Entries from Everest BC Trek

Hello again everyone. All is still well here in the Khumbu as the team members made our way back into Namche. It was a busy day on the trail with climbers, trekkers, yaks, and porters all bound uphill to basecamp. We slowly made our way through the maze of traffic and enjoyed one last good view of Everest. Along the way we ran into several old friends from my past trips and stopped to wish everyone good luck. Tomorrow we'll be moving out early on our final leg of the journey back to Lukla. So please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hey everybody, this is Casey Grom calling from the Everest Base Camp Trek. Just want to let everyone know that all is well here in the Nepal. Unfortunately, we had some technical difficulties with our SAT phone and had some Wi-Fi issues here. We had a big storm the last couple of days which kind of knocked some things out. But everyone is doing great. In fact three days ago, we walked into Base Camp on a beautiful sunny warm day. We were welcomed by our gracious staff at Everest Base Camp, and they had a big spread of food set out for us and made everybody feel incredibly welcome. That evening we got a start of a snowstorm that dumped somewhere in the neighborhood of I don't know six to ten inches of snow. The following day, yesterday, they set up this big shower tent for us and we were able to get everybody through a round of hot showers there at Everest Base Camp. Literally just a couple of stone's throws from the Khumbu Ice Fall. So this morning we woke up to pretty blustery skies and said our goodbyes to our team at Base Camp and and have made our way back down valley. We are currently back down in Pheriche, and there is snow still all the way down here. In fact, as I said, I think it knocked out their their solar systems for the last few days. So, we won't be able to get any pictures out, but hopefully tomorrow when we had to Namche there should be plenty of cell service, and there should be some Wi-Fi down there. So just updating everyone letting you know things are going well. Everyone's happy and look forward to getting down to even thicker air down there at 11,000'. I'll get some pictures out then. Thanks for following. RMI Guide Casey Grom

Hello Everyone It's incredibly beautiful, peaceful, and the mountains are grandiose. We've been very comfortable hiking each day in the sunny weather, then bundling up in our warm sleeping bags each night as the temperature drops. Once we've arrived at our new village for the night we check in to our rooms and take a small nap/break. We then often meet around 5pm for a little tea, popcorn, and card playing. Dinner is often around 7 pm and the menu is pretty much the same at every tea house with plenty of soups, simple pasta, potatoes, and typical Nepalese Dal Bat. After dinner we relax and have a brief review of the day ahead and then it's off to bed. A few of us also hiked up Kala Patar to get a better view of Everest. Spirits are high as we push closer to Everest Base Camp and if the weather cooperates, we should arrive tomorrow. That's all for now - RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

All is well here on the trek! Today we left Pheriche and hiked further up valley to Lobuche. We slowly made our way along the winding path that we share with other trekkers, porters heavily laden with loads bound for Base camp, and yaks who aren't as keen to share the trail. We made good time and enjoyed the astounding views before reaching camp for the night. In the afternoon we took a short walk to an overlook of the Khumbu glacier where we could just make out Everest Base Camp far in the distance. Everyone is currently relaxing in our tea house enjoying the warmth of the fire. There's been lots of cribbage and plenty of good conversation with our team and other trekkers on the same journey as us. RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

Friday, March, 22,2018 Hello everyone, All is well here in the beautiful Khumbu Valley. Today was a scheduled rest/acclimatization day, so we did just that. After breakfast we made a long slow climb up the big hill that’s just behind our tea house. We climbed just up over 16,000ft to help our bodies adjust to the upcoming altitude of Everest Base Camp. The team did great and throughly enjoyed the amazing views in nearly all directions. We could see Cho Oyu the 6th highest and Makalu in the far off distance which is the worlds 7th highest mountain, as well as countless other huge mountains. It’s very surreal to be higher than anyplace in the continental US and be surrounded by so many big mountains. We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing at the tea house chatting with other trekkers and recovering from our day’s outing. Some of the team took showers again and the rest of us rewarmed ourselves by the big wood stove that burns dried Yak dung, just as the Sherpa people have done for centuries. We are a little ways above tree line and firewood is scarce, but Yak dung is plentiful. RMI Guide Casey Grom

