Solo Trek to the Everest Base Camp

Though this was not a trek I planned to do very soon, it was definitely on my bucket list. A series of
events and i ended up planning for this, May-2019 end, instead of the Gaumukh Tapovan trek which i had already booked for.

This was to be the longest trek i have ever done and probably the most famous of all .  I did this trek Solo and independently (without a porter or a guide)

Here are my experiences from the trek along with a few tips/information. Like my blog on the ABC trek, I'll also mention the number of steps my fitness tracker recorded for the day

I was really lucky and my whole trek went exactly as planned, and also got to meet multiple people who were returning post their Everest Summit Expeditions. It was a dream come true when I met Russel Bryce and his team and had long conversations around the whole fiasco which everyone saw in the newspapers (about the Traffic Jam on Everest and the associated deaths unfortunately)

Things needed before you start the trek : 

Apart from the regular clothing and the usual gear recommended on various forums, there isn't much you need. The permits are all got on the trail, so nothing needed beforehand.

Day 0 : Mumbai to Kathmandu

Took a hotel room right across the airport, so was an uneventful day, primarily spent eating and hydrating. I bought the Ncell Sim Card (for 50 NPR I guess). The data plan and all was done online by-self. 1 INR is 1.6 NPR, for reference.  Also withdrew 50,000 cash , thinking it was a bit too much. I think i was down to 2000 by the last day. Although there are ATMs in Namche Bazar and Lukla, so its not as bad as a regular trek

Day 1:  Kathmandu to Lukla [9300 ft] and trek to Benkar[9200 ft] ( 20.800 Steps) - 4 Hrs

World's most dangerous airport? I guess the correct description probably is World's Scariest Airport, as it has a pretty low accident rate. It was small plane almost being driven like a car, here is the video of landing which i took

 Because of the maintenance going on at the Kathmandu Airport, the airport wasn't operational till 8 AM, which meant there were very few flights from Kathmandu for Lukla. The flights to Lukla generally fly early morning as the wind and visibility conditions deteriorate as the heat increases. I was lucky to have gotten a seat as most of the people landing were coming from an alternate airport which is 5-6 Hrs drive away from Kathmandu.

Was welcomed at Lukla by a lot of Guides and Porters trying to sell their services. Needed to have breakfast and stepped into a lodge right across the airport. Had the most expensive Chapati of life (450 NPR). The things were expensive on the trail but not this expensive , especially at such low altitudes.

Started my trek towards Phakding post that. Lukla is a pretty big village with pretty much every facility you can dream of at a place which does not have any road connectivity. There is a permit which needs to be bough just out of Lukla, cost 2000 NPR. There are subsequent checkpoints where these need to be shown , I guess the last was before Tengboche, so not sure what value they add.

Walk to Phakding is pretty easy and primarily downhill. It took around 2.5 Hrs to reach there and I decided to continue ahead, to shorten the next steep day. I planned to reach Monjo but had to change it and stopped at a very small village called Benkar . It took a total of 4 Hrs to reach this place. I was too hungry to go ahead and decided to stop for lunch and looking at the weather changed my mind and just stopped there for the day. Was a nice little place and i was the only occupant there till pretty late in the evening when 3 very interesting Americans arrived, who were on their way back. Had some pretty interesting conversations with them. The couple among the 3 first met when they were doing the Appalachian Trail, and the husband had actually done the full trail (takes around 6 months to complete)

Day 2 : Benkar to Namche Bazaar [11,300 ft] (16,200 Steps)- 5 Hrs

One of the days when it was all uphill. You cross the village of Monjo, which is pretty big, on the way. Right out of Monjo, you need to buy the Sagarmatha Park permit ( Sagarmatha is the name of Mt. Everest in Nepal and it's called Chomolungma in Tibet). It costs NPR 3000 for foreigners and 1500 for SAARC citizens

The day involves crossing multiple hanging bridges before you reach Namche, the capital and the main town of the Khumbu region. The whole town is a miracle. It's unbelievable when you see an Irish Pub, Coffee Houses, Bars with Pool table, official North Face Showroom and what not in a small town at that altitude, so far away from the last road head. Most of the trekkers on the way down like to party here and you can feel that vibe all the time.

For someone who is used to trekking in India, sitting in the dining room of your lodge with a 50 Inch LED playing football match, hardly feels like a trek :D

Was a relaxed evening, enjoying the discussions and some reading.

