3rd – 12th March 2023
Facts:
1. Have diamox – it will decrease the intensity of altitude sickness.
2. You will experience some form of AMS – a headache, lack of appetite, nausea, etc are normal.
3. The weather in March is cold and freezing. Be prepared. The coldest temp on my garmin showed -13 in Gorakshep.
4. Carry buffs – exposing even a tiny bit of skin is unbearable. You need the buff for the Khumbu cough because the trail is dusty and then you need it when the temperature is freezing. The buff turns everyday so that the same part does not rest on your mouth each day. I recommend 3 buffs.
5. 3 pants are enough. You need normal regular trekking pants for most days. On colder days you need waterproof fleece lined pants. I learned to wear the same pant for 4 days in a row. Now I can do any 2-3 night trek in one set of clothes!!
6. Layer layer layer.
7. Carry a game of cards, book etc for tea house days.
8. Make sure you have acclimatisation days. They are not rest days but days in which you body climbs higher but sleeps lower. This supports acclimatisation.
9. Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Buy a flask of ginger honey lemon tea and drink it all day!
10. SPO2 levels will be monitored but don’t be fooled by your expectations from COVID! My SPO2 on the day we reached dingboche was between 75-85.The day we climbed EBC and returned to Gorakshep my SPO2 was 64. Do not panic! People wilth SPO2 96 were severely sick and had to be rescued and people with 64 had minor symptoms.
11. The truth be told. Nothing prepares you for a high altitude trek. Here is our regime. Sneh – Runs 4 times a week, swims twice a week, strength trains twice a week, animal flows twice a week. Veera – athletics and swimming twice a week, ballet twice a week, bouldering once a week. Bindu – runs four times a week and animal flows twice a week. Priya – runs twice a week and strength trains four times a week. Bindu and sneh are regular half marathoners. However you can only prepare for altitude in altitude. Yes, you can work on endurance, strength and mental agility.
We reached Lukla on 3rd March and reached EBC on 12th March covering a distance of 71km including the acclimatisation hikes.
Day 1 – We landed in Lukla after a fairly delayed start. Lukla’s airport is fascinating yet gregarious with a very short runway, but our landing was smooth.
We walked to the tea house which was very pretty and as a first experience of a tea house, we were floored. We couldn’t believe how naive and stupid we were 12 years ago to go trekking to Mardi Himal in Nepal and sleep in tents while tea houses were next to us!
Our trek stared soon after around 11:45am; approx 4 hours at more or less the same altitude. The trek route was scenic with lots of downhills and many steps too. The mane walls were unique with lots of prayers engraved in black and white. They stood out against the brown and green landscape.
We crossed the suspension bridges for the first time over the doodhkoshi river.
We stopped for daal Bhath lunch in Thado Koshigaon and then proceeded to Phakding.
A pleasant surprise to see another welcoming and well maintained tea house. Lemon ginger tea aplenty we spent our evening in the dining hall.
A quick visit to the nearby Hermann Bakery for cake and coffee and then we came back for some dinner and retired for the night early but slept very cosy. Veera and I had a double bed which helped us to stay warm and snuggle.
Lukla (8400 feet) to Phakding (8600 feet)
Day 2 – Phakding to Namche Bazaar. This morning we started from Phakding at 8:15am and passed through some great scenery and saw the snow mountains and the beautiful river doodhkoshi walked with us throughout.
We stopped for tea after approx 1.5 hours and saw many other trekking groups on the trail as well. We continued along the river and then stopped for lunch at a pretty site just after crossing the Sagarmatha National Park entrance
The terrain after we crossed the park for an hour was lovely but the last 3 hours were tough and treacherous. The trail was full of rocks, steps and loose mud which made the walk challenging and extremely dusty. The last hour was unending and tested our patience.
We were pleased to see the site of the check point and learned that we were approx an hour away from Namche bazaar.
Entering Namche felt like a victory. After having heard so many stories of people turning around or failing at successfully reaching Namche, having reached here without too much of a struggle was challenging no doubt, but extremely rewarding. Namche Bazaar is a tiny town but with a lot of character. It’s a climbers paradise with lots of shops with hiking equipment and to some degree it reminded me of Leh.
We came to our tea house called Camp Debase which is not a traditional tea house but felt more like a hotel. The area is well developed and has every facility you can think of! Good cafés and spas. It was an early night because we were all tired after the 12km walk which lasted 8+ hours.
