Well Id like to tell you it was a very enjoyable experience but in actual fact it was a long and painful trudge . I had totally and utterly underestimated the effect of the altitude . Above 4000m I was experiencing blinding headaches , every time I coughed I had bright flashes in my right eye and felt like my brain might explode , I was totally nauseous and didn't eat anything for 6 days ...if I smell a frying pan here with their soybean oil it makes me queasy even now one week after returning . Sleep is virtually impossible ... Plus a spot of food poisoning didn't help. So 6-8hrs a day of hiking with something equalling your worst most painful hangover wasn't really a joy .
It definitely wasn't easy , but my group luckily saved the day and were all really great . Around 50% of our group were experiencing similar issues so thankfully I wasn't the only "weak" one. Plus we had the best guide and guides daughter that you could hope to have.
Day 1 : Was an easy 3hr downhill trek from Lukla (2850m) to Phakding ( 2610m). The trees were in bloom and it was very pretty . So it all started off well ...
Lukla- The Worlds most dangerous Airport. No wonder with a cliff directly behind me and a cliff dropping off the end of the runway. Scary stuff.
Heading down to the river crossing . Never easy when you know there is a massive up hill coming next day
Day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazar ( 3440m)
This was a 6hr trek directly up. It was slow going but it was beautiful as we were in the Forest and there were views of waterfalls with Thamserku in the distance towering above our "hill". At this point it was still very pleasant and enjoyable ...my kind of hiking as it was hard going but scenic.
This wee boy should charge money for his photo ! So cute
Can just about see Thamserku in the background
Must walk around this clockwise
One of the many seriously scary bridges which you need to cross
Namche Bazar
Day 3 : An acclimatisation day in Namche
Supposed to be a rest day but in order to acclimatise better we decided to do a two hour hike to the Everest view point .
Little was I to know that this was actually the best view point of Everest on the whole trip . Its the one on the left side with the cloud floating from it . Next to it is Lhotse and on the right side is the spectacular Ama Dablam
Our wonderful guide Nir hitching a lift on our UK guide David
Day 4: Namche Bazar to Pangboche (3930m)
So disaster struck last night. I had some serious food poisoning ! Who knows if it was something I ate or drank all I know was that I slept 2 hrs and spent the rest of the night in the toilet . I would have preferred to stay in bed but was told we needed to stay as a group and I should try to make it to the next stop . I made it about 50m outside the hotel before I had to puke . It was one of the two longest days of hiking and this day was never ending. I had no energy to take photos . Luckily for me my new friend Nisha - the daughter of our guide , took the best care of me and basically managed to drag me up and down the next mountain. A lot of water with rehydration salts managed to get me to Dingboche where there is a huge Monastery . Figured Id get photos on the way back ...another 40 odd minutes and we arrived at the next stop. No food for me ...at this stage Id be happy not to eat again ...Most of the day was a painful blur . Straight to bed.
Day 5: Pangboche to Dingboche (4360m)
Feeling a whole lot better today , although the thought of food makes me want to vomit . Even the smell of it had me boaking . Bit of a sore head due to the altitude but nothing a paracetamol didn't sort out . A day of hiking in the snow and we arrived at our next teahouse which had on-suite toilets ! Shame I didn't have food poisoning here where I had a toilet to myself and not one shared by 50 other tourists ...oh well. The owner here had summited Everest 3 times and was named Ram . Such a funny guy ! Stay here if you want a laugh after dinner . Sitting huddled around the wee central fire trying desperately to keep warm . It was -5C in the bedroom and the water in the loo had frozen in the morning. Here was the only place I had a shower on the whole trip . Showering when the ambient temperature is in the minus degrees just wasn't pleasant .
Bring loads of loo paper and wipes with you if you want to do this trek . My tip of the trip. And bring a hat too, not just for the warmth but to hide the dreadful unclean hair !
Beautiful views of the valley and Ama Dablam in the morning
Arrival into Dingboche. Bit chillier here
Day 6: Acclimatisation Day in Dingboche
Lucky we have an acclimatisation day here because I woke up with a splitting headache . I put it down to the fact it was -3C in the room and my head was cold . But looking back it was definitely the altitude. We did a small two hour hike and then headed to a wee tea room for a piece of cake ! Nice easy day .