Day 3 : Acclimatization Hike to the Everest View Hotel [12,700 ft]

People generally stay another night here at Namche, and i did the same. The body needs time to acclimatize to the rapid gain in altitude and its the wise thing to do. This also prepares for the coming days and helps keep any issues at bay.

Its a very steep hike to the Everest View Hotel but it's worth it, not only for the views but also the acclimatization benefits. Its a 500 metre + height gain.

Today, it did hit me that as a person trekking alone, I couldn't even afford to have minor injuries and had to be extra cautious. There was a point where I almost felt that I had twisted my ankle, luckily I hadn't. This was a much scarier position to be in, than I had anticipated

Met very interesting people again. There was a British lady, of Nepali origin who was there to surprise her Husband (working in British army) who was leading a team of trekkers in the region. It was fun seeing them meet.
The thing which really  strikes me, when i meet people from around the world, especially on treks, is how similar we are. We become even more similar in such conditions.

Day 4 : Namche Bazaar to Tengboche [12,700 ft] (20,200 Steps) 4.5Hrs

Once out of Namche, it's  almost a flat walk for the first half of the day. The latter half is steep and uphill, very much like the climb to Namche. The acclimatization previous day is of great value and I didn't see anyone around having issues with altitude, probably just because of that.

Tengboche is famous for it's very old monastery which has been rebuilt many times because of damages in earthquake etc. It's really remarkable to see something like this at such a remote location. The views from the village are mind blowing. Today is also the day when you start to see Everest all along the way. Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse are visible from the trail and the village.

Ama Dablam is right there in front of you, and in my opinion is the most beautiful mountain in that region

Day 5: Tengboche to Dingboche [14,500 ft] ( 25,300 Steps) 4.5 Hrs

One of the easiest days on the trek, with a very gradual climbs all along. Also went for a small acclimatization hike post lunch which really helped. The views from Dingboche were amazing, with Ama Dablam visible from the valley to the top.

Met an interesting girl from Canada who was here for the Everest Marathon, surprisingly this was her first marathon ( What??). Her guide was not only very helpful and gave me many tips but also had so many interesting stories to keep me awake on a otherwise event free day.

The sim card wasn't working and ended up buying the 600 Rupees/ GB WiFi , just because it was the Vote counting day in India and I wanted to know on who was winning there!

I was feeling very strong and I remember reaching before the porters and locals who started with me from Tengboche ( obviously they were carrying twice the weight if not more)

Day 6: Dingboche , acclilmtization hike to Nagarjuna Peak [16,700 ft] (14,200 Steps)

Surprisingly, this hike which I had no idea about was definitely worth it. First of all, it's the mother of all acclimatization walks. 700+ meters altitude gain and you are sitting at the top of a 5100 meters peak. The views are amazing and more importantly, you are almost at the altitude of Gorak Shep, so you are already preparing your body for the altitude which it will have to sleep at, in 48 Hrs.

This was the day I did a mistake and almost felt I had spoilt my trek. I got a severe headache after returning from the climb, but soon noticed that the pain was even more severe in the left eye. Discussions with a guide and realized that it was not AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) but UV exposure which was causing that. In all the excitement, I had forgotten to carry my sunglasses and that can be dangerous at that altitude. Luckily, I recovered fast and was all fine by evening.

I did buy water purification tablets today, after a small scare. Didn't want to take any unnecessary risk. Had been drinking tap water till then without any treatment.

Day 7: Dingboche to Lobuche [16,200 ft]  (19,300 Steps) 5 Hrs

Was a pretty strenuous day and took close to 5 Hrs including a long break at Thok La ( a small tea-house at the pass). The climb after this is quite steep and probably one of the most challenging ones on the entire trek.

Today was the 1st time ever when I slept above 16,000 feet. All the acclimatization hikes and the tanks of water I was drinking had helped me acclimatize really well and had no issues sleeping

Day 8: Lobuche [16,200 ft] - Gorak Shep [16,900 ft] - EBC [ 17,700 ft] - Gorak Shep (22,900 Steps) 3 Hrs + 3.5 Hrs

The D-Day. The day is slightly long, but not really tough. The usual practice is to reach Gorak Shep, have a quick bite, drop your bags and then head to EBC. It took me around 3 Hrs to reach Gorak Shep and another 3.5 for the walk to EBC and back.

