No. Nope. Nah. No ma'am. Not happening.
In case you missed last week's post, my daughter and I are trekking to Everest Base Camp in December for a trip she chose as her high school graduation present.
But just so everyone is clear: that is NOT the same as climbing Mt. Everest.
All climbs to the summit of Everest are done in mid-May when the weather is warmer and the winds just crazy rather than utterly ridiculous. No one would survive a summit attempt in December (although it does sound like something I'd be stupid enough to try).
But hiking to Everest Base Camp (or EBC, as the cool kids call it), is doable. Cold, but doable. And we're doing, baby!
To be honest, before this trip became a part of my reality, I didn't know much about Everest. So, in case you're like me and are embarrassingly light on geography facts, allow me to provide some deets.
Mt. Everest is part of the Mahalangur range of the Great Himalayas. The mountain rests in the land-locked country of Nepal which has the Tibet region of China bordering one side, and India on the other.
For our trip, we'll fly into Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and after a couple of days, fly to the much smaller airport of Lukla. (More about that terror in a later week)
After that, we're on foot. The total distance (one way) is 65km, or just over 40 miles, spread out over 9 days.
Of course, distance isn't the issue. Elevation is. Total elevation gain is almost 3000m. We start our trek at 2652m, and will reach 5554m at the highest point, so nearly 2 miles straight up. Just for frame of reference, Denver's elevation--you know, the place athletes go if they want to do altitude training--is 1609m.
At this point, altitude sickness and cold are my two biggest concerns. Neither are life-threatening (outside of hugely extenuating circumstances) but both could end a trip early, or just make it miserable. More on my plans for combatting them later, too.
So yeah, this is obviously the dumbest plan in the history of ever. And I'm getting pretty excited. :-) We're T Minus 8 weeks. More soon-- I hope you'll continue to follow along with us.