Hiya! We are Emma & Stu and we are members of Hedon fitmums. Rewind to march 22 and we went to a talk with Venture Force which was arranged by Fitmums, to listen about the possibility of going to Everest Base Camp. This is because Stu told me that this was on his bucket list. Had I ever thought about doing this - no! Did I really want to do this - I’m not sure I had it in me. Was I going - hell yes.

Venture Force are an expedition company specialising in taking blind, partially sighted and fully sighted explorers across the world and fulfilling their dreams!

So here we are at Heathrow airport with 13 other people ready to board a plane to Delhi, and onto Kathmandu

02/11/23

After being awake for well over 24hrs we have arrived in Nepal. The airport wasn’t too busy when we landed but it soon got busy, and was lovely to fly in above the clouds with the Himalayan mountains poking through the clouds. 

We were collected by Shiva, our local guide in our mini bus, bags on the roof, people inside, then off down narrow streets with mopeds everywhere to the hotel in Kathmandu which is our base for a couple of nights before we head off to lukla airport and the hard work begins. 

We had our first lunch together which was delicious. Knackered is an understatement!

03/11/23

Today was a cultural tour of Kathmandu starting with Pashupatinath Temple. This is a heritage site In Kathmandu where cremation services take place. It is tradition in Nepal for bodies to be cremated at the end of life and the ceremony takes place at the river which is believed to be purifying. Nepalese believe that we are made up of five elements, air, space, water, fire and earth. The cremation ceremony gives back these elements, which culminates in putting the burnt embers into the purifying river. Wealth and importance are signified by marigold flowers. 

While we were there we witnessed live ceremonies including one for a Gurkha which was highly decorated with marigolds. We then visited the monkey temple which is a Buddhist temple. Flooded with prayer flags. Tradition dictates that you work clockwise around the temple and rotate the prayer wheels clockwise with your right hand to give you good luck. we moved onto the palace which was badly damaged in the 2015 earthquake, they are slowly restoring the temples and the kingdom. 

The buildings are so intricate and all the wood decoration is hand carved out of teak. We then headed back to the hotel to try and pack and repack our bags ready for the trek, shrinking our Sherpa bag allowance to 6.5kg and the bags that we will carry to a maximum of 6.5kg, which is easier said than done. 

Shiva’s favourite saying so far is: If we have a solution great! If there is no solution don’t worry! I think we can all learn a little from the Nepalese way.

04/11/23

Conversations this morning started with who had felt the earthquake tremors. I woke in the night around midnight with my bed shaking, however Stu slept through, as did most of our group it would seem. 

Today was a fairly long travel day from Kathmandu to Mulkot, which is only 500 meters of elevation so we have come quite a long way down into the valley. We stopped to have some lunch which was a good pit stop as our mini bus had a slight issue which needed fixing. We found an infinity pool and had a great time taking loads of pictures of the group, giggling and clowning around. 

The mini bus was fixed in a flash and we were back on the road - well dirt track with massive pot holes in places. We wound our way down into the valley to see paddy fields and farmers harvesting, which looked to be a family affair. We have played a local game, which was a bit like pool but played with counters that you flicked. We were rubbish!! 

We have had our final briefing ready for the morning, and we depart at 04:30am.

05/11/23

This is the day the trek begins! We woke at 04:00 and were on the bus for 04:30 for our 1hr 30 min trip to the airport. The ‘airport’ was crazy with bags all over the concrete outside in big piles, no orderly queues just people all trying to weigh their bags and all trying to get on the earliest possible flight. 

We were due on a 07:00 flight but finally left after 08:00, for the 20 min flight into Lukla. The plane was the tiniest plane I have ever flown on, and I found the short flight quite unsettling. It was very noisy with the propellers and we could see exactly what the pilot was doing, pressing lots of buttons and flicking switches. The pilot was cool though dressed in a leather jacket with leather driving gloves and dark sunglasses. 

