Everest Base Camp Gallery
25/04/2019
This gallery contains a subset of our photographs.
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Everest Base Camp 2019 Epilogue
18/04/2019
Continue reading“We’re not exultant; but delighted, joyful ; soberly astonished… Have we vanquished an enemy? Not but ourselves…” (George Mallory).
Day 8 – Lobuche to Base Camp
16/04/2019
D-Day. Today we summit Mt Everest Base Camp. It’s going to be a grueling +8hr hike at the highest altitude we’ve ever been. An early morning start with 5:30 breakfast and 6:30 hike. The morning was icy cold and the demons were swirling. Breakfast was barely edible as our appetites were long gone. Being well layered, we started our hike.
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Day 7 Dingboche to Lobuche
15/04/2019
I woke up to a towering Ama Dablam peering into my window nudging me to get a move on. It was cold even though the sun was out and the sky was clear. I shook off the chill and got ready for the hike to Lobuche.
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Day 6 Dingboche to Nagarjun Hill
14/04/2019
Awoken by my alarm, I peered my head out of my warm sleeping bag and felt the cold rush to greet me. I looked outside from my room and Ama Dablam was covered in clouds. Brrr it’s going to be a chilly day but Nagarjun Hill was calling.
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Day 5 Tengboche to Dingboche
13/04/2019
We woke up in the clouds, literally. The cold had come and I quickly went outside to feel it. Today is going to be a different challenge. Refresh, change (lots of layers), pack, breakfast, stretch and away we go. Our journey to Dingboche began.
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Day 4 – Namche Bazaar – Tengboche
12/04/2019
Onward upward we continued. In under 30 mins we were pleasantly surprised as Ama Dablam with its two ridges and ‘lonely hiker’ came into full view. In an instant we turned our heads to Everest with its white cap (called a banner cloud) and welcoming smile. Nuptse, in front, was still forming an impregnable fortress. Another beautiful sunny day and we quickly shed off our layers as our body heat increased. The hike to Tengboche was underway.
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Day 3 – Namche Bazaar – Sayangboche
11/04/2019
The rhythm continues. Fueled with porridge and Nepali (masala) tea (and maskana biscuit from home), we headed out for our day of acclimatization climbing up to Sayangboche then back down to Namche Bazaar.
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Day 2 – Phakding to Namche Bazaar
10/04/2019
Phakding (2626m) to Namche Bazaar (3370m)
The rhythm started – washup, change, pack up, breakfast, stretch and go. And, hopefully some writing too – battery and connectivity permitting. Day 1 was a smorgasbord of helter skelter rushing and running. But, that’s behind us. In the first few minutes of the hike the banner, courtesy of Bokkie, our group leader, who’s determined to take it to the top, would come out for a group pic. I’ve heard we’ve so far raised almost R80k for a worthy cause – school shoes for learners especially in rural areas.
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Day 1 – Kathmandu – Manthali – Lukla – Phakding
09/04/2019
Just after midnight 19 of us and 2 guides loaded our duffel and back packs and climbed into two combis for a 5-hour drive to Manthali to catch our flight to Lukla so that we can hike to Phakding. It was a helter skelter Sunday prior to departing as we had a morning tour, completed last minute shopping, pre-tour induction and packed unpacked packed repeat our luggage to stay within 15kgs. None of us got much sleep.
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