#4 Mount Everest Expedition 2019 - Journey to Everest Base Camp (17,200 feet)

After 2 years of training and fundraising 50,000 USD for the Everest expedition, it was finally time for me to leave for the expedition. I had waited for this journey to begin since the last 9 years and against all odds and surmounting so many obstacles, it was official that I was going to attempt to climb the worlds highest mountain in April 2019

Everest can be climbed from two main routes. There are 21 total routes but only two routes from where commercial expeditions happen every year. One is the traditional and the most climbed South Col route from Nepalese side of the mountain and the other is the North-East Ridge route from the other side of the mountain in Tibet. Yes, Everest summit is the border between Nepal and Tibet.

I chose to climb Everest from the Tibet side. Mainly due to two major reasons. Firstly, there is a major problem which happens on Nepal route every year which is the overcrowding on the summit night. Situations like overcrowding can end in disaster. The news about overcrowding went viral this year but this has been happening since at least 2012 and I had no intentions of being stuck in the traffic as it might result in frostbite or death. The other reason I went from the North side was because from North side base camp of Everest you can see the whole mountain right in front of you. Whereas from the Nepalese side, you cant see the mountain from the base camp. We spend 80% of the days in the base camp and I thought it would be really helpful and motivating to see Everest, the goal everyday!

I started packing only 2 days before leaving. It was a tiring task but somehow I pack the best under pressure.

I left Mumbai for Kathmandu on 8th of April. All my friends and family had come to drop me off at the airport. My parents particularly were very nervous for obvious reasons.

I had promised myself that if I am able to pull of all the hurdles and am able to get on a flight to Kathmandu, I will treat myself with a beer at the airport and I did so!

I spent the next 3 days in Kathmandu doing some last minute shopping for the expedition.

I had decided to go for the expedition through Kathmandu based Satori Adventures. We were a 8 member team. We had an amazing bunch of people bringing in a lot of mountaineering experience on the table. The team consisted of people from Russia, Ukraine, France, USA and me and my climbing partner Kuntal Joisher from Mumbai, India who had already climbed Everest once before from the Nepalese side. We were supported by an amazing bunch of Sherpa team without whom the expedition on any 8000 meter mountain would not be possible.

We left Kathmandu on 11th of April for Everest Base Camp. On the Tibet side of the mountain, one can drive to the base camp situated at 17,200 feet. It is a 4 day drive including acclimatization stay that we did. We loaded our cars early in the morning and started driving towards a small village Sapubasi on the Nepal-Tibet border. Today was going to be very long and rough drive. It is only about 200 kilometers but the horrendous mountain roads make it impossible to go faster than 20kmph. It was a beautiful drive though.

We reached Sapubasi town at around 6pm after a back breaking drive and checked into a small hotel just 2km away from the border. In fact we could see the border from our hotel window.

We had an early dinner and hit the bed. We had an early morning tomorrow.

The next morning we packed up and left the hotel early in the morning. From our hotel we had to walk towards the border check post because the car we came in would not go into Tibet. Upon reaching the border, we were greeted by our liaison officer. The border check post was rather beautiful and grand!

We went in and our bags were extensively checked, mainly for any anti Tibet materials. After going through the immigration, we entered Tibet. I noticed that the roads looked amazing. Proper concrete roads. We boarded our cars and started driving towards a small beautiful town called Gyerong. There were multiple check posts on the way. I was so surprised by the kind of amazing roads China had managed to build in the harsh mountain terrain. Just as we crossed the border, landscape and terrain wise there is no immediate difference but China proved it to us that despite of rough terrain, good roads are possible.

It was a short drive from the border till the town Gyerong. We reached at around 11am and checked into a surprisingly good hotel.

The town of Geyrong is extremely beautiful, peaceful and well planned. We went for lunch in a local Chinese restaurant. The food there was not at all what we know of as Chinese. I couldn’t eat much. Our taste buds are not used to their way of cooking.

