Today’s walk was a gentle amble to get used to the terrain and walking. One of the first things we went past was a Starbucks on the side of a mountain - I was disgusted!!

However, after that the sights became incredible. We passed Buddhist good luck symbols everywhere! Across the suspension bridges were colourful prayer flags blowing in the wind, every so often you would come across a large, colourful, revolving cylinder memorials called Mani Wheels which contain Buddhist prayers that get stronger each time the wheel is turned. Doing this is meant to cleanse your body from any sin. There are also huge rocks known as Mani Stones carved with a single Mantra (chant) or a complete prayer to the God of compassion. They’re very impressive and beautiful.

(click on the images to enlarge)

On this first trip up the mountain we were struck by the beauty and lush vegetation everywhere, the amazingly fresh air and breathtaking views. Whoever you passed on the mountain would stop to say Namaste “greetings”, and the people were all very friendly. Herds of yaks went up and down the mountain with bells attached to their collars. The sound of the bells ringing as the yaks move up and down the mountain is almost magical. We also crossed our first suspension bridge - an prospect that was daunting to many in the group. However, the bridges were sturdy and not half as scary or unstable as we expected.

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Gala Bingo Employees are raising money for the Sue Ryder charity with their trek to Everest Base Camp. They should be setting off today from Lukla, and when they get to the other end they aim to play Bingo on Mount Everest. Shameless publicity stunt? Perhaps, but they’re still putting the effort in for a good cause.

Happy hiking guys,

Gareth

Hi all,

There was an interesting question recently asked by Jez in the comments to Rosanna’s “kit list for the everest base camp trek” post. I thought I would reply to it thoroughly and post the answer for all to see. Jez asked about how many iodine tablets he would need for the Everest Base Camp Trek, and how much water he can expect to get through.

If you are trekking with a responsible local crew and leader you may well find that you don’t need to treat your drinking water as they should ensure that all water you drink in the tea houses is boiled for a sufficient length of time.  However, it is a good idea to take additional precautions to be to be absolutely certain of avoiding waterborne bacteria and viruses.  It is also a useful to have a supply of purification tablets handy for the occasions where you want to top up your water bottle from an untreated source.

Generally, your water bottle/s will be filled each night with boiled water and this will cool overnight and become your main source of drinking water for the next day.  It is up to you whether you carry one large bottle or two smaller ones or even use a water pouch instead.  Metal water bottles do have the added advantage of doubling up as hot water bottles overnight which can be very welcome!  How many tablets you need to take with you will therefore primarily depend on the size of your bottle/s, the length of the Everest trekking route and the make of tablets or drops you are using (read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully). Please note that from 1st of October iodine-based tablets and drops will no longer be available and you should look to use chlorine dioxide products instead. 

It is very important to remain hydrated whilst on an Everest trek so don’t ration your water intake and take full advantage of the seemingly endless flasks of black tea (or instant coffee) that are available at every tea  house stop along the route.  You are likely to drink as much tea as you do water.

Other general advice we give regarding food and drink is:

• Do not drink tap water or use it to brush your teeth.
• If there are jugs of water in your hotel room, we advise you to purify this.
• Avoid ice cubes, milk and ice cream.
• If possible, wipe your plate and cutlery with a paper napkin.
• Carry a small bottle of anti bacterial hand gel.
• Do not buy cold food from street vendors - only eat in town if it is cooked in front of you.
• Eat only fruit that can be peeled.

Hope this is helpful, Jez - have a great trek in October.

Kirsty

Whilst we are waiting for Rosanna’s story to resume, it’s a good time to tap into the resource of the Everest Experts.
I’m gonna post the second installment of the advice Rosanna received from Kirsty at Mountain Kingdoms. Kirsty is an expert on the Everest Base Camp Trek, so it meant alot to Rosanna to speak to her as part of her preparations.

Your general health when trekking is your responsibility so I think it’s important that you help yourself by physically preparing for your Everest Base Camp trek.

