The Himalayas  is a mountain range in the Indian subcontinent which separates the Indo-Gangetic Plain from the Tibetan Plateau. This range is home to nine of the ten highest peaks on Earth, including the highest above sea level, Mount Everest. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia. Many Himalayan peaks are sacred in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

Mount Everest in Nepal

Mount Everest in Nepal

Rob Hall: Human beings simply aren't built to function at the cruising altitudes of a seven-forty-seven.

Climbing Mount Everest

Mount Everest in Nepal

KATHMANDU TO LUKLA FLIGHT AND PHAKDING
Altitude: 2,800m/9184ft (Lukla) & 2,652m/8,698ft (Phakding) Walking Distance: 8km (3-4 hours) - All distances and time estimates are approximate. Flight time: 35 min

          After a short morning flight to Lukla, you’ll be introduced to your guide and porter. Kick off your trek with an easy walk through Chaurikharka village and descent towards Dudhkoshi Ghat (2,530m/8,300ft). The trail follows the bank of the Dudhkoshi River until Phakding (2,652m/8,700ft), where we will be staying for the night to acclimatize. Enjoy your free time in Phakding, a popular stopping point.

 The Trail to Everest Base Camp

First Sight of Mount Everest

PHAKDING TO NAMCHE BAZAAR
Altitude: 3,440m/11,283ft Walking Distance: 10-12km (5-6 hours) - All distances and time estimates are approximate.

NAMCHE BAZAAR

 Sargamatha National Park

Sargamatha National Park Office

          The Sargamatha National Park is a protected area in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that is dominated by Mount Everest. It encompasses an area of 1,148 km2 (443 sq mi) in the Solukhumbu District and ranges in elevation from 2,845 m (9,334 ft) to 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at the summit of Mount Everest. In the north, it shares the international border with the Qomolangma National Nature Preserve of Tibet and extends to the Dudh Kosi river in the south. Adjacent to the east is the Makalu Barun National Park.

          Sagarmāthā is a Nepali word derived from सगर् sagar meaning "sky" and माथा māthā meaning "head".

          The protected area has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International and is included in the Sacred Himalayan Landscape.

          At this point, we take a well-deserved break! Today will be spent resting and allowing our bodies to become acclimatized to the lofty altitude. There’s an optional 2 hour hike to Everest View Point, an uphill walk that will help speed acclimatization. Otherwise, spend the day exploring Namche Bazaar.

Syangboche Airport

NAMCHE BAZAAR

Mount Ama Dablam seen from Namche Bazaar

Pagoda in front of Mount Ama Dablam, Nepal

Mount Ama Dablam seen from Namche Bazaar

Tengboche Monastery

TENGBOCHE TO DINGBOCHE
Altitude: 4,400m/14,435ft Walking Distance: 11km (6 hours) - All distances and time estimates are approximate.

DINGBOCHE  

DINGBOCHE

DINGBOCHE: REST AND ACCLIMATIZATION DAY
Altitude: 4,400m/14,435ft

          This is your chance to rest up before the last leg of our adventure! Savor a full day of exploring Dingboche and the surrounding valleys of Chhukung and Imja, the latter of which links with Island Peak, the high passes of Amphu Laptsa, and Makalu Barun National Park. Taking an optional trek to the valleys will pay off in rewarding views, but taking it easy is the most important thing today. You’ll need your rest for the penultimate day of ascent tomorrow.

          Dingboche is a village in the Khumbu region of north eastern Nepal in the Chukhung Valley. Its populations was estimated at approximately 200 in 2011. Situated at an altitude of about 4,530 metres (14,800 ft).

          Dingboche is a popular stop for trekkers and climbers headed to Mount Everest, Ama Dablam or Imja Tse. Parties will typically spend two nights in Dingboche for acclimatization purposes.

          The village relies heavily on tourists with lodges and tenting areas comprising most of Dingboche. The Imja River flows directly east of the village.

          A helicopter landing pad is located just west of the Imja River, near Moonlight Lodge. Dingboche is home to an Internet cafe (using satellite technology) and one of the world's highest billiard parlors.

          One of the characteristics of Dingboche is the kilometers of stone walls, built using the stones of different sizes that cover the entire Valley of Imja. These stones are removed in order to plow the soil and end up being piled one over the other creating kilometers of walls.