After lunch we decided to explore the town and roam around. I was absolutely in love with this town for some reason. There were hardly any people though.

The next day we had decided to stay in Gyerong for acclimatization as it is at 3000 meters. In the morning we went for an acclimatization hike on a nearby hill. We didn’t know where we were going but we stumbled across a village on the way. a local villager took us in and offered us local tea. We couldn’t communicate due to language barriers but kindness knows no language.

We came back in the afternoon and roamed around the town in the evening and during this, we stumbled upon a Nepali restaurant and we had a nice dinner there!

The next day we left for the town Tingri, our last stop before reaching Everest Base Camp. Tingri is situated at 4200 meters. The landscape changes dramatically now. The greenery is left behind and the Tibetan plateau which is absolutely barren and dead begins. It is a high altitude desert basically.

On the way, we crossed a 5000 meter high mountain pass which had a lot of snow on it. The views from here were spectacular. On a clear day, one can spot Mount Everest but the weather was packed in the far distance. We clicked some pictures and we were on our way.

After descending the pass we enter into the Quomolungma national park. Quomolungma is the Tibetan name of Everest. It means ‘The mother Goddess of the earth’.

The cars here go no less than 100 kmph speed. It is crazy. I have never travelled so fast in the mountain roads. The landscape around was too beautiful. On the way, we spotted the 14th highest peak in the world, Shishapangma.

We reached Tingri at 2pm. It was a very small town. Practically just one long street and settlements around it. We had Tofu for lunch and I had a gut feeling that it is not going to go well with my stomach and 2 hours later I had diarrhea. I should have stopped eating when I had the gut feeling just during my first bite. It was good that we had planned on staying here for 2 days to acclimatize.

The next morning I woke up and went outside our hotel and I was taken back by a very clear view of Mount Everest. It was 15th April, my 24th birthday and today was the first time I ever saw the view that I had been longing to see since 9 years. Mount Everest herself standing right in front of me. I had tears in my eyes and it was the best birthday gift possible. I sat there for some time just staring at my goal!

Later that day we went for an acclimatization hike with the team. It was getting harder to move as we gained altitude. I could feel the lack of oxygen now. We went up to around 5000 meters for the hike. The views around were just majestic!

The next day we started early morning for the last leg of our journey, next stop was Everest Base Camp at 17,200 feet.

We crossed another pass today standing tall at 17,000 feet. The weather was very clear and we were able to see very clear views of Mount Everest, Mount Lhotse (4th highest peak), Mount Makalu (5th highest peak) and Mount Cho Oyu (6th highest). It was a sight I would never forget. 5 of the highest peak in the world in one eye frame.

I saw a guy there who looked very familiar. Suddenly my climbing partner Kuntal told me it is Cory Richards. I was taken aback. He has been my hero since years. I gathered up the courage, went up to him and introduced myself. He was extremely humble and friendly towards us. He took us through the new route he was planning to climb on Everest this season. It was such a privilege to be able to meet him!

We descended the pass and I fell fast asleep. I woke up an hour later with the views of Everest standing right in front of us! We had almost reached the Base Camp and the North Face was standing right in front of us. Far off, we could see the yellow tents of the base camp.

At around 11am we reached the base camp and the car dropped us to our base camp. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the staff and the Sherpa’s. I met my guide, Funaru Sherpa. A very strong and a calm guy he was. He had climbed Everest 5 times before.

The base camp was a wonderful set up. We had perfect views of Everest. After getting down from the car, I just went ahead and bowed down to the mighty mountain. I couldn’t believe I was here and it was time to chase down the biggest goal of my life. Whatever happens, life wouldn’t be the same after going through the expedition to the highest peak in the world.

the first few days were difficult. the oxygen levels had really dropped up here. We would spend the next few days at the Base Camp, acclimatizing and getting used to the high altitude life. Base Camp would be our home for the next two months. It was time for the greatest adventure of my life!