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I went on a trek around the Khumbu (Everest) Region in the Himalayas of Nepal in 2006.

Notes:

As of 2006, a new Nepali law required all foreign trekkers to hire a local porter or guide in order to get a "Trekking Permit". In general, I have no objections with having to hire locals since it supports the local economy, and besides, it's generally not a good idea to trek alone in the Himalayas anyway. I hired Jit Bahadur Rai, a "Non-english speaking porter/guide" native to the Khumbu region whom I employed as a guide. Despite being "non-english speaking" (he spoke Nepali and Rai), Jit actually spoke fairly decent english.

One of the highlights of my trek was Qomolangma (otherwise erroneously known as Mt. Everest). At an altitude of 8,848 metres (29,029 ft), Qomolangma is the highest mountain in the world.

Qomolangma means "Mother Goddess of The World" in Tibetan and is pronounced "Chomolangma". It was the Tibetans who first discovered Qomolangma and named her, and hence according to geographical convention, that should be her rightful name. The Chinese later surveyed and mapped Qomolangma in the early 18th century. The name Qomolangma was first used in Chinese documents and maps in 1721, and later, in French and German maps of the period. However, in 1865, the British surveyed her from British-ruled Nepal and named her Everest after an otherwise forgettable bureaucrat in the British Indian Civil Service. Much later, in 1956, the Nepalis made up the name Sagarmatha (which means "Head of the Sky") for Qomolangma.

Altitude sickness was a real danger due to the high average altitude of this trek. There is no real cure to full-blown altitude sickness except descending quickly, a trickly proposition considering the lack of transportation in this region. At various points in the trek (Kala Pattar, Cho La, Gokyo Ri), the oxygen concentration even dropped to as low as 50% of that at sea level. In general, I had no problems with the altitude although I had to be careful to acclimatize by ascending at a safe rate daily, I also found that I didn't have to take Diamox to deal with the altitude.

As a side note, the oxygen concentration at the summit of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) is 32% of that at sea level. A person brought from sea level to that altitude would lose consciousness and die within minutes.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Jit Bahadur Rai for being such a cheerful, amazing guide and trekking buddy. Thanks to Cindy for the loan of the trekking poles, it saved my arse coming down the Cho La Pass. Thanks to Rachel The Grape for the loan of the Nepal guidebook which she hated.

Elevation Changes

Days 3 & 4: Namche Bazaar (3440m) Day-trip To Khunde (3840m) And Khumjung (3780m)

Note to Seppos: 1 metre = 3.281 feet