Make sure you are taking regular exercise before you leave, which should include both some general fitness and plenty of walking. Not only will the additional muscle strength help reduce your levels of fatigue but you will also enjoy your trek more.

I would also strongly advise using trekking poles to help reduce the impact on your knee joints – you should try them out before your trek to make sure you are comfortable using them.

If you have any pre-existing medical conditions visit your doctor before you leave and make sure you carry any medications you need with you, including antibiotics. It is also a good idea to carry some painkillers – the ones you would normally use at home – as well as some cough sweets and rehydration sachets. You should make sure your trek leader is aware of any conditions you have and medicines you are taking before you set out on your trek.

Rosanna will be back soon, having completed the Everest Base Camp Trek. She sent me her kit list a few days before her departure. It reads like equipment for an adventure -
I hope it did the trick.

  Read the rest of this entry »

Hi.
This is a video I found showing what we can expect Rosanna and David to be seeing and doing between Day 8 and Day 10 of the Everest Base Camp trek.

This video was posted on Youtube by wwwcelticvideocom. I quite like the narrator’s accent.

After a week, Rosanna and David and all the others on the Childreach trek will be well on their way now. Everest Base Camp Trek routes. The latter stages show the Kala Pattar variation of the Everest trek where you climb to the summit of the neighbouring mountain to overlook Everest base camp. I just posted this video really to give a sense of Kathmandu and the first few days of what Rosanna and David will be seeing.

Here is a video I found showing the opening locations on one of the

Thanks to justindav1s for putting this up on Youtube.

 

I have now sorted out both my Indian and Nepali visas. The Nepali visa was very easy to get, I sent off for it and it came back to me within 5 days!

 

The Indian visa however was a bit of a palaver. The website is rather complicated and the helpline is a premium number –I had a huge shock when I saw my phone bill!

I know quite a number of people going on the Everest trek were also confused by the website. I was worried that it wouldn’t get processed in time so I sent my documents to my father in London who took them to the visa application centre.

Luckily, he was there for just 20 minutes and they said it would be processed in 3 working days. I picked it up yesterday. Doing it this way was completely hassle free. If you can do it, going to the visa centres in person is so much easier than doing it online!

As I mentioned the other day, I’ve been getting advice about my trip from an expert in trekking holidays in the Everest region. The advice I’ve received from Kirsty is so good, I’ve had a chat with her and asked her permission to share some of it on the blog for the benefit of others who are interested in the Everest Base Camp Trek.

Here is the first part of an email she sent me:

 - - - - - -

Dear Rosanna,

I’d like to offer some information and reassurances to put your mind at ease.

Firstly, although most people trekking at high altitudes will suffer some mild symptoms of altitude sickness such as headaches, nausea, loss of appetite and disturbed sleep, relatively few people actually develop anything more serious.

Acclimatisation is the key to preventing symptoms developing and, at Mountain Kingdoms, the trekking company I work for, we ensure that our trekking itineraries have plenty of time built into them for acclimatising to higher altitudes. These include rest days and ample time for steady, gradual ascent.

Like other companies, our treks are led by highly experienced local guides who are all trained in identifying and managing the symptoms of altitude-related illness. They will ensure that trekkers in their care walk very slowly, keep hydrated and advise on medication and the correct course of action to help alleviate symptoms before they develop into anything more serious.

It is essential that you let your trek leader know if you are feeling unwell; hiding or ignoring your symptoms is potentially very dangerous. I am delighted to say that as a result of our carefully designed itineraries and expert trek leaders, Mountain Kingdoms have experienced very few cases of acute altitude sickness in the 21 years we have been running treks in the Everest region.

However, if symptoms do persist or get worse, then your guide would make sure you descend quickly to an altitude where you will very soon start to feel better. In the worse case scenario, where emergency evacuation is required, a helicopter can be called by radio communications.

You should follow advice from your guide about what to eat, stay hydrated, avoid alcohol and use a high factor sunscreen. Prevention is definitely the key to avoiding illness at altitude so, if you follow a common-sense approach both before you depart and during your trek, you should find that you stay fit and healthy and enjoy your Everest Base Camp trek to the maximum.

