EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK

We arrived at Kathmandu on 29th February and stayed at hotel called Sacred Valley. On 3rd March, we were up at 6am ready to get taken to the airport to catch our flight to Lukla - the start of the EBC trek. The planes were tiny carrying only 12 passengers who all looked equally concerned at whether we would actually make it the Lukla - there is infamous history concerning the planes and a very short runway!

After a very noisy 35min plane ride from Kathmandu, we landed at Lukla at 9,350ft. The views of the mountains in the sky made the journey all worth while, along with our first proper view of a stunning mountain at the airport.....

DAY 1: LUKLA to MONJO

6HRS TREKING -

50M DOWN, 315M UP to 9,235ft

After collecting our very heavy rucksacks, we were asked by local Sherpas and guides that were all waiting at the airport if we wanted our rucksacks carried for us, or just a guide to EBC. Since the road to EBC is supposedly straight forward and unmissable, we decided it would be more of an achievement to carry our own gear. We stopped at one of the many little shops to fill our water bottles up before heading towards the great big archway that indicated the start of the trek......

As soon as we passed through the archway, it was alot of downhill steps that required Mrs F walking pole - purchased from Kathmandu at £2.50 - We were both instantly stunned with the beauty of the scenery that surrounded us. Shortly after, we were joined by a solo treker named Peter from Switzerland, who was treking to Gokyo lakes and shared stories with us about him cycling all over the world, including a ride he had done from Switzerland to Iran. Eventually we arrived at Phakding which is the first stop on route which The Lonely Planet recommended to stay for the night, but we got there by midday and felt good to keep going, so we had lunch and got back on the road to Monjo.

We got to Monjo and stayed in Mrs Domas lodge who was a very lovely lady. Our rooms were very very basic, two single hard beds in a plywood box room, no means of heating or insulation with en suite - unfortunately it was too cold to get our clothes off to even have a shower, but at £4 for the night, we couldn't complain!

That evening we were joined by Peter and a crazy, over-keen french couple in the little dinning area of the lodge that had a burner in the centre which was the only means of heating throughout the entire lodge.

The burners are commonly packed with dried yak poo or pine cones, which the Nepalese  call 'Toc Toc'

Since we decided not to take any diamox, which is a drug that helps you to acclimatise, we were advised by The Lonely Planet and locals to eat garlic soup instead, so we did and it ain't good....but all the stuff that does ya good never is ay!!

That night, we really experienced how cold it gets at night sometimes dropping to -20'c with frozen water bottles the next morning. Mrs F wearing two base layers, two fleeces, a down jacket, hat, gloves, scarf, two pairs of socks, inside the season 3 sleeping bag!! Mrs F was up 4 times in less than an hour doing big wee's, but apparently its a good sign that your coping well with the altitude...it was just annoying having to get up into the freezing cold! 

DAY 2: MONJO to NAMCHE BAZAAR

4HRS TREKING -

100M DOWN, 1,000M UP to 11,319ft

Porridge for breakfast before getting back on the road to Namche, along one of the most stunning rivers with scenery only ever seen in paintings. Since the day involved alot of 'upness' we agreed it would be best not to talk on the steeper parts to preserve our breath and energy....however Peter continued to talk to Gary about football majority of the way up!! The 1,000ft climb along the never ending zig zag dirt roads was tough to say the least on the lungs, with every step you noticed the air thinning even more. Regular stops and taking it very easy was the best thing we could do. We had to cross alot of scary looking bridges going over the river and one in particular looked like the bridge from Indiana Jones, with locals saying prayers before crossing with their yaks!!

We finally got to Namche and our next lodge (where former president Jimmy Carter once stayed) and headed straight to the recommended bakery for a famous slice of apple pie, which Mr F enjoyed alot more than Mrs F. We had dinner in a little local restaurant still wrapped up in all the layers due to extreme cold. That night we decided to zip our sleeping bags together since we had a double bed to help keep us warm.

DAY 3: REST DAY at NAMCHE BAZAAR

We were recommended by The Lonely Planet to spend two nights at Namche to acclimatise. We should probably mention if you haven't already guessed by now that Gary was very attached to his Lonely Planet book and stuck to its 'day by day' guide and recommendations and read it every night!

We took a walk along the top part of Namche and met a group of Ozzy's who were also heading for EBC but were camping....crazy guys in that temperature! Had hot chocolate and a doughnut in the bakery and spent the rest of the afternoon cuddled up in our sleeping bags as it was too cold to do anything else once the clouds had closed in.   

