AsiaLIFE

Leonora Stevens ventures into the Himalayas to experience one of the world’s most famous treks.

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Awash with brilliant colours, throngs of people, endless smog and roads flooded with people, goats, cars, rickshaws and trucks scraping through the dust-covered streets, Kathmandu is a jolt to the senses.

Despite the madness of it all, there's something captivating about life in this city that seems almost the epitome of a study in contrasts—a richly historical cultural epicentre complete with extreme poverty, rampant tourism and magical narrow streets and alleys.

But for most visitors to Nepal, Kathmandu isn’t the destination but rather a starting point on a pilgrimage to one of the country’s majestic mountain ranges. For my boyfriend and me, it’s much the same. Despite our minimal training, we’re attempting the trek to Everest Base Camp, a 16-day long journey that requires strong legs, powerful lungs and a stubborn determination in the face of endless uphill climbs.

Our journey begins early. Up at 5am, we check out of our Kathmandu guesthouse and meet our guide, Lal. The sun has barely risen and the city is already bustling. Men huddle on street corners downing milk teas, while cows and honking cars swarm the people-clogged streets.

We all jump in a waiting taxi, arriving at Kathmandu’s domestic airport only 15 minutes later. With one large backpack and a small daypack shared between the two of us, we feel substantially less laden with luggage than usual. Still, the bag is undoubtedly heavy and we’re already feeling relieved that we’ve decided to hire a porter (at US$10/day) who will be carting it up through the hills.

The 30-minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla is as wild as anticipated. On the runway we’re handed cotton balls to drown out the roar of the rattling turbo-prop plane, and then we’re quickly in the air, gliding first over the city, then the towering peaks of the Himalayas.

Landing feels almost like being deposited on an impossibly perched shelf, and the pilot carefully steers us down towards the postage-stamp sized runway, immediately slamming on the breaks as we hit the ground. Guides, porters and clients all audibly breathe sighs of relief as we feel ourselves come to a fast halt.

The air in Lukla at 2,859 metres is crisp. We quickly grab our bags as they’re pushed off the plane, and are ushered by Lal into a nearby warm teahouse for a fast breakfast of compulsory Nepali tea, toast and fried eggs. Thirty minutes later, we’re on the trail and on the way to our first night’s stop in Phakding.

Moving slowly to allow our bodies time to adjust to the altitude, our first days on the trail are gorgeous, rambling ascents through Sherpa villages and gardens. Each night we stay in local teahouses, which although simple at US$2/night are an incredible bargain, providing a very decent night’s sleep and hearty meals.

Only days in, and there is already some of the most incredible scenery I’ve ever experienced. Endless hills, rich green fields, rickety bridges, countless stone homes and imposing white capped peaks dominate the horizon.

Aside from trekkers, the trail is filled with a constant train of cows, yaks and porters slowly snaking their way up the mountainside. There is no road through the Everest region, so everything must be carried on someone (or something’s) back.

As we arrive in Namche Bazaar on Day 3, our bodies are definitely beginning to feel fatigued. A beautiful mass of colourful lodges and prayer flags that almost resembles a Swiss ski village, Namche is situated on a steep hill and our final steps out of the forest and into the rarefied air of 3,450 meters are achingly slow.

By now, the increasing altitude is resulting in sleepless nights and weary lungs, but the Himalayas more than make up for it. Unobstructed views of Everest and Ama Dablam shine out at us from early morning until dusk and with every day it seems they come tantalizingly closer.

To aid our climbs, we fuel up every chance we get. Feasting on an array of carbohydrates from French fries with fried eggs to pan pizzas and platefuls of rice with lentils is a welcome break after several hours on the trail, and there are few things better than arriving in our teahouse each night to a waiting thermos of hot tea.

By the time we reach Lobuche at 4,910 meters on Day 11 we’re both feeling the altitude more than ever. While the day’s trek there only takes three hours, it feels like twelve. My lungs ache, my legs feel weak, and I burn with envy each time we pass a hapless trekker effortlessly skipping his or her way back down the mountain, the hardest part already behind them.

Nonetheless, it’s impossible to overstate the powerful feeling of knowing that we’ve made it to this point—a day’s hike away from Base Camp, which sits at 5,334 metres. This is the highest I’ve ever been in my life, and we’ve watched lush forests turn to icy tundra. Huddled around the yak dung fire looking out through ice-coated windows at a resplendent array of Himalayan peaks I feel overcome by just how special it is to be here.

That night I suffer a vicious bout of food poisoning that forces us to turn back the following morning, only hours short of Base Camp. Stumbling back down the mountain, weakened and green around the gills, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Several days and much reflection later, my regret begins to lessen, gradually transforming into a certain amount of pride. As a completely inexperienced mountaineer and often-reluctant athlete, I can’t say I ever dreamed myself the type of person capable of a trek I’d previously only read about in novels.

Finally arriving back in Lukla on Day 16, my mind is a complete whirl of emotions. I’m utterly exhausted and have been stretched and challenged more by the past days than all our previous months of travel combined. My knees feel like they’re about to implode as we settle into our very last teahouse, and images of scorching hot showers dance through my head.

Kathmandu is calling, but these mountains won’t be soon forgotten.

Getting There: All flights from Cambodia to Kathmandu route through Bangkok, China or India.

Round-trip flights originating in Cambodia start at around US $1000.

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