‘It was magic’: Island woman reflects on trek to Mount Everest base camp

Situated on the foot of the world’s tallest mountain, the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal is a coveted vacation spot for hikers and climbers around the globe. 

Islander Kim Bailey lately reached the 5,364-metre excessive base camp after a number of coaching and an eight-day trek.

“Mount Everest is the top, and attending to base camp could be the closest I’d ever get or hope to get to trekking to the summit,”  Kim Bailey advised CBC Island Morning host Mitch Cormier. 

As a frequent long-distance runner and health fanatic, Bailey stated she could not say no to the once-in-a-lifetime alternative to make the thrilling climb. 

A complete of 12 days, the journey to the bottom camp entails climbing up rocky terrains, strolling on grime paths and wide-open valleys and crossing over deep river gorges on excessive suspension bridges, reaching altitudes of greater than 17,000 ft. 

“Some days our distance was 11 kilometres, however it will take us, you realize, 9 hours to do,” Bailey stated, and going slowly was top-of-the-line methods to push back altitude illness. 

Getting ready for the trek

A part of her coaching for the extraordinary climb concerned getting ready for prime altitudes. Bailey stated she did this by sporting a weighted backpack whereas utilizing a stair climber till she was out of breath.

Energy coaching have been additionally useful to brace for altitude modifications, she stated. 

“There was nothing acquainted about it,” Bailey stated of the paths, including she was fully out of her consolation zone. 

Though the concept of crossing swinging suspension bridges — usually alongside yaks — was “anxiousness producing,” Bailey stated she ready herself by watching YouTube movies of individuals crossing those self same bridges to fight nervousness. 

With seven different climbers and 4 Sherpa guides in her group, Bailey stated they’d begin their days as early as 4 a.m., and arrive at tea homes to eat and relaxation throughout the evenings.

The tea homes have been usually crowded and chilly, and as a substitute of firewood, dried yak dropping have been burned for heat. 

A magical journey

“It felt like I used to be within the shadow of giants,” Bailey stated on what it was wish to be on the mountain. 

Being near the Khumbu icefalls additionally felt unreal, Bailey stated, because it’s one of many locations the place many individuals succumb to their deaths whereas mountain climbing to the summit. 

“It was like being in a bowl, and also you have been simply surrounded by all of those unbelievable peaks and the solar rising and the solar setting and the gorgeous aqua-blue water on the glacier,” she stated. 

The mountain vary is slowly melting due to local weather change, and Bailey stated attending to see the bottom camp earlier than it’s probably moved decrease due to warming ice was much more particular. 

“It wasn’t misplaced on me the importance of being there at the moment, as a result of it will not at all times be there,” she added. 

“It was magic to me, and unreal.”