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A32 FEATURE
Monday 13 May 2019
What it’s like to do the Everest Base Camp trek

By MOLLY SPRAYREGEN gressed, the more the
Associated Press mountains seemed to bend
Whenever I told someone toward us, like we were in-
I was planning to climb to side of a snow globe.
Mount Everest Base Camp At several points, we
this spring, I received the caught sight of Everest’s
same shocked and wide- majestic peak peering out
eyed response: “Be care- from behind its neighbors.
ful!” While that’s good ad- Most of Everest lies in Tibet,
vice for any adventure, it but the peak is in Nepal.
was difficult to convince As such, the trek to Base
friends and family that this Camp does not actually
trip would not at all be take place on Mount Ever-
the same thing as actually est, but inside Sagarmatha
climbing Mount Everest. National Park — Sagar-
Instead, the Everest Base matha being the Nepalese
Camp Trek provides an op- name for Everest.
portunity for regular hikers Each day, as we made it
like me to tackle a feasible a little higher, the air be-
portion of one of the most came a little thinner and
iconic climbs in the world. our breath a little shorter.
Base Camp is located at By day eight, the time be-
17,600 feet, well below the tween each step I took had
peak of Everest, which is grown significantly. I was
29,000 feet. Base Camp is breathing hard. My feet
where those planning to were dragging and my
summit spend weeks accli- This April 10th, 2019 photo, provided by Molly Sprayregen, depicts Molly mid-climb on day 5 of her head pounding. I trudged
matizing and preparing for 8-day trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp through Nepal’s Sagarmatha National Park. slowly upward, but upward
Associated Press
their journey. It is also the plies are brought in by heli- thousand feet per day, but boarded a tiny propeller nonetheless, knowing the
furthest you can go using copter, porter or animal. the inclines were relatively plane bound for that very goal was within reach.
only your legs, before other In addition to breathtaking, gradual. This trek, instead, place. By mid-afternoon, we hiked
equipment like ropes and 360-degree views of the should be known for its The plane ride is beautiful, across the final ridge and
ice picks get involved. Himalayas, elaborate Bud- panoramic views and the with mountains on all sides, Base Camp came into
Our eight-day journey to dhist monuments lie along unique experience of hik- but the landing is enough view. We had made it to
Base Camp began at 9,300 the entire route. Every day ing through these remote to put even the fiercest ad- the gateway to the top of
feet, in the small Nepalese along the trail we saw mountain towns. venturer on edge. A stan- the world.
mountain town of Lukla. massive, intricately paint- Of course, the trip is not dard runway is between Base Camp rests on a mas-
There are no roads to Lukla. ed boulders and colorful without risks, but they lie in 6,000-8,000 feet long; Luk- sive glacier. I high-fived my
It is accessible only by a stupas (structures meant unexpected places. The la’s is only 1,700 feet long. group and took in the sight
30-minute plane ride from to bring good karma) flights to and from Lukla are It’s sloped upward to help of dozens of yellow tents
Kathmandu. When we wrapped in multicolored the most dangerous part of slow the plane before it hits pitched across the ice,
landed, I was shocked to prayer flags. At one point, the journey. The Lukla air- the solid rock wall waiting tents belonging to those
find the area crowded and we even toured a large, port has long been consid- at the end of it. At the other preparing for their ascent.
bustling, filled with locals fully functioning monastery. ered one of the most dan- end is a 2,000-foot drop. Af- According to my trekking
selling trinkets and outdoor The terrain itself is not as dif- gerous airports in the world ter landing safely, we were guide, the glacial terrain
gear, and what felt like ficult as you’d expect. Any- — and in fact, a fatal crash mesmerized watching the changes so rapidly that
hundreds of trekkers pre- one in good physical shape occurred while we were planes taking off for Kath- the expeditioners have to
paring for their climbs. could do it, and I have there. I tried to push the mandu literally fly off the move their tents every two
From Lukla, we wound our done many other hikes that knowledge of the airport’s edge of a cliff. weeks.
way up muddy paths and I found more challenging. dangers to the furthest Altitude sickness is also a We took pictures beside
across dangling suspension We still climbed several recesses of my mind as I concern, though if you work the sign declaring we were
bridges, stepping aside with an experienced guid- there and feasted on dark
for herds of yak and dzo ing company as we did, chocolate almond bark
(yak/cattle hybrids) as we they will ensure you climb to celebrate. As the after-
walked further and further up slowly to acclimatize. noon clouds rolled in, we
into the most remote area We had two layover days lay back and watched
in which I have ever hiked. and hiked a far shorter dis- the mountains disappear
Yet, it didn’t feel that way. tance each day than our above our heads. The
Small towns continued to bodies were capable of cheers and squeals of more
greet us all the way up. going. This itinerary helped trekkers arriving filled the air
There were lodges to stay us grow accustomed to the as it began to snow.
in. There were restaurants air as it grew thinner. It may not have been the
and bars. I have photos at Hiking up slowly didn’t feel top, but it was nonetheless
the world’s highest Irish pub like a burden, though, as a spot where most people
and the world’s highest it allowed extra time to on the planet will never set
bakery. In one of the larger take in those jaw-dropping foot. I feel so lucky to have
towns, Namche Bazaar, at views. The higher I climbed, stood in that very special
about 11,200 feet, there the more I felt like I could place, and, as I always do
was even a North Face reach out and touch the at the end of a hike, I feel
store. In these towns, doz- This April 13th, 2019 photo, provided by Molly Sprayregen, shimmering, snow-capped so strong knowing it was my
depicts a herd of Dzo (a yak/cattle crossbreed) along the
ens of miles from the near- Everest Base Camp Trek in Nepal. peaks. The further we pro- own two feet that got me
est road, all food and sup- Associated Press there.q