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Everest
Base Camp & Kala Patar
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PHOTO:
View from the high point of Kala Patar with Everest
dominating the panorama.
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FEEDBACK:
"The views were breathtaking and the group was
friendly. A fantastic holiday and one that I will recommend
as a must to everyone I know. Thank you so much!!"
Sarah J, Newcastle, 2008
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| Expedition
Overview |
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If
it is your first time visting the Himalayas, this
is the most famous, and most popular trek in Nepal.
The trek includes the famous viewpoint of Kala Patar
at 5545m, from where you see the famous Khumbu Glacier
and the surrounding 8000m peaks, including Ama Dablam
and Lhotse, with the towering summit of Everest. |
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We
run this trip at the time of year when there are
the best conditions and calmest weather for the
best views. It is key to avoid the rainy season
of April to September. During these months there
is often too much snow on the upper mountain. Our
scheduled dates and private expeditions are all
operated outside the rainy seasons. |
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This trip will appeal to those looking
to experience the amazing scenery of Nepal with
breathtaking views every day of the trek. As the
trip is non technical it requires no mountaineering,
climbing or trekking experience. |
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As
we run expeditions to high altitude peaks, such
as Aconcagua, Mont Blanc and Mount Elbrus, we are
very aware of the importance of acclimatisation,
and so this itinerary has been carefully designed
to prepare you as much as possible.
The trek includes two days of acclimatisation and
sightseeing to make it less intense. |
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Everest Base Camp Trek:
Sun
9 - Mon 24 October 2011.
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| Dates
not suit?: For groups of just two or more, we
will run bespoke trips on any dates outside the
rainy monsoon season for exactly the same price
as the standard courses. |
| Availability:
For current availability on either of these expedition
options, please click
here. |
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Expedition
groups and experience
Our
formula is to restrict the group sizes, so that there
are a maximum of 8 clients on each trip. The small group
sizes enable us to run specialist ascents, where the group
can bond well, and each expedition member has great access
to all the Icicle staff, local guides and porters. This
is more intimate and more inclusive than the mass group
commercial style expeditions run by some operators, where
the needs and speed of each individual cannot be catered
for. Although
you require no previous mountaineering experience for
this expedition, you are advised to be a competant UK
hill walker who is familiar with up to six hour walking
days. As you will note from the itinerary, this expedition
is quite intensive in order to ensure your acclimatisation.
Upon booking you will be sent a full detailed expedition
dossier with suggested training and preparation and equipment
lists. |
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Trek
Meals, Food, Guides & Porters
A key factor in the success
of any expedition is its how well rested and fed
the team is. We have ensured that the camps and
porter services are as high as possible. All the
meals on the mountain are provided throughout the
expedition, so each day you are provided with breakfast
(porridge, eggs, sausages, toast, fresh fruit),
lunch (packed or cooked, such as spaghetti bolognaise,
fruit, cakes), afternoon tea (coffee / tea / hot
chocolate, and biscuits), and a large dinner in
the evening (soup, main course, and dessert). The
cooks and porters supply hot water to wash before
meals, and they also carry extra drinking water
and supplies in case anyone runs out during the
day. We find that clients are always amazed by how
good and plentiful the food is, especially when
you round a corner and your lunch table is laid
out before you! For
every two clients on an expedition, we use one local
guide and up to three porters. The porters |
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| carry
these tents and the sleeping bags, as well as the mess
/ cook tents and food, so you need not worry about carrying
any major loads each day. When
you stay in camps, the tents are high quality tents designed
for altitude use, such as the Mountain Hardwear Trango
series tents. The porters pitch and strike the tents for
you each day. At each camp site on the mountain, there
are basic toilet facilities. We
recommend you carry only a 20 litre bag at most, the size
of a typical day sack for hillwalking in the UK. We ensure
that all the guides and porters are suitable fed and clothed,
and have forged close links with the Porters Protection
Project (PPP). |
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Who
does the Everest Base Camp Trek appeal to, and why? |
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trek is ideal for those new to trekking as it is non-technical
and follows good paths and yak tracks. In good conditions
it can be considered easy, but all trekking requires a
basic good level of fitness so that you can enjoy the
views of the amazing scenery. The trek is designed to
build your acclimatisation slowly over the two weeks,
but as the majority of the trek is at an altitude of over
3000m everyone will find it demanding. The average length
of each day of trekking is between four and six hours,
with extra breaks and lunches. Two days of rest and sightseeing
are built into the trip, at the famous trading post of
Namiche Bazaar and the ancient farming region of Dingboche,
where you do acclimatisation walks from the camp and return
there in the evening. This gives time for rest and recuperation,
and also gives time to experience the scenery and cultures
that you pass through. |
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| Everest
Base Camp Trek Itinerary |
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Sun
1
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Fly
to Kathmandu International Airport, where typically
the flight arrives around 18:00. Transfer to the
