Distance from Everest Base Camp to summit is no sweat with just 42.75 miles. It’s momentarily thought as reality hits hard before too long. Trails above the base camp come as the worst nightmare of every mountaineer with a nonstop steep climb, crevasse, and icefall.
Weather is hostile and the risk of avalanche and rockfalls continuously roves around the head. But regardless of all possible threats, trails of Mount Everest braves a heavy traffic jam during trekking seasons.
The expedition of most trekkers starts with a flight to the nearest Lukla airport while a few of them fly up to base camp. For almost two weeks, they walk steep hills, pass remote villages and woods to reach the campsite. Climbers take a day-off here and savor the breathtaking scenery before moving ahead.
The actual trek begins from base camp on cobbles and snowy terrain towards Camp I which lies at 5,910 meters. Hiking becomes intense from the point onward as trekkers start to feel the pressure following low energy. As the level of oxygen declines with every ascend to the mountains, breathing becomes hard.
The steepest and most jagged glacier of all Khumbu is traitor and in a long wait to see the trekkers fail. Therefore, trekkers have to be careful while climbing the icefall that keeps moving slowly.
Camp II is about 3 miles above Camp I and still too far with a precipitous climb over glaciers and moving snow cliffs. The deep crevasses are a few blocks away and yet, it’s so difficult to get across each one of them through ladders. Provided the falling temperature, climbers will take a day off and do short hikes on the snow as advance preparation.
After taking a rest at the base camp, trekkers will ascend the mountain to reach Camp III which is nearly 1.6 miles up. The trek is exhausting and petrifying as well, with a crashing glacier and ice tower that can fall at any time.
Therefore, to understand the route and fully acclimatize, climbers, descend back to Camp II and spend almost a week there to rest and recover. An elevation gain of 615 meters takes the mountaineer to Camp IV, which is a last stop before the summit.
It’s the death zone from the point ahead where trekkers have to keep moving. Stranding on the trail for too long would be fatal, causing chronic mountain sickness and heart attack. Climbing the vertical slope to Everest is equally scary and has to ascend fast.
So, let us discuss the Distance from base camp to Everest summit.
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Related FAQs : Distance From Everest Base Camp To Summit
Where is Mount Everest? How high is it?
Mount Everest straddles between Nepal and China in the northeast Mahalangur Himal subrange. It lies at an elevation of 29,028ft, smiling hard upon all the Himalayan range including Nuptse and Cho Oyu. The race to Everest starts from the base camp that’s almost 20.5km below the mountain.
2. When is the best time to climb Mt. Everest?
Trek to Mount Everest is only done in autumn and spring as the weather favors mountaineers. Climate is at the top of its game during the seasons with a mild temperature and less snowfall. Still and all, the weather along the way is unforeseeable and can get extreme anytime so prepare for the worst and move ahead.
Most climbers get in Everest base camp at the end of September and spend almost a month acclimatizing and ascending four camps before finally reaching the summit. Mountaineers doing Everest in spring often reach the base camp by the end of March. That way, they’ll have adequate time to make preparation and acclimatize the body.
3. What is the required preparation for climbing Mount Everest?
For a trek like Mount Everest, climbers have to come strong physically and emotionally. Given so many risks, it’s too common for trekkers to lose self-control and have a mental breakdown throughout the climb
Climbing Mount Everest takes a lot of endurance and physical fitness. Technical skills are a must when climbing the peak which rises high up to 8,848 meters. Unlike regular, you can’t ease off on this trek so hop into an intense exercise like cardio to strengthen muscle and heart.
Start with a short and easy trek before turning up to severe mountain trek like alps to boost confidence. Develop a personal routine workout and a healthy diet to avoid failing health on the trek.
Other than that, make sure you have a complete set of right mountaineering equipment to scale the peak. Carry warm clothes to batter the cold and heavy snowfall up at that high altitude. Don’t stuff too many loads on the rucksack as it’ll decrease your speed.
4. How bad is altitude sickness at Mount Everest? What extreme health crisis does it bring?
As the highest mountain on the globe, Mount Everest comes with extreme challenges that are beyond imagination. For all time, it starts with altitude sickness that many suffer right after scrambling above Namche.
It becomes a serious business ahead of Everest Base Camp with the level of oxygen getting too low rapidly. Mt. Everest rises so high that trekkers have to fight hard for every breath right after Camp II.
Stranding on the trail for a long time gets fatal after Camp III with possibilities of ice fall and hypoxia of course. The area from Camp 4 to Everest is what’s known as the death zone and that’s where most people struggle with acute mountain sickness.
At this altitude, the pressure of oxygen is so low that both the brain and body start to give up with the increased chances of stroke. To prevent sickness, most mountaineers carry bottled oxygen and overcome glaciers and seracs. In defiance of it, the mountaineers can suffer from High altitude pulmonary edema and High altitude cerebral edema.
5. Who are the trek guides?
Usually, it’s the local sherpa in the Himalayas guiding first-timers and professionals to the summit. They’re highly trained with the practice of ascending mountains for several years. Most of these trek guides have spent their whole life climbing high Himalaya and snow peaks above 8000 meters.
They do a range of activities from placing a ladder over crevasses to setting up anchors and fixing rope to help mountaineers climb the trail. Sherpas who assist mountaineers to the top of Everest make around US$10,000 per person. Climbing guides who help climbers with load earn between US$35,00 and US$5,000 on each expedition.