Phakding (8600 feet) to Namche Bazaar (11,200 feet)
Weather – 0
Day 3 – Acclimitisation day in Namche Bazaar. Today was an easy day because as you climb it is essential to test your ability to respond to altitude. The rule of thumb is to climb higher but sleep lower which helps the body to acclimatise. When we started our walk, our guide explained the technique to walk with one step and one breath making sure the back leg bore the weight of the body while exhaling. We climbed through the Namche bazaar village and on our way we saw gorgeous peaks such as Nupla, AmaDablam, etc etc.
The hike up to 3800 m / 12,200 feet was a perfect acclimatisation hike as a test or precursor to the Thengboche trek which will take place tomorrow. It was a consistent climb but we managed well and enjoyed the beautiful vista from the mountain top restaurant called Himalayan panorama. We had some mint tea and started our walk back.
It took us an hour and 10 mins to get back to our hotel and post lunch we went exploring in the market to look for some essentials that we believe our missing from our gear. It took us longer than anticipated. The orange waterproof pants took much thought and discussion but finally Bindu and Priya bought one each. We came back to our cosy dining area and enjoyed some lemon ginger honey and fries. Our team mates had gone to a cafe and brought some apple pie for us. It was delish!
Tonight we found out that all 6 of our other team mates would be departing for Kathmandu from Gorakshep. It almost seemed unnatural to walk back! It made us wonder why we saw such few people on the way back. There were many going up but a handful coming down! There were a few doubts amongst us about whether we should be walking back but somehow we all agreed that we would be sticking to the plan which was to walk back. A lovely day over all. Can’t wait for the next destination ‘Tengboche’.
Namche (11,200 feet) to Syangboche (12,200 feet) and back.
Weather – -2
Day 4 – Namche to Tengboche. Today we started early at 8:10am for Tengboche. It was a mixed bag day but the highlight was the sight of Mount Everest. Mount EVEREST! It almost felt like a privilege to walk under it. To see it! We could see the surrounding peaks as well! So clearly! Lhotse, Nokte and Everest seemed like it was smoking. We walked under their shadows the whole morning. AmaDablam watching over us. AmaDablam became our favourite mountain. It means mothers garland and for me it symbolised my arms around Veera.
The trail was lots of ascents followed by a very long descent. We almost climbed the 600m and then came all the way down.
My descent is slightly slower because of the plantar and painful heel strike and I noticed that downhill irks it more. Post lunch it was a steady and tough uphill climb. The path is very dusty and rocky so one moves very slowly. Veera trudged along like a brave soldier. She needed bits of encouragement every now and then and the group supported and cheered her but she was amazing. 10km everyday for an 8 year old is no easy task! Finally, at about 4:45pm we reached the tea house which was a very welcome sight. The tea house dining hall was buzzing with trekkers and it was toasty with the warmth of the fire.
We sat for a while and then decided to visit the Tengboche monastery. It was extremely peaceful and calm.
We changed and got into clothes for the night. The interesting thing about this tea house was that we had to share bathrooms on each floor. The rooms were cosy and our beds were joined. Experiencing shared bathrooms was a first but not a bad one at all!
Post dinner we were all exhausted so we’re asleep by 8:30pm. Actually all nights have ended by 8:15pm. The body is so tired after a whole day of walking that it craves rest. Every night our oxygen is monitored. Everyone is doing well. Mine seems surprisingly low from the start. We made a video of the tea house but it takes time to load here! I will add one in few days.
Namche (11,200 feet) to Thengboche (12,700 feet)
Day 5 – Tengboche to Dingboche. Today we had another early start at 8am. The shared bathroom facility was not bad after all and we didn’t have to wait in any queues as imagined! We were on our way under the shadow of the most magnificent mountains!
Our first few hours were through forest trails which was lovely. Mostly the path was gentle short ascents and steady walks. The sun was on us and despite it being very cold, we were enjoying the walk. We stopped for tea after 2 hours and then 1 hour later for lunch. Lunch as usual has been daal bhaath a good choice in the trails. We had crossed the dreaded 4000 metres!
Suddenly, the weather turned. It was a sight to see how everyone had to rummage and pull out everything from their bags to wear raincoats yet be prepared for the cold winds. It must have been under 0 degrees cos it started to snow. The last 2.5 hours we were walking in the snow. It changed the scenery completely and looked very beautiful with everything turning white. The last 1 hour was a slow, steady yet gentle incline but at this altitude you can’t go fast and neither should you!
The snow came down faster and we had snow all over our bags and rain coats. Finally the sight of Dingboche (4400metres / 14200 feet). As we walked towards the tea house, I felt great pride at what we had accomplished. We had been trekking for 5 days and all of us have been well, cheerful!
