Mount Everest Base Camp Trek

After 5 days of fun in Kathmandu, we packed up our trek bags, said goodbye to luxuries and set the alarm for 5.30am. On went our trek boots for the first time this trip and we headed off to the airport with Kym. The domestic side of Kathmandu airport is even more chaotic than the international side and we were glad to have Kym to navigate the way and get out bags sorted.

We were introduced to Phora our lead guide for the trek, who would be flying with us. An Everest veteran Sherpa with seven Everest Summits to his name, we were quite privileged to have him. We later found this award for him in the Sherpa Museum at Namche.

After a relatively short flight but with wonderful views of the Himalayas we started the descent into Lukla. I struggled not to have to close my eyes as we came in, with the aircraft tilting downward towards the runway that was going upward! We landed safely to a round of applause and were parked outside the airport building literally within seconds (the runway is that short!).







I don’t have time to write up the itinerary of the whole trek and as its now been a while since we came back, I can’t remember a lot of it! But we’re off to Canada soon, and if I don’t write something here now I’ll never get around to it. The full itinerary is here. Highlights were: the first view of Everest, the beautiful Ama Dablam, the lovely Culture Home Lodge at Namche Bazaar, the odd occasion where we got a hot shower, seeing Everest climbers walking alongside us with their most precious personal equipment on their backs (boots, crampons, ice axes etc), the monasteries perched up high upon seemingly inaccessible mountain ledges, the closer views of Everest, Lhotse, Nhupse etc..... and the wonderful hospitality of the people of the Khumbu Valley.

Tea stop!!

Namche Bazaar

Everest!! (from a little distance!)

Ana Dablam
















We didn’t quite get to Everest Base Camp. We got to Lobuche the night before the final leg, had supper and everything was fine. However, it was bitterly cold. The water bottles froze in the bedroom and I got crackly breathing, which is not a good sign (can indicate AMS). After some advice from a fellow trekker who happened to be a Doctor (thanks Mike) we went to bed but decided to go down in the morning. We’d got to 5000 metres, good enough for us. Samir, Vivek and Jason went up to Gorek Shep and then on to Base Camp but the top of Kala Pattar was a bridge too far, even for the young men, as it was so cold.We headed down to Pheriche with Rowena and I got my breathing checked at the Altitude Clinic there and we enjoyed the rest for a day. We walked back to Lukla via a slightly different route and braved the wobbly plane again. We had front row seats and the plane just drove off the side of the mountain, literally!!

I took this video of the take off from Lukla from my seat. When you take to the sky from a VERY short runway off the side of a mountain there is little room for error .....and NO chance to abort the takeoff!!

and here's the view just before take off, with a sheer drop at the end!