Everest Base Camp Trek

Everest Base Camp Trek 2010

Weaving through the chaotic labyrinth of streets and alleys that breathe life into Nepal’s throbbing capital city, it was hard to fathom out whether Kathmandu was just emerging from a long sleep or whether it was merely saying farewell and about to implode. Contrasting scenes greeted me with every change of direction that the bus made during the short, but fascinating journey from the airport to my chosen hotel.

New merges with old as decaying buildings and ramshackle hovels jostle for space amongst the skyline of modern hotels and emerging industries. If a place of calm and tranquility existed in Nepal then it surely wasn’t here. The heat, smog and pollution only serve to make one’s time in Kathmandu short before heading off in search of relative nirvana and true beauty, which lure the many thousands of travellers who make the life-changing pilgrimage to Mount Everest’s base camp each year.

My journey to Everest Base Camp began two days after leaving a black and rainy Manchester for Kathmandu followed by a short but electrifying plane hop into the high mountain trailhead of Lukkla, a small airstrip precariously balanced at an angle of 25 degrees on the side of the Khumbu valley. On descending into Lukkla, one cannot fail to become slightly alarmed by the sight of the numerous plane wreckages that litter the approach to the airstrip. Our pilot plunges our aircraft out of clouds and into an ‘ascending descent’. Eventually we squeal to an abrupt arrival at Lukkla airfield, amid loud and jubilant cheers of the now relieved, but still shaking, trekkers embarking on their journey of a lifetime.

In keeping with ‘best practice’ and sustainable tourism, I opted to utilize the Himalayan institution of the ‘Tea House’ to facilitate my Base Camp trek accommodation and dining requirements. I used a local trekking company to organize my safe passage and lodging each night thereby relieving the great burden of worry that would undoubtedly fall on less ‘commercial trekkers’, who may opt to source their own logistics after each day’s trekking. This was an option I am pleased I didn’t take after witnessing the amount of traffic that this justifiably popular route receives and the potential inconvenience that a ‘No Vacancies’ sign created.

My trek started the following morning after a relatively comfortable night in my cosy sleeping bag on a proper bed, and with the luxuries of running water, a hot meal and the option of paying for a quick dousing under a trickle of hot water. I also grabbed a few wallet-busting minutes of internet usage - time to let my ‘Facebook community’ and my wife know that I had arrived safely.

The Khumbu valley is a truly stunning destination, lush green woodland and vegetation ease you into the gradual ascent up the Khumbu river towards the ‘Sherpa capital’ of Namche Bazaar, reached normally after one or two days’ trek. It provides a welcome oasis of trekking bliss as most base campers spend at least two days acclimatizing at this milestone location, which gives them time to enjoy the splendid views and surroundings whilst allowing their bodies to adjust to the thinning oxygen levels.

My time in Namche was well spent rating the myriad of coffee and cake vendors, internet cafes and sifting through an abundance of trekking and mountaineering apparel that spews from the dozens of jam-packed shops, which line the narrow cobbled streets clinging to the hillside. Travelers beware! It’s a true test of willpower and “gear savvy” to differentiate between ‘genuine’, good fake and bad fake! Needless to say, almost everyone leaves with some new additions for their yak to carry up the hill over the following few days.

Beyond Namche, the landscape changes rapidly. The temperature drops and for many, shorts and t-shirts are soon replaced with trousers and wind shirts as the lush vegetation quickly gives way to a more barren, but dramatic panorama of rock and ice.

My first big “Wow”, following many lesser “Wows” was on reaching the highest point of the ‘Everest View Hotel’ and being greeted by the truly majestic sight of ‘Ama Dablam’ 6812m, a soaring granite monolith of a mountain, capped by an icing-sugar finish resplendent with a gravity defying hanging glacier adorning the south face. Along with the many other trekkers, I rattled off dozens of photographs and tried my hardest to capture a unique angle to make this mountain my own, but feeling somewhat jealous that I had to share this amazing sight with my fellow gasping colleagues. My only consolation being that I could now see glimpses of the lofty summits of Everest and Nuptse and the numerous other 7000+m peaks disrupting the skyline many miles further up the valley. My heart raced.

