Reaching new heights: The journey to Everest Base Camp

Q: What inspired you to take on the challenge of trekking to Everest Base Camp? 

A: I think that the nature, beauty, resilience, and spirituality of mountains is why I like them. I usually think of Everest because of its hardness and ruggedness, as well as the mental and physical challenges that come with this journey. 

Q: How did you prepare physically and mentally for the journey? 

A: Physically, I prepared myself for Everest by running and playing football every week, which gave me the strength and conditioning needed. Mentally, I was determined that I was going to complete the challenge as long as my body allowed me to do it. 

Q: What was the most memorable moment of your trek? 

A: The whole journey was memorable, especially as I could see and walk on the same trail that was first used by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay when they conquered Mount Everest. 

Q: How did you cope with altitude and the changing weather conditions? 

A: We started the trek at lower altitudes, which gave us more time to acclimatise our bodies. Once I was above 3500 meters, I walked slowly and drank plenty of water and avoided coffee and other food that dehydrates the body. Beyond 4500 meters, the key was to walk slowly, drinking plenty of water, acclimatising wherever possible and taking plenty of rest. 

Q: What surprised you most? 

A: The lack of snow on the mountain and glacier surprised me most – it was all melting because of global warming. According to the locals, this wasn't the case a decade ago. 

Q: What did this journey teach you about resilience, perseverance, or leadership? 

A: It teaches all. Perseverance, as we were determined to complete our journey as long as it was physically possible. Although there were moments when the constantly changing scenery, lack of air, and never-ending walk can be annoying, we persisted and completed the goal. Leadership, as I was the one making the final decisions and creating all the plans. And resilience, as you need to be ready for any kind of changes that are needed during the journey, especially in the high altitude. For instance, when we had to change our plan and climb 700 meters in a single day, which was not ideal, and nobody in the area advised us to do so. This was due to the possibility of potentially fatal altitude sickness which could be life threatening.

We were at Dingboche, which is roughly 4410 meters above sea level. Lobuche, which is 4910 meters above sea level, would have been our next stop. For the vast majority of travellers, it is recommended to walk 500 meters per day. We needed to stop at Lobuche, but we couldn't take the chance as the flight from Lukla wasn't available for the next three days, from 26 December to 28 December (we had a return ticket for an international destination on the 30 and 31 December). The weather is also very unpredictable there. Due to this, we had to alter our original plan and climb up to Gorakshep instead of Lobuche.

The only other option if we had missed the flight is to trek a another two hours from Lukla, take a jeep up to Salieri for seven or eight hours, and then take another bus to Kathmandu for ten or twelve hours, which would have been difficult.

Q: What’s next? Another trek, a different challenge? 

A: Yes, another trek possibly. I am also planning to summit a mountain up to 7000 meters if my body permits.