Best Regards,
Kirsty

I spoke to Kirsty at Mountain Kingdoms on Thursday. She cleared up a few worries I had about going out to Nepal. She gave me tonnes of great advice, so I’ll only post the highlights right now:

Altitude Sickness

We talked a bit about altitude sickness. She explained about the necessary built-in rest days set in the Everest Base Camp Trek itinerary so that our bodies can acclimatise to the high altitude and decreased oxygen in the air. In these rest days we will either rest in the place we’ve stopped in, or we’ll have the opportunity to do a small walk up the mountain nearby and then come down to let our bodies adapt to the high altitude.

Altitude sickness usually brings on symptoms such as - headaches, loss of appetite, nausea and restless sleep and most people will get it to some degree. To prevent it as much as possible, I have to take full advantage of the rest days and drink lots of water and the black tea which all the Sherpas drink. Normal painkillers such as paracetamol and aspirin are fine to take. It’s also important that I don’t hide it if I’m feeling unwell.

 

The Weather in Nepal

We also discussed the weather. We’ll be going to Nepal just before the monsoon period and so Kirsty told me not to expect clear blue skies every day; sometimes it maybe grey and drizzly. Generally, in the day the temperature will be very warm - in the mid-late 20s however, as soon as the sun goes down the temperature drops rapidly and it becomes very chilly. The best thing to prepare for the weather and temperature changes is to layer up and always have your waterproofs handy!

As we get higher the air gets thinner so the sun gets stronger therefore it’s important to have good sunglasses – I’ve got some ones I use for skiing which are fine, it’s also essential to carry a very high factor sun cream and lip protection.

Kit for the Base Camp Trek

We also discussed kit – apparently what I have is very good and appropriate for the trek, but I need to get some T-shirts and a sun hat as I’ve not really prepared for any warm weather. I should also get a duvet/down jacket for the days when we’re closer to base camp, but they’re pretty expensive in England and you can buy them much cheaper in Kathmandu so I‘ll have a look once we’re out there.

Snacks!

Kirsty said that I should have a snack supply before setting off on the trek, although food supplies are sold in the tea houses we’ll be stopping in. The sort of snacks to bring are anything with a high energy content, that’s not bulky and will keep for the whole time. Nuts, raisings, biscuits, Kendal mint cake, sweets and flapjacks are all good. Chocolate will melt! It’s also good to bring boiled sweets/cough sweets as the air will be very dry and it’s common to get a sore throat.

I also found out that there will be electricity most of the way up the mountain which I fantastic and means that my camera won’t run out of battery.

There was a pre-departure meeting and social on Wednesday evening for the Leeds group going out to Everest on the Base Camp Trek. It was good to finally meet some more of the group that would be going up the mountain with me.

The meeting was informal, held in a room upstairs in a pub opposite the university. We went over bits and pieces such as medical forms, booking forms, insurance (which I still haven’t got!!!! – but I will get very soon) the itinerary, and general questions. We saw some pictures and video footage of the trek. It’s all getting very exciting!

There were nine of us at the meeting. In addition to Dave and I, there was Chris who I went bag packing with, Lucy, Jack and Paul who I met at the last social and some new people I hadn’t met before: Hannah, who’s Irish and studying at Edinburgh university but is going out with the Leeds group; Alex, who’s American; and Andy who’s on the Leeds Uni film/TV crew and will be making a documentary while we’re out there!

After the meeting we went downstairs to have some drinks and get to know each other better. Everyone’s very friendly and we all got on immediately, sharing our anxieties/excitement about the trip and how our training’s been going. I’m really looking forward to going out!!!

With the Everest Base Camp trek in a few weeks, I’m getting quite excited about the prospect of tackling the massive mountain, but I’m also rather worried about my lack of climbing experience! This weekend I’ll be going to the Yorkshire Dales, but so far this year, so far I’ve only climbed one mountain. That was in the Lake District with Dave …it was an interesting experience.

