Everest Base Camp (EBC) Trek: Just Around the Corner (Part 1)
Trekking in Nepal has been on my to-do list for years. Since I started alpine mountain climbing in 2010, Everest among other well-known summits has captured my imagination.
Nepal is home to eight of the ten highest summits in the world. These areas of rich culture and diverse people have views only attainable by foot. Through their success and tragedy, I have come to know this region through stories of climbers and Sherpas in videos and books.
After completing Kilimanjaro in 2018 , I was looking for my next adventure. Reaching the summit of Africa took 8-days, 40 miles, climbing 11,599 feet. I knew whatever was next had to be a little more epic.
While finalizing my short list I got a message from a friend and fellow climber Mariah, who I had met in Tanzania on the Kilimanjaro climb. She was trying to get a group together for an Everest Base Camp trek and wanted to know if I was interested. It was an easy yes. Antarctica would have to wait a few more years (but just a few.)
We knew the guide company we would use. We had all used them before and knew they would not let us down. I can’t recommend Embark Expedition Co. enough! After some emails and a few phone calls, deposits were paid and the Everest adventure was scheduled for March 2020.
Trekking in the spring is definitely the best time to visit the Everest region. It still promises to be busy. We can expect the average temperature to be 62-77F during the day and getting to around 5 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
We will begin our trip as most do by arriving in Katmandu. It is here where we will have some time to explore and meet the rest of the climbers and guides. After a day of exploring and preparing, we will take a short flight to Lukla.
The Lukla airport had been ranked the world’s most dangerous airport for over 20-years and is still considered one of the most dangerous today. This is in part due to the runway being extremely short ending in a steep drop to a valley below. The runway is at a 12 percent incline, and you are surrounded by steed mountains.
From Lukla, we will start hiking from 9,383 ft. for a short 5.5 miles losing elevation as we make our way to Phakding, a small village in the Dudh Kosi River Valley, north of Lukla, at 8,660 ft. From there, we will begin gaining elevation as we make our way to Namche Bazaar, considered the gateway to Everest at 11,287 ft.
We will have our first zero day (rest day) at Namche, as we begin the long acclimatization process. We then spend the day exploring the markets and resting before we start the 6-mile hike to Tengboche at 12,664 ft. This has the largest monastery in the Khumbu region.
From there, we continue on to Dingboche at 14,468 ft. where we will have our second rest day. All before we start our longest day of 12 miles to get to Lobuche a small settlement at 16,110 ft.
The next day we will make our way to Gorakshep at 16,860 ft. then onto Everest Base Camp at 17,300 ft.
It will take us 9 days to get to EBC and another 4 days to get back to Lukla. We will travel 80 miles round trip and will gain 7,917 ft. in elevation.
This will be the longest trip to-date in both miles and duration, and I couldn’t be more excited!
We will have fun!
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