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Everest TrekEverest Trek info, ideas, and photos Click and drag to rotate view.Panorama of Taweche, Everest (peeking over the Lhotse ridge), Lhotse and Ama Dablam right after sunset from near Kumjung Trekking to Everest Base Camp is at the top of many travelers lists of dream spots, and for good reason: there's no place on earth where you will see a greater concentration of high alpine peaks that are literally right in your face.
To do the trip you'll need enough time to acclimatize safely, but if you have just over two weeks of time, you can do to the entire trip safely and comfortably. An Everest Trek can be literally the trip of a lifetime.
To get to the Everest Trek, travelers generally fly to Kathmandu, Nepal. After spending several days enjoying Kathmandu and arranging their trek if they haven't already set one up with an outfitter in their home country, most trekkers fly to start their trek at Lukla, the gateway to the Khumbu region. Trekkers then take an early AM plane flight from Kathmandu at 1245 meters to Lukla (2,804 meters). At Lukla, they secure their porters and begin their trek. Acclimatization and not ascending too quickly starting at Lukla, is extremely important. The risk of Altitude Sickness, also known as Acute Mountain Sickness, and its deadly variants High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) becomes exponentially greater above 2,800 meters, so exercise caution. After a night at Lukla or one of the guesthouses below Lukla at Phakding, at 2,610 meters, trekkers then make their way to Namche Bazaar, the capital the Khumbu Region at 3,441 meters. At Namche, trekkers take at least one, and sometime two days to acclimatize. To aid acclimatization, while in Namche, trekkers should go on day hikes that will expose them to higher altitudes for a few hours, but allow them to return to the safety of lower elevation for the night. A trek to Kumjung affords a nice first view of Everest. Thame to the NW of Namche, is a nice 3 hour walk where you can see some of the vibrant local Sherpa culture and walk through beautiful pine forests. Every Friday and Saturday, Namche Bazaar has a great market. It is great place to stock up on last minute Mars bars and toothpaste. Leaving Namche, the Everest Trek goes steeply up out of town and then gradually ascends on a stone trail along steep hillsides to a pass, then drops several hundred meters to the river, and then ascends steeply to spend the night at Tengboche at 3,860 meters. Trekkers can trek to either Pheriche 4,200 meters or Dingboche 4,200 meters the next day. The trail goes right past Ama Dablam, one of the most photogenic peaks in the world. Pheriche has a Himalayan Rescue Association Hospital and Dingboche is the gateway to side hikes in the Island Peak area which are highly recommended. It's a good idea to spend an extra night, either at Dingboche or Pheriche to aid in acclimatization. Leaving Dingboche, you will climb steeply then make a gradual traverse to meet the trail from Pheriche which is shorter but climbs more steeply to an eerie pass, where you will see several monuments to dead climbers - very sobering here. Then you will continue on to Lobuje (4,930 meters) and stop for the night.
Between Lobuje and the next night's stop, Gorak Shep (5,170 meters), the trail climbs through alpine tundra and across endless fields of boulders in a moonscape among the mountains. Straight ahead as you approach Gorak Shep (which means dead crow in Nepali) you'll see the beautiful peak, Pumo Ri. To your left is the fabled Changri La pass and a sea of mountains, including some unclimbed peaks. To your right will be Nupste and Lhotse whose south facing cliff on the right skyline is one of the highest in the world.
From Gorak Shep, you have your choice of day hikes to 5,545 Meter Kala Patar for a view of Everest's summit block or hiking to the Base Camp of Everest itself. A lot from here on out will depend on your acclimatization. Kala Patar is a rather nondescript conical brown hill which you'll find is a bit higher than it appears. From to top you get a nice view of the very top of Everest, a view that by now you will have seen in countless books and magazines and which as a result may be a bit under-whelming. At the same time, the panorama of mountains that you get from here is one of the most stunning, in your face sights you'll ever see. Base Camp at 5,365 meters is a four to five hour walk from Gorak Shep. You simply make you making you way over trails and boulder fields and the Khumbu Glacier until you arrive Base Camp. The massive ice fall of the Khumbu glacier is impressive and you'll find your jaw dropping from the sheer immensity of the mountains around you in Base Camp.
