The classical journey to EBC starts by flying from Kathmandu to Lukla, where you pick up the EBC hiking trail. The 88km/55mile hiking trip takes a minimum of 12 days to complete: going up to the base camp in eight days (including two days for acclimating) and coming down to Lukla then flying back to Kathmandu in four days (including spending one night in Lukla – all mountain flights leave Lukla in the morning). However, many hikers would take a half-day bus ride from Kathmandu to Jiri, then hike four days to Lukla, to avoid using Lukla airport, which is scary to land, and unreliable due to mountainous weather conditions. This way the journey would take a minimum of 20 days.

The trails to EBC are mostly uneven and unpaved; although many sections are steep, no ropes or technical climb skills are required. The trails were formed naturally with many twists and turns, but it is reasonable to believe one is not likely to get lost. Hikers, porters, and convoys of transportation animals (mainly yaks and horses) share the same trail. Steps are being put in for certain parts of the trails, and in one section the animal traffic has been separated from the hikers. At above 3,500-4,000m/11,500-13,000ft levels, vegetation, and farmland thin out. The dirt roads are dusty on a clear day with gusts of mountain winds and are muddy in rain and snow. The trails are the only means to reach Everest Base Camp other than by helicopter. Even Everest Mountaineers have to take the same trails we did to reach the base camp: If they helicoptered directly from Kathmandu with an elevation of 1,300m/4,200ft, to EBC at 5,364m/17,598ft, without proper acclimatization they could suffer serious high-altitude sickness which could be fatal.

All the provisions to sustain modern life in the mountains are brought up by porters and animals. On the trails many porters are carrying a weight of at least 60kg/130 lb, heavier than their body weight; their physical strength and mental toughness are second to none. The higher the altitude the more expensive the goods, but few ever complain: Any grievance would dissipate when the thoughts come to mind of how the porters have struggled to bring goods to the mountains.

The vertical distance from Lukla to EBC is 2,800m/9,200ft; but the ups and downs of the trails multiply that figure by many times when you reach EBC. The higher you go the colder the weather (temperature drops 9.8C for every 1,000m up, or 5.4F/1,000ft). In March, at Lukla the daytime temperature is in the low single digits Celsius; at night it’s below freezing. At above 4,000-5,000m/13,100-16,500ft, it is below freezing during the day and could reach negative 10-20C/14-negative 4F at night.

In high mountains, houses are erected when a piece of relatively flat spot is found, thus they would not necessarily face the south to capture sunlight and heat from the sun during the day. Due to the cost of transportation, houses are not insulated, and cracks and gaps in the exterior walls and window frames are visible. Since there is no indoor heating, after sunset the indoor temperatures are similar to that outside the guest houses (called “teahouses” by hikers). On this trip, every night we experienced below-freezing indoor temperatures.

There are usually two single beds in a guestroom with no private bath (there are apparently many exceptions). Public bathrooms are in the corridor, also not heated. There is always a public space doubling as a dining room, and a small fire would be built after sunset. But due to fuel shortage, even in this “heated” room one still needs to dress warmly at all times.

Nepal has abundant water resources, but most of the streams are permanently frozen in high mountains, so little hydropower can be harvested. Electricity is generated by rooftop solar panels and stored in batteries, which are reserved primarily for lighting. Most locations, including the village next to the base camp, do not have cell phone signals.