How to Pack to Hike to Everest Base Camp

2 January 2018 by Raul 3 Comments

My hike in Nepal a couple of years ago along the route to Everest Base Camp (EBC) was a great experience. Many things have to be planned for such as how to get there and how to train. Packing for Everest Base Camp is also essential to have an enjoyable Nepal hiking experience. In this post, I want to share how to pack to hike along the route to Everest Base Camp. While I did not go to EBC itself, this packing list would only need small adjustments, if any, for those going all the way to EBC.

This trek versus other treks

Hiking in Nepal is unlike my experience climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or trekking in Patagonia‘s Torres del Paine. In Kilimanjaro and on the ‘W’ circuit in Patagonia, one is walking along areas where humans do not live: they are parks. But to get to Everest Base Camp, one walks along hamlets and a rare town that either pre-date the route’s popularity due to hikers or that arose due to the demand. Either way, the result is the same. One gets to experience Nepalese hospitality and customs in a way that enhances the experience. It is not simply a hiking experience, a physical challenge.

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Taking a tea break during a sunny day at a teahouse

Trekking to Base Camp or just a view of Everest

In my hike, I did not have the time off work (yes, I have a regular job with the usual constraints on vacation time!) to be able to get to Everest Base Camp and return. That was OK with me. In the trek I joined with Trekking for Kids, there was an option to only go past the Tengboche Monastery to Deboche and then turn back around. (Note: if you are interested, Trekking for Kids is planning to return there in late 2018 with both the full trek to EBC or the shorter one like I did called “Everest View”. See here more more details on that trek.)

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Deboche – not a big place at all!

While it would have been cool to see EBC, I was not crushed. I was just glad to be able to see Mt. Everest in person and experience the trekking route. I also discovered the more impressive Ama Dablam – one majestic mountain if there was ever one.

Considerations on packing for Everest Base Camp (or almost EBC!)

Preparing for hiking along the route to Everest Base Camp was not vastly different than some of my other hikes.

The route to EBC continually goes up in altitude as one goes along (no surprise there!). The trek itself, if you start in Lukla (the one with the crazy airport), starts at around 2,800 m (9,300 ft). EBC itself sits at near 5,400 m (17,600 ft). So that right there will make it cold, like with Kilimanjaro (particularly at night). Add to that the fact that heating at the teahouses where one stays at is ‘limited’ to be generous. (One exception: we stayed at a proper hotel in Namche Bazaar). Sleeping quarters are not heated. And the common space where one eats meals and hangs out before heading to bed only usually have a tiny stove in the center. So, cold weather gear and clothing was key (again, no surprise there).

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The stove in the teahouse’s main room is a popular spot…

As with Kilimanjaro, you have to mind the amount of stuff you bring along. There will be limitations on what can be carried by the support staff. So being smart about light items, re-usable items, and the concept of “just enough” vs. “just in case.”

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My “packing list” in a visual format 🙂

It is worth noting that some teahouses have a tiny counter that may sell some basics. But I would not make my plans with that as the approach to packing – it could be hit or miss. Namche Bazaar, along the way, will have plenty of the basics available (including some medications) as a backup to anything forgotten. Packing for Everest requires a good balance between being prepared and not over-loading the bags!

Clothing and Footwear

Upper Body and Legs: The main point to the clothing to be taken is to stay warm and be comfortable first and foremost. Layers are key to both. Base layers for the torso and legs, with an added layer for extra warmth, and an outer layer for the coldest of times are the basic framework for the clothing plan. Wind/Rain top and bottom layers are also important though rain itself was not the biggest of factors when I went; I’d recommend the top having a hood. The recommended approach is to use wool as the material of choice. It provides excellent warmth while wicking moisture away (keeping you from smelling and helping with the re-use of clothing items.
Feet: The boots you will need should be, as expected, able to trudge through mud, ice, snow and the like – and be very comfortable. Liners and woolen socks complete the “outfit” for you feet. Nothing here is different than for most hiking scenarios in cold weather / high places. You could also bring a pair of solid walking shows (vs. boots) so you can take a break from the boots. The initial part of the trail does not necessarily require boots so you could do this if you have space. Also, you will need some shoes to wear at the teahouse every night so these walking shoes could serve that purpose perhaps.
Hands: Again, nothing terribly surprising here but because of the great and sustained cold temperatures, a hardy pair of gloves is a must. You may also want to bring lighter gloves as it is not always freezing cold (lower altitudes or inside the teahouse at night).
Head: A skull cap, balaclave or ski hat are a must – keeping the head warm is very important, as we all know. You may also want to wear something at the teahouses (or even when sleeping as it is cold in those rooms!).

