Our latest adventure: Mount Everest (with pics!)

I know it’s been a long time, not because I haven’t had anything to literally write home about, rather that I haven’t had the mindset to compose an entry. It’s been a busy 18 months; we’ve been to Brussels and back, and within a month of re-stabilising in Birmingham, I am now reporting from the Nepalese Himalayas, about a week into our epic adventure. Robin is off to the top of the world and I’ve accompanied him on the trek into Everest Base Camp. I thought it would be great to document our journey as we go along: as technology has moved along, I’m able to ditch the scratch pad for an iPad mini and use the Tea House WiFi along the way. 

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So here’s how it began:

April 6, 2019. London to Dubai.

After a civilised touristic day in London, we made our way to Gatwick Airport with 4 duffels equating to 80kg of Everest related kit (and snacks) to check in- only 17 of which was mine. The very kind lady at check in spared charging Robin for the extra 5kgs. However, what we saved here was lost at the last minute currency exchange (🤦‍♀️) buying USD and whatever Nepalese Rupees were in stock. Eventually on to our Emirates flight to KTM via Dubai- and the flight was far more comfortable than I expected. Quite good seat space, a nice fleecy blanket and good wine. A 6ish hours flight with 3ish hours of cattle class airplane sleep later, we arrive in Dubai. 

April 7, 2019: Dubai to Kathmandu 

We spent 45 minutes of a 4.5 hour layover in Dubai transferring to the budget air terminal where our flight to Kathmandu was departing. With not a lounge to rest our heads, nor a double seat, we purchased some snacks and did laps of duty free before our flight to Kathmandu left. 

The arrival in Kathmandu was as expected for a “holiday” country: line up to fill in a paper form, then line up to input the details of the paper form into the visa processing computer, then line up to pay for the visa, then lastly, line up to go through passport control. By then our 4 black duffel bags were waiting amongst the other black trekking duffel bags for us to pick up. We hauled them on a trolly and met our first porter to take us to the hotel. 

About 30 minutes of driving in what seemed to be a lack of traffic rules, similar to playing Toad’s Turnpike in reverse mode, we arrived at Hotel Shakti in the Thamel district. Indeed our last night of luxury for the next while was in our hotel in London; but it’s also likely that the 3* (2* western standard) would be luxury after what was to come. We walked out and around the corner to get some dinner with other Everest Aspirationals who will join Robin, before showering with the toilet and tucking in for the night. At least (we each) had a bed which was better than sleeping on the plane.

April 8, 2019: Kathmandu 

Woke up for our 8am briefing where we were amongst maybe 40 other Summit Climb patrons. We shortly learned that there were other tours happening in addition the the Everest ones that Robin and I booked. Many people were doing Cho Oyu, what is meant to be an “easy” 8000m peak. There were also several guests taking part in Everest Tibet and North Col attempts. Our direct group consists of 16 total trekkers coming from Belgium, Canada (that’s me😝), France, India, Iran, the UK, and the USA: Robin + 4 other Everest Nepal side climbers, two Island Peak climbers, two Lhotse peak climbers, 6 Everest Camp 3 climbers, and one additional base camp trekker to me. The mix consists of 1 guide, as well as an additional set of Sherpa who we collect along the way. The term Sherpa refers to the native people from the Khumbu Valley region. They are our support staff on our journey from Kathmandu to the top of the world. 

The company owner, a man with a gentle, smiling handshake yet a repertoire of deadpan, random one-liners, took us through some top tips, reviewed the kit list, and disseminated the difference between Imodium (just a plug for your butt) and taking different antibiotics when you get an upset stomach because you opened your mouth in the shower. Other top tips included how much cash to take depending on if you go to Tibet or Nepal (you need a minimum of $1500 to get a rescue jeep in Tibet vs in Nepal, if you want to have fun, meaning tea and chocolate cake at each village, bring $10 a pop), and to take Diamox starting now if you don’t want to be reading your kindle in your tent while everyone else is having a good time. Of course, one last helpful warning to those going for their different summits: beware of “Summit Fever”, that insatiable need to get to the top, even when you’re not feeling well, and you think “it’s just there” then you fall over, and DIE. Essentially, we listened to some well-learned warnings into the tone of light humour before signing our savings away in case of emergency.

After our briefing, we found out there was a 12am lobby call due to our flight being rescheduled to another airport a drive away. Recently, Kathmandu air authorities have cancelled all local air traffic to Lukla to prioritise international air traffic,. Bad news as that meant it was likely to be a poor night’s sleep. More bad news, the next airport was a 4 hour drive  away. 

Onwards and outwards from the hotel to brave the chaos of Kathmandu for a spot of gear shopping and rupee exchange (feel like a baller with my wad of 1000 rupee notes; 1000 rupees = about $10 usd). We were greeted with many familiar sites as found in other non-western cities: hole-in-the-wall tuck shops, tuktuk vs taxi vs scooter travel, and souvenir shops galore set upon the dirt/cement roads and amongst the brick and corrugated metal roof tops. 

With our tasks finished, we took some time to be tourists and put our lives in the hands of our taxi driver who drove us to the Swayambhunath Temple, which is well known for the monkeys which occupy the grounds, in addition to the hilltop view over Kathmandu.

Back to the hotel for our group dinner, bag packing, and then one last shower for an uncertain number of days as we’ve been told it can be random as to when we will be reunited with our bags. Top tip: bring a backpack/ sleeping bag combo that allows you to also have your water, snacks, and spare clothes. It was Robin to the rescue for me as my backpack was too small or my sleeping bag too large to accommodate extra clothes or snacks. I bet you can guess which I prioritised. 