A Nepalese child on the mountain.

Picture of a Yeti skull and hand....apparently??

DAY 4: NAMCHE BAZAAR to TENGBOCHE

6HRS 30MIN TREKING -

350M DOWN, 750M UP to 12,664FT

Aba Dabalm mountain, also known as 'The Horse Saddle'

The lonely Planet said that this day would take 3 and half hours to get from Namche to Tengboche, however, it was a soul destroying 6 and a half!!! The first part of the trek was a pleasant walk along the mountain tops, again with gorgeous views. There was alot of going down one mountain to the river and across and up another mountain. Going down was tough on Mrs F neck for the constant looking down with a heavy rucksack, got trekers knee and slipped on the unsteady dirt trek :-( Mr f also had a really tough time once we got over to the other mountain, as it was over 2hrs of a continuous straight up, never ending zig zags, with the top of the mountain never in sight. Mrs F by now was probably on her 5th snickers bar....since Monjo!   

Along the way, we saw lots of Sherpas (locals who transport all sorts of gear up the mountain, from 120kg of water to big sheets of plywood) on their backs and strap it on their heads!!

Once we reached Tengboche, we had our very first clear view of Mount Everest :-) Mrs F tried to convince Mr F that we'd got a good view of the mountain and may as well turn back, but efforts were in vain!

Our lodge here was by far the worst throughout the trek - Mrs F had the worlds worst pizza, the toilet was eye watering disgusting and a good job we had our jabs in order to use it and was the most freezing night which resulted in not much sleep. The plus side was our amazing view of Everest from our room and the stars were big and amazing.

DAY 5: TENGBOCHE to PHERICHE

6HRS 30MIN TREKING -

70M DOWN, 450M UP to 14,042ft

A Sherpa carrying planks of wood!

Our first view of Everest.

Mrs F with her really bad pizza!

Again, The Lonely Planet said that this day would take us 3 and half to 4 and half hours....but took over 6hrs!! The surroundings were very baron with no clear road and went off track a couple of times which added to the treking time. It was like walking on the moon with a mountainous view and the altitude was making it hard not only to breath but to walk. The air was so cold that we had to keep our mouth and nose covered due to it burning the nose and making the throat hurt. Mrs F had a brilliant solution to the constant running nose and stuffed tissue up her nostrils! Once we caught a glimpse of Pheriche, it was still over an hour before we got there - physically and emotionally battered, we collapsed in a heap in our room and stayed there all afternoon zipped up in our sleeping bags. 

DAY 6 : REST DAY AT PHERICHE

Since Pheriche was like walking into a little western village, there was nothing to do other than go for walks - but as it was too cold, we decided to stay in the lodge all day. The lodge had what they called a sun room which was a room at the top with solar panels, so we spent the majority of the morning and early afternoon up there playing cards. We retired to our room as per routine for the rest of the afternoon to chill out in our sleeping bags, before we headed into the dinning area for dinner in the early evening.
At dinner we got talking to a really nice guy also named Peter from Australia who was on his way down from EBC. After chatting for a while we discovered that he was also a christian, which was really lovely to have met someone with the same faith....we did pray that we would :-)

Gary eating his porridge at Pheriche with stunning view in the sun room.

Peter from Oz.

DAY 7: PHERICHE to DUGHLA

2HRS 30MIN TREKING -

0M DOWN, 400M UP to 15,092ft

As soon as we set off we instantly noticed the thin air, only took a few steps and were breathing like we'd just done a 100m sprint! At that altitude it was taking us a good 35mins whilst treking to find the right breathing pattern to accommodate the lack of oxygen. Although this wasn't a big day for the distance of treking to the next lodge, it still took us just over 2hrs to climb 200m up steep rocky terrain having to stop regularly to catch your breath. Once again we were surrounded by views that reminded you why on earth you were putting yourself through it all! At Dughla, there is only one lodge since the others were all taken out during a flood a few years back so room availability is very limited but mainly during high treking season. We met a German couple who we had been passing by since the road to Namche, who were also aware of the room shortages and became a race to the lodge.....we got there first! There were plenty of rooms to go around and there were 10 trekers staying there that night, all huddled around the burner as this was by far one of the coldest lodges we stayed at. The toilet was frozen due to the severe cold and so you just had to go outside at pick your rock to hide behind and do ya stuff! A plus side was that we discovered a great dish called 'Mo Mos' which were pasta dumplings filled with potato and cheese and then fried....yummy! We were a bit concerned when the lady used nothing but a head torch to cook dinner in the kitchen, but it turned out to be one of our best meals to date. 

