How to hike to Everest Base Camp with as little stuff as possible
Howdy. I’m Ben. I’m a minimalist. I hate owning stuff. And even more than I hate owning stuff, I hate carrying stuff.
So when Paul invited us to trek the Himalayas with him in the beginning of April 2021, I set out to do it with as little stuff as possible.
To keep things simple, here’s exactly what I recommend, after my experience:
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Lip balm
- Water bottle or camelback
- Powerbank
- Down jacket
- Some kind of base layer (I used a cotton sweater)
- Two longsleeve shirts and one shortsleeve
- Outdoor pants and indoor pants
- Tights (I wore running tights, for running and sleeping)
- Five pairs of underwear
- Five pairs of socks
- Buff
- Gloves
- Camera
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Warm hat
- Roll of toilet paper
- Waterproof running shoes (or hiking boots if you’re nervous about your ankles)
- Light, comfortable slippers for indoors
- All of this should fit in a 50L backpack, with room to spare
Let’s break it down.
Backpack
There are hundreds of great articles covering this, so I won’t. Just get something approximately 50L, to handle the bulk of your puffy jacket, which you won’t need until Dingbouche, probably. I took my old orange North Face Electron 50L bag (it’s discontinued).
Down Jacket
This is important. To save space, I tried to layer a cotton sweater and a rainproof jacket instead of bringing along a down jacket, but it didn’t really do the trick. I survived, but for comfort at high altitudes, it’s totally worth stuffing a down jacket in your pack. Real down is great because of its warmth to weight ratio, but a suitable synthetic alternative is definitely fine, and maybe less morally questionable.
I wouldn’t recommend wearing your jacket while hiking, but you’ll be staying in cold tea houses, exploring villages, and for everything above Dingbouche, a warm jacket will make your mountain experience much more comfortable than mine was. Learn from my mistake!
Shirts
Bring two longsleeve shirts you can walk all day in, and swap between them. Just having another shirt to change into will make you feel better, even if it’s probably as dirty as the one you’re wearing. Bring a shortsleeve for extra credit at low altitudes, or some light exploration on rest days in the sun. I brought two Aeance merino longsleeves (they sent them to me), and I wore a Lululemon shortsleeve until we reached Namche Bazaar. I also went running in the shortsleeve. When the sun is shining, the trek feels hot, especially when you’re climbing.
You’ll easily be able to hand wash your clothes and leave them to dry in the sun in an afternoon until you reach Tengbouche. I handwashed my clothes in Khumjung, but it was getting pretty cold in the evenings, so you’ll need to leave them to dry by noon at the latest any higher than that, to give them enough time. In the evening, the tea lodges usually light a stove, and you can leave your laundry nearby if it’s already pretty dry, to warm it up for wearing.
Pants
I hiked in the same pair of pants every single day for two weeks — Lululemon License to Train, because my girlfriend works there and grabbed them for me. Your trekking pants will get so dusty that there’s no point in swapping — just wear the same ones and keep your indoor pants clean and dry in your bag. I prefer synthetic, breathable exercise pants for long walks, but I saw a lot of people walking in warmer trekking pants, and even a couple in jeans.
At night, you’ll want a second pair of pants to change into and feel clean-ish in. I brought some light Nike track pants.
Shoes
I hiked the entire trip in waterproof Nike Pegasus Shields, and my girlfriend hiked in waterproof Nike Pegasus Trail 2 GORE-TEX — not an ad, just what we had.
Footwear is probably the most contentious point for this trip. Before the trek, I read a horror story about a woman who busted her ankle in trainers in the first hour of the hike, but I decided to risk it anyway and I’m glad I did. I’m a runner, and I went running in the same shoes I hiked in every day until we reached Dingbouche. Running shoes are extremely comfortable, durable, breathable, and great for both walking and running. Hiking boots may have extra ankle support, but in my experience they are uncomfortable, heavy, not breathable, and obviously terrible for running.
The terrain is not difficult, it’s dry, and I’ve never seen ankle support actually save anyone who slipped on a rock or a curb. Just be concious of where you step, and wear shoes you have experience traveling long distances in. I don’t buy that this trek has any special shoe requirements. The sherpas do it carrying 50+ kgs in sandals and slides, even in Base Camp where it’s subzero (don’t do that, though).
What I did not bring, and regretted not bringing, were indoor shoes. It’s not nice having to wear your stinky, dirty shoes indoors to use the toilet or have dinner. When I untied my shoes while we were eating, people lost their appetite. I saw a few pairs of these puffer sandals from The North Face that looked excellent, warm and comfy. Trust me, a really light pair of indoor shoes are worth their weight in gold, for your comfort at stops (and when you have to go pee in the middle of the night).