It's also possible to reach Pumori Base Camp which has even more stunning views of Everest by contouring to the left on a faint trail several hundred yards before reaching Everest base camp.
Some of the best day hikes are fantastic acclimatization hikes on the base camp trek.
A few hours walk East of Dingboche, Chukhung at 4,730 meters makes a great base from which to explore the Island Peak valley. From here many climbers tackle 6,189 Meter Island Peak, while others make the ascent of Chukhung Ri, a ridge at 5546 meters which has up close views of the 3,000 meter high south face of Lhotse, which is possibly the highest cliff in the world.
From Base Camp, at least three trekking options exist. For those short on time, the only option may be returning the way you came. The return to Namche and Lukla can be done in three solid days or four very leisurely days. More and more people are leaving the trail between Pheriche and Pangboche and heading over the Cho La Pass (5,420 meters) to Gokyo. This involves climbing to Dzongla at 4,710 meters, spending the night and then beating the weather over the pass. The pass involves climbing onto the glacier on the East side of the pass, dodging a few gaping crevasses and then carefully making your way down a couloir to a guesthouse at Thankna at 4,500 meters. The next day you cross the Ngozumpa Glacier and make your way to Gokyo at 4,750 meters. Don't underestimate the Cho La Pass. The crevasses on the East side are easily avoided if you can see them. The couloir on the West side of the pass gets really icy in a melt/freeze situation and sometimes requires and ice ax and crampons. Getting onto the glacier on the East side passes a large avalanche zone and the couloir could slide as well. If there's been a lot of recent snow, don't even think about crossing the Cho La. Most travelers who cross it, however do just fine. Just be smart.
A third way out of the Base camp area without backtracking involves crossing one of two passes out of the Island Peak drainage and making your way to the Arun Valley via the Hinku and Hongu valley or via Makalu base camp. These are both serious mountaineering endeavors and should only be attempted by parties that are fully acclimatized and completely self sufficient expeditions.
When you arrive at Everest Base Camp, don't expect the climbers to be especially happy to see you. It's not uncommon for a climber worried about catching a cold before the summit attempt he's paid $60,000 for to not want to shake your hand for fear of germs. Get off the main trail as much as you can. You'll find that often there are little used trails that are across the valley and these can be very rewarding especially for seeing wildlife. Don't expect to see much in the way of real Sherpa culture in this part of the Khumbu, on the Everest Trek. You'll see some beautiful things and meet some wonderful nice Sherpa people, but to see more authentic village life, you may want to consider hiking out of the region via Lukla and the Arun Valley, or to the West and Jiri. The season for the Everest Trek is largely determined by the monsoon, which usually hits in late May and lasts into September. Because of warmer temperatures, the snow level rises to as high as 18,000 feet, but above that the deepest snows of the year fall. Likewise with all the monsoon weather it's pretty cloudy most of the time. As a result, trekking is most possible between Mid September and late May, with special windows of stable clear weather most optimal for mountain viewing in October-November and in March-May. December is an interesting time to visit the Khumbu as almost no precipitation falls and it's sunny nearly every day, except that it can be very cold. Dozens of reputable companies routinely do Everest Trek trips. Project Himalaya, leads some great treks in the Everest Region REI Adventures, based in the U.S. offers a classic Everest Trek Peregrine Adventures, based in Australia, leads some good Everest Treks Gap Adventures, based in Toronto, runs good bare bones cultural treks in the Everest Region Among the local tour companies, check out: Trekking in the Everest Region, 5th: includes Kathmandu City Guide (Paperback) by Jamie McGuinness Everest: A Trekker's Guide (Cicerone Guide) (Paperback) by Kev Reynolds Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya (Lonely Planet) by Bradley Mayhew Trekking and Climbing in Nepal (Paperback) by Kate Harper and Val Pitkethly Everest Base Camp Adventure Map by National Geographic Maps
Everest Base Camp Map by Nepa Trekking Maps
Everest Base Camp Trek 2004 Many Trekkers Stranded Near Base Camp - Xinhua |
  
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