Gary giving the mountain some scale.

The road which took 2hrs to climb!

The toilet in the lodge...notice the bottle of Harpic!

Our room on the left in the lodge.

A bowl of garlic soup which helped us to acclimatise.



Everyone huddled around the burner.



DAY 8: DUGHLA to LOBUCHE

3HRS TREKING -

0MDOWN, 300M UP to 16,207ft

An extremely cold night and start to the day, Mr F woke up looking quite pale and unable to feel his legs. We had some hand warmers which according to the instructions would heat up instantly once exposed to oxygen - trouble was we were 15,092ft up where there wasn't much oxygen so they took over an hour to heat up! Once we had a couple of hot waters with breakfast and were slightly warmed up, we tried to prepare ourselves mentally for the infamous 'straight up climb' on a very rocky mountain. This climb was a killer, not being able to breath and with the freezing cold adding to the excersion, the best way up was to pick the smallest rock to climb over so not to wear yourself out too much. Once we got to the top we were amongst what seemed like a very calm area, like going to a graveyard, where there were alot of memorial stones and prayer flags for those who have died trying to reach the summit of Everest.  

Further along the trail, we came across ice and snow and had to walk across the frozen glacier to get to the other side of the mountain which led to Lobuche.

Cup of tea from the night before at Dughla!

Memorial stones.

Prayer flags.

Frozen glacier.

We arrived at Lobuche around midday and had lunch with the German couple before heading out together to go and see an Italian research center for altitude and weather, which was a 1 hour walk away. The lodge was fitted with solar panels in both the dinning area and in the rooms, which was around a very lovely 5'c during the day but dropped to a teeth chattering -25 at night!  

 Mr F enjoying a rare treat of warmth

   Italian research centre

 

DAY 9: LOBUCHE to GORAK SHEP

2HRS 15MIN TREKING -

0M DOWN, 250M UP to 16,962ft

We'd heard lots of stories form trekers on thier way down from EBC and Gary's beloved Lonely Planet, that Gorak Shep was the worst lodge to stay at in terms of how much the temperature drops at night. So we decided it would be best to start out early from Lobuche and walk back on the same day to avoid staying at Gorak Shep. After breakfast we set out at 7am layered up to the max and only one rucksack with essentials....which Mr F carried. There was no proper track to follow the entire way to Gorak Shep, just alot of loose stones and big rocks to negotiate your way around. We noticed specks of fresh blood along the route that we had chosen to go through so was treading very carefully over the boulder....and prayed the person who the blood belonged to was ok! We came across a frozen river which we had to crawl on our hands and feet along one side and go from rock to rock over it to the other side. The whole area was very grey with nothing but the colour of the rocks, stones and mountains and was not much sign of life accept for the occasional treker.

The frozen river that we crawled across

Mr F with Muggles and Buggles :-)

GORAK SHEP to KALA PATTAR

3HRS TREKING -

200M DOWN, 200M UP to 18,192ft

We got to Gorak Shep and stopped for a short break and a quick load up on a hot drink. Even at 9:30am we could see how cold the lodge was. We walked across what seemed like a mini desert towards Kala Pattar and started our climb up. Kala Pattar is a mountain 600M higher than EBC and since the peak of Everest can't be seen from base camp, most people climb KP to get the best view. The trail up was easy to follow, just like a well trodden dirt path and was a 'straight up' track. Surprisingly Mrs F had no trouble at all with the high altitude or any aching joints and was going at quite a good pace. However Mr F hadn't eaten much throughout the entire trek and was now starting to suffer for it - having a really tight chest, out of breath, becoming clumsy and generally not feeling well :-( But he soldered on to a good spot where we stopped and took some pictures of the amazing 'once in a lifetime' view of Everest and all the other mountains that surrounded it. We were incredibly blessed with the weather throughout the trek and even at 18,000ft we had a really clear view of Everest.                 

                                                                                       

The little desert by Gorak Shep.

The road to Kala Pattar.

Everest Baby!!! (The black one)

Mr F with Muggles and Buggles.

Everest Base Camp.