Gear and other practical items

Sleeping bag: While you will sleep on beds in the teahouses, they are not necessarily clean and the cold may be too much for the provided linen. So a sleeping bag rated for very cold weather is important to bring. I just brought the one I used in Kili which was 0 degrees Fahrenheit rated. Very much needed!
Night light: When headed to the bathroom in the middle of the night, this may facilitate a lot of things… like seeing in your room, seeing in the toilet, etc. Don’t forget batteries!
Pillow: A small pillow would be helpful though teahouses tended to offer pillow. I had my neck pillow for the air travel but I still used the teahouse-provided ones – covering them, of course…

Typical sleeping quarters in a teahouse

Trekking poles: Parts of the trek are steep so trekking poles are most helpful providing lift, stepdown, and balance support. Mine have shock absorbers to help when going down – most helpful for me to protect my imperfect knees!
Very steep heading to Namche Bazaar
Water: Treating water is very important. A Steripen is the most practical way (in my opinion) as within a couple of minutes you have water that is safe to drink and tastes normal. Batteries are the big thing here. Bring plenty as you will use this device a lot and others may ask to borrow it. Add to that that batteries deplete faster with the cold and high zones you will be traveling through. Of course, you will need a bottle with a wide neck to be able to properly use the Steripen. I also will add that I used a Camelbak bag inside my backpack. It is easier and better to sip water through the attached hose than to drink gulps out of a bottle that had to be taken out.

Wipies/Tissues: These are multi-purpose… Clean up after a day’s hike if the shower facilities are not available/too busy/too-dirty. Also, you could use these if there is not toilet paper available (or dry…) around. Or other general cleaning purposes! [I will say as a parenthetical observation that I’d rather use the portable toilet tents used in Kilimanjaro than some of the indoor toilets these teahouses had… the portable toilets were cleaned daily and did not smell as bad and the area under them was just earth, not a dirty indoor floor…]
Towel: A small quick dry towel is important as teahouses do not offer towels. Quick dry is very important as they will not dry quickly enough overnight, especially with the air so cold. Along with that, bring your own soap and shampoo…

Medications and first aid: The items here are more specific to each individual’s circumstances. But perhaps something to help sleep, something for altitude (like Diamox), something for an unexpected bout of digestive issues (CIPRO; a couple of folks got very ill in our group), something for pains/aches (like knee pain. Ibuprofen was my choice), something to help with treating blisters, etc. Talk to your doctor about anything specific to your needs. Also, the Center for Disease Controls in the United States offers travel advice specific to each country and regions within. Your doctor should know about it or be able to look it up upon your request. The route to EBC is unlikely to have too many of the typical tropical diseases (yellow fever, malaria, etc.) due to the climate but you do enter Nepal at a much lower altitude.
Personal items: The usual suspects toothbrush, toothpaste, sunblock, lip balm, deodorant, floss, hand sanitizer, etc. Whatever you normally need (and your roommate would appreciate you using!).

And, of course, duct tape! Prevents blisters from developing too much, fixes broken things, and who knows what other needs! I roll mine either on a pencil or on the trekking pole to save space.

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I leave you with my view of Mt. Everest! Pin it to your board!

If you are interested in getting a copy of my Microsoft Excel packing list, leave me a comment below. I will email you the list I used “as is” (no bells and whistles!). Your needs may be different and I am not saying my list is exactly what YOU need. But it may give you a starting point!