DINGBOCHE

Dingboche

Mountains in Dingboche

Dingboche is a village in the Khumbu region of north eastern Nepal in the Chukhung Valley.

DINGBOCHE TO LOBUCHE
Altitude: 4,900m/16,076ft Walking Distance: 11-12 km (6-7 hours) - All distances and time estimates are approximate.

          From here on forth, the trek will move more gradually be more challenging, due to the higher altitude. We’ll pass Dungla, but not before a tough, steep walk to the top of a high hill. Here are the memorial stupas dedicated to the climbers and trekkers who lost their lives to Everest over the years. The next part of our adventure brings over craggy mountain terrain to Lobuche, a small settlement with amazing views of Mt. Lobuche, Mt. Pumari and the Nuptse. Prepare to snuggle up for a cold night, as we are now almost three miles above sea level and the evenings can be downright chilly!

          Lobuche (or Lobuje) is a small settlement near Mount Everest in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It is one of the last overnight stops with lodging on the "trail to base camp"—a hike that climbers make on their way to Everest Base Camp (South) when attempting an ascent of Everest via the standard southeast route. It is also a popular stop among trekkers in the area. From there they can complete the trail on to EBC or stop at Gorak Shep, the last stop with lodging on the trail, and climb the modest nearby peak, Kala Patthar (5,545 m, 18,192 ft), for a rare view of the Everest summit. The structure of Everest is such that its actual summit is not visible from Base Camp.

Lobuche

 Lobuche  

LOBUCHE TO GORAKSHEP AND EVEREST BASE CAMP, EBC TO GOREKSHEP
Altitude: 5180m/16,994ft (Gorekshep) & 5364m/17598 (EBC) Distance of walking: 15km (6-8 hours) - All distances and time estimates are approximate.

          This is it! Our big day kicks off with an initial, relatively easy trek from Lobuche to Gorekshep. The subsequent, straight trail to Everest Base Camp is harder, involving rocky dunes and moraine, formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris. On the way to our destination, we’ll approach the famed Khumbu Glacier and icefall, located on the slopes of Everest. At the Base Camp, our goal, you’ll have the chance (during the spring climbing season) to meet climbers attempting to scale the mountain’s summit. Break out your cameras for unbelievable views of breathtaking beauty. As the afternoon sun starts to wane, we’ll head back to Gorekshep for some much-needed rest and relaxation after a grueling and busy day.

          Mount Everest, also known in Nepal as Sagarmāthā and in Tibet as Chomolungma, is Earth's highest mountain. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. Its peak is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level. It is not the furthest summit from the centre of the Earth. That honour goes to Mount Chimborazo, in the Andes. The international border between China and Nepal runs across Everest's precise summit point. Its massif includes neighbouring peaks Lhotse, 8,516 m (27,940 ft); Nuptse, 7,855 m (25,771 ft) and Changtse, 7,580 m (24,870 ft).

Mount Everest  

          In 1856, the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India established the first published height of Everest, then known as Peak XV, at 29,002 ft (8,840 m). The current official height of 8,848 m (29,029 ft) as recognised by China and Nepal was established by a 1955 Indian survey and subsequently confirmed by a Chinese survey in 1975. In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon a recommendation by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India. Waugh named the mountain after his predecessor in the post, Sir George Everest, arguing that there were many local names, against the opinion of Everest.

          Mount Everest attracts many highly experienced mountaineers as well as capable climbers willing to hire professional guides. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal (known as the standard route) and the other from the north in Tibet. While not posing substantial technical climbing challenges on the standard route, Everest presents dangers such as altitude sickness, weather, wind as well as significant objective hazards from avalanches and the Khumbu Icefall.

          For centuries, Mount Everest has been a symbol of endurance, an alluring yet potentially fatal challenge to climbers everywhere. Ever since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to conquer the summit in 1953, hundreds of climbers have attempted to claim their own victory over the mountain, resulting in scores of deaths and many harrowing tales of their struggle to survive. If the climb itself weren't dangerous enough, the history of Everest is peppered with natural disasters that have caused tragedies for climbers and Nepalese Sherpas alike.

Khumbu Icefall

The Icefall Doctors

          Early morning, hours before the sun strikes the lower slopes of the highest mountain in the world, eight men set out into some of the most dangerous terrain on Earth. Their goal is not sporting success, fleeting fame or exploration. It is simply to stay alive and to earn $10 for their day’s work.

