My experience at the Everest Base Camp trek.

It’s called the mother of all treks. It’s featured in “The 10 Best treks in the world” list by Lonely Planet.http://www.lonelyplanet.com/australia/tasmania/travel-tips-and-articles/76228

All this did not matter to me when I agreed to do this trek. For me it was simple…If I cannot climb the Mount Everest, I could very well go to its base. And well before my knees complain and lungs crib to cooperate.

It was much later that it struck me that it’s no cake walk, I needed to prepare.

Here I was going on by far the most challenging trek in the Khumbu region…..the Nepalese side of Mt Everest is officially called Khumbu. It’s called the most arduous trek for non professional mountaineers/trekkers. But then I wasn’t doing something people like me (read naïve trekking enthusiast) don’t do. Thousands trek to the base camp every year. And like them I prepared. A month and a half of brisk walking daily (8kms in 60-70 mins) and climbing almost 1000 steps at one go thrice a week was good enough.

The aim was to reach the Everest Base Camp…the camp where summit climbers camp while they aim to reach the top of the tallest mountain in the world.

The other point to remember is that I trekked to reach a height of 5364m or approximately 18,000 feet at the base camp. I needed to be fit. There is the omnipresent risk of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS); I could not add non fitness to it. Add to it the cold temperatures, long days, longer walks and a low partial pressure of oxygen. Did I dare be unfit!?!? No chance!!

I went with a fabulous team of 11 more co-trekkers. It makes sense to do such treks with people you know who can motivate you, goad you at times, help you out and be your companions.

The route of almost 120 kms to the base camp and back is a steady incline from 2400 m to 5400m and back to 2400m. I trekked through the most beautiful ranges of the Himalayas to reach the base of Mt. Everest. It’s scenic, clean and absolutely breath taking…that is if the steady climb doesn’t leave you breathless. Being a hobbyist photographer, it was a delight to take pictures that will tell the story to family and friends, because I find words don’t do justice to the beauty I saw.

The trek starts at Lukla where we landed in our 16 seater plane on the world’s most dangerous airport….the Tenzing Hillary airport having an airstrip of only 450mts. The 9 day trek takes us through small villages and hamlets, mountains, ice cold streams and rivers, swinging suspension bridges, yak trails on almost nonexistent pathways. It starts with the coniferous forests line that gives way to shrubs which as we climb higher give way to starkness in the form of rocks, snow and blue skies with white fluffy clouds. The cold also increases daily and the coldest was at the base at almost 10 degree below zero. It takes 4 days to come back the same route, but since we loose altitude while descending, it is faster. We used to trek for almost 10 kms daily over 6-8 hours each day.

The experience of meeting the warm friendly Sherpas of Nepal will stay for life with me. They are hard working, very loving and great hosts. We stayed in tea houses and lodges, small basic rooms made of wood with a small bunk on which is laid out a thin mattress. We slept in our sleeping bags to keep us warm in the cold nights. We ate the local food, mostly ‘dal-bhat’, a filling healthy meal of rice, thin dal and sautéed vegetables. Some times we had noodle soup and occasionally pastas with tomato sauce. Bread and cornflakes were our breakfast every morning.

Since there are no vehicles in this region, each and every thing is flown in from Kathmandu and carried by Sherpas on their backs….be it food items, rice, flour, oil, kerosene, gas cylinders, plywood planks, glass sheets, and what you may have. So everything has a cost; including water, which is boiled melted snow. The vegetables that are eaten are mostly grown here and they are restricted to potatoes, cabbage and carrot.

The sight of the snow clad mountains is awesome. They are huge, up close and beautiful. You feel like you can touch them, but they are always out of reach….but omnipresent. They make you feel small and insignificant. I lost a lot of ‘I, me, myself’ on this trip; made me realize how important family and friends are. The fact that we did not have contact with them probably was a huge contributor. I found huge belief in prayer. I found I had to have a huge mental strength along with the physical strength that is required. You have to dive deep inside you to bring out your reserves to complete this trip.

Not many Indians do this trek. Not too many Indian women do this ever. I feel blessed that as a mother of two boys I got to do this at the age of 40 years. I had the unshakable support of my family. I had this on my bucket list and the belief in myself. And of course the blessings of my God.

I can’t thank enough all the people who helped me achieve this and of course God for giving me this opportunity to go after my dream to fulfill it.