This was the summit season end and the tents were still there at the base camp but very few climbers. The day I was at EBC was just 3 days after the famous day which got Traffic Jam near the summit and the pictures went viral on the net.

Have read and seen so many documentaries about this place that being there was a humbling experience and it did hit me that I had made it there all by myself. Had I been a bit more emotional, a few tears would have made it more memorable, but nothing of that sort happened :D

The Khumbu Icefall is as scary as it's talked about and its not difficult to visualize on why this section is considered the most difficult and dangerous on the Everest Climbing route

Slept  well , which was a pleasant surprise, given that the altitude is almost 17,000 feet at Gorak Shep. My oxygen reading was higher than even the local guides here and all the precautions I had been taking were definitely showing results

       

Day 9: Gorak Shep -Kala Patthar [18,500 ft] - Gorak Shep - Pheriche [14,300 ft]  (33,200 Steps) 3 Hrs+6 Hrs

Started at 4 in the dark and followed the other lights I could see up the trail. I felt extremely strong and was able to reach the top in around 1.5 Hrs, which is pretty fast. The cold was the real pain but it was manageable.

The views from the top were absolutely amazing. This was also the highest altitude I have ever been to  (18,500 Feet+)

After a quick breakfast , left for Pheriche. It was a long tiring walk after a very demanding walk in the morning. But all this was paid off when I got to meet Russell Brice and his expedition team, including Phurba Tashi. These guys are legends and do go through this to know what i am talking about! It was on the biggest fan moments of life for me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phurba_Tashi


Had very interesting conversations with him and his team, who had just Summited Everest. It turns out that its us to blame, especially in India for all the drama happening up there. We glorify Everest summitters, not knowing that it's not as big a achievement as people make it to look like. It's one of the most climbed big mountain and the Sherpas are the real people doing it. They put rope to the top, carry oxygen and food along with their clients and babysit the client on the whole expedition. A lot of incompetent mountaineers who don't belong their are turning up every year, especially from India riding on sponsorship from ill informed sponsors

Russell Brice and his Summitters

With Phurba Tashi

Day 10: Pheriche to Namche Bazaar (35,300 Steps) 7 Hrs


A long boring walk, but here is a picture if you think your life is tough

I did come across a very sick local man, probably suffering from severe AMS. I gave him all the medicines (including Dex for emergency)  I had, for his way down. It was nice to see him having recovered a couple of hours later on the trail.



Day 11: Namche Bazaar to Lukla (35,900 Steps) 8 Hrs

Another long, tiring boring day. This was the toughest day for me. Ended up drinking 1 Litre Coca Cola as water was too boring now :D



Day 12: Lukla to Kathmandu

I  was lucky and got my flight. There were people waiting for days, as the flights were getting cancelled because of the weather. I guess most of the trekking agencies book on what's called an open ticket while I had a fixed itinerary ticket (which can be easily preponed without any fees but not postponed ) which helped

Here is another video shot at the airport. It is scary!

Additional Tips/Facts :

- May end, when i did this trek was post the peak season and had no issues with accommodation
- Always started very early in the morning as it tends to get cloudy and can rain late afternoon
- Room charges vary between 500-700 if you eat there. They can charge upto 4000 in case you eat elsewhere
- Food as expected keeps getting expensive as you go up
- There is no other way and you need to buy Bottled water at Gorak Shep ( 400 per bottle). I eneded up spending 2400 in Gorak Shep on water, sticking to my rule of 6 litres water everyday

- Don't skip the acclimatization days. Try to climb high, sleep low. Drink 5+ Litres of water everyday and in all probability you will be fine! I didn't even have headache at Kala Patthar (18.500 Feet+) and I believe that these were the 2 main reasons

- Carry Power bank. Except for Namche, charging your devices would cost unreasonable amounts
- Unless you are experienced enough and have the confidence, it would be better to be with a group or at-least a guide. I didn't meet anyone like me, who was trekking Solo and independent


It takes many days to adjust back to the real world after such experiences and as I write this, I am wondering if I have adjusted back yet or not

Special mention to the 2 trekkers and their guide who helped a lot. Marlene and Nikeeta from US along with their guide Kumar were of great help and support on the tough days. Not to mention various other trekkers and locals I met and made friends with. It was an awesome experience and the people are what make it !


 This was my 10th high altitude trek, and having done it all alone, I can confidently say that I am an Experienced Trekker now :)