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