Everest Base Camp - How I trained for and trekked to the bottom of the highest mountain in the world.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to walk to Everest Base Camp?

Have you ever wondered what it takes to train for such an epic trip?

This memoir will help you plan, train for and undertake a journey to the bottom of the top of the world.

Everest Base Camp is over 5,300m above sea level and to get there involves an 11 day, 109km round trip from Lukla - on foot. It is one of the most dreamed of treks, and the author describes his journey in great detail over 300 fully illustrated pages. 

Told in a diary format, it starts by detailing the last 13 weeks of training before flying to Kathmandu - the kit he bought, the research he did (including book reviews) and most importantly, the walks he went on in the UK to train for such an epic adventure.

As part of his training, he describes his 11 day-long treks - one each week - exploring the great landscapes of Britain, including some of the biggest physical challenges in the UK. These include the Edale Skyline in the Derbyshire Peak District, the Yorkshire Three Peaks 12 hour challenge, the Brecon Beacons four peaks and then some of the highest peaks in Britain - Scafell Pike in the Lake District, Snowdon in Wales and Ben Lomond in Scotland. There are also more walks around the beauty that is the Peak District, including Dovedale, Chrome Hill and the Tissington Trail.

Once he gets to Nepal, the author meets up for the first time with Indra and Anton, his guide and travelling companion. The relationship between them develops throughout the book creating a great sense of shared experience by the end. 

The book goes into a day-by-day description of the sights, sounds, characters and jaw-dropping scenery that they encountered along the way - from the flight to Lukla, to the tea houses and the food; the porters and the guides, the weather, the fellow trekkers and the locals. Each day, he gives an update on how he (and Anton) are feeling physically, both with the walking and the altitude and how many steps he has taken (from Fitbit).

With the aim of getting to EBC and then climbing Kala Patthar for dawn views of Everest, the author talks about the acclimatisation hikes, the different terrains encountered along the way and how he overcame his fear of heights to cross the many metal suspension bridges high above the raging Dudh Koshi (milk river). 

He finishes off by giving his reflections and advice on the trek, as well as some of the sights and experiences in Kathmandu including Thamel, Durbar Square, the Monkey Temple, a blind massage and even a round of golf.

It is a journey of new experiences as well as literal and metaphorical ups and downs, but it is also a tale of humour, preparation and perseverence.

It is not a classic guide to the trek with full kit lists, visa details and history of Nepal but there is some detail about the insurance and vaccinations he took and some tips on kit. If you wanted a pure guidebook then this is not for you, but if you want an honest account of the good times and the tough times of getting to the bottom of the top of the world, then this is definitely for you.

Enjoy the colour of Nepal and the majesty of the landscapes through the eyes of a 52 year old Englishman. But did he make it?

It is a book about the love of the countryside and a love of walking - and now a love of one of the greatest landscapes on earth.

With royalties going to the Teenage Cancer Trust, it has over 300 colour pictures, including daily Strava Maps of the route, time spent walking, distance covered and terrain changes. All of which show where the hard parts are!

Publisher - JMD Media

Language - English

Perfect Bound

Contributors

By author

Steve Caron

Published Date - 2023-04-03

ISBN - 9781780916453

Dimensions - 23.4 x 15.6 x 1.9 cm

Page Count - 320