Everest Base Camp - Part I

The Ascent

Starting from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, we were off to Lukla at 9am on September 15th. Luckla is one of the only town in the Everest Region with an airport. It is pretty much the only option for the Everest Base Camp trek unless one wants to double the length of the trek. It was a clear day in Lukla and the flight was pretty much on time. The trip was so much fun! During the 40 minute flight, we flew over countless mountains and saw dozens of small villages in them, most of them inaccessible by road. As the tiny aircraft approached Lukla, we could clearly see the short runway perched at an angle on the mountainside. Everyone on the plane was holding their breath as we landed. 

After dropping us off at Lukla airport, the plane reloaded and took off for Kathmandu in seven minutes.

The first day of the hike is only two hours and is mostly flat, but I remember one small uphill section. I could barely breath after taking a few steps, and had to stop numerous times to climb about 100m. I was worried about my ability to deal with altitude, but luckily the breathing got easier over the next few days as I acclimated. 

Day 1: Walking down the main (and only) street in Lukla (2843m), the starting point for most trekkers in the Everest Region. 

Day 1: We had lunch at a lodge along the trail. We were pretty happy with the food the first day.

Day 1: This section of the trail is filled with lodges and is frequently traversed by yaks. The trail gets less and less busy in subsequent days. 

In the following days, we gradually climbed higher and higher, walking about 6-7 hours each day. The scenery is beautiful all along the trail and changes every day. Pictures show this best: 

Day 2: The trail follows the beautiful Dudh Kosi River and Dudh Kosi valley for the next few days. 

Day 2: Along the way, stupas and prayer flags were common sights. 

Day 2: We crossed many suspension bridges over the Dudh Kosi River. These often provided excellent views of the valley. Some of the bridges were very high in the air!

Day 2: We arrived at Namche Bazzar (3444m), the largest village on the trek. We spent two nights there on the way up to acclimate. Namche is also the last place where we found internet or a decent bakery. 

Day 3: During our acclimation day, we took a side trip to Khumjung. This was one of my favorite trails - a mostly flat path carved out of the mountainside. 

Day 4: We continued our ascent. The path is fairly steep at times, yet we see yaks (and human porters!) carrying heavy loads.

Day 4: Tengbuche village (3871m). You can see in the picture how simple the buildings are. They all have thin walls and simple construction. Also, mountain views are everywhere!

Day 4: Tengbuche Monastery. It's the largest in the region and certainly the most impressive building in the village. 

Day 5: As we started the walk in the morning, we came across a suspension bridge along the trail that had collapsed just a week ago. Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident. Locals had already built another temporary bridge nearby when we got there. 

Day 5: Mountain views became very dramatic by this point. This was along the walk to Pheriche (4243m), where we spent the night. We were supposed to spend another night at Pheriche to acclimate, but we were feeling so strong that we pushed ahead. 

Day 6: We were greeted with a super clear day and got gorgeous mountain views. 

Day 6: Now well above the tree line. 

Day 6: Inside the dinning room of the lodge at Lobuche (4966m). 

My favorite day of the hike was the day we spent at Gorek Shep, a tiny settlement with a few lodges to serve trekkers and climbers. It was the highest place where we spent the night. We headed out to Everest Base Camp as soon as we arrived at Gorek Shep in the early afternoon. The weather was perfect and we were so eager, even though our legs were exhausted by that point from the cumulative effects of walking for a week. Base Camp is about a two-hour walk from Gorek Shep. Along the walk, there are views of many icefalls, glaciers, and glacial lakes. Even though you can’t actually see Mount Everest from Base Camp, I loved being there! You can really get a sense of the remoteness of the place and imagine what it would be like to camp there for a few months while attempting an Everest summit.

Day 7: We leave Lobuche in the morning for Gorek Shep (5151m). The sun was out and it was surprisingly warm for the altitude. 

Day 7: The very last bit of the trail before reaching Base Camp was tricky. Here, I'm crossing a thin line of ice, with glacial lakes down on both sides. 

Day 7: We made it to Everest Base Camp! In the fall, the place is barren except for a small monument marking the site. In the spring though, it's littered with tents of teams attempting to summit Mt. Everest. You can see the Khumbu Glacier in the background. The infamous Khumbu icefall, right behind and above the glacier, is the first stage of the Everest ascent. 

The next morning, we woke up at 3:30am to climb Kala Patthar. Kala Patthar, at 5550m, was the highest point of our trek and the only place with a direct view of Mount Everest. Luckily, we had perfectly clear skies, and by the time we reached the peak, the sun was growing brilliantly behind Mt. Everest. The view almost makes you forget how cold it was (well below freezing). The climb, though, because of the altitude, was the most difficult part of the trek for me. Any movement at that altitude caused shortness of breath, so I was stopping every few steps to catch my breath.

Day 8: At around 4am, we were climbing up Kala Patthar under the night sky.

Day 8: After a difficult two-hour climb, we reached the top!

Day 8: There's a 360 degree view of mountains from Kala Patthar - one of the most incredible spots I've been to in my life. 

The Descent
Stay tuned for Part II of the Everest Base Camp journey!

The Early Preparations

I include this section mainly for those who may be interested in planning a trek themselves:

Arranging the trek from abroad (especially when we were on the road) was not easy. I had done a lot of reading about it before we left, and knew that we needed at least 11 days for the walk itself. Most of the time is spent going up to Base Camp to allow for gradual acclimation. We would be staying and eating in basic lodges, which are in every town everywhere along the path. 

There are two ways to do the trek - as part of an organized trek or as an independent walk, typically with your own guide. I knew I wanted to organize my own trek with a private guide since it is less than half the price of an organized trek. But it’s hard to find a reliable guide over the internet. Many online blogs suggested waiting until you get to Nepal to interview the guides in person, but I really didn't want to wait until last minute to finalize the trip, especially knowing that flights to the start of the trek are in high demand this season. 

I ended up finding a Kathmandu-based company online (http://www.peacefultrek.com), and through many email exchanges, decided to go with a guide and porter through the company. I was also able to use the company to purchase flights to Lukla, a small mountain village where the trek would begin (forget about online tickets). It was a bit nerve wracking sending money to Nepal before we got there, since there’s no guarantee that we weren't being scammed. What a relief it was when our guide picked us up from the airport in Kathmandu. 

To get cash for our trek (we were warned that there are no ATMs anywhere along the way), we must have visited at least a dozen ATMs in Kathmandu. Half of them didn't work at all, and the rest have a withdrawal maximum of 10,000 Nepalese Rupees (about 100USD) for foreign card holders. We ended up having to withdraw the maximum seven times, incurring a $4 ATM fee each time (luckily my bank does not charge additional ATM fees).

Packing for the trek was fairly straightforward. We got a giant duffle bag to pack for the porter. It ended up being about 18kgs, so we were very glad we didn't have to carry everything ourselves (the porter didn't seem to have much trouble with it). We carried light day-packs during the walk.