Everest base camp

Ericahen

Hey guys,

I'm heading to Nepal in a few weeks and I am going to head to base camp.
Has anyone here been before?

Have you any tips? I will not be doing this through a company, I will just be getting a sherpa over there.

Any tips on what you would bring/would not bring?

How long did you roughly walk for each day?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Erica

Hugh_C

I was there last October, a fabulous trek at the beginning of the season before there were many people on the trail. We trekked for about 16 days but that took in Island Peak as well.

We walked for about 4-5 hours a day, not overly strenuous except towards the beginning when I was contending with a dodgy stomach and a serious hill up to Namche Bazaar. The scenery on the trail will take your breath away in good weather, it's simply stunning.

Make sure you acclimatise and go slowly, you'll risk altitude sickness which can be really debilitating. Your Sherpa may or may not give you advice about this. If you want, I can dig out our overnight stops to give you an idea of how we went about it. I used aspirin daily for mild background headaches and drank loads of water. I did not take Diamox but some in the group did.

Make sure your accommodation is sorted. We went with a really well organised party, but we did come across smaller groups who were left stranded because their accommodation never happened.

What to bring: plenty of wet wipes, suntan lotion, cigarettes for "bribery", energy bars, head torch, lightweight clothes, plenty of layers, a hat, serious sunglasses, stomach medicine, bring a dry antibiotic in case of infection, cash for buying water, you'll need at least 3 to 4 litres a day and it gets more expensive the higher you get, good hiking boots, waterproofs, sounds, books (although my concentration was terrible due to altitude), batteries, a decent camera, matches if you're a smoker (lighters don't work at altitude).

Jeeze I could go on..

Try to get up Kala Patthar, just short of Everest, try to go up at about 3am so you're there in time for sunrise over Everest/Chomolungma/Sagarmatha, a really special moment in my life. Base camp itself was a little underwhelming for me. Other highlights; we were at a ceremony in the monastery at Tengboche, got blessed by the 2nd in command to the Dalai Lama, Thukla Pass where there are monuments to the fallen, the rope bridges are pretty amazing when a herd of yaks start crossing in the opposite direction

I had a few days in Lukla on the way back because the weather was bad and we couldn't fly. Pain in the a33 but there's nothing you can do about it other than relax in their Starbucks and Irish
Bar.

Loved Kathmandu as well, loads to see, eat and drink.

Anything else just get in touch and I'll try to answer.

Enjoy! It'll be brilliant.

Hugh_C

PS a few pictures here.

loobylou

Hugh_C wrote: »

What to bring: plenty of wet wipes, suntan lotion, cigarettes for "bribery", energy bars, head torch, lightweight clothes, plenty of layers, a hat, serious sunglasses, stomach medicine, bring a dry antibiotic in case of infection, cash for buying water, you'll need at least 3 to 4 litres a day and it gets more expensive the higher you get, good hiking boots, waterproofs, sounds, books (although my concentration was terrible due to altitude), batteries, a decent camera, matches if you're a smoker (lighters don't work at altitude).

Jeeze I could go on..

To add, bring some lipbalm and Zovirax, your lips take a hammering with the snow/sunlight/altitude.
It sounds like things have changed a lot since I was there (an Irish bar in Lukla:eek:) but I also wished afterwards that I had brought nuisance odour mask. Trips to the toilet pits were nausea inducing.

SomeFool

loobylou wrote: »

Trips to the toilet pits were nausea inducing.

Holding a baby wipe over your nose helps I find

a148pro

Trekked the Annapurna sanctuary and Iodine tablets (to purify the water) and a good wicking thermal top were invaluable. A very small light sleeping bag is also a good idea, ones that zip together if you're a couple.

-K2-

Since you are travelling without an organised group, don't forget to get a TIMS card before leaving KTM. Information here, but you can buy one at any trekking office.

IR240474

Hey,

I am also going to BC, i leave on the 13th of May!

This is a basic list, you can add more or take away..

PRIMARY ESSENTIALS
Passport
Money, Travellers Cheques, Credit Cards
Personal Travel Insurance
CLOTHING
Casual clothing for travel and Kathmandu
Polypropylene Shirt
Lightweight Shirt
Heavyweight Shirt
Fleece Jacket
Wind Jacket
Down Jacket (lightweight)
Lightweight Trousers
Fleece Trousers or Salopettes
Wind Pants
Underwear
Shorts
Lightweight Gloves
Sun Hat
Warm Hat
Lightweight Walking Socks
Climbing Socks
Sleeping Bag
Light weight shoes
Trekking Boots
Gaiters
Sun cream
Sun glass
Etc.


