The only thing you need to know about mountains are, they are majestic. For the last 2 years, i badly wanted to go to the dreamland, where lies several of the worlds highest peaks. But, for me, it was not easy, mainly because a handsome amount of money is required, along with 3 weeks of commitment, and most important of all, physical fitness. So, it was time and i set off alone for the trek without any known faces with me and tagged along with a guy called Mike Snell, who also wished to do this trek. It was not long before i started to have some doubts as the weather was gloomy with no/very little mountain views. I started to think, ‘did i just waste about 100,000 taka just to go up as high as 5600 meters and to let clouds pass through me?’ Yes, the first day when it snowed, I was excited and happy. It felt nice walking in the snow, but soon I got frustrated.
Till the 5th day, i was really depressed about the views, as the only time the sky stayed clear was early morning and rarely in the afternoon. But then from the 6th day, the sun started to smile, just when I needed it to. Saw 5 heavenly lakes, some great mountains, walked through the worlds longest glacier, crossed a 5000 meter+ high pass, went to the everest base camp in the harsh sun, snowfall and deadly wind accompanying me all the way. Meeting some nice people like Eloy Santos, Andrew Paul, Janina Dupont, Samuel, Flynn and a few more was another upside of the trek.
All in all, it was a great journey, which goes without saying, that I will be cherishing forever.
Day 1: Lukla (2800M)- Phakding (2610M)
Day 2: Phakding – Namche Bazar (3440M)
Day 3: Namche Bazar
Day 4: Namche Bazar- Dole (4200M)
Day 5: Dole- Macchermo (4470M)
Day 6: Macchermo- Gokyo (4800M)
Day 7: Gokyo day hike
Day 8: Gokyo- Thagnak/Dragnak (4700M)
Day 9: Thagnak- Cho la (5420M)- Dzong La (4830M)
Day 10: Dzong La- Gorakshep (5140M) – Kalapatthar(5550M)- Gorakshep
Day 11: Gorakshep- EBC(5364M)- Gorakshep- Pheriche (4200M)
Day 12: Pheriche- Namche Bazar (3440M)
Day 13: Namche Bazar- Lukla (2800M)
To see more photos of the trek, check out my photo album on Facebook.
