Looking back now after 4 years I still can’t believe what I saw on this 28 day trek. Over the span of this trip I saw Everest from more perspectives than I ever thought I would, met more friendly people than ever before and my outlook on life changed.

Over the 28 days I ascended and descended more elevation than the height of Everest, travelled just over 230km and I shot 15 rolls of film. I am still yet to develop around 5 rolls that I have somehow misplaced, hopefully not lost forever.

Unlike most people who head to Everest Basecamp, we started in Jiri so that we could experience the quieter areas of this region and to acclimatise.

The main part of this trip that I enjoyed was all the smiling faces of the local children. Only a few days in, a bad batch of tea caused a big halt in the trip. After 4 days of gardia I was 15kg lighter and extremely dehydrated. The day we started hiking again was one of the hardest days of my life.

Leaving Junbesi (2680m) and ascending 900m, I was so dehydrated I suffered cramps in parts of my body I never knew could cramp. Including my chest which at the time I thought was a heart attack. After a break on the pass looking out at Everest with a few hydralites I was feeling much better and from that day on the rest of the trip was like a breeze. Those few days I was sick I only took a hand full of photos.

Like most people on New Year’s morning of 2014, I woke up with a hangover, the only difference being that I had the magnificent landscape of Gokyo Ri stretched before my eyes.

If I were to head back to Everest region again, I would choose to fly in and out of Lukla airport, the most dangerous airport in the world where the wreckages of ill fated aircrafts scatter the valley, and spend more time in Gokyo immersing myself in the sights of the lakes. The Gokyo side the Khumbu region was by far my favourite.

The views of Everest are far more breathtaking along the beautiful lakes, rivers and glaciers. I also miss the sound of the creaking and moving ice on the lakes.

 

 

Trekking from Dzonglha to Gokyo required crossing Cho La (5420m), which was much more rewarding than it was challenging. As we crossed over a spectacular glacier, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the contrast of the landscape in front of me to those in my home in Queensland.

 

I am so grateful to have experienced the beauty Nepal has to offer and I hope to return with a little more experience with film and trekking.

About Kirk Davis

Kirk is based in Brisbane  Australia but wishes he could be endlessly traveling around the world documenting what he sees on Provia.

On this trip Kirk only took one camera and lens to save weight. He chose a Nikon f100 and 5 rolls of portra 400, Velvia 100 and Provia 400.

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