Two members of the Campbeltown Harbour team recently completed a trek to Everest Base Camp. Here father and son, Stephen Scally, Harbourmaster and Greg Scally, Pier Operative share their fantastic experience. Congratulations, what a fantastic achievement.
The trek starts from Ramechhap Airport, Nepal and then we flew into Lukla which is 2,860 metres above sea level. That’s where we started our epic journey before heading to Phakding for an overnight stay.
From there, we headed on to Namche Bazaar, a small town that serves as the main hub for trekkers heading to Mount Everest. It was a hard incline hike over the famous Hillary Bridge up into Namche where we stayed for two nights to get acclimatised. That’s where we got our first glimpse of Everest on the high viewpoint. It was very emotional to see it for the first time.
Then it was off to Tengboche, a small village. We made good time so got a tour of the monastery there and got blessed by the monks to help us and keep us safe to base camp.
Next push was onto Pheriche. As the village is situated at an altitude of 4,371 meters, we spent another two nights to climatise. We managed to climb on one of the days to help with the altitude.
Next day and on to our last overnight stay at Lobuche. It was early to bed for a 2am start and our final push up to Everest Base Camp. What an emotional experience knowing you have finally made it after ten days hard trek.
After taking it all in, we then returned to Labuche to start our return journey. Another early start at 3am to set off for a 28-kilometre hike back to Namche for an overnight stay. Another 25 kilometres to Lukla for the finish line and to celebrate completing an epic trek!
In total there were nine people from Campbeltown, and we all made it! From the other trekking company, only two of the eleven completed so we did well.
I will never complain about infrastructure and roads again after what I saw up in these mountains and the way the wonderful people there get on with life.
It was an amazing experience. If anyone wants to do this trek, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or Greg. We can steer you in the right direction and share details about the professional guide company we went with who looked after our welfare before, during and after the trek.
Stephen and Greg Scally
