Heiko's Everest 2011: Base Camp

April 7-12

A couple of days have now passed again, and we finally arrived at Everest Base Camp on April 10. After spending some time at Lobuche, we left there on April 10, bypassed Gorakshep and went on all the way to base camp. Arriving at 17,500 ft was certainly a bit exhausting, but it was great to see base camp,... finally. The trek up here is certainly not an easy one, and there is plenty of room for mishaps or any kind of health issues. The lodges are filled with all kinds of people coming through, cold rooms and water issues everywhere....

The trek, somewhat difficult though, is definitely worth it, for the well prepared. Just outside of Lobuche, hidden in the hills is an Italian research station that is involved in climate change studies. Further up, after a long climb, one passes over a pass with literally hundreds of memorials for those that have not returned from the mountain. A stark reminder that, even if we all love these mountains, the mountains may not love all of us...

After the pass one enters the upper Khumbu region. The glacier is just enormous, and after struggling through the boulders on a winding trail Everest Base Camp is finally reached. The altitude here is about 17,500 ft, every task requires effort. About a week here is needed at minimum to feel some relief. Today we went for the first time into the ice fall for some practice, but still kept it short. Tomorrow we will decend back to Lobuche, and climb there a peak called Lobuche East, 20,070 ft for practice.

We should be back in base camp in three days, until then we'll be a bit off the grid. I'll be back in touch then.

Namaste!