This is a blog written by Judy Newsome describing her trip to Everest Base Camp with VoluntEars in May 2023. We are running the same trip again in November 2024. Trip info here. 

“We left Kathmandu at 1am in the morning to get our flight to Lukla, then faced a long delay at the airport because of cloudy weather.

It was such a tiny plane, which was only big enough for 20 people. After taking off, straight away we could see mountains through the tiny window, the scenery was unbelievable.

All I saw were horses, yaks, dogs, cats, hens and cows, it was an amazing world up in the mountains, and the Nepalese people were so friendly, and the food was amazing.

It was so cold and rainy on the first day. I felt I couldn’t walk for 12 days like that, but luckily the rain stopped that night and we were lucky with two weeks of blue skies, although we still had to wear a coat and a hat to keep us warm sometimes.

The scenery was amazing – the forest, rivers, mountains with different coloured rocks.

It was scary walking over wobbly bridges that were high up. I’m afraid of heights but the Sherpas held onto me as we crossed around 10 bridges altogether.

Yaks carried supplies and equipment up the mountains and the Sherpas carried food, water and drinks to the many tea houses and small shops which are all the way up the mountains. We saw lots of different culture and unique places.

The Sherpas were very generous and kind, and looked after us very well. I called one of them my “son” and he looked after me, always smiling, for two weeks, even when trekking was tough!

After 10 days trekking to Everest Base Camp and back, we arrived back in Namche Bazaar for two nights’ rest – it’s a lovely village up the mountain. My group strolled around exploring more but I decided to have time to myself with a cup of coffee in the sun!

I think I was there for a reason, because I asked two Brazilian men whether I should go to the counter or not, but then a few minutes later they came up to me gesturing that two Deaf climbers who were aiming to climb Everest were there!

They showed me a photo and I realised it was two deaf climbers from America who I was following on Facebook; Shayne and Scott! I’d been watching their videos for months!

The Brazilian men texted them and Shayne and Scott came and then we chatted for over an hour. They are lovely people. I asked what they were doing in Namche, they said they were there for a mini-break due to the bad weather at base camp.

They also told me about a Malaysian Deaf climber who was there in a different group – I couldn’t believe there was another deaf climber aiming to climb Everest there at the same time. I met him later that afternoon and he was lovely and laidback.

We chatted for about 40 minutes. I asked him why he was wearing an orange jacket, and he told me all his clothes were in the wash! I wished him good luck – he was resting for a few days as well.

The first seven days of our trek were fine, even though the air was thin as we reached a higher altitude. I was lucky that I didn’t have any symptoms of altitude sickness like some people do – such as being dizzy, feeling sick or having a headache.

As we got closer to Everest, we walked slower and slower due to the thin air, my feet became numb. I was walking with a wobble, but I carried on, I wanted to get to Everest Base Camp!

I hired a horse which helped, she was like my best friend. When I was riding her, I could see for miles, all around. It sometimes felt dangerous due to the rocks, I don’t know how my horse did it. I then got off and used two poles to help me walk.

I finally reached Everest Base Camp and I was lucky the sky was clear so that I could see Everest itself!

I was 5,364 metres up, and I cried with emotion – I was there at last.

I’d recommend this experience to anyone; it was the experience of a lifetime. I think many people would really benefit from it.”

Join our next Everest Base Camp trip in November 2024!

Find out more here: Everest Base Camp trip

Got a question? Contact us now!