Filed Under: Asia, Hiking, Himalayas, Nepal Tagged With: adventure, Everest, hiking, Himalayan teahouse, Himalayas, Nepal, outdoors, pack for everest, packing list, tips for everest case bamp, travel, trekking

Top 14 Items for a Kilimanjaro Packing List

24 January 2017 by Raul 14 Comments

I assume that, if you are on this post you must be thinking of your Mount Kilimanjaro packing list. Well, you came to the right spot! How to prepare for climbing Kilimanjaro is a crucial step in your planning efforts.

Via this blog, I share my preparation and packing tips for what to bring on this amazing endeavor (in this post and others; see bottom of post for more inclusive posts). As I was helped with my planning, I’d like to help others. In a separate post I cover clothing. In this post I cover my 14 top items to bring to Kili. Hopefully, my list and accompanying explanations will be helpful!

A Kilimanjaro packing list is no small thing!

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Climbing Kilimanjaro is quite the experience – an achievable one for most people with some training and mental readiness for the effort. But climbing to the “roof of Africa” is also an operational endeavor! Lots of planning for the clothing and other items that are needed. This while balancing needs, cost, and weight. The following picture sort of gives you a visual of the amount of stuff that my Kilimanjaro packing list included.

I have written in another post about what to bring as far as clothing if you are climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. That post can help you build the clothing part of your Kilimanjaro packing list. In no particular order and without further ado, here are the top 14 non-clothing items that were most helpful for me in my hike.

My top 14 items for your Kilimanjaro packing list

1. Sleeping bag

Get a good one. One that keeps you warm. Remember that some of them work best when you wear the least amount of clothing. I know. It seems counter-intuitive. But it is true. Zero (Fahrenheit) -rated is recommended. If not, get a liner with extra warmth. But the best is just a good sleeping bag as the liner would be just one-more-thing to get into and out of… The mummy style works best. You want that tapered shape instead of a rectangular one – the rectangular one has more space for air inside that will need to be warmed and that heat comes from you body. The tapered one is better in that regard.

Amazon.com Widgets

2. Wipies

Oh, wipies, thou art so versatile! Whether it is cleaning yourself after a day of hiking or cleaning yourself after nature calls – or just to wipe your hands after eating, these little suckers are quite helpful. Take some. Take a good amount.

3. Pee bottle

“Huh??,” you may say. That’s what I said too. But, stay open-minded…

Picture this: middle of the night, you zipped into your zero/sub-zero rated sleeping bag, in a tent, with two pairs of zippers in your way to go outside, you with little clothing on, outside freezing cold, you needing to put on clothes, shoes too, stumbling to find the headlamp so you don’t stumble outside OR, middle of the night, you zipped into your zero/sub-zero rated sleeping bag, stumbling to find the bottle (i.e., the pee bottle), then trying to carefully point/aim. Done. Yea, I thought so. Pee bottle.

A tip: Get a wide mouth bottle (improves the odds of filling it not your tent).

Another tip: Make sure it seals tight so, when it tips over as you move in your sleep, it will not fill your tent.

Final tip: Make it big enough. Do not underestimate how much pee comes out in one “go” plus you may go more than once per night. Any questions?

4. Headlamp (with plenty of batteries)

The headlamp will be key on summit night as you start the hike up to the summit at midnight. You will need to watch your step even if you go with a full moon. Additionally, at camp at night and in your tent, you will make use of the headlamp. Make sure you bring extra batteries and save those for summit night. An extra little light bulb may be good but if the one you have is new, you may not need it (I didn’t).

Amazon.com Widgets

5. Pain killer

While my personal preference is to deal with the pain without the need of meds, this approach is suspended when I am trying to climb a 19,340 ft mountain, you know? I was not sure how my knees would perform nor what other pains may arise during this week long adventure. I only used them on the descent (not at the start while going down the scree field but after leaving base camp). It is EXTREMELY rocky in this part of the mountain and I could feel my knees were going to have issues. I took 2 preventive Advils and repeated once later during the descent and then with dinner that night. Whether because of my preventive measures or not, I had only very slight soreness on my knees.

6. Ambien

I was leery of using Ambien at altitude not knowing what effects, if any, it could have on me (other than making me fall asleep). I had them more for the flight and my first night in-country not for the hike. But our lead guide said it was OK and maybe even a good idea to take half an Ambien to take the edge off and be able to fall asleep in the evenings since rest was so important during the hike. So I did and it all worked great.