After a sad farewell to Namche and a dramatic change in terrain and climate, I was soon greeted by my favorite hilltop village of the trek; ‘Tengboche’, a welcome refreshment stop after puffing and panting up the short but steep hill that guards this ancient monastic village. It has the largest Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in the Khumbu, replete with its ‘Swiss’ bakery, internet café and minimalist charm; it made me feel that this was the Himalayas that I had longed to find. (Diary entry – ‘I’ve arrived’)

After Tengboche a day’s easy trekking brought me to the valley junction of Pheriche/Dingboche, the crossroads of Everest. Here my destination split left and took me into the last real outpost of civilization, and the medical centre of Pheriche. Fortunately I was able to attend the daily complimentary High Altitude medical presentation by the resident volunteer doctors. It was an informative presentation that has no doubt saved the lives of countless trekkers who have passed through this centre over the years. It also belayed any fears that I or others in my party may have been having over whether our heads were going to explode or our blood boil at altitude!

After Pheriche things steepened even more and the worn trail that had filled our lungs and faces with dust and dried yak dung each day slowly gave way to glacial moraine and large boulder fields. Climbing up onto on to the edges of the Khumbu Glacier, we passed through the ‘one horse’ outpost of Dughla and had an overnight at Lobuche before sucking in the rarefied oxygen prior to arriving at Gorak Shep and the end of the lifeline of Tea Houses that has fed, watered and accommodated us so caringly during our last six days of trekking.

For many trekkers now comes the last big decision: to climb to the ‘Everest view point’ of ‘Kala Patthar’ 5545m to witness the evening sunset, or to collapse into bed and climb the hour-long trail in the cold of the morning to alternatively capture the sunrise over Mt Everest. Kala Patthar, a small 375m hill overlooking Gorak Shep offered the best view point to see and photograph Mt Everest, a view which cannot be seen from the actual Base Camp due to the immense size of the Khumbu icefall tumbling down onto the base camp glacier.

Although only a few hundred metres of climbing is required to ascend to the rocky pinnacle of Kala Patthar, it is often too much effort and hardship for many trekkers to prise themselves out of bed in the early cold of morning and climb in the freezing thin air, so many often fail to make the real jewel of the trek and miss out on the truly breathtaking and inspiring views afforded by this seemingly innocuous hill top.

I chose to ascend to Kala Patthar the same evening on arriving at Gorak Shep and after a hot chocolate and short but breathless climb was rewarded by a spectacular golden sunset, which will stay with me for the rest of my life.

This panorama of Himalayan giants must truly rate as one of the greatest views in the world and a fitting cherry to top a fantastic journey of discovery that consistently rewarded me on every turn or twist of the trail.

The descent back to Gorak Shep, although freezing cold, seemed to take only minutes due to the great feelings of achievement and success that were now racing through everyone’s thoughts as we anticipated opening a celebratory, if somewhat costly, ‘Gorkha’ beer on arrival back at our overnight sanctuary. Sleep came easy that night.

The following morning we made the short but interesting trek along the edge of the Khumbu Glacier to the hallowed ground that is Everest Base Camp, stopping short of the actual camp so as to preserve the sterile surroundings that are vital in the preparation of the many dozens of serious climbers hoping to scale the mountain in its entirety and stand on the top of the world looking up to nothing, and down to everything.

After a brief photo shoot and a clamber around on the rocky moraines of Base camp it was soon time to start our four day descent down the mountain, for me a sad farewell and hopefully the start of a lasting love affair with this majestic mountain and its incredible neighbours.

Following a rapid descent and an equally terrifying departure from the airstrip at Lukkla I was soon homeward bound, my life enriched, my fires stoked and my thoughts inspired and provoked once more. I will be back…

Damon Blackband is a freelance mountain guide, director of ‘Imp Adventures’ and is leading an attempt to summit Mt Everest in 2012 in support of the Veterans Charity Help for Heroes. To find out more about Damon’s climb and to sponsor his team please visit www.everest4heroes.com