Mount Everest Trek

The Mount Everest Trek about three kilometers northeast of Namche Bazar , in the background from left to right: Nuptse , behind the Nuptse south shoulder the tip of Mount Everest , Lhotse and on the right the Ama Dablam . A Chörten on the trek .

The Mount Everest Trek is a long-distance hiking trail from Lukla to the viewing mountain Kala Patthar and to the Mount Everest Base Camp, which is used at least in parts by most of the up to 31,000 annual visitors (2010) of the Sagarmatha National Park and therefore also jokingly Solu-Khumbu in Nepal -Highway is called.

course

Khumbu region with the Everest Trek from Namche Bazar.

The Lhotse (right), the top of Mount Everest (half left) and in front of it the Nuptse south shoulder seen from Deboche (3710 m).

Encounter at Orsho (between Pangboche and Dingboche ): Yaks are robust and hardly aggressive carrying animals , but they are not very flexible in their routing, which is why trekkers should avoid them.

Memorial stones for those fatally injured on Mount Everest at the Thokla Pass.

Italian research station at 4970 meters above sea level on the Lobuche Glacier (a few 100 meters west of the trek shortly after the village of Lobuche)

View of the Khumbu Glacier from the Lobuche Pass (5110 m, looking south).

View over the (dry) lake bed at Gorak Shep . In the background from left: Changtse , Everest West Shoulder, top of Mount Everest (a little to the right above the trekker coming from Kala Patthar ), dominating the Nuptse , Nuptse Icefall and other, however nameless foothills of the Nuptse.

As a rule, you will arrive via Lukla Airport . The Syangboche airfield near Namche Bazar is only used in individual cases, among other things because at 3970 meters it is already in a zone in which an altitude adjustment is necessary. If Lukla Airport is closed, the makeshift Phablu airfield, 30 kilometers away, is occasionally used as a stopover, from which flights continue to Lukla when the weather is clear . If Lukla is closed for a long time, you can also take the bus to Jiri and walk from there to Lukla in about four days to a week. From Lukla (2840 m) the route first leads downwards along the Dudh Kosi valley to Nurning (2492 m), from where it climbs back up to Phakding at 2610 meters. At Phakding, the Dudh Kosi is crossed for the first time on one of the (now modern) rope bridges. The entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park is located between Jorsale (2740 m) and Monjo (2835 m) .

After the Larja Bridge at Larja Dobhan (2830 m) the ascent to Namche Bazar (3440 m) begins , at a bend in the course of which, under favorable conditions, the first view of the top of Mt. Everest is possible. About two kilometers behind (northeast) Namche Bazar, Ama Dablam , Lhotse Shar , Taboche and Kantega can be seen for the first time . Shortly after Khumjung , the junction to Gokyo follows the Dudh Kosi, the beginning of which via Phortse can also be used as an alternative route on the Mount Everest Trek to Pangboche.

As a rule, however, the trek runs via Phunki Tenga to Tengboche , the religious center of the Khumbu region, now along the Imja Khola . Via Deboche and Pangboche one reaches Samso Ogma, where either the direct route via Pheriche (last hospital) or the eastern loop via Dingboche (from here branch to Chhukhung and to Island Peak ) to Dughla can be chosen, with the eastern route on one Plateau above which Lobuche Khola leads, while the western route runs directly on Lobuche Khola. Shortly before the Dughla (Thokla) rest stop, the Lobuche Khola is crossed, after which the ascent to the Thokla pass begins (from 4620 to 4830 m).

At the Thokla Pass there are numerous memorial stones for the climbers who died on Mt. Everest. Shortly afterwards, the path from Gokyo and the Cho La Pass meets the Everest Trek, which now runs along the Khumbu Glacier . Accordingly, the following town, Lobuche, is mostly overcrowded, and the accommodations there are in particularly poor condition. Shortly after Lobuche , the Italian Research Center can be visited in a side valley towards the Lobuche (mountain); the research station is dedicated to observing climate change (with measurements primarily on the Lobuche Glacier, which is directly in front of the station) and researching altitude sickness . From Lobuche, Gorak Shep (5140 m), the last village before Mount Everest, can be easily reached within a day (good altitude adjustment provided). Trekkers usually visit Kala Patthar from here , from which a good view of the upper third of Mount Everest is possible. From Everest Base Camp, Mount Everest cannot be seen at all, from Gorak Shep only its tip can be seen.