7. Hiking poles (two of them!)

Yes, this hike will be a lot easier with two, not one, poles. Poles give you impulse as you climb over a big step and also you can push off with them as you move forward. However, they shine in the descent: my knees would have been pulp (more than they were) if I had not had these poles to soften the impact when stepping down over rocks. Can’t recommend using them enough (even if you are “tough” – everyone has them) – and if you can score the ones with shock absorbers, even better!

Do try them out somewhere as the grip will be important. I liked the foam grip and cork handle as it would feel better if my hands got sweaty either way I held it. I could unscrew the handle to use it as a camera mount (though I did not use that feature during this hike). Also, make sure they are adjustable: when you go up, you may want them shorter than when you are going down when you may want them longer! There are hiking poles at every price point so just check them out in person, ask questions, and then pick! Or even better, borrow them from someone you know 🙂

Amazon.com Widgets

8. Duct tape

You never know what you will need this for and therein the beauty of duct tape: it fixes anything. OK, I exaggerate. Most anything. I roll it on a pencil as taking the roll itself is bulky. You can use it to fix a broken backpack or to nip a budding blister before it becomes a nightmare. You choose the color!

9. A camera!

OK, this may be obvious. I was trying to keep the weight down in my “carry-on” during the hike but I clearly needed a camera. How would I otherwise take magnificent pictures?? I did make a good decision to get a high quality pocket camera instead of my regular bulky camera. Good call – I got plenty of great photos but without too much bulk/weight. The views and the moments are worth the camera weight!

10. Quick dry towel

While you are not showering for the duration of the hike, you will be brushing your teeth and, likely, your porters will have warm water ready for you when arrive at camp to wash your hands, face, etc. The quick dry part is likely self-explanatory (when you leave a camp, you don’t return to not a lot of time for the towel to dry out).

11. Pad for the sleeping bag

The ground you will be sleeping on is often hard and cold. In fact, at a couple of places it was even rocky. The little pad the hike organizers provide for you to lay your sleeping bag on is rather thin and will not do a good enough job to add cushion or protection from the soil. I took with me an inflatable pad that made my sleep more comfortable – and that is priceless. A fellow hiker was going to let me use her pump but I ended up having no problem blowing up the pad even at higher altitudes (good job, my lungs). I got to practice my forced breathing by blowing up the pad so it was good all-around! (I did HATE every morning deflating it and folding it up…)

12. Notepad

You may want to bring something to write on as you will have a lot of time at camp after a day’s hike and you may have things from the day to jot down so you don’t forget. I wrote down start/end times, hours walked, and even what I ate. I also took notes on funny things or things I experienced – not quite a diary, just quick notes. On the topic of a lot of time at night, you may want to bring anything else that may amuse you (cards, Sudoku sheets, etc.) but don’t add too much weight to your bag!

13. Water purification method

Water is boiled at camp but that is only for cooking. It takes too long to boil water at altitude. And your porters will not be able to boil water for you to drink. You will need to bring your own purification solution of which there are several options (purification tablets, ultraviolet radiation, etc.). The tablets, such as iodine tablets, are lighter to carry. However, you have to wait for the water to be ready to drink and the iodine causes an odd taste.

SteriPENs are a portable ultraviolet radiation option that is quick and easy. I had brought the tablets but others had SteriPENs in the group and I quickly realized how much better the SteriPEN approach was. They all offered the rest of the group their SteriPENs so I traded using one of the hiker’s SteriPEN for sterilizing her water bottles in return – a win win! Just know they can be temperamental and be sure to bring enough batteries!

