Trek to the Everest Base Camp again – Towering snowy peaks, prayer flags and suspension bridges of the Himalayas will never get old. Tough 12 days, 100-mile journey made at 18k ft with lack of oxygen was just as difficult and did not get easier second time.

Dharmesh and I facilitated planning this epic trek for a large and diverse group of trekkers. Not only they were from different countries, but they also had different levels of experience and fitness, vast differences in ages starting from teenagers to trekkers in their 50’s, there were a group of friends, a family with children and a few solo trekkers. It was so much fun to be able to share this trail with each and everyone from the group, learning about their personal desire to succeed, watching them have fun, play games, sing, dance, and also to share the struggle, as we entered high altitude zone. One thing everyone had in common though, was a high level of commitment to accomplish this strenuous trek of a lifetime! Lots of tears were rolled down the cheeks as all 24 of us made it to the destination! Power of teamwork and utmost care from an outstanding team of Sherpa guides and porters from Extollo Adventures made this journey possible for everyone.

I, personally felt closer to the mountains this time, as I started recognizing familiar terrain, hospitable people, colorful flags, gushing rivers, blooming rhododendron, stonewalls carefully carved with mani mantra, the serenity of chortens and monasteries,  and most of all, tall snowy peaks. I remembered, during my trek in 2012, Mindu sherpa was calling out names of all the mountains looking high up in the sky as he pointed to them. I would forget them again next day and he would remind me with lots of patience and a gentle grin on his face. After trying hard for a couple of days I finally started remembering names of those peaks, but then they started to look different from another angle as we climbed higher up, which got me confused all over again.

Unique characteristics of those peaks became much clearer to me this time around. Thanks to iPhone X, I took some of these panoramic photos and tagged them, for my own archives.

This is the time, I realized that nothing beats the adventure of hi-altitude trekking and sense of achievement – the power and grace of the Everest grips you so hard, you can’t resist going back, again and again!