Base Camp!!!!

Tents at Everest base camp at the start of the Khumbu glacier.

Team: Walk the Line at Everest base camp

Khumbu glacier and base cmap

Hanging out in one of the Korean expedition tents. Gary, me, Lee Hoon Jae, John and Evan in front.

Helicopter crash about 200m from basecamp about 5-10 years ago (wasn't fully clear when it happened actually)

We just got back from Everest base camp. Yay!!!

The excitement and energy around base camp was contagious. Many climbing expeditions were just about to start their acclimatization process and you could see climbing sherpas in the Khumbu icefall, setting up ladders across crevasses and such. It’s amazing what these climbing sherpas do. Without them I wonder how many people would actually be climbing Everest?

We were able to talk to a couple different expedition groups which was really cool. A young guy from Seattle, WA and another guy from Ontario (he looked about 20!) crazy guys… Anyways I saw the Korean tent so went over to say hi. Or Anyung Haseo, rather (hello in Korean). The team was out on the glacier for the day there was only one man there named Lee Hoon Jae. He was a mountain journalist and also going to be climbing Everest but he was manning the radio for the day.

He invited us in the tent for some hot coffee. We had a nice time talking to him about the expedition and he took a photo of us and got me to write down all our names and nationalities so he could put it on their website. Too funny!

It was such a beautiful and warm day to be in base camp and we wandered around, took photos and tried without success to find the American guys who helped me out back in Tengboche. It would have been cool to show them I had actually made it there,

Finally we had our fill of base camp and it was time to head back to Gorak Shep. Now I’m sitting in a sunroom (a bit like a greenhouse) and some Sherpas are playing cards next to me. Wow! What a day! I’m knackered, but it was so worth it to get to base camp. I definitely had my doubts, especially when I was sick, that I’d make it here at all. I’m so thankful my condition has improved so much!