From…	to…	Height end point (m)	Duration (h)
Lukla	Phakding	2610	3
Phakding	Monjo	2840	2.5
Monjo	Namche Bazaar	3440	2.5
Namche Bazaar	Phunki Tenga	3250	2.5
Phunki Tenga	Tengboche	3860	2
Tengboche	Pangboche	3930	2
Pengboche	Pheriche	4240	2.5
Pheriche	Doughla	4620	1.5
Doughla	Lobuche	4910	2
Lobuche	Gorak Shep	5140	2.5
Gorak Shep	Everest Base Camp	5380	4th
Gorak Shep	Kala Patthar	5550	1
Gorak Shep	Lobuche	4910	1.5
Lobuche	Pheriche	4240	2.5
Pheriche	Tengboche	3860	2.5
Tengboche	Phunki Tenga	3250	1
Phunki Tenga	Khumjung	3780	2
Khumjung	Namche Bazaar	3440	1.5
Namche Bazaar	Lukla	2840	6th

Climate, vegetation and fauna

→  Sagarmatha National Park .

Travel times

The travel time is limited by the monsoon (in the Khumbu area mid-June to mid-September) and the winter cold (or snowfall / icing) (daily frost November to March). Fall weather is more stable, so most visitors to Sagarmatha National Park come in October and November, followed by April, March and December.

acclimatization

At sea level at 15 ° C, the air pressure is 1013 hPa (the oxygen content of 21 percent remains the same at all altitudes), at 3,660 meters - i.e. shortly after Namche Bazar - the air pressure is already 40 percent lower, on Kala Patthar with 5550 meters only half as high. The hospital in Khumjung / Kunde recommends taking nine days to adjust the altitude for the ascent from Lukla to Kala Patthar, climbing a maximum of 400 meters per day and taking a day's break at 3440 (Namche Bazar) and 4600 meters (Dughla). As a rule, however, these guidelines are not adhered to by trekkers.

From an altitude of 4000 meters, health impairments must generally be expected, which are primarily expressed in insomnia, headaches and loss of fitness. The individual adaptability to the mountain air is not necessarily dependent on fitness and training level at sea level. If the symptoms persist and suggest altitude sickness , an immediate descent is required, which should always be accompanied. Travel health insurance should also be taken out, which includes a helicopter rescue.

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !

literature

• Nepal Maps: Lukla to Everest Base Camp. Kala Patthar and Gokyo. 1: 50,000 . Himalayan MapHouse Pvt. Ltd. , Kathmandu 2010. ISBN 99933-23-22-5 . (Map)
• Kai Gildhorn: Nepal: Mount Everest Trek. Conrad Stein Verlag, Welver 2012. ISBN 978-3-86686-327-9 . (Trekking guide)
• Robert Lessmann : Construction boom on Everest ; Everest - "Playground of the world" , in: Ders. (Ed.): The little people who carry great burdens . Mandelbaum-Verlag, Vienna 2008. ISBN 978-3-85476-263-8 . Pp. 61-73. (Essays on development and problematic aspects of tourism).
• Daniel Stefes, Carsten Henn: The Great Everest Trek. On lonely dream paths to the highest mountain in the world. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2004. ISBN 3-8334-1870-2 , (more experience report than trekking guide).
• Ludmilla Tüting u. a .: Nepal . Nelles Verlag, Munich 2006. ISBN 978-3-88618-812-3 . (Travel Guide)
• Marco Polo travel guide Nepal . Maridumont, Ostfildern 2009. ISBN 978-382970-500-4 .
• Ulrich Wiesner: Nepal . Du Mont Buchverlag, Cologne 1997. ISBN 3-7701-3945-3 . (Art travel guide, but only contains two pages about the Khumbu region).
• Klaus Hessenauer: Trekking and travel experiences under prayer flags in Nepal ISBN 978-3-7431-9529-5 (the somewhat different travel guide, more of a travel guide)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Station of the National Research Council of Italy
2. ↑ Kai Gildhorn: Nepal: Everest Trek. Conrad Stein Verlag, Welver 2012. ISBN 978-3-86686-327-9 , p. 41 ff.
3. ↑ Kai Gildhorn: Nepal: Everest Trek. Conrad Stein Verlag, Welver 2012. ISBN 978-3-86686-327-9 , p. 34 ff.
4. ↑ Kai Gildhorn: Nepal: Everest Trek. Conrad Stein Verlag, Welver 2012. ISBN 978-3-86686-327-9 , p. 33 ff.