April 9, 2019: Kathmandu (1400m) to Ramechhap (1619m) to Lukla (2845m) to what should have been Phadking (2610m)

We started the day before going to bed loading the van at 1230am to drive to Ramechhap airport, or should I say, airfield for our flight to Lukla. Lukla is renowned for being one of, if not the most, dangerous airports in the world as the 527m runway is set in between two hillsides. However, the drive there was potentially even more dangerous.

The drive is probably best to take at night so you don’t see the direct danger you are driving through... or perhaps the trekking company wanted to save on a hotel night. The driver slalomed our way up and down and eventually up again to our airfield. These roads are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before- it’s hard to tell if they have been damaged by the 2016 earthquake or if they were never built properly in the first place. It seems as though much of the infrastructure in Kathmandu, and up to Lukla so far, is rubble, pot holed, and down-right collapsing.

After having a breakfast box only rivalled to that provided at the infamous Fyre Festival, we luckily boarded our plane within the hour or so of arriving (there was a threat we’d be there all day). Larger backpacks were loaded in the hold with the duffels and some day bags made it in the 24-seater cabin. Unfortunately, some bags were loaded elsewhere... so elsewhere in fact that they ended up on other planes. Unfortunately Robin’s day bag was one of those bags. Instead of pressing on to Phadking, it was decided that the group will remain in Lukla for the night to wait for the 20 awol luggage pieces, putting us a day behind at the start of the itinerary.

Ramechaap Airport. Summit Air planes

Lukla Airport runway.

How did we spend our day in Lukla? We caught some missed zzz’s, got caught in a mule/donkey traffic jam, and learned the Iranian version of Crazy 8’s (Dirty 7’s) before dinner and an early bedtime.

April 10, 2019: Lukla (2845m) to Phadking (2610m)

After a long and comfortable sleep at the first, but I’m sure not last, Namaste Tea House, we packed our day bags and started off on our 7km hike. We were greeted by beautiful Bhuddist Nepalese religious symbols along the way (always pass clockwise) and several herds of donkey/ mule/ yak type animals hauling 100’s of kgs of gas tanks, rice bags, and overloaded North Fake/Face 100L duffels. Why the animals, you ask? Well, there are NO roads from Lukla onwards into the valley and up the mountains.

Mules learning the route up the mountain by eating the maps.

About 2 hours of undulating, mainly downhill, terrain later, we arrived at our next rest house, the Green Village Tea Room. We had enough time for a bit of terrace sunbathing, a hot-tap shower (an added bonus), then our first Dal baht of the trip. Dal baht is a Nepalese/ Indian type dish of a lentil soup, rice, curry fried potatoes and vegetables, topped with a poppadom. As I’m sure to have another Namaste Tea House stay, I’m also sure to have more than a few more dal bahts for dinner during this adventure. With dinner done, it was time to turn in for our 6am alarm in anticipation for our long trek to Namche Bazar the following day.

April 11, 2019: Phadking (2610m) to Namche Bazar(3440m) 

What is meant to be one of the hardest days on the trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC), we woke early to get a good start on our 12km hike ahead of the blazing sun. This was such a beautiful start to our Himalayan hiking; a mix of stone and dirt zigzag pathways set amongst the evergreen and rhododendron forests. We followed the valley of the river, crossing the famous wire suspension bridges, passing herds of our hoofed animals, with views of rocky, snow-dusted peaks around each corner. 

One of several suspension bridges

Our guide tried to manage our expectations to say that we would expect a 3hr hike to Jorsalle where we could stop for lunch, with a further 3.5-4 hrs to Hilltop Tea House right at the top of Namche Bazar.  We steadily ventured at our own pace as the pack spread out and after 2 hrs got to Jorsalle. With no sign of the faster people, and over the halfway mark in terms of kilometres, we decided to continue onwards. Up and up, polé polé (slowly slowly from Kilimanjaro), we entered Sagarmatha National Park and were strictly reminded to refrain from: taking life, anger, jealousy, offending others, and taking excessive intoxicants. Sagarmatha is the Nepalese name for Mount Everest, meaning “Mother Goddess of the Earth” and is one of their deities.

First view of Everest... super zoomed.

We hit our first viewpoint of Everest at 3180m (and no sign of our team members nor another village for lunch). Robin and I armed our stomaches with Cliff and Primal Pantry bars and ploughed on. About another 40 minutes onwards, we hit the Namche check point (relief!). Unfortunately we were hit with a sting in the tail and our aptly named Hilltop Tea House which was another 100-200m ascent. 

Miraculously as usual, our bags arrived via our furry four-footed friends and we unpacked for the next two nights as we will have our rest day in Namche the following day. 

April 12, 2019: Namche Bazar(3440m) “rest” day.

“Rest” day meant an acclimatisation hike up to 3880m. Queue eye roll as this hike was effectively a 45 minute stair session (I loathe stairs) at altitude in the late morning sunshine. All worth it though, as we were rewarded at the top of our hike at the Hotel Everest View Point with real coffee from Nepal. Small wins when you’ve not had a coffee in a few days. Back down to our Hilltop abode for a spot of Sherpa Stew for lunch before wandering around the alleyways of Namche. 

Namche hosts a mix of more brightly coloured religious structures, touristic market shops, essential shops where you can buy $10 toilet paper (okay, for 4 rolls), and North Fake AND legit North Face gear for sale. We also stopped for some of that aforementioned $10 for chocolate cake before retreating to our room to finish my recount of the past week. 

We are both looking forward to the next week, where the only way is up! I’ll continue to keep you updates along the way.

Ta ta for now.