Electronics
One 10k mAh powerbank should suffice for this trip. I actually forgot to bring one, but a climber I was traveling with brought two, and I used his second. My iPhone has about a 2,815 mAh battery, so a full powerbank can charge it two and a half times. I also brought my Sony a6400 and two extra batteries. Up until Namche Bazaar I was able to charge everything for free, and after that, a 10k mAh Powerbank is about 10,000 Rp to charge, and hopefully lasts at least a couple days.
Leave your phone in airplane mode after Tengbouche, as that’s the last 4G tower. If you need internet beyond that, buy an Everest Link card which will work in most lodges from Dingbouche to Gorak Shep, or buy internet one-off at the lodge you’re at.
In Everest Base Camp, only special Base Camp Everest Link Wifi is available and it’s ridiculously priced with not great coverage, so don’t bother. Just wait till you leave to use the internet. As a bonus, my iPhone went three days without charging in Base Camp, in airplane mode,
Intimates
One of the best feelings in the world is when clean underwear and socks touch your clean skin. Rotate through your five clean pairs of each, and wash them all anytime you have an acclimatisation day (probably in Namche and Dingbouche). You won’t always have access to a hot shower (after Namche, a hot shower typically costs 500 Rp, and was far away or nonexistent in Tengbouche and Khumjung). If it’s important to you, bring wet wipes. I found that putting on clean underwear and socks and washing my face in cold water felt good enough. For extra credit, leave your clean undies by the hot stove in the Tea Lodge before you put them on.
Necessities
Most toilets won’t have toilet paper, so bring a roll squashed up, or buy it at the first place you stay for 400 Rp or so.
Toothbrush and toothpaste go without saying.
You can get a haircut and a shave in Namche Bazaar, but if you’re planning to stay above there for a long while, you’ll need your own grooming device. The locals I asked told me they all hike down to Namche for haircuts.
The Trip
And now, here’s a play by play of our route.
Day 1 — Lukla to Phakding
This was easily my favorite part of the trip. You walk mostly along a beautiful blue stream, cross beautiful suspension bridges, see beautiful trees, hopefully the weather is good, spirits are high, altitude is low, perfect.
Day 2 — Phakding to Namche Bazaar
More beautiful scenery, some knee shaking suspension bridges, and then a modest uphill. Namche is a cool city, and the first big establishment you’ll reach. It’s surprising to see such a city carved in to the side of the hill. Settle in and enjoy.
Day 3 — Rest in Namche
There are two great viewpoints from this city — head northeast to the Sherpa Culture Museum for a history lesson and some great ice capped mountain views, or northwest past the helipads and then straight up the side of the hill for some Lord of the Rings style mountain scenery.
Day 4 — Namche to Khumjung
Khumjung is an optional stop on this trip, but is a nice one. It’s where most of the Sherpas are from, and is called the green belly of the Khunde Valley, which you’ll understand why if you visit! Khumjung is also home to the Sir Edmund Hilary school, and the kids playing volleyball in the playground there are real cute.
Day 5 — Khumjung to Tengbouche
Check out the Tengbouche Monastery! At 7am every morning, the monks recite prayers and visitors can sit in and watch. We were also lucky enough to catch their Puja ceremony in one of the small monuments up the mountain.
Day 6 — Tengbouche to Dingbouche
On this day, you kiss the treeline goodbye, and ascend above 4000m. Breathe your last breaths of well oxygenated air, and enjoy the breathtaking river pass.
Day 7 — Rest in Dingbouche
In my very limited experience, this is when lots of people get sick from the altitude. If you don’t, hike up the nearby Nangkartshang Peak — it’s your first taste of real snow level altitude, so you’ll feel like a pro climber and the view is very worth it. Just be sure to take it slow and drink 3x as much water as you think you need.
Day 8 — Dingbouche to Lobuche
The first half of this trek is easy, flat plains, which end in a nice stream crossing. For the past couple of days, I was shocked and concerned about how much weight the porters carried, and on this day I traded bags with our porter, Dar Khumar. I made it to Tukla carrying his two climbers’ bags. After Tukla, this flat trek becomes a steeple run — a near vertical 200m climb to the Sherpa Memorial in the glacier above.
Day 9 — Lobuche to Everest Base Camp
If you haven’t gotten altitude sick by now, this is probably when it’s going to happen. Take this last leg of the journey extremely carefuly and gently. I was again carrying one of our porter’s bags, and I was a jelly legged ghost by the time we reached Gorak Shep. After a lot of tea I sorted my strength out and pushed on past the big stepping stones to EBC. This part is like hopping from rock to rock, and will really drain your physical and mental energy.
Everest Base Camp
To be honest, Base Camp is not an inviting place. We spent two nights here. It’s boring, and while the food they helicoptered up was delicious, you’re living on shifting rocks above a glacier with -20c nights at 5400m, and life is pretty rough. In the first couple days, everyone is sick, it’s not very social, and my best advice is just to pop in, say hello, and head back to Lobuche as fast as possible for a cosy night and a long walk back down the trail.
Happy hiking ❤
