We made it! Everest Base Camp Trek Day 11 – Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp

We woke up in Gorak Shep at 7am with nerves and excitement. We set out to leave at 8am and follow a group which was heading to the Everest Base Camp with a guide. We needed someone to follow for the very first time, as the tracks were covered in thick, fresh snow, so we had no idea where to go at all! We took some group shots of us 6 eager trekkers before heading out to our final destination!

D-Day

Where is the trail? No idea, but let's go around this lake!

Overly excited today!

Straight away, I had some trouble breathing because of the high altitude. We were at 5,154 meters after all! I still couldn't believe we slept this high. After 20 minutes, I stopped to take a layer of clothing off: it was warmer when we started walking!

The one and only sign on the way to Base Camp!

I enjoyed walking in the snow although it was tricky at times to navigate the big rocks without slipping. Your poles would sink deep into crevasses, making you lose your balance. We went up and down hills, with amazing glacier views.

Just walking toward Everest Base Camp... no biggy!

An hour into the walk, flurry started from the sky and sleet pinched our cheeks. As we got higher, some parts became very windy, especially on top of high ridges. There was a dozen of us following each other to the base camp, and it was amazing to be the first in the morning to navigate the track.

Snow storm fun

Glaciers in the Himalayas... pretty cool!

All of a sudden, I heard some cheers and as I turned a corner there we were, at last! Beautiful prayer flags flapped in the wind and a big white sign greeted us and confirmed we had made it to the Everest Base Camp, at 5365 meters in altitude. Unexpected tears welled in my eyes as the emotion gripped me. Everyone was high-fiving as people lined up for group and individual shots. After the initial thrill, the cold started kicking in as we had stopped walking, and waiting for photos became quite painful. The sky was completely covered and blended in with the ground in a white drape. Needless to say, although we took some time for pictures, we left quite quickly as fatigue and cold got to us. The climbing season has been canceled since the terrible accident earlier in the year so there wasn’t much to see apart from the sign and flags… normally there would have been many tents and apparently a surprisingly delicious bakery to visit too!

A bit of a queue to take shots with the sign

Two happy trekkers who just reached their goal! 

Below is a short video we made at Base Camp. Unfortunately the wind was so strong that you can't hear my voice! 

Walking back was considerably harder since more groups were coming our way and as they walked on the trail, the fluffy snow turned into slippery ice which made it very difficult to navigate. Our walking sticks saved us many times. Every time you slipped your muscles would clench in a painful way. As we went down hill I would squat and take baby steps, nearly on my bottom, to avoid a fall. It wasn’t exactly relaxing, especially with the relentless wind which kept blowing steadily.

We were certainly happy to see Gorak Shep’s cottages and arrived looking like melting snowmen. It had taken us 4 hours and 10 minutes round trip from Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp. I felt like I had nothing left in me but a good lunch soon gave me back some energy.

After our lunch in Gorak Shep, we were still on a high from reaching our goal earlier in the morning and touching base at the Everest Base Camp. We were also eager to start our descent and reach air with a higher oxygen level. It was therefore decided to head down right away to reach Lobuche. The snow kept falling as we descended and whipped our faces continuously which quickly became annoying. The sky was covered in a grey film and the fear of slipping was constant. Keeping your balance on the slippery slopes required your complete attention. It wasn’t until 4pm that we reached Lobuche after nearly 2 hours walking. We were all wet and covered in snow which was a good test for our gear – I was all dry inside which was a good sign! Shockingly, our friend Manu felt like he could push it down until Tukhla so with regret we said goodbye to him that afternoon. We were a bit worried about the snow storm, the tardiness, and him descending solo but we was adamant he needed to sleep lower in order to recover properly so we let him go. We ate a lot of Daal Bhat that night, still stunned that we had made it to the Base camp that day and had a decent sleep.