Everest Base Camp By George SG Ng

Should I bring along my tripod? This nagging thought got me restless as I started to jot down things “to bring” for this trek. Complying to a 10Kg of things to be carried by a porter and the weight of my backpack I could manage on the trek was the main guideline. How I packed, of which will be revealed at the closing of this write-up. At the meantime you can guess if I had brought along a tripod.

I wasn’t into photojournalism or ever had intentions to write about this escapade but my friends convinced me to share it. And I hope my inclusion of images allow you to see what I experience on this trek.

Day 1 (April 18th)

As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, so here is my first image(above) of where we had stayed the night which should give you an idea this city of Kathmandu.

Day 2 (April 19th) 

As there were recent changes made by the authorities to use another airport located 4hrs drive from Kathmandu. Our tour company surprise us with a helicopter ride to reduce the travelling time. On the airport tarmac, we were ferried in an open sides truck to board our helicopter ride. A snappy grab for my camera, I managed to capture this image of the city skyline from our moving transport.

Our trek was relatively easy with gentle ascends and descends, even though we had to quicken our pace before the light dims. We passed through the village from paved cobble stone walkways onto the mountain paths of bare laterite and crossing over the Dodh Kosi river on suspended metal bridges.

The trail we took was dotted with small plots of farmland and households, tea-houses, small prayer wheels, Stupas, colorful prayer flags and stone “tablets”.

I arrived at Phakding around 18:35, way behind my friends whom I found were already seated down enjoying a refreshing drink. The night passed quickly. We had our dinner which was pre-ordered before we got into our rooms to freshen-up. We slept early feeling exhausted from our night flight from “home” then followed by an early morning wait for our connecting flight and hike.

Day 3 (April 20th) 

The next morning, we were up very early at 05:30 for the next leg to Namche Bazaar which will be the last commercial town up in the mountains.

The weather was cold at around 12c and I started the day with 3 layers of upper clothing. As the sun came out and it got warmer, I removed a layer of clothing to be comfortable. Also a large rim hat, a buff and sunglasses to protect my face and neck, light leather gloves to protect my exposed hands not covered by my long-sleeved top, from the hot sun and chilly winds. 

The trek was mostly ascending. As the air got thinner, I felt the strain on my body and I had to make numerous stops to catch my breath. Every step was ascending and I felt like I would not reach the summit. It was tedious and a brief descent was much to my relief.

Hours later as I turn the corner, I was finally greeted by the sight of this town. The relief and happiness filled up inside me and I was so overwhelmed by the majestic view.

Sitting at 3,440m at it’s lowest point, Namche Bazaar (image below) will be our 2 days stop to acclimatize our body as we progress onto higher elevations.

Feeling exhausted, it was 17:00, approx. 11 hours on the trail and I still needed to climb up to our accommodation located somewhere inside this maze of hotels, Inns, tea houses and shops.

The trail I was on as seen in the image above, at the bottom right led through the pavilion and a covered stepped walkway upwards. One can see a water fountain, Gazebo, Stupa to the left and water canal running down on the right. To the top right corner is the peak at approx.3,900m which we hiked up the next morning as preparation for further ascend. There is a museum, a statue of Sir Edmund Hillary (who was the first of two persons to reach the summit of Mt. Everest), a trader selling souvenirs and trinkets along the way to the peak. I noticed lots of iris flowers growing wild on the slopes here.

Day 4 (April 21st)

Me (above image), feeling elated having made it to the top, with Namche Bazaar in the background. Next pic is of Iris flowers.

Day 5 to 7 (April 22nd – 24th)

The next two day onwards, we proceeded on our trek to Debuche. Then Dingboche approx..4,400m. where we spent an extra day hiking up to Nanka Hill standing at 5,100m for our second acclimatization session.

At Dingboche, I woke up at 3am. To a shining bright moon and the faint barking of dogs. It was really chilly and convincing myself, I finally got out for a night shoot. See above image, the cold night sky, so still and my fingers were beginning to feel numb only after 15mins. I had to get back in to bed with a thick warm blanket before I got frozen stiff.

Day 8 (April 25th)

We trekked as before, traversing the numerous ridges of arid rocky terrain to arrive early at Luboche approx.4,900m elevation. This stop was crucial for us to rest, as we would be having a very long trek tomorrow to hit Base Camp and to get back before the night fall.

Having some time to rest I recalled how we ascended in altitude and noticed the changing landscape from pine trees to shrubs to bare rocky and icy frozen ground. For safety, always get yourself next to the wall side when the transport train approaches. There have been accidents of trekkers being nudged off the edge into the ravine and died.

Day 9 (April 26th)

We set out after breakfast at 06:30, and arrived at Gorakshep (5,190m) at 10:15. We settled down at the teahouse and repacked our backpack. Felt a little tired even though it was a short hike due to the lack of oxygen. Every step felt so heavy and I had to pace myself. We had an early “Lunch” and we set out again at 11:15.

Walking at a slower pace feeling the energy drained from my body as the day got longer. By 13:00 I was whining to give up, I was always the last man behind and in front was Mr CY Tan. Mr Tan is 72yo and he prod me on and kept telling me that we have made it so far so don’t give up. To make matters worse, two mules passed us by carrying two hikers to camp, What?!! It was so unfair! But then step by step taking in the sights of the majestic mountains towering around us took my mind off my exhaustion and we made it to Base Camp.

At 14:00 we finally arrived at Everest Base Camp, grateful, it was the moment I had spent months anticipating it. There were many more that had arrived earlier. And the official marker was blocked by a queue of happy hikers celebrating their achievements. We could only get close enough and settled for the next best location for our photo op.

The wind started to kick in and our guide has informed us to quickly finish off and to start moving back to Gorakshep.

We had wanted to place our stainless-steel plaque here at Base Camp but decided that it would not be as effective and decided to bring it back and place it at Namche. Our guide agreed and would help us on that and we made our way back to Gorakshep arriving at almost 18:00. I was just a zombie and could not recall what we did until the next morning. We were supposed to climb Mt. Kala Patthar(5,545m)on our way back but only En. Abu went for it, the rest of us woke up slightly later and proceeded after En. Abu returned.

On our descend and as we had ascended, along the trail we saw transport trains of Yak and Mules, People transporters, Hikers making their way up and down, tea houses serving meals and refreshments. Local residents were on their daily chores and some traders line the villages. There were no motorcycles or bicycles as they were not suitable for such terrain. All goods were carried by animals and humans. We also came across some wild mountain goats called “Blue Sheep”, which were as large as humans.