Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Into Thin Air


In less than 30 days, my girlfriend and I, along with 4 other friends, will begin our ascent "into thin air" as we embark on our journey on the Everest Base Camp trek.

After a layover in New Delhi, India we will fly to Kathmandu, Nepal and transfer over to Lukla. It should be noted that Tenzing Hillary Airport (LUA) in Lukla is the most dangerous airport in the world (according to The History Channel's Most Extreme Airports). And here our journey begins at 2,800m (9,200 ft) above sea level.

It will take us about 9 days to reach an altitude of 5,364m (17,564 ft) at Everest's South Base Camp in Nepal. At this point there will only be half as much oxygen available in the air as compared to sea-level. The air will certainly be thin and it will be harder to breathe. By then, we'll have traveled 38.5 miles on foot, making the round-trip affair 77 miles over the course of 14 days.

We've each got about a 25 pound pack with only the basics and essentials. There's no room for anything else.

This is going to be the journey of a lifetime...
Next stop, EBC!

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