April 24 – May 5, 2018

For some reason I decided, “hey, I’m gonna hike to Mount Everest Base Camp, yeah, that’s a good idea” – So, that’s what I just finished doing.

I started out arriving in Kathmandu, attending a briefing with my group in which I found out I was grossly unprepared, scrambling to buy all the things I needed, getting absolutely no sleep, then getting up at 3:45am the next day to head back to the airport to fly to Lukla.

Lukla sits at 2,800 meters and this is where the hiking begins. The airport is nuts, man. The whole town (as most Himalayan villages) sits on the edge of a mountain, therefore the runway is literally going up the side of the mountain. When you arrive you land headed uphill and come to an abrupt stop due to the super short runway. But, when taking off, its WILD. The runway literally drops off and you just need to hope the plane ends up taking off…

The tiny plane we took

The tiny airport, for the tiny airplanes, on the side of a mountain

So, we arrived, were met by our guide and team of porters to carry our belongings and started walking towards Base Camp. It took 8 days to trek approximately 60km to Mount Everest Base Camp at an elevation of 5,365 meters. Those 8 days includes 2 days of acclimatization to the altitude as we got higher and higher to avoid altitude sickness. Check it out!

The iconic suspension bridges and prayer flags

You can see Everest in the background of these pictures – it’s the one that looks like a chimney with smoke coming out!

I spent my evenings with my lovely group playing cards, chatting, and laughing in tea houses such as this!

Tons of Buddhist influences all along the trail

Gotta love them yaks

Breath-taking views constantly

It’s getting colder, must be getting close. I was not impressed as hail bounced off my face while hiking

That’s base camp! Just over there! *actually need to hike like 5 more hours..*

A sight for sore eyes! Here we are!!!

We in it, bitches – Everest Base Camp! Elevation 5,365 meters

Gorekshep is at an elevation of 5,100 meters. We slept there the night after visiting base camp. Let me tell ya, there is NO air at 5,100 meters. After a difficult night, we began the dreadful hike, basically the same route, to Lukla. I say dreadful because we were averaging 20+ km/day down steep hills and my feet did not appreciate this.

The hiking overall was not technically challenging, the altitude made for the biggest challenge. Thankfully, the only “altitude sickness” I suffered from consisted of a slight head ache and breathlessness while hiking on the highest day (AKA base camp). Which is pretty good seeing that I didn’t take any Diamox or medical assistance to help my body adjust.

So, yeah! That’s my story of hiking to Mount Everest Base Camp! Not sure how I’m gonna top this adventure, but I’m gonna try!

-XO Kris