No mountain too high

Beautiful background of Mount Ama Dablam.

Monks seen on the Stupa during the writer’s trek to the base camp.

WE reach Namche Bazaar on the second day of our hike to Everest Base Camp after spending a night at Phakding, a fivehour easy trek from Lukla, the popular jump-off point to the base camp of the world’s highest peak.

After spending two nights at Namche Bazaar to acclimatise our bodies to the high altitude, we continue our hike to our next night stop, Tengboche.

The following day, we continue our hike for seven hours to Dingboche (4,360m), which welcomes us with a light drizzle.

The same weather condition remains until the next morning. Almost half of our journey to Lobuche is made in the rain with occasional bits of snow falling too.

But the trail is interesting as it takes us through a number of monuments built by hikers and locals, in remembrance of those who died while climbing Everest.

Lobuche stands at almost 5,000 metres above sea level and the area is so wide open without any trees. At night, the temperature drops to sub-zero but we still have to hike to a higher place before reaching base camp.

The next day is the day that we have been waiting for — the hike to the Everest base camp. We are excited and nervous all at once. We start our hike at 7.30am for our early-lunch stop at Gorak Shep, a threehour trek away.

We then continue for another two hours to reach the base camp.

The trail is not that steep but the low oxygen level makes it difficult for everyone in the group. We stop regularly to rest and catch our breath, until we reach base camp.

Finally, after seven days of hiking, we arrive at the foot of Mount Everest. I almost shed tears as I look at the trail that leads us to base camp. All the hard work has paid off.

We wait for the rest of the group to arrive before taking the mandatory group picture here.

We spend the night at Gorak Shep as we will be heading to Kalapathar the following morning to catch the sunrise. Kalapathar is higher than the base camp and it is freezing cold. It is so cold that even our water bottles are covered with ice. After coming down from Kalapathar, we have our breakfast and make our descend.

Being at the foot of Mount Everest makes me believe that if we truly set our goals and work hard towards it, nothing can stop us from getting what we want.

Heading to base camp.

Walking down the valley of Khumbu. Mandatory group photo at the Everest base camp; Hikers stopping to enjoy the view.