Day 10: Everest base camp

Start: Loboche

End: Gorak Shep

Finishing altitude: 5164m

I slept surprisingly well through the night and emerged slowly for breakfast. Everyone was feeling relatively rough and we all struggled through breakfast as the altitude depleted our appetites. I forced down a bowl of porridge and a vegetable omelette, sipped a sugary tea and took half a Diamox tablet, hoping that this lower dose would cause less of an adverse reaction than yesterday. Lee continued to take Codeine to try to alleviate the intense cough. It is common to develop a nasty cough when hiking or climbing here for extended periods, so much so that it has coined the term “Khumbu cough”. It’s a distinctive dry hacking type of cough that I heard echoing through the valley from descending hikers on previous days. It results from the cold air, low humidity, dusty trail and high altitude making breathing a challenge. Once you develop this ailment it lingers until you descend to warmer, more hospitable environments. I was advised by a friend to take preventative action from the beginning of the hike; by covering my mouth with a buff, keeping my drinking water slightly warm and having eucalyptus-based cough sweets to hand. Luckily this had all been effective but I still had mild nausea, a common side effect of Diamox, in addition to the intense tingling sensation on my face, hands and feet. Bikash gave me anti-nausea tablet to combat the side effects. After we were fed and most importantly medicated, we stepped out onto the trail at Loboche and headed towards our first goal for the day, Gorak Shep.

The route was over challenging terrain, a continual climb with large boulders and loose scree. The conditions were perfect with clear blue skies meaning there were no obstructions to the spectacular mountain views. But it was bitterly cold. I wore all my layers, large ski gloves and pulled my buff above my nose. We adopted a slow steady pace and Bikash encouraged us to rest more and keep drinking. Bikash could tell I was still slightly nauseous and by now he had perfected his tactic to distract me; telling me stories about summit ascents and quizzing me on the different peaks and their respective heights. His strategy worked (in addition to the anti-nausea tablet) and I was back to myself, smiling away with my energy levels increasing and nausea diminishing. The final hill to Gorak Shep was steep and I used my hiking pole to propel me to the top. Gorak Shep is a small settlement situated above 5000m, it’s sole purpose is to accommodate hikers and climbers, giving them a place to stay before their final push to base camp itself. It comprises of a small cluster of teahouses which provide accommodation for hikers, who’s permits often don’t allow for staying at Everest base camp itself. Dan, Aadam and I wandered over to the teahouse where Hom stood waving and saying, “well done” and holding a flask of warm juice.

My appetite had picked up a little at lunch as my nausea had subsided and I ate all my soup, potatoes, rice and dhal. Bikash noticed I was back to eating my usual amount and nodded at me with a wide smile, putting his thumbs up. Within a few minutes of eating, I returned to feeling myself and a rush of energy and excitement raced through my body as I had the sudden realisation that base camp was merely 2 hours away. After lunch, we began the push to base camp. Our group had split up a little at this point, with everyone going at a pace that suited them. I hiked with Aadam and Dan, we’d been a similar pace throughout the whole trek, alternating positions at the front of the group. They too had both started to feel better and I could sense their excitement to complete the final push. We shouldered our packs and began trudging along the glacial moraine towards base camp. A little into the hike we rested to rehydrate and catch our breath. Bikash sat on the rock next to me, smiled and asked how I was doing. I smiled back at him and told him that I was feeling good, my energy was back and I was no longer nauseous. He patted me gently on the back, grinning widely and said, “I’ve got my Amy back” then started dancing around chanting, “base camp, base camp, base camp!” I laughed and couldn’t help but feed off his infectious joy and excitement, making me eager to keep pushing towards base camp. His caring nature and extensive knowledge of how to deal with ailments in this hostile environment coupled with his fun, endearing personality was everything you’d wish for in a mountain guide. He pulled me up from the rock I rested on saying, “Let’s go Amy, zoom zoom – base camp!” and I eagerly followed.

