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clockwise from left: Prayer flags are a colourful marker; our beast of burden; Base Camp triumph; meditation-inscribed ‘mani stone’; celebrating with the team
It’s a challenge that adventure travel companies like G Adventures, which leads my 15-day tour, have made increasingly achievable, arranging flights, booking accommodation and hiring the best guides. Still, it’s not to be taken lightly.
Heaven’s ascent “Altitude sickness can be fatal, so it’s important to ascend slowly and drink lots of water,” explains my G Adventures Sherpa guide, Shanker Bhattrai, at our hotel in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, before what will be his 99th trek to Everest. “But it’s also important to believe you can make it to Base Camp, or you won’t.” Our trek starts in Lukla, perched at 2,845 metres amidst the soaring peaks of the Himalayas. Stepping down from the small plane into the cold, thin air, I pick up my trekking poles and take the first of many ‘steps to heaven’ on the 80-mile round-trip. The route leads through stunning pine and rhododendron forests, and across vertiginous suspension bridges fringed with
prayer flags, as milky, glacial rivers rumble below. We pass Buddhist temples, colourful prayer wheels, mule trains and meditationinscribed ‘mani stones’. We meet other groups, but footfall is light, while regular bins keep the path litter-free. G Adventures ensures that its Everest Base Camp tour only uses Nepalese suppliers. It also supports global social enterprises through its Planeterra Foundation. In Kathmandu, we learn to make traditional momos (dumplings) at the Sisterhood of Survivors, which works to combat human trafficking by training survivors and at-risk women as paralegals and tour guides. Sherpa-owned ‘teahouses’ offer a basic bed, communal bathrooms and restaurants serving hearty meals that vary little, except in price which increases the higher we climb. Early breakfasts offer plenty of fuel: pancakes, porridge and piles of potato with egg. We lunch under cobalt-blue skies on dal bhat (a traditional Nepalese thali of rice, lentils and curry), resting before the afternoon treks. After dinner, as the night
fills with stars, we crawl into sleeping bags in icy rooms, and an inner battle begins. “You can’t breathe; you’re not fit; give up. You can do this; believe in yourself; sleep.” The final push gifts us 10 hours of trekking through a mythical realm carved by ancient glaciers. The first glimpse of Base Camp brings elation: yellow tents of summiting mountaineers scattered like blossom. At this altitude, day-trippers cannot linger for long. Photos, high fives, smiles, tears and we’re done. I add a string of prayer flags to those in camp and thank Shanker for his help. My guide was right: the trek to Everest is about the mind as well as the body.
Book it with... G Adventures The G Adventures 15-day Everest Base Camp Trek starts from £1,049pp including internal flights from/to Kathmandu, porters, a G Adventures guide, 12 nights in teahouse lodges and two nights in hotels (international flights not included). gadventures.com; planeterra.org
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