          These are the icefall doctors, a team of elite local guides charged with securing a route to allow largely foreign climbers to pass safely through the maze of deep crevasses and frozen cliffs formed as the Khumbu glacier moves down from Mount Everest towards the valleys below in Nepal. Without them, no ascent of the 8,848 metre (29,029ft) peak via the route followed by the vast majority of mountaineers is possible.

Mount Everest
 

          One such disaster is the topic of the upcoming Everest movie: the 1996 blizzard that trapped 8 climbers near the peak. The conditions that year were vicious, and 12 people died in total, making this the deadliest year for Everest until the avalanche of 2014 (16 deaths) and earthquake of 2015 (18 deaths). These tragedies catapult the topic of Everest climbing into the public eye, and ironically there is always a massive influx of climbers in subsequent seasons: after the 2014 avalanche closed climbing season for almost a year, a record breaking 359 people purchased climbing visas in 2015.

          The idea of conquering Everest is fascinating, so it's no surprise that many films have been made and books published on the subject. Everest is one such film. The movie tells the story of the climbers trapped by a blizzard in 1996. 

          On May 9th 1996, five expeditions launched an assault on the the summit of Mount Everest.  The conditions seemed perfect.  Twenty-four hours later  one climber has died and 23 other men and women were caught in a desperate struggle for their lives as they battled against a ferocious storm that threatened to tear them from the mountain.  In all eight climbers died that day in the worst tragedy Everest has ever seen.

          Jon Krakauer, an accomplished climber, joined a commercial expedition run by guides for paying clients, many of whom had little or no climbing experience. In Into Thin Air he gives a thorough and chilling account of the ill-fated climb and reveals the complex web of decisions and circimstances that left a group of amateurs fighting for their lives in the thin air and sub-zero cold above 26,000 feet - a place climbers call "The Death Zone".

Khumbu Icefall 

Everest Base Camp Trek
Duration 14 to 20 days
Maximum elevation 5545m
Best season October to December
Start Lukla
Finish Lukla

Tengboche monastery, solu khumbu, nepal

What happens to your body on Mount Everest?

          (CNN)  "Human beings aren't built to function at the cruising altitude of a 747," the voice in the trailer for the new film "Everest" warns. "Our bodies will be literally dying."

            It's Rob Hall, played by actor Jason Clarke, as he prepares to lead an expedition up the world's highest peak. The film is based on a 1996 climb, when eight people died during a blizzard. This particular journey is well known: Its horrifying details were chronicled in Jon Krakauer's bestselling book, "Into Thin Air." The film, which opened Friday in the United States, also stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Brolin.

          But is that sensational Hollywood warning about bodies "literally dying" on Everest true? Those who've been there say yes.

          With its peak at 29,029 feet, the mountain presents an intense challenge of icy temperatures and altitude where oxygen is limited. It's not a hospitable place for any living thing, and people's bodies begin to shut down.

          "Everest is a mountain of extremes," said Jon Kedrowski, a geographer and climber. "At altitude, the body deteriorates on a certain level."

          Kedrowski summited Mount Everest in 2012, another brutal year on the mountain, when overcrowding combined with a dangerous weather pattern to strand climbers in the "death zone" below the summit. Ten people died.

          Still, year after year, Everest draws those willing to study and train for the mountain's rigors -- and willing to take the risk.

On the Top of  Mount Everest

Preparing for the climb

          If Kedrowski is leading a peak expedition, he screens his clients and designs training programs to help them prepare for the journey. When altitude is a consideration, cardio is the emphasis, rather than strength, Kedrowski said.

          The elevation at Everest Base Camp is 17,590 feet, an altitude that decreases oxygen by about 50%. Before attempting a May summit, Kedrowski recommends arriving at base camp toward the beginning of April to acclimatize for a few weeks.

          Previously, it was suggested that people arrive as early March, but 10 weeks, rather than five or six, can result in a loss of body mass, strength and endurance, Kedrowski said. This can make the climb more dangerous, or even impossible.

          Well aware of the dangerous medical conditions and injuries that can happen on Everest, Dr. Luanne Freer founded the Everest Base Camp Medical Clinic in 2003. Physicians with mountaineering medical expertise and volunteers staff the medical tent during each climbing season.

