Up in the sky, where the air is so thin that I'm feeling high!

I nervously step off the plane in Kathmandu to a wave of humidity, I make my way through the carnage that is Kathmandu airport and get my 1 month visa, after what seems like hours of waiting for my luggage (apparently they put all the luggage from every flight on one carousel) I finally make it out alive and search outside. I'm looking for my best friend Sandra. While a nepalese man is trying desperately to get me to take his taxi which due to the 'fuel crisis' is extremely expensive, I find her. With smiles on our faces we run at each other, ignoring the calls of the locals trying to sell us tours, hotels and taxi's and we hug, Here I meet Sandra's sister Alice and friend Mattie.

We take a taxi with a local man named Nepal as we get a cheaper price and he comes with us to check into our guest house, turns out he owns a tour company and can do us a very good deal. Figures. We book our 16 day trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC), Gokyo and the three high passes for two days later, Sandra and I sample the local beer and have a girly catch up for the night.

It's 5am, I am showered, bag packed and on a bus to Kathmandu airport... Again. This time the airport is in darkness and mostly empty apart from the few eager hikers awaiting the next adventure, a stark contrast to my experience just two days prior. We wait in the darkness for over an hour, it's now 06:15, (our flight was supposed to take off at 06:05) and at last the lights turn on and the doors open, we all shuffle through the security gates and make our way into the departure lounge. We find our Airline.. Lukla Air, evident by the limp dirty banner hanging overhead.

We are on our way, seated by weight for balance in the smallest airplane I have ever travelled in, made for no more than 10 passengers. We chat with the pilot and take in the views of the Himalayas at 2800m. With a sudden bang we land in the 'most dangerous' airport in the world. We survived the first mission!

Beginning in Lukla we start our Hike with our guide Neel. It's cold at this altitude but the sun is bright on our faces. The trail is bustling with trekkers, local children throwing out high fives, local women calling us into their shops and Lodges for tea and daal. We trek on, happy and chatting with the other trekkers, darting out of the way of the huge hairy Yaks carrying vast loads. We take a few rests during the days to stretch and refill water.. but never to take off our boots as Neel will yell about our swollen feet and we won't get our boots back on. We meet all kinds of people all sharing the same dream - to reach EBC.

The days are long and hard, we are tired and aching and the only thing that keeps us going is the thought of making it! We have a climatisation day at Namche Bazaar and Alice struggles with her breathing as we reach higher climbs. I sit with her while the rest go ahead and we breath slowly together, this helps and soon she is at the top. Neel warns us about the dangers of altitude sickness and as we all have headaches we take a rest day. The day after we take our backpacks and get back on the trek. Another climatisation day at Dingbouche and we are a week in and heading towards Lobuche, so close but still so far. Matti is way ahead of us and Alice and Sandra have headaches and so they walk a little behind. I walk with an american girl Lou, who is doing this trek with her 60 year old mother and an american guy Lucky. We climb a high peak in the trek and at the top we pass a man on the floor, local guides and porters are huddled around him performing CPR. Lou's guide also stops to help and tells us to go on. When we make it to Lobuche, Lou and I have hot chocolate and wait for the other's. When I see Sandra and Alice they look very tired. I walk towards them to take their backpacks and help them to the lodge but Sandra collapses before I reach her. Matti has a splitting headache and so we call it an early night and go to bed.

The next day we head for GorakShep... the last stop before base camp. Matti has such a bad headache he cannot go on and so we take another rest day and decide on trying again tomorrow. The next day Matti is worse then ever and he has to go back down to pheriche to get the doctor. Neel goes with him. Alice, Sandra and I go on. We struggle through the cold, we struggle to breath and we struggle with the aches. But we push ourselves and will to go on. We finally make it to base camp and we feel such a relief! WE MADE IT! 5,380 M.

We head back to pheriche to meet Matti, after a night in the hospital on O2 he is ordered to go back down as his brain is swollen. We are reminded once more of the dangers of altitude sickness. Sandra and I decide to stick to our trek and head back up for Gokyo. This is the hardest day of the trek for me as my breathing won't steady and we climb relentlessly. When we make it I am not ready for the breathtaking view! Wow!

The next day we start our trek back to Lukla.

Read Alice's post here -> http://www.ettannatliv.se/an-enthralling-journey-to-mount-everest-base-camp/