Our ‘Goodluck’ tea house welcomed every trekker with a clap and Veera came out and hugged me. The fire was gorgeous and much needed after the icy cold weather outside. Out of all the tea houses, I liked the atmosphere of this tea house the most. I think it’s was the hostess who was so full of energy and active that made it so or maybe it was the trekkers who were full of life! I don’t know!
We sat around the fire and warmed things that were damp. After a bit of snack of momos, we checked out our rooms. These were outside the main tea house about 10 steps away. The room had an attached toilet but was very cold. Veera remained keen to sleep with me so we tried opening up both sleeping bags on one bed! The beds could not be attached together. Tonight we were going to need a sleeping bag each! Our ritual has been to organise everything for the night in the evening and then change into our sleeping clothes and spend the rest of the evening in the dining hall until it’s time to sleep.
After changing for the night we walked to the dining hall which was right outside our room but the snow had now turned into ice and everything was slippery! Had to be super careful. We chatted and sat around the warmth. Bought a wifi card cos there is no connectivity this point forward.
Post dinner, we retired for the night by 8pm. There were a few people who had been hit by AMS. One from our group and another from a different group. Praying and hoping they feel better and that everyone else is strong enough to continue in this pilgrimage of a trek!
Tengboche (12,700 feet) to Dingboche (14,200 feet).
Weather – -6
Day 6 – Acclimatisation day in Dingboche. This morning we woke up to the beautiful sun streaming into our rooms. The peaks shone bright.
However the scene in the dining hall was not the usual chirpy and cheerful one. We found out that one of our team mates, Anees who was hit by AMS very badly was going to be evacuated. Not a pleasant thought at all. The helicopter was to arrive at 9:30am. We discussed this throughout breakfast. While eating a bite of her bread and egg, Veera suddenly felt nauseous. She did not throw up but did gag a few times. I think knowing someone in the group was sick, impacted her thought process. She was fine a few minutes later but kept asking questions about Anees.
AMS can hit anyone. You could be the most accomplished athlete, with the strongest heart rate or the highest O2 levels it makes no difference because the mountain decides. The mountain always decides. I write this with a heavy heart. But it’s important to tell yourself that it was not meant to be this time. Health always comes first. And there is always a second time. But there was also a positive story because yesterday we met a man from England who had failed at his first attempt 3 years ago and had to turn around from exactly the same spot but he was back here again attempting EBC the 2nd time. Stories like these are scary and make you nervous but we kept telling ourselves ‘one day at a time’.
The atmosphere in the tea house is jovial but at the same time morose. It’s a waiting game. You wait to be ready for the next day or you wait to find out that in fact you are not ready to go ahead. In a way you never know when your journey ends.
Today during our acclimatisation day, our walk was shortened due to a late start. We walked approx an hour and back. It was a pleasant gentle walk. I think Sanjiv also gathered our thoughts and realised we were all a bit low. A good decision which helped build confidence.
We spent our afternoon relaxing in the sun and by the fire. Ate pancake and popcorn. Played cards and chatted. Tomorrow is a big day. Going to lobuche seems like a very big deal.
Tomorrow is a big day. Going to lobuche seems like a very big deal.
Day 7 – Dingboche (14,200) to Lobuche (16,100)
The trail started quite differently today. The terrain was more gentle slopes but the vegetation completely changed. The trees had disappeared and were replaced with shrubs and bushes. We climbed slowly surrounded by mountain peaks. The landscape was barren but startlingly beautiful in its own way.
We had to cross a moraine to reach our lunch spot Thukla where the signboard said 3 km to Loboche / 3 hours.
We could see the ascent in front of our eyes and knew immediately why it would take that long. Post daal bhaath lunch we started climbing. Slow, small steps. Veera quite enjoyed most part of the journey.
After about 1.5 hours of steady climbing it became more flat and wide. We were under the shadow of the huge Loboche peak and the other barren peaks but because of the open expanse the winds were bone chilling. The last one hour of the walk was hard and freezing.
Veera tried very hard but kept stopping every 10 mins wanting to rest. I knew she wasn’t feeling a 100%, I could make out from her face. But she kept going. For the last 20 mins my head was freezing cos the winds were so strong. Our guides Dawa and Dumbar helped by carrying her in turns.
From afar we could see tin houses and realised we were nearly at Loboche. We entered to a room full of people. Veera was already sat by the fire with a cup of water. She was a little nauseous. Normal when you climb altitude. It must have been -5 or so when we reached.
