This is a guest post by Mike from The Cheap Route Travel Site.
The summit of Everest is one of the most fascinating places on earth; it’s the top of the world, and 99.99999% of people will never be healthy, wealthy, or fortunate enough to see it. Take it down to the foot of the giant mountain, at South Everest Base Camp in Nepal, and that 99.9% shrinks rapidly. Trekking to Everest Base Camp is now fairly feasible for the adventure traveler.
To start with, you have to fly into the most dangerous airport in the world, the Tenzing Hilary airport in Lukla, Nepal. After surviving this flight, we then went through a deadly earthquake, followed by landslides which took out a major bridge along the base camp trail. Because this bridge went down, it meant we had to climb around it, up and down the mountain, along a mud soaked make shift pathway on the edge of a cliff in the pouring rain. The pouring rain meant the streams had filled up and were now waterfalls, often times overtaking the pathway on their way down the mountain. Meanwhile a plane crashed killing all 19 people on board during a scenic flight of Mt. Everest, the same kind of plane we still had to use on our return flight to Kathmandu. I’m sure not all Everest treks are this wild, but it was a huge relief to be back in Kathmandu alive.
On top of the hidden dangers mentioned previously, the hike was fairly difficult. Going 12 days with only a couple showers, hiking all day at elevations higher than most people ever experience in their lives, getting sick from the altitude, losing your appetite completely to the point where you nearly throw up trying to cram food down your throat; none of these things are particularly fun. South Everest Base Camp is located at 17,598 feet, which makes breathing difficult and normal things like putting on your shoes take your breath away.
Now, during those 12 days there were a lot of moments where I wished I was off the mountain, and a lot of time spent in pain or with discomfort. There were also a lot of “Wow” moments; the scenery was absolutely amazing, the risks were exhilarating, the challenge was character building, and sitting at the foot of the tallest mountain in the world was unforgettable. Don’t let my complaints steer you away from your own trek to Everest Base Camp. Just know it’s not all fun and games, but after you return to civilization you’ll look back on it as one of the coolest things you’ve ever done.
About the Author: Mike travelsthe worldsharing his photos and writing about his travels. For more info on trekking to EBC, visit his Everest Base Camp Trek Guide.
