We had a very early start, waking up at 4.30am to get the early morning flight to Lukla. When we got off the mini bus our luggage was carried off by unknown porters that were waiting around at the airport. They scrambled in and grabbed some of our luggage and even though we were perfectly capable of walking the 20 metres to the airport entrance! They refused to give the bags back until they’d been tipped! Cheeky! and they even complained about the amounts of the tippage!

The airport was very small, but we were checked at security stations about 4 times before boarding the plane. The plane was over an hour delayed as we had to wait until the sky was clear in Lukla. Most of the group fell asleep waiting for the plane. When our flight was called we went onto a bus which took us to our plane. The airline was called Yeti Airlines!!

When we saw the plane the excitement of what we were about to do sank in! The plane was tiny, seating 17 people -  just enough for the group. Sweets were handed out, and cotton wool because the plane was so noisy. The excitement and anticipation of the group as we neared the Everest Base Camp Trek is difficult to describe in words as it was so immense! 

The journey lasted just 40 minutes and the views we saw out of the aeroplane were spectacular!

The landing was surprisingly smooth. We noted that the airstrip at Lukla was on an incline, I assume so that the aeroplane can slow down and take off faster on the runway.

We had tea, sorted out our luggage and began walking straight away. Many of the local people work as porters and help walkers carry their luggage up the mountain. These porters are incredible - super human! They voluntarily took our big bags, each porter carried about 25k of weight, and they literally ran up the mountain as if our bags were full of feathers!

We carried our day packs on our backs containing anything we’d need during the day as we wouldn’t see our other belongings until the evening. Most people’s day packs had snacks, 1-2 litres of water, sun cream, lip protection, fleece, waterproof jacket, sunhat, camera, water purifying tablets etc. We then started walking.

After a lie-in and a fantastic breakfast we went to meet the tour guides. We had a briefing which outlined exactly what we were going to do on the Everest Base Camp trek. After this, we went in to Kathmandu to explore and do some last minute essential shopping for the trek.

On the way in, we were constantly harassed by street sellers, mainly selling Nepali instruments. Pardeep and I got sucked in, and without realising how much we were spending, we purchased Nepalese mouth organ type thing that makes a ‘doing’ sound when you breathe in an out and flick a spring (500 rupees= £4! – scammed!). It sounds very cool when played by the street people, but it’s very difficult to work out how to use it!

It’s made of metal - what exactly, I don’t know but hopefully not lead! – It’s strange that I’ve been overly cautious with eating fruit/veg/salad, and the water – drinking either bottled water or boiled and purified water, using it even when brushing my teeth, but now I’ll happily stick a piece of rusty metal in my mouth for ages!

And Lucy bought a very cool ‘singing bowl’, which makes a therapeutic drone when played.

We went into an area called Thamel, the tourist part of Kathmandu. We went to a trekking shop recommended by the guides. The prices were fantastic!! I bought a black down jacket for the Everest trek which folds down into a tiny draw string bag for 3500 rupees (approx £28)!! I saw them sold in England for nearly £200! We bargained some walking poles down to 1000 rupees – £8. Some of the girls got some gloves costing less than a pound, and fleeces were sold for £2-5! It was amazing, and very good quality!

Readers of our blog should note that I’ve made a few changes to my last what-to-drink-on-the-trek post, dated August 23rd.

Regulations concerning the use of iodine are changing from the 1st October this year from which time you will no longer be able to buy iodine tablets for water purification. Chlorine-based products will be available instead. Please read about more about it in the relevant Everest Experts section.

Hope that’s helpful,
Cheers,

Kirsty

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

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 »

So it’s now 1 am. I have to leave to get to the airport in 2 hours - I don’t quite know what to do with myself…should I sleep for two hours or just stay up? Is it worth sleeping?

I’m feeling a mixture of

1) tiredness!

2) worried that I’ve over packed

3) a little worried worried that I may not be fit enough for the trek, or being able to cope with the altitude.

4) extremely excited !

5) nervous about meeting the whole group at the airport terminal before we get on the plane excited! (i’ve only met half of them so far)…

I can’t believe I’m finally going!!

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.

Sorry about the lack of contact! - I’ve had my final flute recital yesterday so it’s been quite stressful week but I’ve now finished everything for my degree!!!!

I went on a trip to the Yorkshire Dales with Dave last weekend. It was such a beautiful day, perfect weather! We wanted to get the train over but being a bank holiday, there were very few trains and they only went at awkward times - so we drove over on Dave’s motorbike. Sounds pretty cool, but sitting on the back of the bike with only yourself to talk to is quite boring and you get an exceptionally numb bum, but the views once we got out into the country were fantastic!

We didn’t go walking for very long, but it was great to go for a proper walk up and down the mountains, after all, that really is the best training you can do. It also gave me an opportunity to try out some of the new hiking clothes I’ve recently bought which are so much more appropriate than what I was wearing in the Lake District!

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!