I couldn’t help my self and tears started streaming down. I was feeling so overwhelmed. So many times I thought whether I had made the right decision my bringing Veera. She can’t fathom what she is doing but I know that this is gruelling.
We spent some time in the dining hall as the went to check out the rooms which were freezing. No attached toilets.
We spread out our sleeping bags and quilts and went down for dinner. The beds couldn’t be joined to we had to sleep on one bed. Veera prefers my warmth and I too feel more comfortable while she sleeps in a sleeping bag.
Only one word describes today – bone chilling.
Temperatures were -5 and dropped to -13 at night.
Day 8 – Acclimatisation day in Lobuche at 16,100 feet. We had an easy morning. I had a very uncomfortable night. Haven’t been sleeping well. Many thoughts come and go and the headache which is a sign of AMS also is off and on so one has to learn to sleep with that, not easy. We snuggled in bed for a while and rolled out around 7:45am. Late breakfast. I have also experienced a loss in appetite. I don’t feel like eating anything. Its a strange feeling. The food is in front of you but you cant get around to taking a bite. Again this is normal. We have to force ourselves to eat. We enjoyed the sun for a while and luckily Veera’s nausea had become better. We were dressed today as we would be for the trek to EBC, wearing all the layers that we would be tomorrow.
It was unsettling to know that people who were walking up with us from different groups had to be evacuated. Some of them extremely young and fit. But, we did see them pay no heed to acclimatization and were walking at very fast paces. A number of choppers came to rescue people today. Between 6am – 9am there are plenty of chopper services in this region.
Today for acclimatisation we just climbed a little mountain in front of our tea house. 30 mins up and then down. We climbed up to see the khumbu glacier. Massive moraine which covered it all. The colours of the lakes were a gorgeous emerald turquoise. We took some pictures and then made our way down.
After returning to the tea house around 12pm the rest of the day literally was in the dining hall. We talked, played cards, drank loads of water, played damcharades and enjoyed the buzz of the dining hall. After dinner today Anvesha one of our group members invited us for a meditation exercise for 10 mins. This was a way to help calm our nerves for the final day tomorrow. So 9 of us got together in a room and meditated. It was peaceful and lovely. By 8:15pm we were in bed and after a few chats with Veera we were asleep.
Veera has endeared herself to so many. She has such a warm and pleasing personality. She gets everyone to join in and is generally so amiable. Touch every wood.
Tomorrow is a big day. A day we have all been waiting for for such a long time. Of course I’m a little nervous. Not of the climb or the walk but yes of making sure that we are layered well, don’t feel any symptoms as we climb and basically hoping that we have a pleasant journey just like we have had for the last 8 days.
I can’t believe I haven’t bathed for 9 days and it looks unlikely for the next few as well.
Day 9 – Lobuche (16,100 feet) to Everest Base Camp (17,500 feet). How do I describe this day? We were told to report for breakfast at 6am and we did. I lost my appetite completely. I could barely down a quarter of an omlette and half a toast. Veera had one bread. We started our walk. It had snowed last night so the place was a white out and looked beautiful.
Within a few mins Veera complained of feeling sick and nauseous. I told her to go slow and gave her the option of stopping and turning around when needed. But there were many people behind us who were fascinated to see an 8 year old reach this far so cheered her on.
We were told that today we had to cover 9 kms. 3km to Gorakshep, 3 to EBC and 3 back to Gorakshep. The walk was endless. We had to cross moraines and rocks. It was tiring. The sight of glaciers, avalanches and icicles was stunning.
After 4.5 hours we reached Gorakshep, our guide told us we were slow. We were walking much slower. All the while he had been asking us to go slow but suddenly he wanted us to go faster but the group couldn’t push any harder. Veera was better after an hour or so and was in her elements.
Sanjiv gave Veera the option of a horse but she is so amazing and determined that she refused and said ‘that would mean not reaching on my own two feet’! ‘I want to EBC on my feet.’
We reached Gorakshep at 11:30am and had some noodle soup for lunch. Shed a few tears. What an overwhelming experience. It also began to hit us that we were getting that much closer to our goal. After that the walk started towards EBC at 12:30pm.
Again Veera had bouts of nausea. At these heights when you are way over your comfort zone over 16,500 feet crossing 5000 metres these out of body experiences happen but cannot be explained. I had a full headache throughout. I know I had AMS and Veera too was experiencing symptoms. We walked along the trail which was only boulders and moraine with great focus.
