A good friend of mine set off yesterday to scale Mt Everest, well to Base Camp anyway, which will take him 18 days.
Mount Everest is located in Nepal, Tibet and is the world's highest mountain, even base camp is 17,590'.
He starts his adventure flying from Sydney to Kathmandu, all very straight forward. Then the real adventure begins as he flys from Kathmandu to Lukla. If you haven't heard of Lukla and it's airport, as I had not until now, it is the most extreme and dangerous airport in the world.
After doing some research on it, apparently, sirens inform locals for miles when an airplane is landing, only helicopters and very small plans can handle the 450m length and 20m width of the runway with it's incline of 12%.
We had been talking about his trek and how arduous it might be, but he told me not to worry saying the flight would be the most dangerous.
(And sadly I read this morning that a plane crashed yesterday just outside Kathmandu on it's way to Lukla, my thoughts and sympathy go out to the families of those affected.)
When he arrives in Lukla, he will be hiking 4 to 10 hours per day on moderate to steep grades and at elevations ranging from 9,318 feet to a maximum of 18,176 feet. Accommodation will be in Nepalese-style hotels, mountain lodges or camping. Porters and pack animals will transport his gear.
I bet this is one adventure that he won't forget.
What is your greatest adventure?
Image from here
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