05 Jun Everest Base Camp 2023 : My Journey
હિમાલય પગથી નહિ ,પણ મનથી ચઢી શકો છો.
Himalay can’t be climbed with feet but it can be definitely climbed by mindset.
Hey Friends, I am writing this blog to support you in achieving your dreams. I am going to share my day to routine and emotions to heelp you out breaking your barriers.
Note : There are 4 treks occurring in a year , April, May, Sept and October ; I recommended May is the best month who cold problems and weather allergy like me.
It’s an accolade in my life and now I am Happy to share that I have summited Everest base camp on “Everest Day 29th May” successfully.
It was not easy but simple as we took BIG goal and focused on baby steps towards it.
It was 5364 meter , 17593 feet height , 90 km trek accomplished by us in 9 days . We trek 8 to 9 hours daily for 6 days.
Journey begins when Dr vitthal has sow a seed of Everest Base Camp ( EBC) in my mind in 2018 end.I called Dr Hemant Leuva to ge the information and he suggested to walk daily and dont wear Sweter in cold. Then lock down and busy with business , I almost forget this goal.
One again, on 21 january 2023, I got added in the group of mountaineers to ge the importation about next base camp.it bell ringing in my mind and without asking single question with gut feelings I paid my fees with 6 people group. ( some time gut decisions make sense!). It was risk and lots of preparation will be required. Dr Vitthal, Dr Tushar and Dr Subhash have supported me in taking decision. I am thankful to my brother who told me that you can do it bro, keep it up.
And here , My fearful being started waking up. I had fear of leg hurts due to B12 deficiency, I catch a cold in any weather changes, and I cant tolerate cold much. ( all these thoughts caught me after registering) but I remember : daar ke aage JIT he chitta bhe pita, (Laugh).
It was Very very BIG, risky and time consuming decision I took. But it was my crazy goal and I want to acoopmlish it any how. My friends supported me in increasing my anxiety ( har ek dost kamina/zaruri hota hai). These all were my test to resign but I was so firm.
We had got good support from Dr. Hemant Leuva and team before 3 months , they were sending exercises in group. Tey were supporting us to buy cloths from decathlon even guided to book flights and helicopter in return. Also we had taken insurance with their help. So mountain movers team is more than sufficient to make your trekking easy and memorable. No doubt , Dr Surabhi is emotional and bold lady a coach who has been with us though out journey. She know the each and every pebbles and rocks of the route. Even she has taken care of weekly exercise schedule and taken follow up without fail ( I have followed it for 65 day out of 90 days as I had got viral fever so I Dropped it for 15 days and 15 days I have all the reasons of my business work)
I am thankful to Dr Vitthal Patel for suggesting me mountain movers and take up a game. I am thankful to Dr Tushar for continues guidance for my cold and cough problem. I am thankful to Jigisha miss to arrange snacks and taking care during whole trip.
Note: If you will follow exercise and mediation schedule then you will definitely accomplish the goal.
Tuesday Morning :1 hr -walk and jog alternatively for ( 1min walk 3 minute jog )
squat, lunges and calf strengthening 15 reps*2 each
Evening : 30-floor climbing
Wednesday 10 mins Pranayaam
Total 70 floor climbing with 3 kg weight in backpack
Evening :Rest
Thursday 10 min Pranayaam
30 mins incline walk on treadmill(75% of maximum incline, speed about 4 km/hr)
10 mins core strengthening
Evening :40 floor climbing
Friday 10 mins Pranayaam
Total 70 floor climbing with 3 kg weight in backpack
Evening : Rest
Saturday 1 hr brisk walk
squat, lunges and calf strengthening 10 reps*2 each
Evening : 40 floor climb
Sunday 2 hr walk with 3 kg backpack
Monday : rest
It started with mini steps and increased gradually, you should follow it under the guidance of your coach or gym supervisor. Even I would like to thank you Ravi, my personal trainer who prepared me mentally for this journey on Zoom as he is from Banguluru. He guided me on What to eat, what to do, what not to do ( remember 🙂 take support from experts to get the best results in life).
Additional two days at kathmandu : We reached at kathmandu on 19 may to explore this beautiful capital of Nepal, We visited Pashupatinath Temple , Chandragiri Parvart and also Baudhdh Stups. We also visited darbar square and also seen Nepali marriage. Then we stayed at Hotel Kathmandu garden where all our group members from surat, vadodara and Ahmedabad reached. On hte next day 22 may we are to be flyed in the early morning so wake up at 4 AM.
Lets come to the Trekking from Day 1 to Day 10
Trek to EBC combines stunning views of the pristine Himalayan ranges ,the warm Sherpa culture and the thrill of adventure with the comfort of a holiday. Never did I imagine to have something like this in my bucket list and finally moving towards it.
Day 1: 22nd May 23
We reached lukla by flight from kathmandu, we are to begin our trekking from Lukla on 22nd may at 6:15 AM. then we took permit at Lukla for EBC trekking.