Surprisingly there wasn't many other trekker's on Kala Pattar, so we had to use the self timer on our camera to get a shot of us both with Everest in the background. Loads of people had told us that on quite a few occasions, the batteries in peoples cameras got so cold that the camera wouldn't even switch on, so we had to be quick with taking photos and also balancing it on a rock in high winds for the self timer. After we were satisfied with the pictures we had taken and spent a little while taking in the awesomeness of the views, we started our descent off KP back to Gorak Shep. Going down was equally as tough as going up, if not more difficult on how much strain it put on your legs and Mr F slipped a few times in his worn down boots that didn't have much grip left in them. Back at Gorak Shep, Mr F broke the world record for downing a bottle of coke in lightening speed time! We also realised how burnt we both got on our noses, the one day we didn't wear suncream and we got massively caught out :-( We made it back to Lobuche just before 4pm and collapsed in our room. That evening there was the most stunning sunset on the mountains that we were very fortunate to get a picture of.....

DAY 10 -

DESCENDING TO PHERICHE:

After taking some painkillers for a really bad headache before bedtime at Lobuche, Mrs F had her first decent nights sleep since London with a refreshing 9hrs! We decided to push on for Pheriche on our first day of descending, since going back down was going to be much easier and quicker in regards to altitude and breathing. However in regards to it being much easier physically, it wasn't! Having to constantly look down to watch where you're treading with a heavy rucksack on your shoulders puts alot of strain on your neck. It also puts huge amounts of strain on your knees walking down at an angle, so supports had to worn. Mr F had to have the walking pole as most of the grip had worn away form his boots, it was causing him to slip and on one occasion he twisted his ankle :-( We decided to follow a group of yaks led by a Sherpa who was also heading down so to walk on the best trail...we think. We arrived at Pheriche at midday and Mrs F phoned her Mum for 8mins costing £10!

  

DAY 11 -

DESCENDING TO DEBOUCHE:

We woke up with our noses feeling very sore and weeping from the sunburn on Kala Pattar, to find it had snowed overnight and was full of grey clouds. We had planned to trek back to Namche this day, although it was going to be a very hard and long day, we wanted to avoid staying a Tengboche. We were about an hour away from Tengboche when it started to snow and very quickly became quite heavy - Mr F slipped on some ice that was hidden by the snow causing his trekking trousers to rip, so we decided to stop in a little village just before Tengbouche called Debouche. We stayed at a lodge called 'Rivendel' after Lord Of The Rings due to the river that runs through the valley by the side of it. We were the first trekkers to arrive that day receiving a complimentary tea and a room with a double bed. After a while, the lodge soon filled up with a couple of big groups and a few solo trekkers also staying the night to avoid the snow. Outside the snow was really coming down, it looked like the perfect christmas card. Then the most amazing thing happened, it stopped snowing and the sun came out and completely melted all the snow away just 3hrs after it was covered over all white.

What we woke up to at Pheriche.

The snow at Debouche.

3 hours later!

Mr F's ripped trousers :-(

DAY 12 -

DEBOUCHE TO NAMCHE BAZAAR:

We were woken up at 6:30am by a very loud, inconsiderate German group of trekker's....gggrrrr!! We checked out and the lady only charged us 100 rupees for our room instead of 300, just for being nice people :-) The road back to Namche was very long and had to walk along alot of high mountain tops with narrow paths, which made it difficult to get out of the way of the train of yaks that wanted to pass. We called them 'Yak Attacks!' Every time we turned a corner on the mountain, we expected to see Namche in the distance - this went on for ages before we actually did see it! Mrs F's knees were just holding out with 'trekers knee' from all the steps leading down from the mountain into the little centre of Namche. We checked into the same lodge that we stayed in the last time, as we were already familiar with everything there. We stayed in a room that had a double bed with an electric blanket, so needless to say we spent most of the time using up most of their electricity to stay warm! We decided to stay for three days at Namche to see the Saturday market that The Lonely Planet had 'bigged up'. Although there wasn't much to do other than take little strolls around the stalls that sold mostly trekking gear and toilet roll, there was a bar that showed a film everyday at 3pm.

Buddhist prayer wall.

A Nepalese woman unravelling her wool.



DAY 13/14

REST DAY AT NAMCHE BAZAAR:

Gary had read about the worlds highest air strip at Namche in The Lonely Planet (of Course!) and we had heard from other trekers that it was worth the 2hr, 30min trek up the mountain to go and see it. We spent the whole of day 13 resting, mostly on the electric blanket, and on day 14, we decided to go and have a look at the air strip. We both had it in our minds that it was going to be a tarmacked runway with a little airport and that the hideous climb up the mountain was worth while to see it. However, when we got to the top and saw that it was just a little building much like a lodge with a dirt track for the runway, we were majorly disappointed to say the least!! We went back to the lodge and decided that we were both in desperate need of a shower as body wiping everyday wasn't enough anymore and Mrs F's hair was getting out of control with grease! So we decided to brave the freezing cold by taking our clothes off to get in a warm shower and raced to get dried and dressed as quickly as we could to avoid any unnecessary coldness!