We climbed up Red Pike Mountain which is 826m (2710ft). I found it pretty tough partly because it was raining the whole time, but also because Dave decided to make his own route up – we didn’t follow a path/advised routes. We started by climbing past a sign saying ‘Danger! Do not climb’ and then proceeded to scramble up a waterfall! I wasn’t too impressed, especially when we got to the top of the waterfall and there was a demented sheep in our path!

Half an hour of climbing felt like two hours. It was exhausting, but getting to the top felt amazing and so worth it, especially for the spectacular views! At the bottom of the mountain it was very lush and green, but as we climbed closer to the top it got colder and once we were there, it was amazing to see that the lake had frozen and it was snowing!

I wouldn’t have been able to manage the walk had it not been for Kendal Mint Cake – a fudge textured energy bar made almost entirely of sugar (100% carbohydrate!) but tasting like peppermint. It was used in the first British expedition to the summit of Everest. Dave introduced it to me about half way up the mountain – it was a saviour! I’ve got an incredibly sweet tooth so I am a massive fan of the Mint Cake.

Although I was wearing walking boots, the rest of my attire wasn’t particularly suitable – jeans, a pashmina, and a hoodie, topped off with a ski jacket. The rain and moisture made the red dye from my scarf run all over my top. I borrowed Dave’s waterproof trousers (which were massive and wouldn’t stay up!) but they helped all the same.I’m very glad I had this experience as it gave me a very small taste of what it may be like on the way to Everest Base Camp, which will be much tougher!

I found these photographs on Flickr taken during the Everest Base Camp trek by a photographer and trekker called féileacán. Thanks féileacán!

I’ve reached my target! - Well actually I’ve exceeded it having raised £2,450! Everyone’s been so generous and supportive. I really thought it would be very difficult to get the money and convince people to donate but it was actually much easier than I thought.

I raised the money through a combination of writing letters and pestering everyone knew to help out. I visited my old school and spoke to past teachers who were interested in supporting me, and the head teacher told me to put an advert in the school newsletter to spread the word. I also put a post in my synagogue newsletter about the Everest base camp challenge. The bag packing at M&S was successful, and before I knew it, my target had been reached!

I had planned to phone up some big supermarkets in Leeds to organise sponsored carwashes, put on a few fundraising concerts and dinner parties, and I also wanted to do some pub crawls, collecting in each pub along the way. However, by the time I got round to thinking about doing these events, it wasn’t necessary!

One of the easiest fundraising activities I did was busking. In February, I played a double flute concerto from memory in Leeds town hall. The concerto is very showy, and the other flautist I did it with happened to be down in London one weekend. We’d talked about busking for some time and we thought this would be a perfect opportunity. Over that weekend we went to some bustling markets around the area I live in London. We spent one morning making a big, eye-catching poster, explaining what the money would be going towards. The weather was fantastic and there were so many people sitting outside pubs listening to us play.

We played the concerto over and over again (it’s about 25 minutes long), people listening would walk past and not realise that we’d been playing the same piece for the last hour! In just under two hours we’d raised £40!

I’ve started to research about Nepal and Everest. Dave gave me two books to read to start me off - Coronation Everest by Jan Morris, and Everest: A Trekker’s Guide, by Kev Reynolds.

Coronation Everest is a novel by a journalist for The Times who went on the first ever successful expedition to the summit of Mount Everest. Morris describes in detail the journey up the mountain. Recounting details such as where they stayed, what they ate and drank, the effects of the altitude, and the people they met including the company of the porters and Sherpas. It was interesting to read the journey told by someone who was not an experienced climber – like myself – and how he found the trek/coped with altitude and weather conditions etc.

Everest: A Trekker’s Guide is an informative guidebook explaining facts about the mountain, the routes and trails, the culture of the Nepalese and the people living on the mountain. How to go about preparing for the journey and what to expect on your travels are also explored and there are photos and maps of the mountain. The photos are particularly useful just to see what sort of clothing the trekkers are wearing.

