I am pretty excited about having signed up for ta trek to Everest Base Camp next spring. I am sure there are folk here who have done that and I'd be grateful for tips on what not to forget to take!! For a start - what boots will I need. Are very light boots ok, or will I need some with good ankle support.
Also - I am concerned about altitude sicknes and gut problems, so tips welcomed!!
its not that high from memory ~5000m (havent done it, but was very tempted). You should be fine with some decent boots and maybe a lightweight down jacket of some kind.
Flip flops, a couple of t shirts and a pair of shorts?
Seems to work for the locals.
I used a pair of Scarpa Manta boots when I went. Make sure they fit well though as your feet will probably swell a bit with the altitude. I would take a down jacket and whatever else you would wear on a normal walk. I would take a warm sleeping bag too - a very warm one as it gets absolutely baltic at night.
Take lots and lots of camera batteries and memory cards as the place is just amazing.
Are you scared of heights?
Personally I'd want a good set of boots that have been broken in. If you are carrying stuff then you might want something more than light weight boots for the better support. Also are they going to need to be crampon compatible or is it all ice free up to base camp?
its not that high from memory ~5000m
!!!
5000m is **** high. If you took someone direct from sea level and helicoptered them straight to 5000m, there's a fair chance they would die. Certainly, they would feel utterly grim - altitude sickness feels a lot like a bad hangover.
The rule of thumb for safe acclimatisation is that, once over 3000m, you shouldn't change your sleeping height by more than 300m per day - so since your trek will likely start at around 3000m, then it should take you 6-7 days to ascend to 5000m.
A really good book for altitude advice, other health issues, kit, etc. is "The Mountain Traveller's Handbook."
Stevo (ML, IML!)
If you are walking in and not flying to Lukla, you will aclimatise to the altitiude and so this shouldn't be an issue.
I would avoid flying into Lukla as it's the most dangerous airstrip in the world. The landing strip runs up the side of the mountain, is short and there is no leeway for overunning when landing (there's a cliff at the end). The weather there is very unpredictable and fog can roll in in minutes, making it impossible to judge the start of the strip. Winds are unpredictable too and all these things combined make for very very dangerous landings indeed! Crashes are not infrequent.
My father-in-law did the walk in trek when he was 60. It took three weeks and they climbed an average of 4500ft a day.
He said they got into camp each evening just before nightfall (set up by the sherpas). They'd all eat and then go to bed as there wasn't much else to do and due to the desire to get warm in their sleeping bags.
Quite a few of the party found themselves awake at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep as they'd had already had a good kip by then. So take some reading material and a headtorch which has a low setting.
He told me that the only time he had real difficulty sleeping was at base camp, where he woke up short of breath due to the altidue. He was then a very fit man.
Footwear: I would opt for a comfortable lightweight ankle boot. Keen make some uber comfortable outdoor footwear with tough toecaps. You'd only have to try them on to know what i'm talking about, but whatever boots you buy, make sure they are well worn in on the UK hills beforehand. Good socks and support insoles can make all the difference to comfort/blister prevention too.
Clothing: I'd go for as many thin layers as possible so you can regulate your clothing/temperature/comfort more easily.
I'd take a powerful sunscreen and use some decent glasses at that altitude.
I'd use a rucksack with an air mesh back, a proper down sleeping bag and a full size the NeoAir sleeping matt - Field and Trek have these on sale right now.
I'm sure there are lots of little tricks you could pick up on from those who have actually been there. I seem to recall from my father in law that local people there are very poor and were very pleased to receive small gifts such as biro's. Little things like this made people happy and for the sake of a few quid.....
Enjoy! (wish I was going there too)
Flying into and out of Lukla is fine.
I'm scared of heights, but didn't find that bridge (or others like it) any problem. The ones on the main trekking routes are all of pretty solid construction, having been put in by virtue of foreign donations.
5000m is indeed high altitude, but as long as you read up on altitude sickness and follow the normal advice then you should be 100% fine. Speaking to doctors at Machermo (rescue post at about 4500m in the Everest region) a few months ago, they said that they have never had anyone with serious issues for whom they couldn't easily identify what daft thing they'd done wrong. So if you're sensible, take it seriously and don't take any risks then the chances of getting into serious bother are negligible.
Thats one scary runway.....
If you are on an organised trek you should be fine as they all seem to have itineraries which allow time for acclimatisation on the way up. Best advice is to take it steady on the ascent and drink lots of water. Even doing this you will probably have a few days when you feel a bit rubbish, normally a bit of a headache or loss of appetite.
Kit wise a warm sleeping bag is a must even if you are staying in tea houses, and a down jacket is pretty essential too. I took broken in 3 season boots with me when I went out last spring which were ideal, its not a technical walk but we did have snow on a few days up from Namche.
