EBC: Trip Planning

I will be going on a trek to Everest Base Camp from May 3rd to May 18th, 2008. The trek is led by Vasumathi Srinivasan of Karnataka Mountaineering Association and our current team size is 23. This will be my second high altitude trek almost exactly one year after the first one to Hampa Pass in May, 2007.

Team List: Vasumathi (Trek Lead), Smitha (Deputy Lead), Sharath, Sendhil, Vimal, Samit, Roshin, Arti, Priya, Manjunath, Sheila, Nandu, Ashok, Nandini M, Nandini R, Deepika, Gyanesh, Sapna, Eshanye K, Mohan, Kalkumbari, Naresh, Lakhan, Sandeep.

This page contains the proposed trek itinerary as well as some data/maps/tidbits I obtained from the net.

Itinerary

Day 1: May 3, Saturday
Bangalore - Delhi - Kathmandu (1360m) by flight
Bangalore (05:45) to Delhi (08:15) by Deccan DN-601.
Delhi (11:55) to Kathmandu (03:15) by Jet Lite <>.

Day 2: May 4, Sunday
Kathmandu sightseeing

Day 3: May 5, Monday
Kathmandu - Lukla (2600m) [40 min flight], Lukla to Phakding (2652m) [4 hours trek]
Start by 3 AM, catch 7 AM flight from Kathmandu to Lukla

Day 4: May 6, Tuesday
Phakding - Namche Bazar (3446m) [7 hours]

Day 5: May 7, Wednesday
Namche Bazar, Acclimatization

Day 6: May 8, Thursday
Namche Bazar - Thyangboche (3875m), Buddhist Monastery
Start at 3:30 AM after tea. First and only view of Everest other than Kala Patthar

Day 7: May 9, Friday
Thyangboche - Pheriche (4400m)

Day 8: May 10, Saturday
Periche - Lobuche (4930m)

Day 9: May 11, Sunday
Lobuche - Gorak shep (5160m) [3 hours] - EBC (5400) - Gorak shep [5 hours round trip]

Day 10: May 12, Monday
Gorak shep - Kalapatthar (5545) [2.5 hours] - Lobuche, View sunrise on Everest peak
Start at 2 AM so that sunrise over Everest peak can be viewed from top of Kala Patthar. Come down and proceed to Lobuche after meal at Gorak shep.

Day 11: May 13, Tuesday
Lobuche - Dingboche (4220m) [5 hours]

Day 12: May 14, Wednesday
Dingboche - Namche Bazar

Day 13: May 15, Thursday
Namche Bazar - Phakding

Day 14: May 16, Friday
Phakding - Lukla

Day 15: May 17, Saturday
Lukla - Kathmandu

Day 16: May 18, Sunday
Kathmandu - Delhi - Bangalore
Kathmandu (07:05) to Delhi (<>) by JetLite <>
Deccan DN-602 from Delhi (19:40) to Bangalore (22:10).

Altitudes and time for trek based on information from various sites.

Equipment List

This is what I intent to take along for the trek:

1. Alpinist Rucksack (40L)
   
2. Case Logic Camera Bag
1. Canon EOS 400D
2. Canon EF-S 17 - 85 mm f4 - 5.6 IS USM lens
3. 2 Canon NB-2LH battery (thanks Sharath!)
4. Sandisk 2 GB Extreme III CompactFlash card (400+ photos at JPEG/10MP/Fine)
5. Passport, 2 passport sized photographs
6. Notepad, pen
7. Customs declaration for Camera
   
3. ProSpecs GoreTex waterproof trekking shoes
   
4. Casio Pro-Trek watch with triple sensor (altitude, barometer/temperature, compass)
   
5. Thick waterproof jacket/wind cheater with hood
   
6. FastTrack shades, 100% UV Resistant
7. 1L Water Cannister
   
8. Utility Kit
1. Head Mounted LED Torch
2. Swiss Army Knife
3. Duct Tape
   
9. Toilet Kit
1. Tooth brush
2. Tooth Paste
3. Shampoo Sachet
4. Toilet Roll
5. Deo
6. Soap
7. Electric razor
   
10. Medicine Kit
1. Band Aid
2. Sun Screen (SPF 30)
   
3. Hand Sanitizer
4. Crocin (headache, body ache, fever)
5. Ciplox-TZ (infective diarrhea)
6. Perinom (vomiting)
7. Brufen (pain killer)
8. Iodex Spray (sprain)
   
11. 1 (on body) + 2 (packed) set clothes (tee, track suit, briefs, socks, kerchief) packed per set plus 2 extra brief, socks, kerchief
    
12. Thin bath towel
13. Bandana
    
14. Winter clothing
1. One thermal inner vest
2. Balaclava
3. Gloves
   
15. Flip-flop
16. 1 Bed Sheet
17. Food
1. Tang packets to dissolve in water
2. Dry Fruit pack

Hope to keep my rucksack weight between 10 - 12 KG.

Note: All Indian currency notes must be of Rs 100 denomination or less since Nepal does not allow Rs 500 or Rs 1000 notes due to rampant counterfeiting.

Route Maps


Route map courtesy Green Lotus Trekking



Route map & altitude gain chart courtsey Ian Woodall

Interesting Facts

• Mount Everest is called "Chomolungma" or "Qomolangma" in Tibetan and "Sagarmatha" in Nepali
• Everest Base Camp located on the Khumbu Glacier in the Khumbu region of northeastern Nepal
• Lukla airstrip was created by Sir Edmund Hillary with the help of Sherpas
  
• Best view of Everest is from Kala Pattar, Everest cannot be viewed from EBC
  
• Blood oxygen saturation level drops to around 85% - 87% on Everest Base Camp as compared to saturation levels of 98% - 99% at sea level
• 8 people died on May 11, 1996 in the worst ever disaster on Everest. "Into Thin Air" is one version of what happened on that day
• TIer Philippe Gatta summited Everest on May 24, 2007 from Northeast ridge on an expedition with Project Himalaya
  

Trek Reports

• Ben - Part I and Part II
  
• Taryn Linton
• Andy & Josie
• Mary & Matt
  

References & Credits

• Everest Base Camp on WikiTravel
  
• Mount Everest on WikiPedia
• Peregrine Adventures
• Alpaca
• Green Lotus Trekking
• Adventures Within Reach