That night in the local village we stare at the stars and take in the silhouettes of nearby Lhotse and Makalu – the world’s fourth and fifth highest peaks. All seven of us in our group go to bed in good spirits – for the first time it feels as if Everest is within our reach.
Then, as if to bring us back down to earth, the following two days are slow and tortuous. Heavy snowfalls see the temperatures plummet and steal any further views away from us. We struggle to find the path, now vanished. Finally, in the early morning light of day fifteen we rejoice at once more catching views of the high Hiamalaya, sparkling with fresh snow and stark against the dawn sky. We reach Everest Base Camp at 1pm the same afternoon. It’s been an arduous day and all I want to do upon our arrival is lie down and sleep. But while the views of Everest itself are obscured by cloud we take our obligatory photos and marvel at the Khumbu icefall and the glacier carving its way like a giant motorway down the valley.
The following day is another 4am start. By now it’s difficult to take even a few steps without getting out of breath and our 400-metre climb to the rocky summit of Kala Patthar – a mountain on the opposite side of the Khumbu valley to Everest – is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. Every few metres you have to stop and catch your breath. You can feel your heart racing in your chest and the headaches just don’t go away. But we’re now at 5,550 metres (18,500 feet) and when we get to the top of the mountain we are rewarded with crystal clear, blue-sky views of not just Everest itself but all the glacial valleys around us.
Monju, our guide, shares hot tea and chapattis with us as we sit on the rocks and marvel.
The world’s highest mountain is just a couple of miles away, but its peak is still nine thousand feet above us. Even so, we have trekked continuously for sixteen days and climbed to nearly 19,000 feet ourselves. We are tired and sore and hungry, and have a five-day walk to get back to the trailhead. But at least from here it’s downhill all the way.
* Travel Facts
* Perry Buck used Crystal Mountain Treks to arrange his 21-day trek to Everest Base Camp. Prices begin at about £1,300 including all food, drinks, accommodation, guides and local transport. Visit www.crystalmountaintreks.com
* Perry flew from Birmingham to India via Dubai with Emirates and then with Jet Airways from India to Kathmandu. 30 and 90-day tourist visas for Nepal are available at Kathmandu airport for US $30 or $60. A return airfare to India is around £550 with an onward return flight to Kathmandu a further £200.
* The best times to trek in the Nepalese Himalayas are autumn (September-November) and winter-spring (February-May). During the summer months the mountains suffer large snowfalls and high winds due to the monsoon season.