Amazon.com Widgets

14. But the most important item…

Hopefully, this list has been helpful so far – if you have any questions on the above items or any other, feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you. While the list is not all-inclusive, it is the list of the items I most appreciated having with me. However, the most important item I brought along was… a photo of my family. This photo went with me to the summit which meant they went up Kilimanjaro too, with me…

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Want to read how the hike went? Start on Day 1

Preparing to Hike Kilimanjaro: More than Training & Gear

2 February 2013 by Raul 33 Comments

I sit here, two weeks before my departure for Tanzania, asking myself “Oh my, what did I get into??”. As you may have read, I am headed to Tanzania to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, something that 5 months I would have told you was the furthest thing from my bucket list. Seriously. As I contemplate the process so far, I have learned a few things and I wanted to share those with folks who may be thinking of hiking Kilimanjaro. Conditioning and gear are two important elements, But there is a less immediately obvious element in being prepared…

How did I decide to climb Kilimanjaro?

I already knew I wanted to do more treks with Trekking for Kids (with whom I trekked the Transylvanian Alps) because of the great work they do with orphanages but I was not expecting Kili would be the trek for me. I attended a TFK event last September where I heard Len Stanmore speak about his incredible journey of extreme outdoor adventure. His story is quite inspirational and others started talking about TFK’s upcoming trek to Kilimanjaro in February 2013 at the reception afterwards. I was hooked. Somehow. Not really sure what had just happened but I was in. ALL IN.

Besides the orphanage work (fundraising for it and actually spending a few days there), there are three key aspects for me about the hike itself: training, gear/packing preparations, and a third that I have yet to name at this point in this writing…

The kids at the Kili Centre orphanage sporting the new uniforms paid by funds raised by this trek

Training for climbing Kilimanjaro

Fortunately, when I decided to go on this trek, I was still relatively fresh from my Romania hike and had continued exercising in general. It makes for a good starting point!

I started more serious training by getting on the treadmill and increasing the incline over a few weeks to 15%, ending up doing this for a couple of hours. I also used a backpack whose weight I kept increasing beyond the expected weight we would carry on the hike (about 15 lbs for our day needs; porters would be carrying the rest) . I was doing great with this and was planning to mix in real hikes by going to small but still helpful Kennesaw Mountain near Marietta, Georgia, where I trained for the hike in Romania. And that is when a mini disaster struck: I over-stretched my Achilles tendons (both legs!) likely due to the imperfect simulation of a 15% incline on a treadmill. It all seems obvious now but I had not contemplated that I could hurt myself that way – you just don’t know what you don’t know!

That set me back about 6 weeks at a point when the intensity of my training was really beginning to pay off. (I am almost back to normal and training again at this point.) Not only that but I gained weight due to the double whammy of Thanksgiving and Christmas falling squarely in that 6-week period… So now I will carry even more weight uphill 🙂

Advice: If you embark on something like this without that type of starting point – don’t fret! Just be sure to start gradually. Aggressive training from cold is more than likely counterproductive if not outright a risk! That’s the easiest way to get injured. And also, stretch even of days you are not training. Stretching is your best ally in physical readiness.

Getting in gear. The gear to climb Kilimanjaro!

After being in good conditioning for the hike, the next item on the list is all the stuff that I will need on the hike. That short word “stuff” covers a wide range of things that I will need to make this a successful trip. After getting the packing list from TFK (VERY thorough!), I did an inventory of what I had and what I needed to research/acquire. I started staging all my items in a spare bedroom. It looks like a mess but it does two things for me: 1. allow me to start gathering in one place all that I will need to pack making packing later a lot easier and 2. allow me to start enjoying the upcoming trek by seeing it shape up!

The “mess” in the spare bedroom!

Advice:

Get a good packing list for the type of hike
Go talk to your local outfitter before you acquire things to learn about what they recommend, what materials are out there, criteria for choosing items, etc.
Then proceed with sourcing the items (borrow or buy).

Let me share some more specifics about gear and packing here (for a more detailed description of the clothing I took, go here)… But do check out this post on what I considered my 7 key items for this hike (written BEFORE the hike) and then the top 14 things I took (written AFTER the hike)!

I am happy to email you a copy of my packing list!

Clothing for your packing list

Mt. Kilimanjaro covers multiple climate zones ranging from forest where one may be trudging through mud to extreme cold and windy terrain towards the top. Guess what? That means carrying gear to deal with all the climate zones but, most importantly, to deal with the extreme cold and wind which is far more dangerous to a hiker. The key to all this is layers. Not rocket science, I know. I hear the cold towards the top is brutal!