          On average, they treat 500 people between April 1 and the end of May for everything from high-altitude cough and acute mountain sickness to frostbite and high-altitude pulmonary or cerebral edema. They also treat multiple sprained or broken ankles due to the rocky terrain.

What can happen on Everest

          No one is immune to high-altitude cough, Freer said. It may sound innocuous, but the cough results from breathing at an elevated rate in cold air at high altitude, which can dry out the lining of the lungs and cause it to crack. People have been known to break ribs with this cough, Freer said.

          Climbers know to expect the shock of excessively cold temperatures and the possibility of frostbite as they ascend Everest, but they might not be prepared for the other extreme: heat.

          On Everest, the snow and ice act as a giant reflector for the sun's glare. The potential for sunburn is particularly great in the Khumbu Icefall and the Western Cwm, near base camp, where daytime temperatures can reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit during climbing season, Kedrowski said.

          Climbers also risk high-altitude pulmonary edema and high-altitude cerebral edema, known as HAPE and HACE, Freer said. They're more likely higher up the mountain, in low-oxygen situations, when the body also reacts by creating pressure and excess fluid -- in this case, on the lungs or brain.

          Climbers can have a range of symptoms, from extreme fatigue and shallow breathing to dizziness and coughing up blood. The lack of oxygen to the brain, called hypoxia, can cause people to make poor, rash and sometimes deadly decisions in the confusing landscape.

          The best and quickest treatment is for climbers to descend to a lower altitude, although many can't do this on their own and must be helped or carried.

Eating to live

          Kedrowski recommends small meals before ascending to different camps. Consuming too much food at once will send all of the blood toward the stomach to aid in digestion, which could redirect it from other imperative functions of the body at altitude.

          At higher altitudes, the body begins craving more sugars and it becomes harder to digest protein. Kedrowski and his fellow climbers usually rely on plain noodles, canned vegetables and meats, rice and beans, soups and snacks like trail mix, chocolate, cookies and crackers.

          Climbers rely on melting snow for water, which can also come with its own set of problems. As Everest's popularity has increased, the number of climbers rises each year. This has created an accumulation of trash and human waste on the mountain. As a result, there are bacteria in some of the snow melt used by climbers, which can cause diarrhea.

Coming back to life

          But he understands why people strive for the achievement. When he reached the summit amid nearly impossible conditions in 2012, Kedrowski felt accomplished to stand on top of the world -- and relieved that he could descend and go home.

          For those still dreaming of the ultimate height, Freer has some advice: "Be prepared for the ultimate stress test."

Source from website : www.cnn.com

NAMCHE BAZAAR

          The name of Namche Bazaar is generally associated  with that of Sagarmatha or Mt. Everest, the highest point on earth. It is the entrance to the Everest region. Namche  Bazaar is about 241km from Kathmandu and the distance  is generally covered within 15 days by trekking. Nowhere else can you immerse yourself so totally among the highest mountains on earth and travel among the legendary Sherpas. One can fly from Kathmandu to Lukla or Syangboche in the Everest region. Accommodations are available at Lukla, Namche Bazaar, Thyangboche, Pangboche, Pheriche, Lobuche and Gorakhshep.

Mount Everest

Mount Everest

Mount Everest View from the airplane

Mount Everest

Mount Everest

Hillary Suspension Bridge

Hillary Suspension Bridge

NAMCHE BAZAAR TO PHAKDING AND LUKLA
Altitude: 2,800m/9,184ft Walking Distance: 16km (6-7 hours) - All distances and time estimates are approximate.

          After breakfast, we trek toward the Hillary Suspension Bridge and then pass through several local villages. Our arrival in Lukla brings an evening in our last Tea House and, traditionally, a party with your trekking crew: you made it! Thanks to great teamwork and perseverance, you’ve accomplished a physical feat of which others only dream. This is your last night on the mountain, which can be bittersweet.

LUKLA TO KATHMANDU
Altitude: 1350m/4428ft Flight time: 35 min

          In the morning, you’ll hop a brief flight from Lukla to Kathmandu, where your journey both began and ends. End of Everest Trek.

Everest Base Camp Trek

The Summit of Mount Everest
The World's Highest Mountain

Mount Everest - The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

Hillary Suspension Bridge

Mount Everest Documentary

Mount Everest in Nepal

Mountain  in Nepal