At the start of the Trekking, Mr Amardeep Singh our captain from the Moutain movers team addressed us about mountain etiquette. What I liked most is “dont impact anything and anybody who comes in touch with you during trekking. ( sometimes, some words are very important! , I keep reminding myself of these words during the whole trek and I haven’t thrown any single chocolate raper on the pathway).
Lukla to phakding 6 hours trekking , reached at 4 PM at phakding at stayed at hotel Sherpa phakding.all the trekkers reached the hotel rooms on time with a sense of achievement and getting prepared for the bigger challenges for the next day. It was nice calm sleep we all had there.
Lukla is Situated at 2,860 metres (9,383 ft), it is a popular place for visitors to the Himalayas near Mount Everest to arrive. Although Lukla means “place with many goats and sheep”, few are found in the area nowadays.We are lucky to have clear skies and blessed to get the first flight with sun shining bright. Never experienced such a tabletop landing..lukla has its own cute vibes with so many small cafes.
Day 2: 23rd May 23
We trekked from Phakding to namache bazar then we reached at hotel Bodhi at 4:30 pm
It is located within the Khumbu area at 3,440 metres (11,286 ft) at its low point, populating the sides of a hill.
During the treck , we passed through dense forest area and also seen many suspension bridges. by the time we reached Hillary double suspension bridge all of us were exhausted this trek was all about NOT EASY and gaining HEIGHTS.
And we passed through one of the world-famous iconic double suspension bridges, it’s “Hillary Bridge”. We have seen in the Unchai movie.
Day 3: 24th May 23
At Namche bazar , we had rest day and acclimatize day. We took bath here wiith warm water and became ready to not taking bath during next trekking. We took bath one day after 2 days of trek. Then for all the days we haven’t taken bath due to cold (-1 C to -12C temperature)
We always had dal rice in lunch and Pizza, pasta in the evening ( I missed my home food but I ate to get physical energy daily ).
Acclimatization means to respond physiologically or behaviourally to a change in conditions in the natural environment.
We started trekking for practice till 1 pm from 8 am, we visited Sagar matha pollution control (SPCC) committee and viewed mountain Everest with oculus.One should visit this, SPCC is the lead organization working to manage waste in Khumbu Region, which form the Sagarmatha National Park and its Buffer Zone and also encompasses the core Everest trekking area.
We had rest and visited famous coffee shop “Sherpa Barista” , wow, its must visit coffe shop , we ate delicious cakes and had coffee durig rest time. ( see, itinerary is the key to successful base camp so rest was taken though we all were okay to walk ). We all explored the cute sherpa town not to be missed are the massages here and also this town has amazing bakeries. nice break after the tiresome hike day before .we are all now geared up to soar higher altitudes.
Day 4: 25th May 23
We started at 7:45 am for debuche. On the way to Debuche, We visited highest buddha monastery at Tangbouche. The Tengboche Monastery is situated at an altitude of 3,867 m on the main Everest trekking route from Lukla to Everest Base Camp. From tangbouche to debuche, we had faced mild rain.It was windy and rainy together first time on trekking which has shoken all of us that weather can be changed in 5 minutes without any notice. We need to ready with wind jackets and rain suits. namche bazaar to Deboche was so beautiful. it felt like heaven he valley was quiet ,scenic and it felt as we are connecting to nature and long Lost ourself. to me it seemed I was in the enchanted gardens.
Its not easy to be careful before you plann your trekking , always go with experts. One of team members got heavy solder pain and she needed to be recused during rain.
At debuche, we reached at around 5 pm and We stayed at “Rivendell lodge debuche”. Its nice place. We were eating dal rice at every hotels in the noon time and pizza/pasta/french fries in the evening time.
Now we were playing with our will power and mental strength.
Day 5: 26th May 23
We started at 8 am for Dingboche then we reached at around 3:30 PM and stayed at Dingbouche resort. We had playing cards with us and had free time. We had fun, jocks and learnings all together. Deboche to dingboche was all about gradual decline in the tree line..slowly and steadily we witnessed the flora reduce to nearly nil.. the track was not physically challenging but due to high altitude we were exhausted by the time we reached Dingboche..we were very blessed not to get winds throughout the route and sunny skies..the weather till date is very favourable and we all keep our fingers crossed for it to remain the same till ebc..relieved to have acclimatisation day tomorrow. next day acclimatisation hike was amazing. it was super fun..all geared up for the next day.
I am whole heartedly thankful to Dr Subhash for his continued emotional support during trek and eating dal.chaval. I followed Subhash mantra “ thus thus ke khaneka, bhaye ke na bhaye. I am grateful to Surbhi miss for increasing my confidence that I can do it.she told me that you FiT and fine, focus on the taking steps on the pain and problems, it’s mountain. I liked the way Amardeep, our Coach enable us with his takiya kalam “ bahut badhiya”. When we started our trekking from lukla, -Amardeep told us “Remember that nobody should heart by you in the way that I have kept in my mind during whole trek.
Day 6: 27th May 23
Early morning we had moderate snowfall in the night and the temperature was -12 C but at 8 am , It was clear sky so we started trekking for our next acclimatization for 4 hours .