Two of the Lads with Nisha
The smiliest Tea house owner ever - Ram
Day 7 : Dingboche to Loboche ( 4930m)
Not a huge day of up and down , it was mainly just a long plod away from Ama Dablam and around the mountains to the Khumbu Glacier. Loboche is a small settlement and our tea house was the coldest we stayed in . No heating in or out and the toilet was a tin shed . I still cant face food but now I guess its down to the altitude rather than the food poisoning. We had a good laugh though after dinner with Nisha teaching us Nepali songs and Tom dancing to them . Unfortunately one of the rooms got broken into and they stole all of Rodger and Toms money . The Nepali people were appalled and thoroughly searched the poor porters . I am more likely to blame some of the dodgy looking foreigners who were there though rather the very honest Sherpa people.
Very small door way !
Day 8 : Loboche to Gorak Shep ( 5160) and Everest Base Camp ( south side 5364m) :
Woke up with a blinding headache . Feeling nauseous and still cant face food . Also not sleeping very well ....the joys of altitude sickness. Cant wait just to get this damn hike done and return to more pleasant areas. Who would have thought a person could need so many painkillers just on a hike ?
After all this plodding along , I got to within one hour of the Base camp and couldn't go further. Days of hiking with no food or sleep and bumper headaches have taken its toll. The guide recommended I go back to Gorak Shep and rest because it was more important for me to reach Kala Patthar than the base camp. Being stubborn as I am I would have toughed it out and dragged myself up there but didn't want to hold anyone back. Kind of glad I did because Tom who was also experiencing migraines ended up getting really ill and was stumbling around and slurring his words up there . I had no idea the altitude would be so debilitating !
The photos of the Base Camp are courtesy of Ongchu - our high altitude guide . Another super friendly lovely Nepali .
I could see the Base Camp , just hadn't the energy to get there
The end of the road for me
How anybody can stay here for two months to acclimatise is beyond me , well actually so is the idea to summit Everest ....Utmost respect to anyone who makes it up there!
In the background is where 16 Sherpas lost their lives the next day when caught in an avalanche whilst out preparing the route for rich tourists . So Sad !
Day 9 : Kala Patthar ( 5645m) to GorakShep to Dingboche
Another blinding Migraine this morning . Early start at 4.45am to catch the sunrise over Everest . Big thanks to Ongchu who carried my rucksack and enabled me to drag my sorry ass up this mountain. Three of the guys decided to conserve energy and stayed in bed and would catch us up after breakfast . Head down and one foot ahead of the other for a couple of hours and I reached the top . The painkillers had kicked in and I felt much better . Quick few photos and then back for breakfast ( well for the others , I couldn't smell food let alone eat anything) . Then it was a fairly long hike back to Dingboche. But we were all glad to get back to more acceptable height. I was just happy to be going home again ! When we got back to Loboche our group split up as three of us were heading off to summit LoBoche East . Good luck to them . That would have meant three more nights in the freezing cold ...
The crew with Nuptse in the background
Sunrise on Everest ( 8848m) with Nuptse (7861m) in the foreground on the left
Day 10 : Dingboche to Namche Bazaar
A couple of long hiking days ahead but everyone was in good spirits I guess because we all felt so much more energised after decreasing the altitude. Dinner and hiking conversations started to occur again ! Much more enjoyable now that we could all talk again . I can stomach food again which is good ! Poor Nisha got food poisoning on the way back and I could return the favour and drag her to the next stop.
Mountain transport
Dingboche Monastery
Heading home. Yippee !
Day 11: Dingboche to Lukla
This was a really long hike. I think we had all forgotten the easy downhill at the beginning would be a killer at the very end . But it was back through some beautiful vegetation so it made for a lovely hike home. Back to Lukla and we were invited to Nisha and Nir`s home for dinner . Fantastic tuna filled Momos and a spicy soup. Thank you Nir and family for a wonderful end to the trip !
The most terrifying bridge . Of course it had to be the higher of the two
Aptly named end of trek beer !
Day 12 : Return to Kathmandu
There were some delays to the flights that morning . Honestly Id have paid bucket loads of cash to get back to somewhere warm ..luckily the flight took off and we landed back in KTM to approx. 25C . Yeeha ! Our hotel was lovely with a swimming pool and hot water . A shower never felt so good !
The hike was great but the altitude issues took away the enjoyment . Its probably not going to be repeated so Im glad I made it as far as I did on this trip. Best thing about the trek was the people . The team and the guides , they made it worthwhile to continue ! Big thank you to them and a massive thank you to our poor porters who had the worst job of all .
