Everest Base Camp difficulty: it is not the path that is hard, but the air from Dingboche

The path: long, not hard

The trail through the Khumbu is the most walked in Nepal, wide enough for yak caravans, with stone steps on the steep sections and suspension bridges over every gorge. Daily stages are between five and eight hours, ascent between 400 m (Tengboche–Dingboche) and 800 m (Phakding–Namche). Two days are hard: the base camp day with seven to eight hours over rubble and glacier moraine above 5,000 m, and the Kala Patthar day, which begins before sunrise with 400 m of ascent and ends with 1,300 m of descent to Pheriche. Accessible Adventure gives the kilometres per day: 8, 10.5, 6, 10, 11, 4.5, 8, then 12 and 19 and 18.5 – around 130 in total.

If you go on mountain hikes regularly at home, you have the fitness. If not, start three months ahead: long walks with a rucksack, stairs, two days in a row. The trek does not need strength, it needs endurance – and the ability to walk slowly when the guide says so.

Altitude: what happens, and what the operators do about it

At 5,000 m every breath contains half as much oxygen as at sea level. The body needs days to produce more red blood cells, and the route gives it those days: never more than 500 m of sleeping altitude gained per day, two rest days with “climb high, sleep low” – in Namche to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m), in Dingboche up Nangkartshang (5,083 m) or into the Chhukung valley. Even so, almost everyone has headaches from Dingboche, sleeps badly and eats less. That is mild altitude sickness, and it is normal.

It becomes dangerous when the symptoms do not improve after a night or when new ones appear: confusion, staggering, coughing with breathlessness at rest. Then the only step is descent, immediately, even at night, even 500 m. The guides know this; Scenic, Unique, Accessible and Ace Heli measure with the pulse oximeter, Alpine Ramble and Accessible have Diamox in the kit. Diamox (acetazolamide) speeds up adaptation and is taken preventively by many – that is discussed beforehand with a doctor, not with the guide. If you have had altitude sickness before or are over 45, get checked before you go.

Rescue and insurance: the helicopter costs when nobody pays

If you cannot go on up there, you are flown to Kathmandu by helicopter – from Gorak Shep or Pheriche in an hour, at prices of several thousand dollars that the pilot flies only against an insurance guarantee or credit card. That is why almost all operators make insurance mandatory: Nepal Hiking Team, Outfitter, Himalayan Recreation require proof. Ace, Alpine Ramble and Unique “arrange” the rescue, “paid by your insurance”. What you need is a policy that expressly covers trekking to 6,000 m and helicopter rescue – many standard travel policies stop at 3,000 or 4,000 m. Cost for two weeks: around USD 100 to 150. Without it you do not go.

A second risk is smaller and more common: the “Khumbu cough”, a dry irritant cough from cold, dry air that accompanies half the group. A cloth over the mouth helps, as does drinking a lot – three to four litres a day, which makes the water question from the cost sum even more important.

Preparation in twelve weeks

Weeks 1–4: an hour of endurance three times a week (running, cycling, stairs), a four-hour hike at the weekend. Weeks 5–8: increase hikes to six hours and 800 m of ascent, with the rucksack you will take; once two days in a row. Weeks 9–12: break in the boots, one long tour with 1,000 m of ascent, then an easier week. If you can spend a night at 3,000 m in the Alps, you learn how your head reacts. Doctor: discuss Diamox, travel pharmacy, vaccinations for Nepal. Paperwork: insurance with altitude clause, visa on arrival (passport photo, cash), passport details to the operator for the permits.

Questions about difficulty

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