In my mind I kept thinking this is hard. This is not easy. How come no one has described this trek as bludy tough? Anyway after walking for almost 1.5 hours we could sight EBC amongst the rocks and the dust and mud. It seemed close but was still 45 mins away. We walked along. A number of fellow trekkers saw Veera and took pictures with her. She felt so proud.
30 mins more and we could see the rock with 5364 metres written on it. Do you know what it feels like to walk towards an end? It felt like the walk of pride. A walk which had made us overcome so much. A journey. A pilgrimage of a trek. I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed. Proud. Proud. Proud.
I was delighted with Veera’s achievement, my achievement, Bindu and Priya’s, our groups achievements. What a tough 9 days to get here. What a tough, relentless journey. What a load of hardships, struggles and bone chilling weather we had to endure. What endurance. What determination. What grit. What commitment. What madness!
We took photographs and then in a few mins I saw Veera lost energy and sat down not wanting to speak or move. I changed her gloves. Dumbar our guide said she needs to go down soon. She was beginning to seem listless. AMS was hitting her. So he put her on his piggy back and started running. We followed. I tried to keep up but obviously couldn’t. I was glad she was going to reach down to the tea house safely. There is no stronger instinct than that of a mother.
This entire trek I was mother first, individual second. Not sure if I was an individual at all. I didn’t get time to be that. When everyone was thinking about themself, I was thinking about Veera. When everyone was refilling their own water bottle, I was first refilling Veera’s bottle. It’s as simple as that. Every conversation started with Veera have you eaten? Veera another bite. Veera just have half more. Veera are you warm enough? Veera use the toilet. Veera have you washed your hands? Veera kitkat or energy bar? Veera you’re doing such a amazing job! Veera you are a star! Veera you can do this. Veera take a break. Veera rest. Veera cover yourself. Veera dont get the cap off. Veera I know its hard.
The way back felt like I was walking on autopilot. I felt like I had been drugged and couldn’t fathom what was happening. A crazy experience. Last night my oxygen reading was 64 (nothing that was alarming to me or the guide) but my friends were alarmed and although I was fine overall, there was something strange in the way I was walking. I was breathing heavy, feeling light headed and just couldn’t talk. No one talked. It wasn’t just me. Bindu was ahead, Priya behind me. I just know that my bag was with Dawa and I had to borrow water from Priya. After a while I was in my zone. Somehow everyone kept overtaking me. Maybe it was my leg? Maybe the end of a long journey? Maybe AMS? Maybe the silent exhilaration of a goal accomplished.
After 2 hours of walking like a zombie I could see our tea house in Gorakshep. At approx 5pm I walked in to see everyone silent sat around the fire. The mood was somber, not celebratory. I was not the only one feeling this way. From our group 6-7 people were feeling symptoms. Everyone as exhausted. This was a crazy challenging day.
For the first hour I remember sitting next to Priya continuing to breathe heavy and feeling drugged. I was unable to respond properly. They ordered honey ginger lemon tea for me and I sipped on that. Veera was sat opposite to me and looked fine, touch wood. She had come all the way on a piggyback.
By about 6 pm I felt slightly better. We all chatted about the experience and learned about what other trekkers were going to do tomorrow. Discussed orders for dinner. The number of items we ordered were ironically much fewer than we had on our first night in tea house on 4th March! Who would have thought? We should have felt more hungry right? I ordered a coke for myself. I have not had coke in years!! But somehow that was the only thing I could consume.
All four of us talked and agreed that walking back for the next 4 days trying to complete nearly 60km in 4 days will be a punishment. We were so proud of having reached EBC. Veera was exhausted. Having come this far with such positivity it felt like I would be overpushing her to walk back all the way too. I knew our AMS would subside soon and as we trekked down but I also knew our bodies would be thankful for the few extra days of recovery. After a unanimous agreement including Veera, we decided to go ahead and book the chopper the next day.
Sneh Wadhwaney 
Thank you Sneh for describing our journey so well! I relived the 9 days again! These 9 days will be etched in our memories forever!
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Great summary. Seemed like I was part of your group. Maybe I will one day get there too. WISHFUL THINKING !!!!
HATS OFF TO BOTH OF YOU ESPECIALLY VEERA
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What an amazing journey, so proud of all of you. You are my hero. I am just dazzled by Veera’s grit and resilience. What a girl ! Like mother like daughter…..
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Thank you so much Rajesh! Thank you for all your support. We could feel it through Priya.
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A grand salute to Veera & you! So inspiring, always.
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