Namaste Everyone The team woke to beautifully clear skies again and views of Everest right out our dining room window. We’ve settled into our daily routine of getting up and packing our duffel bags before meeting in the dining room for breakfast and plenty of Starbucks coffee thanks to RMI sending it with us. After breakfast we step outside to get a better sense of the temperature before adjusting our layers for the hike. Once on the trail we do our best to maintain a steady pace, with stops every hour or so to stay hydrated and take in the views. There’s plenty of other hikers and yak trains headed in both directions to negotiate as well. Today we hiked for a little over 5 hours including breaks and a light lunch to get to our next tea house in Pheriche, which sits at about 14,000'. Everyone did great and enjoyed the stunning views of Ama Dablam, one of the most iconic peaks along the route to Base Camp. RMI Guide Casey Grom & the crew

On The Map

It was another beautiful day here in the Khumbu Valley, and we had some nice views of Everest. Just above Namche you can see Everest far off in the distance, still about 20-30 miles away. You can also see the fourth highest mountain, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam, which is one of the Himalayan's most beautiful. We hiked for about six hours today up and down, dropping all the way down to a river, which is a stunning turquoise, then climbed slowing up the hill before the famous Tengboche Monastery. Traditionally we have gotten a blessing from a famous lama in Pangboche, but sadly that lama has moved on to a higher calling. So today we were able to request a private Puja with another lama at Tengboche and each received a blessing. The Puja is a Buddhist ceremony where the lama chants a Buddhist prayer and gives us a blessing to protect us from harm. We've settled in to a nice and warm tea house called Rivendale that's full of trekkers from all over the world. Cribbage and good conversations have rounded out the evening and now it's time for a little rest. RMI Guide Casey Grom and the newly blessed crew

Hello again everyone back home. It was another great day here in the Khumbu Valley, with the team waking up to bright beautifully clear skies, and mountains in every direction. We had a nice relaxing breakfast and decided to make the most of our scheduled rest day by hiking a little way to visit a Monastery in Thamo. It’s home to a kind group of female Buddhist Monks that are Tibetan refugees. They apparently escaped over the boarder which is only a few miles away and have made this home like the Sherpa community did some 500+ years ago. When we arrived the nuns were milling about and tending to their greenhouse that they use to grow their vegetables. We purchased a few prayer flags and prayer beads to help support them and then made our way back to Namche for lunch. Then evening was spent exploring Namche and doing a little bargaining for a few gifts. Finally we wrapped up the evening with another great meal here at our tea house. All is well and everyone is doing great. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Namaste everyone. This morning we left our tea house in Phakding and headed up this stunning valley toward Namche Bazaar, which is the largest village in this famous valley. We hit the trail just after 8:00 along with quite a few other trekkers. Everyone did really well on the hike, and no one seemed to mind pausing often for the endless mules and Zopkeos (cross between a Yak and a cow) carrying loads headed up valley and basecamp as we made our up the trail. It was reasonably busy on the route with trekkers and climbers, but the traffic seem to flow pretty smoothly. The team crossed a number of high suspension bridges without a problem, even with a light snow falling. Overall it was a really enjoyable day as we climbed up to just over 11,200' where Namche sits. RMI Guide Casey Grom and Base Camp crew

Hello from the Khumbu Valley! We started our day here pretty early, meeting in the hotel lobby at 5 a.m. After checking out of the hotel, it was a short ride to the domestic airport where we weighed all of our duffels and backpacks before getting tickets and slipping through a very laid back security check. Normally there’s a little bit of waiting before heading out to the plane, but today things moved along pretty quickly. The flights to Lukla have a reputation of being a little intimidating and bumpy, but thankfully today’s flight was pretty smooth and uneventful. It’s about a 30 minute flight in a small 16-passenger Twin Otter with stunning views of the Himalayas. We landed on the small runway in Lukla that’s only about a quarter mile in length and has a slight uphill angle. After we touched down, the plane was unloaded and our local Sherpa guides hired a few porters that will be carrying our duffels throughout the trek. We made a brief stop at a local tea house to have breakfast and get situated before hitting the trail. We hiked for about four hours today with few stops to rest and to take in the beautiful scenery. We arrived at our camp for the night in a village called Phakding just in time for a well earned lunch. The team got settled, had naps, or explored a little before walking a short way to one of the many monasteries here in the Khumbu Valley. Luckily for us the monks were having a prayer session and allowed us to sit in while they chanted and blew their horns. It was very surreal and a wonderful way to start this adventure. All is well! RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map