IRON MIKE

YVONNE

JANICE

NOELLE

SUE

GANESH

BJ

CHRIS

PETER

FRANK

GRAHAM

JENNY

LAXMIN

'KETA HARU'

EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK MAY 2010 - AN INCERDIABLE JOURNEY

Nine people left Melbourne, Australia bound for the sweltering heat, hustle, bustle and tout filled streets of Kathmandu. The group was so excited to be in an exotic part of the world that certain members had already snapped off about fifty photos just on the journey between the airport and the hotel.

Soon things settled down and it was not long before most of the trekking shop keepers had bulging pockets due to the amount of purchases that Frank and his fondly named “Five Wives” made, a very healthy contribution Nepal’s economy!

All geared up we headed to the airport and with surprisingly no delay at all, got frisked by a robust security guard, one for men, one for women and bundled onto the tiny 16 seater Sita Aircraft for the flight to Lukla. For the first time I think all members realised that the adventure had began, more so when the pilot oh so skilfully banged us down on the tiny, uphill airstrip at Lukla, the gate way to Sol Khumbhu and trekking in the Everest Region. We met our Sherpa’s and porters and our group swelled to 18 people in all, a merry bunch that set out on the balmy day from Lukla to Everest Base Camp.

The trek took us from Lukla to Phadkin, an easy first day’s hike, before climbing up to the heights of Namche Bazaar. The second days climb was perhaps the hardest of the trek especially as a few of the group got struck down with some kind of stomach bug and big congratualtions needs to be given to them for plugging on and reaching Namche.

Beyond Namche, the views opened up and the cloudy sky cleared to reveal the snow copped mountains. The scenery was truly inspiring and it was hard to keep our eyes on the trail. The going got harder as we got up in altitude but everyone managed to set a steady pace and keep plodding on. Highlights of the route where a visit to the beautiful Tengboche Monastery for some chanting with the monks, stunning sunrise views all around and of course the changing scenery.

An acclimatization day was scheduled in Dingboche. During this day some of the group had to leave us due to illness and return down to a lower altitude. The rest of the group trekked up to Chukkumg for magnificent views of the Yak Pastures, Island Peak, Amadablem and other snow capped mountains.

The group which was now eight trekkers headed on up what we called ‘The Wall’ a hard climb of around 300 vertical meters up to Tuk La Pass. From Lobuche the effects of altitude where really kicking in and on top of that an unseasonal overnight dumping of snow added an extra element of adventure to our trek. Two more members turned back from Lobuche to weather out the storm at a lower altitude while the six remaining headed up to the base camp of the highest Mountain in the world! The following morning some of the group climbed to the heady heights of Kalapatter to get stunning all encompassing views of Everest and the other Himalayan giants.

The trek back was much more relaxed and easy and slowly the gang regrouped, picking up lost members in Phercie and Namche. A massive last night party was held in Lukla, but things weather wise got bleak and the following day, it looked like we could get stuck another day as the clouds closed in and no flights appeared. However we sat it out til around midday our little plane trundled down the rather short run way to collect our triumphant group and took us back to Kathmandu!

Remember it’s not always about the destination, it’s about the journey and though not everyone made it, the experience was pretty amazing.

PEOPLE WE HAVE TO THANK
Carmen’s Muslie Bars for the energy snacks, Ganesh, BJ and Laxmin for the amazing job getting us there and looking after us all, ‘Keta Haru’ our porters for carry all our shit and the stuff we never even needed, Sita Air pilots for keeping us safe in the sky and high fiving when they cleared the run way at Lukla, Happy and Sad Ninja for the laughs, all the yaks for not running us off the trail and of course the magical Himalaya for turning on spectacular weather for the trek and all the people we met on the way who shared stories with us like ’Forty Days at Base Camp’ and lastly and most importantly, thanks to all the members of the group for contributing in your own small ways to the fun, fantastic times and our overall journey as well as helping us raise funds for ‘A Simple Thing’. Hope to see you all back in Nepal someday soon.

Everest Moments photo album

To see photos of the trek on face book follow this link