We got out of the airport and straight into a tea house to have breakfast which after the flight I was so pleased to have. After breakfast we started on our trek, our first proper trek. I’m not sure if it was the culmination of the early start, the plane journey, lack of food or all of the above but I had a banging headache. We were told to drink at least 1l of water before lunch, to reduce dehydration and headaches, I’d drank 3l by the time we got up there but my headache was still there, and I had needed the toilet 5 times already! 

The walk overall was harder than I expected especially with a headache. A few others were experiencing the same symptoms, Stu has been fine which is good. We have walked 6.3 miles today and have ended the evening at 2600 meters.

06/11/23

Day 2 of the trek. We walked 11km and it took 8hrs. Physically it was a really hard day. We walked up hill for 1750mtrs only to gain 800mtrs overall. This is a good thing though as climbing too quickly brings on the symptoms of altitude sickness. We started the day early at 7.30 with a fried egg, toast and potato cake with a ginger and honey tea. 

The morning walk was supposed to be relatively flat with the walk after lunch being the challenging part, but that was certainly a lie both parts were equally draining and anything but flat. That being said the scenery is amazing lots of lush green trees and a beautiful fast flowing river that we crossed twice - unfortunately, that meant suspended swing bridges with mesh floors that you can see through. These are really not fun especially as Katie and the locals love taking really wide steps and swinging the bridges!!! 

We had to stop of the narrow cobbled route quite a few times today for donkeys and jokyo’s (a cross between a cow and a yak) all of which carry supplies to the tea houses and they walk up and down the trail with bells round their necks so that you can hear them coming, but the don’t stop so you have to move out of the way pretty quickly. At the end of the day we were both exhausted and I was so pleased to get to the tea house. 

When we got to namche it was surprising to find a proper coffee house where I had a latte and a piece of apple cake. Stu had a cappuccino and a price of chocolate and coconut cake a nice break from rice and curries despite how nice they taste and just what we needed after a really tough day! This lifted everyone’s spirits. 

Tomorrow is an acclimatisation day which means we can strip some of the contents out of our bag, walk a bit higher and then come down low again to sleep, this helps limit the side effects of the altitude.

07/11/23

Today was our acclimatisation day we stay in namche for another night which also allows us to do some laundry.

We walked a circular route and reached 3555meters, which is a similar elevation gain for our walk tomorrow. The idea is you gain height and then come back down to sleep which helps with the altitude sickness particularly if you are not taking the diamoxin which is a drug taken to help with the symptoms. I am taking this, but stu is not able to.

The walk was a series of steps all man made so varying heights and depths which were a challenge for all of us let alone the visually impaired walkers among us.

I found this walk particularly challenging and had to break it down in my head like interval training walk for 30 secs breath for 10 secs. As soon as you start climbing again your breathlessness starts again.

We were rewarded though at our highest point with our first view of Everest! We could also see into the valley were we had started a couple of days earlier. We also saw an airstrip where people where getting loaded into a helicopter ready to skydive! No thank you!!

When we got back into namche and our tea house we also paid for a hot shower and was able to wash my hair - the first wash of the trip!!! The shower was amazing. We then went to the cake shop for a coconut muffin and a slice of chocolate cake which was delicious. Lunch was Dalbat again which is rice, vegetable curry, lentil soup and a popadum, all the tea houses serve a variation of this and we all eat it everyday for our lunch.

Tomorrow is a fairly early start ready to walk to our next destination

08/11/23

Today we had a relatively early start for this mornings walk after having a huge bowl of porridge and honey. We went from namche to tenboche. The morning walk was ‘Nepalese flat’ so some up some down on a dirt track which was super dusty and was a fairly busy route. We crossed another bridge with prayer flags either side before stopping for a break. I had a masala tea and it was beautiful sat in the sun. We knew that after lunch the route was going to got tricky so I wasn’t looking forward to that. We had the usual Dalbat for lunch which was delicious and Shiva insisted on piling more rice on my plate with a wink, he clearly knew I was going to need it.