The list I was provided by TFK was very clear on what was needed. I went (a few times!) to my favorite outfitter and explores the options available for each category of item needed. I have learned WAY more than I thought I’d ever learn about gear. And spent way more than I ever thought I’d spend. But two things help: one, I have bought thinking of re-use especially at ski time or in future treks and, second, I have tried to borrow some items (though it has not been as much as I would have hoped for).

Advice: My advice to you is to borrow, or buy used if possible, and think of re-use as you make choices on what to get. For example, instead of buying the absolute best gloves for the extreme temperature, think of using liners, etc. so the gloves themselves can work for you in less extreme weather back at home.

Accessories for the Kili climb

This covers a whole range of items like the hiking poles (with shock absorbers! see here for more on them), headlamp (not only to read at night or go potty in the middle of the night but also for the night hiking we will do on summit day!), sleeping bag liner (to make it warm enough for the coldest nights), sleeping bag pad (for comfort and further insulation from the very cold ground), cameras (yes, plural: the big one is not summiting with me – too heavy), even duct tape!

Advice: Borrow, or buy used if possible. Buy new if that suits you better. However, another possibility is renting some of the items on-site. This helps you in two ways: not buying stuff if you are not going to be hiking/camping more than this trip and also reducing the amount of stuff you have to lug half way around the world! However, some potential downsides of this: you don’t know the condition of the item you will rent (dirty, torn up, etc.) and you may not find the right type for the item you are looking for. For example, you need to be sure that sleeping bag will be warm enough.

Health/”Medical” items for your Kili climb

For this destination, one does have to be ready with anti-malarial and other items as recommended by the CDC. I have all the hepatitis stuff from prior travels so the anti-malarial (which is taken for every trip) and the typhoid (which I needed) were on the must-have list. But the medical category is not just the innoculations/vaccines. Things like ibuprofen, Cipro (for the potential digestive maladies that could affect a traveler…), and maybe even something to help you sleep get on the list. Other items, such like the iodine tablets, sunblock with DEET, high-SPF chapstick, etc. are more preventive in nature but just as important. This list is very important and is sometimes less obvious than the gear and clothing lists.

Advice: Do your research, ask people who have gone before (feel free to ask here!), and don’t try to save money by skimping on these items!

Finally – Emotional Preparedness

I will have to get back to you on this after the trip for a full report. However, I had heard that a lot about hiking Kili is the mental strength to power through tough conditions like mud and rain, tiredness, perhaps pain, and other discomforts. So I am thinking this would fall under emotional preparedness. I have heard from people who have hiked it before that, in the end, this is the most important elements in preparing for Kili. You may be fit, you may not. Altitude sickness could keep you from summiting and that is independent of your fitness level (amazing!). But if you don’t have some toughness in this realm, you may fall short of your goals.

We are lucky that our lead guide is one of the foremost mountain expedition leaders in the world, Luis Benitez. He is also a Board Member of TFK! In an email he sent the trekkers last week, he told us that the best thing to do in this category is to expect discomfort, understand it will happen, understand it starts and it ends. All that so that when it hits at any point in the trip, you remember it will pass and you don’t let it bring you down (figuratively speaking!). I think this is a great piece of advice that will serve ME well in these 2 weeks before I leave for this hike.

Advice: Listen to Luis’ advice!

Final thoughts on climbing Kilimanjaro

I am almost done doing all the things that I need to do to be ready but, in the end, it is the emotional preparedness that I am not sure how to measure. I cannot check it off a list, like I can do with the other items on my packing list. Yet it is likely one of the most important success factors in this trek. I don’t know if altitude sickness will beat me to the summit. I can’t control that. But I sure hope I am ready enough to control my willpower and discomforts to summit or get very close to it! Kili, I shall meet you very soon!

P.S. – Thanks for all the words of support, advice, and orphanage donations via Trekking for Kids!

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A month after this post went up, I had completed climbing Kilimanjaro and started writing about every day in the trek (7 total days) and about the route we were to take. Check it out!

– The Machame Route

– Gear for climbing Kili: clothing

– Day 1 (and links to the subsequent days)