired and just be out of breath - bizarre indeed. Another thing you notice is the higher and higher you go is that the lodges are less and less well equipped but are also more and more expensive as a porter has had to carry all the goods (and even building materials) higher and higher and therefore cost more. PS - We’re now sleeping in our thermals, clothes, fleece sleeping bag liner, down sleeping bag and two thick blankets - we’re still cold.
Day eight and today is the day we get to go to Everest Base Camp although once again my excitement is well hidden at 0600, -1000°F, and at 5000 meters above sea level but when needs must you do what you have to do… Fortunately after a short trek and once we regain the feelings in our fingers and toes it’s clear that the weather has indeed picked up and once again we have clear skies all the way to Gorak Shep, the last lodge on the trek and the old base camp. When we arrive we actually see quite a lot of activity and start to think that maybe we don’t have the trek to ourselves after all, but as if we’re scaring everybody off, it turns out that everyone else is getting ready to leave and once again we have the lodge to ourselves. However it’s no time to rest and after a quick bite to eat we head off in the footsteps of the great and many before us towards base camp.
After another two and a half hours of trekking across rocky undulating terrain we arrive at Everest Base Camp - marked only by an old Russian Helicopter which crashed a few years ago - apart from that you really wouldn’t know you were at base camp. The view of Everest itself is not very good at base camp as you are too close to the surrounding mountains but it’s still a surreal experience to be where all the expeditions have been and continue to start from. After a long we day we head back to Gorak Shep and relax for another hard day tomorrow. PS - it’s cold but who cares, it’s Everest.
Day nine and today we will actually climb higher than we were yesterday at Everest Base Camp as we climb Kalapatar - I should also point out that a lot of people either just do base camp or Kalapatar due to the fatigue of trekking at such high altitude but as we might not be back for a while we decided to be suckers for punishment and do both - our guide was obviously happy… The trek soon turned into a fairly hard slog as the previous efforts took their toll but when the trek turned into a scramble near the summit, Suzanne decided she was going to change things around and set the pace for a change - I’ve never seen her move so fast. When I eventually caught up with her we were rewarded with some pretty spectacular views of Everest itself and all the efforts were soon forgotten. Obviously the trek down was a lot easier, from taking over two hours to reach the summit we came down in about 20 minutes - guess which one I preferred…
For the next four days we almost followed the same route back to Lukla with a couple of variations to save time and as it was easier to descend than ascend, as well as not having to stop to acclimatize we managed to trek back in half the time although it was still a pretty demanding trail and as expected the end was pretty hard but with the thought of a warm shower we carried on. PS - It’s still cold but nearly completed…
When we finally arrived back in Kathmandu it was so nice to finally have a hot shower and to go to bed without wearing every piece of clothing you have with you and still be cold, it was also great to have a meal which didn’t involve rice and noodles which seemed to be the main staple diet of the trek - that and very expensive bottled water. So now it’s time to chill in Katmandu for a few days and reflect on what a great adventure we’ve just experienced and also plan where our next one will take us…

For those interested below is a rough example of the trek we followed with place names and heights to compare with the map, although as we were not part of an organized trek we were free to adjust when and where we stayed…

Day 01 Fly Kathmandu - Lukla - Phakding (2652m)
Day 02 Phakding - Namche Bazar (3440m)
Day 03 At Namche for Acclimatization (3440m)
Day 04 Namche Bazar - Thyangboche (3867m)
Day 05 Thyangboche - Dingboche (4530m)
Day 06 At Dingboche - Acclimatization day
Day 07 Dingboche - Lobuche (4930m)
Day 08 Lobuche - Everest Base Camp - Lobuje (4930m)
Day 09 Gorak Shep - Kala Patthar (5545m)
Day 10 Thyanboche - Khumjung (3790m)
Day 11 Khumjung - Phakding (2652m)
Day 12 Phakding - Lukla (2800m)
Day 13 Fly Lukla - Kathmandu

PS - If anyone is interested in doing a similar trek I can put you in touch with an excellent qualified guide who can arrange the entire trip from Kathmandu to Base camp (including a porter as well) and therefore cut the BIG agency fee - we saved a fortune and had the best time, this way you can save money and you can trek not only as fast as you want but where you want as well as you are not restricted to Base Camp but anywhere in the region - happy trekking...

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