Dingboche (4410 mtr ) is a point from which you can view stunning peaks like Mount Everest, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and many others. The highest viewpoint is in Dingboche, Nangkar Peak, and you can see all the mystic mountain ranges from the spot. ( I cant remember allthis names so I directly took it from google!)
We came at 12 pM and had lunch and took rest. At around 4 PM , we visited famous cafe dingbouche named “cafe 4410”. Wow, I dance their , enjoyed the coffee and met many foreigners here.
Day 7: 28th May 23
We started from dingbouche to lobuche at around 7:30 AM. Lobuche, elevation of about 4,940 metres (16,210 ft), is situated about 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. The route of Lobuche Peak has been graded as Moderate level climb. The trails can be harsh for newcomers with zero experience. While the professionals might find it less harsh and challenging. Lobuche Peak route has many uphill and downhill walks you have to make for this trip. We had lunch at Thukla at 12 PM. We reached At Lobuche at 4 PM stayed at “Himalayan Eco Resort”.
Dingboche to lobuche was very windy and as we go higher the air becomes thinner. the trail was not challenging but the wind and the thin air were to us it felt we were walking on the no man’s land..little did we realise that one of the our group member’s lungs have started giving up She was feeling very tired but didn’t even think that she will have to leave ebc journey incomplete. she was air evacuated from lobuche as her oxygen level dropped to 39. we had tears in eyes when departed for home to survive.
Its not game to prove the world but its all about your passion and your own competition to self.
During the track, we also visited Everest Memorial. We inspired by late Babu chiri sherpa’s memorial. Till now we had room with attached bathrooms but now onwards We had twin sharing rooms with very basic facilities and common toilet bathroom. It was not easy for me but very simple to accept the things and situation around me.
Day 8 : 29th May 23
29 May is “Everest day” Luckily we also were there on 29th may.
We started trekking at 7 am from lobouche to Everest base camp. It was special day as it was 70th Everest day.
On that special day they have aranged marathon from EBC to namache bazar.its highest altitude marathon. On the way we cheered and all the participants passed near by us with clapping.
It was rocky trekk and we reached at goralshep at 11:30 am.we finished our lunch as soon as possible.
We started our journey towards the end destination with high josh for EBC at 12:30 again. We crossed Khumbu glacier and rocky hills.
We had lots of excitement as we were very near to EBC now. We had reached At around 2:30 PM. I had tears in my eyes, we stayed at EBC for half and hour, had photos with banners and national flag.thank to Dr parth.
I had tears in my eyes, we stayed at EBC for half and hour, had photos with banners and national flag.We had group photos. We had coffee at the height of 5364 Mtr, 17594 feet. I acknowledge Ripal for having coffee with me at EBC. She actually prepared everything.
In return , Then we came back to Gorkhshep by trekking and stayed at or hotel for a night as our helicopter booked for next next day.
Day 9 : 30th May 23
It was a wonderful awesome moment, we all celebrated with ginger, lemon , honey tea, we all were so tired to sleeped early on 29th night then at 6 am we wake up to return via helicopter.
from goraukhshep to pechuche and peruche to lukla. I first time sat in helicopter. It was awesome view from helicopter.
Mantra to win the game :Do daily exercise ,Practice pranic breathing and Work on mindset.
It’s life time memorable and self satisfying moment for me. Though it was -1 C to -12C temperature at height but warm hearts and supporting hands were with me so I can say it was team game.
At this posint of time , First of all , I would like to express my gratitude to Earlybird 5 am club which has supported me for last 5 year for reading , mediation and exercise.( mediation and exercise has played vital role in the Everest base camp ).
I am thankful to Dr Vitthal Patel for suggesting me mountain movers and take up a game. Though I didn’t met Dr Hemant Leuva , I have found him very passionate about supporting people to achive their Moutain trekking goals. I am impressed with his team building too.
Lucky having great team work, support from mountain movers team. We always had dal rice in lunch and Pizza, pasta in the evening ( I missed my home food but I ate to get physical energy daily ) I am thankful to Dr Surabhi and Dr Subhash for making realise the importance of dialy food for trekking. I also appciate alll the guides who served us and then they eat after our meals.
It was not possible to cross khumbhu glacier and rocky hills without continuous support of Guides, captains and coaches. I liked the way Amardeep, our Coach enable us with his takiya kalam “ bahut badhiya”. When we started our trekking from lukla, -Amardeep told us “ remember that nobody should heart by you in the way that I have kept in my mind during whole trek.
Last but not least , I am quite impressed with the spirit of service to guests by Dilraj , Dipen , Dibakar , Hari. I am grateful to God for creating special environment to make me enough and capable.
Let me end with,
FEAR IS OVERCOME WITH ACTION.
One of the greatest surprises you’ll experience, is when you discover that you can do
what you were afraid you couldn’t do.
Your obstacles will melt away,
if instead of cowering before them,
you make up your mind to walk boldly through them.
Do the thing you fear and fear disappears.
Confront your fears, list them, get to know them
and only then will you be able to put them aside and move ahead.
When you face the things that scare you,*you open the door to freedom.*
The only thing you have to fear, is fear itself.
Chetan Patel
Integrity world 🌎
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