We hiked parallel to the Khumbu glacier below the intimidating 8000m peaks. At this height you can really appreciate the geology, the varied topography of the land and the sheer size of these peaks. A group of Indian tourists passed us on the route and we were all shocked by what we witnessed. They were not wearing hiking clothes and were essentially being pulled along quickly by their Nepalese guides. Bikash later explained to me that wealthy tourists will dose up on Diamox, helicopter to Gorak Shep and essentially be dragged to base camp purely to populate their social media profiles with photos of them posing at base camp. This explained why I hadn’t seen any of this group throughout the rest of the hike and why they were dressed inappropriately. Their inexperience on rocky icy terrain showed as their guides had to assist them with almost every step and encouraged them to move quickly to reduce the window of time they were exposed to the altitude. Bikash moved us to the side, eager to distance us from this chaos. After another hour or so of hard work clambering over large boulders and dodging patches of ice, base camp was in sight. Dan pointed in the distance, “It’s there!” and even though the adrenaline made us want to run the final stretch, Bikash stayed ahead of us, slowing our pace. Just ahead of us, the iconic rock reading “Everest Base Camp, 5364m" appeared, the one that I have seen countless times on photos of base camp. We’d made it! Bikash grinned and looked proud (and relieved!) as Dan, Aadam and I arrived at base camp.

Base camp is situated at the foot of the Khumbu glacier beneath the stunning mountain backdrop. At this time of year, there are no tents, no mountaineers and barely any hikers. But the Spring transforms this patch of land into a temporary thin air metropolis where mountaineers experience everything from mundane domesticity while they await weather windows, logistical challenges and the occasional flash of life-or-death drama. It was difficult to imagine this scene as I scanned the barren patch of land, that doesn’t look flat enough for comfortable pitching of a tent. The Indian tourists that passed us earlier were effectively ruining the peace as they loudly instructed their guides to take photos. A man stood on the base camp rock shouting down instructions to his guide, “Make sure you get lots of angles”, “Take one with my coat off”, “Just keep clicking”. We patiently waited to take our own photos, but he just stayed up there – becoming increasingly more creative with his poses. Aadam is polite and mild mannered, but this openly aggravated him, which is understandable as we had taken 9 days of trekking to arrive here and were unable to take photos. He called him out and Bikash supported this encouraging the man to move on so we could take our photos. We spent time exploring, watching the clouds race above Everest in the distance and appreciating our luck that we had clear views.

I saw the Khumbu icefall in the distance at the head of the Khumbu Glacier, a captivating landform and the most dangerous stage of the South Col route to the summit of Everest. The icefall is a chaotic maze of gaping crevasses, snow bridges and overhanging ice blocks. This can be only navigated through a series of complex ladder networks, fixed by brave men like Sunam each year. The icefall has to be negotiated before sunrise when the freezing temperatures reduce the mobility of the ice, which lowers the risk of opening crevasses or serac collapses. Camp 1 lies slightly beyond the top of the Khumbu Icefall and was out of my view. I was mesmorised by the icefall, all the books I have read that describe this challenging environment were given life as I scanned every inch of the icefall, not wanting to forget a single segment. For me base camp was incredible, everything that I expected and more. I smiled to myself as I wandered between the rocks, over the patches of ice and gazed up at the summit of Everest.

Following our success, we returned back to the teahouse at Gorak Shep. We moved more quickly than the ascent, as they sun began to set behind the mountains, causing the temperatures to rapidly plummet. On arrival to the teahouse, Hom congratulated us and served us tea and biscuits. A wave of relief and relaxation washed over us as we ate dinner, chatted and laughed about where Mr Diamox could have possibly got to. We suspected his guides may have finally lost patience and abandoned him on the Khumbu icefall. Morale was high as we retired to our rooms to get some well earned rest. The goal had been achieved, but the adventure was far from over. We still had the descent to tackle.