hotel in Kathmandu, evening meal, trek briefing
after dinner, and equipment queries. Night in hotel. |
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Mon
2
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Drive
to Kathmandu airport and catch flight to Lukla airport
(flight takes approx 40 mins). This is an exciting
flight in a small plane to reach the high airfield
with its colourful prayer flags. In the afternoon
you trek from Lukla to the village of Phakding where
you camp for the night. Night
in Phakding camp, 2610m. |
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Tue
3
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Trek
through the forests to enter the narrow gorge of
the start of the Khumbu National Park. After some
exhiliarating crossings of some high suspension
bridges you reach the prosperous trading post of
Namiche Bazaar. From here you gain the first views
of Everest. Night in camp at Namche Bazaar, 3400m. |
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Wed
4
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Today
is a day for acclimatisation and rest at the ancient
trading post of Namche Bazaar. This has some of
the oldest tea shops and lodges in the region with
beautiful blue roofs. An afternoon acclimatisation
trek up the Imja valley to a ridge with stunning
views of Ama Dablam. Night camp Namche Bazaar, 3400m. |
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Thur
5
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An
early start from Namche Bazaar to gain the ridge
crest and trek to the impressive monastery at Thyangboche.
Here there is time for a tour around the monastery
and Visoitors Centre. Surrounded by snow capped
peaks, it is an amazing viewpoint for photos. Night
in camp at Thyangboche, 3860m. |
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Fri
6
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From
Thyangboche there is an easy five hour trek through
the fragrant rhodedendrons and past the village
of Payboche which has the oldest monastery in the
region. The area is an ancient farming region and
you should see local farmers and yaks grazing the
grasses. Night in camp at Dingboche, 4410m. |
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Sat
7
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Today
is another day to rest and acclimatise as you are
now at an altitude of more than 4000m. The day is
spent in the stunning pastoral scenery of Dingboche.
There is an acclimatisation trek in the afternoon
to gain around 300m with fantastic mountain views.
Night in camp at Dingboche, 4410m. |
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Sun
8
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Trekking
through the rural countryside from Dingboche surrounded
by the high mountain peaks. You also pass the poignant
memorial to the local sherpas that have died on
ascents of Everest. Here the view is dominated by
the huge snowy face of Lhotse. Night in camp at
Loboche, 4910m. |
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Mon
9
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From
Loboche the trek continues up the valley to the
steep gravel morraines that have been deposited
by the glaciers retreating. Above the gravel mounds
you reach an island of grasses that is called Gorek
Shep. Here, at over 5000m are the highest tea houses
in the region. Night in camp at Gorak Shep,5140m. |
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Tue
10
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Today
is the big day to reach Everest Base Camp! Starting
early for the best weather and clearest air, you
climb the scree and moraine to reach the great viewpoint
of Everest and walk on the surface of the famous
Khumbu ice fall. Time to absorb the atmosphere &
take photos. Night in camp at Gorak Shep, 5140m. |
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Wed
11
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An
early start today to trek the two hour steep climb
to reach Kala Patar. From
here you have, what is considered to be, one of
the best viewpoints in the Himalayas. The peak gives
a 360 degree view of the stunning snow capped mountains
with Everest and the Khumbu valley.
Night Pheriche camp, 4270m. |
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Thur
12
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After
a slightly later start from the camp at Pheriche,
a short climb before continuing on a good contour
track towards the bridge at Phortse. Here you have
great views down the Khumbu valley and across the
valley to the Tyangboche monastery framed by the
high mountains. Night in Kang Tega camp. |
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Fri
13
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From
Phortse you start the descent back down the scenic
valley, crossing the river, and climbing to Mon
La before reaching Namche Bazaar. Here there is
time for some lunch and shopping in Namche Bazaar,
then another couple of hours of trekking to reach
the camp at Monjo village. Night in the camp at
Monjo. |
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Sat
14
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Passing
through the local villages of the Monjo region,
the trek takes us to the traditional Sherpa village
of Chaumrikharka, where there is time for lunch
and photos. The final part of the trek is a short
steep climb to reach the lodge at Lukla. There is
a traditional Nepalese dinner and the night is spent
in the Lukla lodge. |
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Sun
15
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Today
after breakfast in the lodge in Lukla, there is
a transfer to the airport to catch the internal
flight back to Kathmandu. The afternoon can be spent
either relaxing in the hotel in Kathmandu, or exporing
the great shopping bargains that Kathmandu is famous
for. In the evening you go out for a group celebratory
meal. |
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Mon
16
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Morning
off for you to explore Kathmandui, before the airport
transfer. The flight usually leaves in the mid afternoon,
arriving back in the UK late on Monday evening/
early Tuesday morning. |
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| ITINERARY
NOTES: Where possible we follow the itineraries, but as
mountain activities are always weather and conditions
dependant, we are sometimes forced to alter the plans.
