EVEREST BASE CAMP

We continued our trek, starting with the familiar rhythm of “Nepali flat”, those deceptive stretches that are never truly flat, but gently rolling up and down, but mostly up, along the mountainside. The air was cool at first, crisp enough to sting the skin, but we soon warmed up as the trail narrowed and began to tilt sharply upward. Ahead of us waited a wall of rock and dust that Bibek simply called “the challenging part.” He wasn’t kidding.

We had lunch at 11 a.m., fueling up before the steep ascent. The moment we left the teahouse, the mountain swallowed us again. Sweat ran down my face despite the cold, my heart beating in my ears, each breath thinner than the last. The world reduced itself to a simple rhythm: one step, then another. Don’t look up. Don’t look down. Just keep going.

When we finally reached the Himalaya Memorial Site, the struggle fell away, and the silence took over. A vast plateau opened before us, windswept, solemn, covered in stone cairns and faded prayer flags fluttering like wounded wings. Each tower of stones carried a name, a life, a story that ended on the mountain above us. The most recent memorial was from 2024, the very year we were climbing. That realization hit hard. We paused, letting the wind whisper through the flags as we paid our respects in the world’s highest cemetery. It was beautiful, tragic, and sacred all at once.

After leaving the memorial, the trail continued climbing gently; “Nepali flat” again. At that point, a dull, persistent headache started pulsing behind my eyes, a small warning from the altitude. Two dogs appeared out of nowhere and joined us, padding confidently between us as if they had always been part of the team. Their presence boosted morale in a harsh, rocky landscape.

We arrived in Loboche in the early afternoon. The village sat in a barren valley of stone, surrounded by towering peaks that blocked out the sun early. We dropped our backpacks and gathered for tea, watching our breath drift in the cold air. Then came the oxygen check: mine was 79. Bibek didn’t hesitate: “Take altitude tablets, now.”
My stomach dropped. Panic bloomed, sharp and sudden. A moment later, he added, “Don’t worry, it’s okay,” but the reassurance came just a little too late. My nerves were already rattled.

That evening, we journalled quietly, played a calm round of card games, and ate steaming hot soup for dinner. The cold settled fast once the sun left the valley, and I crawled into bed early, mentally preparing for the big day ahead, Everest Base Camp, the culmination, imperative of this trip.

The following morning, the alarm tore through the darkness at 5. Outside, the world was still frozen. Breakfast at 5:30 felt more like a survival ritual than a meal: layers on, warm tea, headlamps, backpacks. The sun hadn’t yet touched the mountain peaks, leaving the world washed in blue-grey light.

At 6:20, we stepped into the dawn and began our ascent toward Everest Base Camp. For three hours, we hiked through a glacier valley. A harsh, alien landscape of boulders, icy winds, and thin air that refused to fill our lungs. By the time we stopped for lunch at 11, my body was begging for rest. I ordered soup again, hoping desperately that warmth and water would bring oxygen back into my system. At 11:30, we pushed on, beginning the final approach: three hours up, two hours back down. It felt endless.

And then - finally - we made it.

Everest Base Camp. The air cracked open with emotion. We hugged. We high-fived. Some of us held back tears; some didn’t. After days of pushing our limits, breathing through headaches, and climbing through exhaustion, we were standing on the Khumbu Glacier, at the foot of the highest mountain on Earth.

We queued on the ice to take a picture on the iconic rock marking Base Camp. Around us, prayer flags snapped in the wind, and the glacier groaned softly beneath our feet. It didn’t feel real.

The way back went quicker, too quick, in my case. Adrenaline pushed me over my limit, and I hurt my knee on the descent back to the teahouse. But when we finally arrived and wrapped our hands around steaming cups of tea, exhaustion melted into pride.

We did it. Everest Base Camp.

And we toasted to the achievement, the only way you can at 5,364 meters - with tea, laughter, and the warmth of everyone who reached the same milestone, went through the same sleep-deprived hardship, who climbed the mountain with you.