I believe you can buy old stock from climbers who in the past season left all their stuff behind, so there are lots of bargains to be found.

Best of luck and take care of Mountain Sickness, read up about it before hand, when your not feeling well, and if you can decend 500m or even 1k and keep going until you are feeling perfect again. I have had mountain sickness on two mountains, just make sure you drink loads of water and eat what ever you can get. MS differs for everyone, but dehydration is a killer, as with altitude you dont drink as much water as there is no thirst, and a bad cycle happens and head aches will come, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, the list is big. Once you hit 3000 meters your body is going to get sick. It differs on different people, but if you force drink every 15 mins, just a sip and eat what you can and save it then the sickness is not as bad, and you will enjoy yourself more.

Make sure your Fit and can carry a 15k bag for at least 3 hours, and to be able to do that easily, build up the endurance and stamina. Set a nice pace and when your climbing up hill you wont be going as fast, so a good pace here will help when you get there. Long walks, and MS loves people who are not fit, who get out of breath fast, as the air is thin and you cant catch your breath, so good breathing is needed, with these combined your chances of MS is reduced alot. And your experience is not of internal silent suffering, but a magical wonderful experience.

We forget the pain when we get back, its a natural thing! But all will remember very well. So enjoy what ever experience you get, as it will blow you away and could change your life forever!

Who knows.

Cheers and let me know if i can help.

IR.

Have a magic time and if you need a Sherpa let me know, i am in touch with a few of them, i can point you in the right direction.

Cheers.

IR

loobylou

Cup-a-soups, very light to carry and make a welcome change when the local diet starts getting you down.

sineadgalway

there is a good article in the current issue of Adventure Travel magazine on Everest Base Camp inc a section on what to bring etc...

I picked it up in Easons last weekend so should still be available..

http://www.adventuretravelmagazine.co.uk/


Have a ball!

Hugh_C

IR240474 wrote: »

and MS loves people who are not fit, who get out of breath fast, as the air is thin and you cant catch your breath, so good breathing is needed, with these combined your chances of MS is reduced

All great advice, however my experience on the Everest trek was that MS "attacked" the fittest member of the group (14) who wasn't carrying any extra fat and trained about 4 times a week. I think there's no way of predicting who will or won't get MS and it's not consistent from one trek to the next.

I think the important thing is to be self aware and not be ashamed to go back down if you're feeling like crap.

Coeus

I have done the EBC trek last October aswell. We did 16 days hiking up the Goyko valley to the Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri before crossing over the Cho La pass and back onto the main the EBC trail to base camp itself.

I was actually going to do the trek on my own but ended up going with organised group due to the uncertainty of how I might react to the altitude. On the trek itself I only had some mild headaches usually in the afternoon/evening on the way up. They were kinda like having a hangover without the drinking and probably due to some dehydration even though I was drinking 'litres' of water every day. 4 was recommended but I was drinking upto 6. I didn't have to skimp on the water as I had brought an MSR water filter to make it. Most of the group were using iodine tablets though while some were loaded and just bought water as we went.

When walking I kept a steady pace (which was not that fast) but I usually found towards the front of the group. I used a hard rate monitor to make sure I wasn't working to hard or getting to a point where I might get out of breath. It allowed me to know when to slow down rather than relying on a guide to tell me. Although they recommended diamox to us I didnt take it as I didnt fancy the side effects and I thought if I acclimitsed properly I wouldn't need it.

Another bit of advice is to watch what you eat. I got food posioning in one of the tea houses in Gorek Shep and missed the hike up Kala Pattar. I had been good and stuck to the Dal Bhat and Veg Curries all the way up but decided to treat myself to spagetti after reaching EBC. That night I got sick a few times and was too dehydrated to leave predawn for Kala. I was OK later in the day to start the hike down with the group but a dodge stomach can be debilitating at altitude.

When you get back to Kathmandu your appetite will return so make sure you check out Ktoo steakhouse down in Thamel.

All in all an amazing part of the world. I hope to go back and trek Annapura (Circuit and Sanctuary) in the near future.