Proper acclimatization is a key factor in reaching the summit of Mount Everest. After having been at Everest Base Camp (EBC) for quite some time, moving to higher elevations was overdue. If done at an adequate pace, moving to higher camps allows the body to adjust to the reduced availability of oxygen without too many …
Continue reading 4/19/17-4/24/17 Setting Ourselves Up for Success: Rotation to Camps 1 & 2
Today’s update is brief. Not too much is going on here on the 18th because the Sherpas are commemorating the lives lost in the deadly April 18, 2014 ice avalanche. We are, however, preparing for an early 2am start to move to higher camps towards the summit. We will stay at camps 1 and 2 …
Continue reading 4/18/17: Moving Up for Further Acclimatization
To prepare for our ascent of Mount Everest, we went through an intense training program, after barely arriving at Everest Base Camp (EBC). Here's a brief recap of our training: April 9 We practiced basic ice climbing skills on an obstacle course set-up in the ice fall right behind EBC. The obstacle course required ascending …
Apologies for the delayed update – the Internet connection initially turned out to be unreliable, and it took a few days to address the underlying technical issues. Mount Everest Base Camp (EBC) is where almost any summit attempt begins. It is an impressive accumulation of colorful tents on piles of rock and ice, at an altitude …
Check out the article about my Everest climb as published by German newspaper "Offenburger Tageblatt". The article is in German, so I've provided an English translation below. I did request permission to publish a direct translation of the article in English from the German newspaper. Appeared in newspaper “Offenburger Tageblatt” by Reiff Medien, March 20, 2017, …
Today we hiked to Pangboche; another tiny village on the way to Everest Base Camp. Pangboche is home to Lama Geshi who we had the pleasure of meeting today. He is the highest ranking Lama in the region (and #3 after the Dalai Lama). For decades he has blessed climbers and trekkers in the Everest …
This was our first day with a significant altitude gain. Phakding is at approximately 8,560 ft whereas Namche is at 11,290 ft. Namche is a surprisingly major accumulation of colorful houses that are built along steep slopes. It’s a rather touristy place with many trekkers stopping by. There are countless hotels and stores that sell pretty …
Today was our lucky day: after getting up at 2AM, we flew out to Lukla. It's quite common that this flight gets delayed for days, due to bad weather. We had an amazing day, hiking from Lukla to Phakding, a tiny village on the way to Everest basecamp. It was a pleasant four-hour downhill …
Continue reading 3/27/17 — 1st Day Trekking: from Lukla to Phakding
This is a first important step: all of us have arrived in Kathmandu, and equally important, no luggage was lost. Looks like we are a nice group of 21 people getting ready for our trek to basecamp. All of us are planning to do the trek to Everest basecamp, and a few (like myself) will …
Last Sunday, I decided to soak in the city life one last time before spending the next two months in the middle of nowhere. So, I split the day in half- In the morning, I biked up Mount Wilson for training. That’s about 5,000 vertical feet – pretty good exercise. The view from the summit across …
Continue reading Final post before my departure – one more day!
Markus Takes On Everest 