Our Western Guided and 3 Peaks teams are at Everest Base Camp tonight with a fresh dusting of snow. Over the weekend, these teams moved from Lobuche High Camp to Everest Base Camp after deciding that the conditions above Lobuche High Camp were beyond our risk margin with a few inches of snow that quickly turned the rock slabs into an ice rink.

Everyone was in high spirits and understood that the harsh conditions weren’t worth the risk of injury, given that the benefits of acclimatization at Lobuche High Camp were our primary goal; everyone was content to mitigate that risk and head to Everest Base Camp a day early.

Our first Everest Base Camp trekking team, under Kat Schaumberg’s guidance, is at Gorakshep, which is the last village outpost on the entire trail to Everest Base Camp. Tomorrow, they will arrive at Everest Base Camp, and all are excited to reach their goal. Over the last few days, they’ve been navigating the glacial moraine in misty weather with our Sherpa guides, who know the route like the back of their hands. When the weather is socked in, it’s easy to make a wrong turn in a world of grey and white!  

The Kirby family is enjoying the views at Lobuche High Camp; they will assess the conditions above High Camp tomorrow.

Our private climbers are at Lobuche Base Camp tonight and will move to Everest Base Camp tomorrow, where Chef Emma is waiting with some seriously good food–think savory pastries with fresh parmesan, truffle, and mixed mushrooms–yum!

Lower down the valley, our 40-Day Speed Ascent team flew from Kathmandu to Pheriche, having acclimated at home in their Hypoxico Altitude Training Systems tents for the past 6-8 weeks. They will rest tomorrow before moving to Lobuche Base Camp.

Our second Everest Base Camp team of trekkers flew to Lukla yesterday and were welcomed by blooming rhododendron forests on their way to Phakding, which is one of the most scenic villages on the trek. Tomorrow, they will start uphill in earnest, tackling Namche Hill, all under the guidance of Josh McDowell.

Back in Kathmandu, we bid farewell to our final Rugged Luxury team, who all reached Everest Base Camp in style. They enjoyed a city tour of the best UNESCO World Heritage sites, massages to reward tired muscles, and a 15-course degustation dinner at the famous Dwarikas. Thank you for joining us for a rugged, once-in-a-lifetime adventure!