The disappointing air strip.

View from the air strip.

Mrs F's bad hair and burnt nose!

Mr F's trekers black toe.

DAY 15 -

REST DAY AT NAMCHE BAZAAR:

Saturday, the famous market day. We asked one of the workers at the lodge where the market was and he told us that it isn't as big as what it used to be...and he wasn't wrong! When we got to the market, it was so small and rubbish that we didn't think we had gone to the right one. After walking around for ages looking for the right one, we came to realise that this was the saturday market that The Lonely Planet had recommended to see. After buying a scrubbing brush to dust down all our clothes and rucksacks for all the dust, we headed back to the room and contemplated setting off to Monjo that day. We would have left for Monjo sooner but we only stayed at Namche for 3days so we could see the market! We decided to spend the rest of the day at Namche and set out for Monjo the next day.

DAY 16 -

NAMCHE BAZAAR TO MONJO

We set off back down the dirt track of zig zags and saw alot of yaks and sherpas carrying treking and climbing gear labelled 'Everest Expedition 2012'. The amount of heavy loads the sherpas were carrying were unbelievable and probably will be carried all the way up towards the summit of Everest. After making it to the river, we stopped for a quick drink and snacks - Mrs F had a Toffee Crisp chocolate bar that was bought for £1.70, but after two weeks of nothing but pasta and fried potatos and around 12 snickers bars, it was well worth it! The walk back along the river was lovely and quite a warm sunny day.....

Sherpas carrying the Everest gear.

Mrs F with her Toffee Crisp.

Old bridge that got taken out in a flood.

We got to Lukla and stayed at Mrs Domas lodge again who was happy to see us and made us noodle soup on arrival. We spent all afternoon playing cards and chilling out in the liitle dinning area just outside the lodge that had been heated up from the sun. We were hoping that other trekers were also gonna be at the lodge so we could share stories and if they were going up, we could pass on some advice and knowledge as other trekers did for us when we were heading up...but we were the only two staying there. 

DAY 17 -

MONJO TO LUKLA:

Mrs Doma had proudly grown an apple tree in her garden and had a job lot of apples that she offered to us in varrious forms, such as apple pie, apple juice and just apples on their own which we kindly declined. After some very dodgy pancakes the next morning, we asked for toast and jam....the jam was home made apple jam, we think she was determined to give us some of her apples bless her! We shortly after set off for the finish line, Lukla......

Our last view of the snowy mountains.

There were days heading back that we wondered how on earth we ever made it going up! The last day of the trek back to beginning was by far one of the worst days throughout the whole trek.It just went on and on with endless steep steps going up and everytime we turned the corner we were expecting to see the big arch that marked the start and end of the trek. After a very long 6hrs we made it back to the beginning and the ebd of our EBC trek. Our flight back to Kathmandu wasn't for another 5days and could have used those spare days to go off on more side treks including Gokyo Lakes. However, Mrs F by this time had enough of freezing cold temperatures, not much sleep and nothing but carbs for dinner. Mr F on the other hand was quite up for treking to Gokyo Lakes which are at the same height as EBC and a whole other trek in itself! But we (Mrs F) decided to get back to Lukla early and try to move our flight forward back to sea level....so we did. 

Mrs f looking unimpressed at the last day of treking.

DAY 18 -

LUKLA TO KATHMANDU:

We managed to move our flight forward to an ealry morning one out of the mountains and back to Kathmandu. Although our flight was late, our taxi guy was still waiting for us to take us back to our hotel where we took no time at all getting straight in a hot shower.....for about an hour....each!!!

VERDICT OF EBC TREK -

MR F: Awesome, tough, soul destroying, cold, really cold...a great experience and one i would never change. The scenery and people we have met have made for an experience i will never forget!

MRS F: Very tough physically but more so mentally. Although i moaned (alot) about how cold it was and so on, the views and scenery that we have been blessed to experience personally and see the awesomeness that is Everest in the flesh, made it all worth while in the end. What made it all 'do-able' for us, was knowing that God was with us every step of the way, he was like the third treker in our group! The whole journey to Everest was a massive walk with God and in our faith, building on our relationship with him in our marriage and as individuals....it's the best feeling ever! Without God, we would never have made it sanely to EBC - even through the bad times, we were able to get through them with the power of prayer.

 "THAILAND HERE WE COME!!!"