Everest Base Camp!

We woke not feeling too bad from the exertions of the day before. It was a reasonable easy (aka bloody hard in any normal circumstances!) couple of hours up to Gorek Shep.

We leave as much wieght as we can there, and make our way over a rough trail of large boulders for another 2 hours or so. Just as we are approaching the swirling clouds clear for a few moments and we get our first up close view of the main attraction. She is nestled in behind a couple of other imposing subpeaks, which adds to her air of mystery.

Everest Base Camp (EBC) itself is a little underwhelming if I'm honest. Summitting only happens in the spring season as the ice is too dangerous now, so there are no tents or any real sign of it, as the recent monsoons has disrupted any signs of human activity. You almost wouldn't know you were there if it wasn't for the prayer flags and a sign spray painted onto a large rock. They are moving EBC again after this season, due to the climate impact on the Khumbul ice field, so we are glad to have visited this historic site, even if it wasn't the focus or highlight of the trip.

It is high, at 5384m, but a little lower than Cho La Pass. Despite the height gain, the walk out is as hard as the walk in, due to the condition of the trail. We are pretty tired getting back to the tea house, but we just had an uneasy feeling about this place - partly due to concerns about sleeping at 5100m, but also because it looked pretty ropey.

We asked about going down to the next place, but we're allowed to. It's a shame as our suspicions were right, and it was a bit of a rough place. No running water, sheet ice on the squat toilet floor, and a grumpy owner who refused to put the fire on at a reasonable time insisting 'its not that cold'! It was also so busy that all the rooms were full of tourists, which meant our poor guides had to sleep outside in tents!! Mind you I could see through the plyboard walls, and it felt like I was sharing my bed with an extremely ill person in the room next door!

We did leave our signed Canadian flag given to us by Stuart when he realised he wasn't going to make it, although we felt a little bad about leaving it in such a crappy place.Read more