The afternoon route was challenging it had a mixture of loose gravel and big stones on top of the dirt track and this made the downhill quite challenging, I slipped and fell on my bum twice and broke a nail! I took it steady taking small steps and taking short breathers when I needed it but overall it felt marginally easier than yesterday’s climb. Stu smashed it. 

We got to the teahouse and there is a delicious bakery attached. We dropped our bags out some more clothes out and walked a bit higher again to help with acclimatisation. Back at the tea house we ordered our tea I’ve opted for vegetable lasagne.

Today we have walked 8.37miles, gained 805 meters and will sleep at 3875meters 

09/11/23

Todays walk was challenging but enjoyable. It was the first day that we started in coats and gloves it was a lot colder than we had experienced previously. We woke with the budist temple sounding horns and other instruments which was nice. We started with tree cover but that soon disappeared by lunch. A few of us have had nose bleeds which again is due to the altitude.

We stopped for lunch at 4040meters everything is starting to get hard now and simple tasks make your heart race and take your breath away.

As soon as the sun goes down it gets very cold and despite the fact we continued to climb our coats we’re back on. We took it steady and reached our destination for two nights dingboche 4440 meters. The temperate tonight at 7pm was -7 and I’m not looking forward to needing a wee in the night.

Tomorrow is another loop to get us a bit more height and then back here to sleep. Super proud of what we have achieved so far and the group are great.

10/11/23

Todays walk was a there and back to gain some elevation. Despite the diamox I woke up with a bit of a headache and a blocked nose. Breakfast was a big bowl of apple porridge which was nice.

The climb up was difficult like climbing up sand dunes and really took it out of me physically and mentally. The trail like most days was busy with explorers all doing the same route as us. I got to the top and had a little cry I don’t really know why, other than it was hard. The down was just as difficult due to the sand like appearance of the track, but Chris one of the leaders gave me some tips on using the poles to minimising falling on my bottom. We got back to the teahouse well before lunch and ordered our food. I’ve gone for veg fried noodles and stu is having a Cheese and tomato pizza. We then took a wander to the village bakery for cake, and to charge our phones, I feel like all we’ve done is eat but I’m hungry every time food is offered.  

We reached 4600 meters today so then end is in sight!

11/11/23

Today we decided it was such a nice day we’d go for a walk! Unfortunately it was up the hill that was like a sand dune that we had already walked twice but hey ho. One we got half we up we then took a different route across flat plains which were wide with ground bushes you could have been on the moors had it not been for the altitude and not being able to catch your breath. We trekked alongside a river part of which was frozen with icicles and frozen rocks it was so pretty with a fair amount of helicopters flying low overhead, which was so nice. We caught a glimpse of a glacier and a glacier lake which was so blue.

After lunch we climbed up to thukla pass to see the memorials for the fallen explorers which was quite emotional, we continued to climb one step at a time up to Labouche we are now at 5030 meters!! 

In the teahouse we had a hot honey and ginger cuppa which is just what we needed given that the clouds and the cold were rolling in, I don’t think it got much above freezing today.

Only 9km left and it two days we will be at base camp and on our decent back down!

I have started with a cold though which is really annoying and feel pretty rough.

12/11/23

Todays trek was labouche to gorek shep though a boulder field which snaked up, this was a challenging climb for us with full sight let alone the VI’s in the group. It was so cold!! I was practically wearing all my clothes but my legs were still cold.

We’d split naturally into two groups and I walked today with Bryn and Louise, there is not a lot of chatter but we work really well together. Stu is again smashing it.

I’ve had a pounding headache all day today despite the diamox. Our plan when we get to hotel shep is to watch the sunset on Everest it is supposed to be magical.  

I put one more layer on but as we set off I felt a bit dizzy and the headache went from a dull ache to like someone was tightening a belt around my head? The pain was terrible. With only 300 meters and 3km to base camp I wanted to give myself the best chance of making it so I turned around with Kevin one of our guides and waited for the others to get back.

The headache just kept getting worse and paracetamol was just not touching it.

