April 13th – Made it to Everest Base Camp!

After many days of trekking, we arrived at Everest Basecamp elevated and tired. A large welcome rock was our first introduction to camp. We all climbed on top for lots of photos.

Most trekkers are not allowed in the camp but Imagine Nepal made special arrangements for us. We were welcomed with a wonderful lunch in a large dome structure with tables, chairs, heaters and bean bag chairs.

After lunch, we had a ceremony to thank all the guides, porters, zopkey handlers, and our film crew who has been documenting our journey. Our tents are even better than most of the tea houses we stayed in. They have thick foam mattresses and rugs with lots of room. We relaxed most of the afternoon before having one of our best meals yet – prawn chips, chicken soup, fried chicken, noodles with vegetables, okra, string beans, carrots, cabbage and mushrooms, and a slice of pear for dessert. After dinner, the staff brought in pans for of hot water to soak our feet. This is a climbing tradition which is meant to relax the body before heading to bed. It’s the coldest night we’ve had and we are snuggled into our sleeping bags while wearing multiple layers and glad that our feet are nice and warm.