Everest Base Camp High Flyer

“In April 2019 five of us, all in our sixties, undertook a bespoke trip arranged by WE which combined the Over 55s trek to Everest Base Camp with the Everest High Flyer. A great trip. First, a reality check. Its tough. Its not a stroll in the park, some of the terrain is quite rough, and there are some very steep hills - all at altitude. If youre a seasoned hiker in the Lake District, Snowdonia etc, you should have no problems, although you do need to get fit by training for several months beforehand. If youre new to trekking, then forget jogging or the treadmill, you need to be climbing steps and hills to build up the right leg muscles. And theres the camping (and occasional lodges). The WE tents are relatively large and contain raised camp-beds, but theyre not luxury ensuite hotel rooms youll be bumping into whoever youre sharing with and scuttling to the outside loo at 2am in the cold and dark. Ah yes, the loos running water further up the trail is a distant memory, and the facilities at the campsites and in the lodges are not for the faint-hearted. And you wont be having showers each day. Finally, the food. WE provide their own cooks along the entire trail, and the carb-laden fare does get a bit monotonous its not unusual to have rice, pasta and potatoes on the same plate. Lodges do have their own far more enticing menus (at an extra cost), but hygiene etc is not guaranteed. Take energy bars not only for energy but for variety. But, that all said, if youre here looking at a WE trip the chances are that you are an adventure traveller happy to rough it, so I can thoroughly recommend both the Everest Base Camp trek and WE. The scenery, especially above the tree-line, is breathtaking (weather permitting), albeit that views of Everest itself are infrequent (try the WE High Road to Lhasa for the best Everest views). Ill admit to having good days and bad days, with both the walking and a debilitating stomach bug, but overall the achievement of reaching Base Camp and the places visited along the way (including picturesque monasteries) made it worthwhile.
Getting a helicopter back was an excellent decision. Being of a certain age we were all pretty tired having reached Base Camp and then ascending Kala Pattar, and the thought of retracing our steps would have been daunting. Plus, a couple of us are still working, so the days sliced of the trips length was useful. And of course the helicopter ride itself was spectacular and a real buzz. Again, the organisation was impeccable, as we were met at Kathmandu airport, escorted through security, and delivered back to the Radisson hotel. I have nothing but praise for WEs organisation and staff. Huge potential problems raised by our flights there and back being cancelled at short notice were dealt with speedily and without fuss by WE, and everything else went off perfectly. Our local tour leader Samde was quietly efficient, informative, full of encouragement, with a nice sense of humour (and a medicine case full of magic potions) and he worked wonders in rearranging our helicopter flight back for a day earlier, as we trekked back to Lobuche straight after Kala Pattar instead of enduring another night at Gorak Shep. Our trek guide Padam was an engaging character both Samde and Padam helped create a relaxed and positive approach to the treks challenges. All in all (not forgetting sightseeing in crazy Kathmandu) a memorable and rewarding experience.”

“Amazing but grueling trek - well worthwhile!”

“We had a wonderful trip among the worlds highest mountains.”