EBC Trek!
16/Jun 2015
UPDATE: 6.5 days after we left Kathmandu, it was struck by a terrible earthquake. Our thoughts go out to everyone. We were very lucky to leave when we did. Please donate what you can to the people in need.
Jamie and I spent 3 weeks in April tackling one of the top treks in the world: Mount Everest Base Camp. This encompasses 77 miles over 11 days and about 9,000’ in elevation gain (all the way to 17,600’).
Itinerary
| Day | Route |
|---|---|
| Day 00 | Fly Denver Chicago -> Abu Dhabi -> Kathmandu |
| Day 01 | arrive Kathmandu (1,400m/4,600') |
| Day 02 | Kathmandu tour |
| Day 03 | Lukla (2,860m/9,383') -> Phakding (2,610m/8,563') [-820'] |
| Day 04 | stuck in Phakding due to illness |
| Day 05 | Pakding (2,610m/8,563') -> Namche Bazaar (3,440m/11,286') |
| Day 06 | rest in Namche |
| Day 07 | Namche Bazaar (3,440m/11,286') -> Deboche (past Tengboche) (3,820m/12,533') |
| Day 08 | Deboche (3,820m/12,533') -> Dingboche (4,530m/14,862') |
| Day 09 | Dingboche Dingboche (4,530m/14,862') -> Lobuche (4,940m/16,210') |
| Day 10 | Lobuche (4,940m/16,210') -> Gorak Shep (5,164m/16,942') -> Base Camp (5,364m/17,598') -> Gorak Shep (5,164m/16,942') |
| Day 11 | Gorak Shep (5,164m/16,942') -> Pangboche (3,985m/13,074') |
| Day 12 | Pangboche (3,985m/13,074') -> Namche Bazaar (3,440m/11,286') |
| Day 13 | Namche (3,440m/11,286') -> Lukla (2,860m/9,383') |
| Day 14 | stuck in Lukla due to weather |
| Day 15 | delayed in Lukla, but flew to Kathmandu |
| Day 16-19 | Kathmandu |
| Day 20 | Fly home (Kathmandu -> Abu Dhabi -> JFK -> Denver) |
The whole trip included 9 actual hiking days. 6 of which were on the way up, and the other 3 were on the way down. Other days were either spend in Kathmandu or resting.
On the way up to base camp, we probably averaged about 5 hours per day (not including lunch). The way back down was a bit tougher. Since we didn’t have to worry about acclimation, we traveled quite a bit. We probably averaged about 8 hours per day (not including lunch). Each hiking day averaged about 5 hours going up, and about 8 hours going down.
We did encounter some health issues. Luckily, these issues were not related to altitude. They were mainly related to the conditions we were in. Jamie got a bad case of food/water poisoning the first night of the trek (hence two days in Phakding). She started feeling better after starting her antibiotics. I caught a cold in Namche Bazaar, but we had meds for that too. We also had some intestinal issues. We haven’t taken so many drugs in our life! We needed to keep going, so waiting it out was just not an option for us. Luckily nothing was too serious.
Tour Company: Discovery World Trekking
Jamie and I really can’t say enough good things about the folks at DWT. These guys really know how to take care of their customers! The owner, Paul Gurung, comes from the Eastern side of the mountain area:
Paul’s cousin, Dil Gurung, was our guide. Dil was fantastic. He stuck with Jamie and I through all of our, let’s say, issues (yay antibiotics!). Our porter’s name was Kubil. He was amazing too. He hauled our stuff like a champ!
Pictures to come