If this is the case, a suitable different route will be
attempted, and you will be informed at the first suitable
opportunity. Please use this outline course itinerary
as a guide to the style of trip, with good conditions,
as it will not necessarily be an exact blueprint for the
exact schedule that you will follow. |
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Effect
of climate change on Khumbu Glacier / Kala Patar
The
weather patterns in the Himalayas are changing, and the
icefields are shrinking. It is not necessary to use an
ice axe or crampons on the mountain or during this trek.
The typical weather at present is clear mornings, then
an afternoon cloud build up (often with short shower),
then the clouds break in the evening and over night. This
pattern explains why on the day to summit the high point
of Kala Patar you and your guides will set off at first
light in the early morning to take advantage of the clear
skies so that you get the best views at the top.
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| Course
Prices |
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Everest
Base Camp Trek
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14
days guiding, 16 days in total |
£1399 |
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Flights
to Kathmandu
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Icicle
holds ATOL T7228
We can supply flights to Kathmandu |
POA |
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Secure
online booking system |
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Course Inclusions: 1) Nepalese trekking guides
for daily leading and guiding, 2) Icicle UK Western Leaders
if group has six or more clients, 3) Pre expedition Info
Booklet, 4) Equipment discount voucher for UK kit shops,
5) All Lodge and tent accommodation in Nepal on a full
board basis (Lukla to Lukla), 6) Road transport in Nepal
to / from Lukla airport to start / end the trek and airport
transfers to / from Kathmandu airport and Kathmandu hotel,
7) All costs for expedition leaders, local guides and
porters, 8) We provide all communal equipment such as
tents and cooking kit (you provide your own clothing,
walking boots, and sleeping bag with mat), 9) Internal
flights to / from Kathmandu to Lukla airport, 10) Hotel
accommodation in Kathmandu (B&B basis). |
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| Exclusions:
1) Travel to and from Kathmandu International airport,
2) Bar and restaurant bills, 3) Evening meals on the first
and last night in Kathmandu (budget on £10 per night),
4) UK and foreign airport taxes, optional trips, souvenirs,
5) Local porter / guide tips (approx £40pp), 6)
Nepalese departure tax, 7) Your personal laundry, telephone
calls, and any purchases in mountain huts / hotels / restaurants,
8) Extras before course: personal activities insurance,
and excess baggage charges. |
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| Notes:
This trip requires a minimum number of 4 people. If there
are less than minimum numbers, the course can go ahead
if you request it, but the price will rise. In this situation,
should you choose not to continue your booking, you can
opt for a full refund or a transfer onto another course
or date. |
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Icicle
expedition kit bag for FREE
All those booking on
this course are entitled to a free Icicle expedition
kit bag. This tough c.75 litre capacity kit bag
is designed for full expedition usage and is made
out of durable and waterproof rip-proof material.
It normally retails at £50. Postage within
the UK is included in the prices. If you live overseas,
it's not a problem at all. We'll let you know the
price for postage. Want a second bag? Order another,
click
here. |
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| Upgrade
options |
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Flights
UK to Kathmandu
From £600
(inc. airport taxes) |
Icicle
is fully bonded with ATOL, and so we are able to
offer flights to Kathmandu International Airport.
This is served by, and flights from the UK are from
Heathrow. See our ATOL licence,
details. |
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Nepalese
Departure Tax
Payable on entry / exit
£15
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We
do not force clients to have these obligatory taxes
iincluded in the prices, as they are paid locally
in US Dollars, and some clients may benefit from
the exchange rates by opting to pay these directly
at the airport. |
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Extend
your trip with the Chitwan Jungle Safari
Many people choose to extend their stay for an extra three
days to experience safari. Close to Kathmandu is the Chitwan
National Park which is a world famous reserve and one
of the last places to see the Asian one-horned Rhino.
The action packed three days include a visit to the village
of Tharu, an elephant back safari ride, travel in a dug
out canoe, and a visit to the elephant breeding centre.
Transport to and from Kathmandu is included. We offer
this three day extension from £350. At night you
stay in comfortable local lodges. Contact us for further
details. |
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