Today we reached 5190 meters of elevation.

13/11/23

Base camp day!

I’d been up in the night with the headache and after speaking to the leaders this morning I expressed my wish to continue, through tears. We met for breakfast at 6am and it was decided by the leaders at that point that I was not fit to continue and climbing further altitude could be unsafe. I was beyond upset. There was talk of being transferred by helicopter to Kathmandu to reduce the altitude quickly or trying to walk down. I wanted to walk down. Shiva arranged for the mountain Dr to come to our teahouse he took my vitals and suggested that reduction in altitude would usually be enough to clear my symptoms. He gave me some medication for my blood pressure which should reduce the headache and some stronger painkillers to take for the next 24hrs.

I had hugs from all of the team as they headed to EBC, and Tom, Tej and I headed down to labouche. Tej carried my bag all the way down despite my protest. We took it steady and the head was still pounding, but we made it down in less than 3hrs which was good going.  

I’m pleased to say the headache has subsided let’s hope it stays that way as we continue to descend over the next few days.

The rest of the group looked broken when they met us later in the day but they all smashed it!!

14/11/23

Today’s walk took us from labouche to pheriche. This was a different path to the way up so was nice to see some different scenery. There was plenty of helicopter activity as we walked. We passed back through thukler pass memorial and it was nice to approach this from a different angle. The walk was a nice along flat wide plains and with every bit of altitude loss my headache was clearing.

The teahouse for this evening was great we sat in the conservatory with a fabulous view and played snakes and ladders and scrabble before hopping over the path to the bakery and enjoying a proper coffee and apple danish.

We were also able to get a mildly hot shower my first in 4 days!!

We declined to 4200 meters

15/11/23

Today we left pheriche heading back to tengbouche along paths that we had walked previously but is was amazing about how little I remembered. When the sun came out it was warm again which was just what we needed.

When we stopped for lunch today I had garlic noodle soup which was a revelation. Although we are getting well fed I can’t wait to have a chicken dinner!

Towards the end of the walk the trees reappeared which we had lost due to the altitude, and we could see the monastery sat on the top of the hill which was our final destination, again I was looking forward to more cake and coffee.

The headache has also subsided today which is great news. We ended our walk today at 3890 meters

16/11/23

Today we headed back to namche. The terrain was mainly dusty paths heading down with the occasional Nepalese flat thrown in. The scenery was beautiful and it was probably the last time that we will see Everest. 

It was great to be back walking in t shirts rather than all of our layers.  

17/11/23

Today was a walk back to phakding. When we started in namche this morning we were passed by numerous runners who were participating in an event running from tengboche to lukla how on earth they were doing that I have no idea it was hard enough to stay on your feet whilst walking. We also saw two little calves on the trail which was nice.

The trail was so busy today with donkeys it is the busiest we have seen it. There are not a lot of people travelling in the other direction as there was at the start of the week, as walking season is coming to a close.

We arrived this evening at Phakding and headed straight for the bakery with our guides for coffee and cake.

We have had a couple of power cuts since we arrived and are currently sat in candle light.

18/11/23

Today was the final day of the trek, we walked paths that I swear I had never been on before, we reached our lunch stop before we knew it, glorious sunshine with some acoustic jazz in the background, which made it difficult to get up and going again. We were back at lukla by 1pm where we are staying tonight ready for our flight out in the morning in the tiniest plane!

The time has flown by, and I am so proud of what Stu and I have achieved. We worked hard before

coming away; walking, running and the gym. We were both well prepared and fit enough to take on the challenge. That being said for me the altitude has been a killer, with a monster headache and a nose bleed every day since landing my body is just not cut out for altitude.  

Having being asked already if I would do it again, the answer from me is a firm no. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience but it has been the toughest thing I have done so far. I have met some amazing people and couldn’t have asked for a better group to complete this with. The support from the group, the leaders and our local guides has been amazing, and I have gained some great friends.

Over and out for now

Emma & Stu xx