It’s a really useful book to read and so easy to dip in and out of. I learnt things such as: we’re travelling up the mountain just before the monsoon season and the mountain will be infested with leeches! I am not looking forward to that at all! It was also useful to read that it’s important to get a dental check up before going out, as even minor tooth problems/loose fillings/decay will be badly affected by high altitude.

I’ve booked appointments for my jabs.

I’m getting the Hep A/ Typhoid, Diphtheria/ Tetanus/ Polio, and Meningitis at the beginning of June. I’ve decided against the rabies jabs as apparently we’ll have very good medical insurance so in the unlikely event that I get bitten by a rabid animal, I can get quick medical attention. Now I just need to sort out the malaria tablets.

I’ve just realised that I haven’t mentioned anything about how I got involved with Childreach. My boyfriend, David Milton, is the student fundraising manager for the charity. He organises the events and volunteers for every challenge event the charity offers i.e. climbing Kilimanjaro, cycling across Death Valley, hitch-hiking to Dublin etc.

Dave is going to be the group leader for the Everest base camp trek once we’re out there on our travels – the link between the porters/guides and us. (Just to clarify - Lucy, who I wrote about earlier, is the group leader for the Leeds group whilst we’re in Leeds). 

To say that Dave likes to trek occasionally is an understatement…I reckon he is the most active, outward-bounds person I have ever come across!

  

Before I met him, I had always thought that the idea of doing something like climbing to Everest base camp was absurd, but his sheer enthusiasm for hiking is very inspiring, and also seeing the incredible photos of some of the place he’s been to has really motivated me to want to do it!

There was a social last night at the pub. I was really looking forward to meeting everyone I’d be going to Everest with. I got there quite late as I had a rehearsal to go to that didn’t finish until 9.30 and everyone had been in the pub since 7.

By the time I had got there, there were only three people still left in the pub! It was quite disappointing, but at least I got to know a few more members of the group. Lucy, the group leader reckons that we won’t actually be able to all meet up properly until we’re at the airport to begin our Everest base camp journey.

I’ve just come back from seeing the travel nurse. It seems that I’m going to have to get a fair few injections before heading off to the Himalayas. The nurse advised me to have a diphtheria/tetanus/polio booster and a meningitis jab, and also one for Hepatitis A/Typhoid. She gave me a map of Nepal and showed me how some of the country is considered to have high risk of Malaria, whilst in other parts there is a low or no risk at all. I need to see whereabouts in the country I’ll be travelling through as even if I’m on a train going through a ‘malaria zone’ I’ll have a high chance of catching it because of the crowded conditions.

She also told me that I should perhaps consider a rabies injection. I was told that the possibilities of me getting bitten by a rabid animal are very small, especially as I’ll be travelling with an organised group trek, but even so, it only takes one bite or scratch to get rabies and if there’s no advanced medical help within 24 hours you will die!! I’m not sure what to do as I’ll have to have 3 separate rabies vaccinations costing £40 each, and it may not even be necessary… I think I’ll have a word with the tour company/charity and see what they advise.

The nurse gave me a selection of leaflets to read with health advice for travellers, so I’ll have to get reading up on those. I haven’t had any of the jabs yet as I was told that especially with the Hep A/Typhoid my arm will get extremely numb and I’ve got a four hour music rehearsal to sit through tonight – I don’t fancy attempting to try to play the flute with a deadened arm/fingers. Apparently I can’t be injected into my bum as it’s not effective enough there!

I had a thought today – what am I going to wear when going up the mountain?!!

The temperature and weather conditions are going to change so much…At the foot of the mountain, I’m assuming it will be quite warm and dry but by base camp, there’ll be snow! I’m obviously going to have to pack quite light as I’ll have to carry everything with me on my back whilst trekking.

I’ve already got a pair of good walking boots that are thoroughly worn in, which is fantastic as it will reduce the possibilities of blistering. But I don’t think I have anything else suitable for trekking. I think I’m going to have to do some research into what’s needed in my kit bag, and it’s probably going to be VERY costly!