I didn't have any issues with the food, most eating places had a good standard of hygiene, Kathmandu is where you are more likely to pick up a bug, as I did just before the flight home 
Take your bike. Getting ups a killer, but theres some nice singletrack on the way down 
Temperatures vary massively - in the sun it can feel 30 degrees with no wind and you will burn in minutes (take a wide-brimmed hat if you have sticky out ears like me!), but conversely it can really blow with windchill dropping the temp to -10 or less. I slept at north base camp in all my clothes (2 layers of everything) in a decent sleeping bag and was still chilly.
Sleeping at 5000m + even after a couple of weeks at altitude is hard because as soon as you drift off, your breathing gets shallower and you wake up gasping.
Avoid yak curry - I had the shits really bad for a few days after that one! Drink lots of water as the low humidity evapotrates moisture from you without you realising.
I had a constant headache over 4000m which made things uncomfortable, and a constant tickly cough too.
Worth every minute though!
Zulus - MemberI used a pair of Scarpa Manta boots when I went
Jayzus no, Mantas are crampon compatible and stiff as hell. And heavy. Utterly pointless and far more likely to cause blisters. For perspective, I trekked the Annapurna Circuit and the Sanctuary in a pair of Merrell approach shoes. I'd just go with lightweight fabric boots or trail shoes, whatever you're more comfortable with. It may be high up, but the paths are generally pretty well surfaced. And yes, I've been to Everest Base Camp as well.
Other stuff? Down jacket is great for cold evenings hanging around in tea houses. Warm sleeping bag, it gets chilly up at Gorak Shep. I found one of those bottles with a built-in filter handy, but you can buy boiled water and hot drinks at numerous tea houses along the way.
I had no gut issues at all. Take some alcohol-based hand-sterilising gel and use it. Purify water or consume hot drinks - don't ever drink direct from a stand-pipe or tap - food in tea houses is generally fine and seems to be safe.
Acclimatisation is a weird thing. It's nothing to do with fitness, some people acclimatise well, some don't. Organised treks will sort your schedule safely anyway, or ought to, if not, have a look at the Trailblazer series of guidebooks which are excellent for specific and general advice and include itineraries for safe acclimatisation.
If you can, I really recommend walking from Jiri rather than flying into Lukla, it's better for acclimatisation and although it takes around a week longer, it's quite different walking below Lukla than above it and, quieter too, gives more perspective - it's where the old Everest expeditions used to start from.
Lukla's a bit of a hair-raiser, but not that bad in terms of accidents. Plenty of people fly in and out without dying.
In many ways, it's not so different from walking in the UK - same kit mostly just with an added down jacket for the evening. You shouldn't have snow, but it happens occasionally. Trekking poles if you like them, I don't.
Anyway, great trek, lovely people, but don't wear crampon-compatible winter mountaineering boots. It's a really pointless exercise 
We'll just have to differ in our opinions about Mantas there then. They have never given me a blister in the 7yrs that I've had them. They are my boot of choice for any significant hilly walk. And they have done a hell of a lot of miles now.
And don't forget your choice of a 3G phone or mobile device:
We'll just have to differ in our opinions about Mantas there then. They have never given me a blister in the 7yrs that I've had them. They are my boot of choice for any significant hilly walk. And they have done a hell of a lot of miles now.
Don't get me wrong, Mantas are decent boots, they're just over-specced for walking to Everest base camp, that's all. It's a bit like riding a long travel, full susser along a flat railroad trail - you can do it, the bike will be fine and so will you, but there are better options out there.
I don't see why you need a heavy winter boot for general hill walking, but what the hell.
What others say. Take as long as possible. Take warm cloths, the temp drops like a stone when the sun goes behind the hills (which are fairly high!). The walk from Lukla should be ok, plus the landing's fun.
BWD - I dont need them for general hiking. I simply choose to use good boots for walking with as they do the job brilliantly for me and fit me perfectly.
I have Matterhorns for anything that is properly serious.
That's a great tip about the pens/pencils etc. I went many years ago, and those cheap bits of stationary we take for granted are loved by kids to take to school.
I took a pair of goretex fabric Berghaus boots, they were fine for the walking. Lukla airport is brilliant, unfortunately we were picked up from there by a Helicopter.
If you get the chance, go to Kala Pattar, (sp?) a ridge that is slightly further away, but higher up than base camp. Views of the mountains are much better.
You could do it in trainers (and people do) - fine until you get hit with a late snowfall. I used Lightweight synthetic boots - all you need. Everything you need can be hired in Kathmandu. As already said, days in the sun you could be in a t'shirt...night-time below freezing...warm sitting around clothes (long-johns !, long-sleeve thermals). You don't need many clothes...you can wear the same stuff most days...either everybody stinks and you don't notice or the climate makes it less noticeable (?). Oh...cold water only in most places so it's a good time to grow a beard.
That's a great tip about the pens/pencils etc. I went many years ago, and those cheap bits of stationary we take for granted are loved by kids to take to school.
This might sound a bit harsh, but the general advice is not to do this. The trouble is that the local kids get accustomed to getting gifts from every westerner that passes through and subsequent visitors get mobbed by them or get resented if they don't have anything to give.
If you want to do something like this, better to give a big box of pens to a schoolteacher.
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