A Photo Journey to the EBC Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lukla

The trip to the EBC starts in Lukla, a small town in northern Nepal with an airport... well... if it might even be called that. The landing strip of Tenzing-Hillary Airport is short and heavily inclined. On the north end of the strip is a rock wall. The south end of the strip is a sheer drop. Planes, small planes, small planes with a strict weight restriction, must land expertly and gingerly and brake hard while heading uphill, taxiing directly into the parking area to increase their roadway. Planes taking off brake hard and then take off... sometimes even dropping off the south end of the cliff to gain airspeed before heading to their destination. Kathmandu, usually.

At least your trip to the EBC will start off with an adventure!

Answer: Dudh Koshi

Dudh Koshi is the river resulting from melting glaciers that are found in between the majestic peaks of the Himalayas. It is ice-cold as a result, all year round, and, the water is not potable. This is mostly due to the abundance of yak who urinate in the river causing it to have an unusually high amount of E. coli.

Dudh Koshi is a rapidly flowing river, resulting in some of the highest (and most dangerous) rapids in the world. The water is white, hence the name "mother's milk". Walking along it, you cross several really high bridges over and back across several times. At times, you're sharing the path with animals and people carrying goods on their backs.

Answer: Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar is the largest town in the Khumbu area in the Sagarmāthā National Park. It is the first place where people might feel altitude sickness and most people stay an extra night in Namche in order to allow their bodies to begin the acclimatization process. It is a bustling trading center for many of the people on the trek to EBC, and prices are accordingly adjusted. There are many amenities in the town: a post office, Internet cafes, bakeries, even a police outpost. Be prepared, the entire town is built on hills so you're going to be climbing a lot of stairs. Additionally, you'll be sharing those stairs with dzo carrying goods.

(A dzo is a yak-cow hybrid)

In the picture is the southern entrance to the town.

Answer: Buddhist

The Tengboche monastery is an old Buddhist monastery. The altitude of the monastery is 3870m, so, people usually start feeling the lack of oxygen around this point. The monks in the monastery call for prayer twice a day and all are welcome to attend. The services are very calming and musical, and the art inside the monastery is breathtaking (though photography is forbidden inside the building). One of the interesting fact I learned is that the drums that the monks play on are covered in skin... from monks who have passed.

Tengboche is the first place on the trek where you can get a really good view of Mt. Everest.

In the picture is the entrance to the monastery.

Answer: Ama Dablam

Ama Dablam is a peak near Tengboche that reaches up to 6812 m. It is a very beautiful mountain, and its name means "mother's pearl necklace". In 2020 it was the third-most climbed mountain in the region. While not nearly as high as Mt. Everest, it has very steep cliffs and a very temperamental glacier, so, accidents have happened on the mountain. Nevertheless, it is considered a very photogenic mountain, so much so that there is a Gmail background that has a picture of Ama Dablam.

The first successful ascent of Ama Dablam's main summit was achieved by a New Zealand team in 1961. Since then, it has become a sought-after climbing destination for those looking for a challenging and visually rewarding mountaineering experience.

Answer: West

Dingboche and Pheriche are two villages that are relatively close to one another. Both are popular spots for EBC trekkers to stop for the night. In fact, both villages are at an elevation of around 4,400 m and many treks stop for two nights in order to acclimatize. While most treks go through Dingboche, Pheriche is also a very nice alternative, especially during the high season for trekking (when beds are at a premium).

While Dingboche is to the east and gets more daylight sun and less wind, Pheriche, to the west, gets amazing sunsets and is a quiet and laid-back type of village. No matter where you stay, all paths lead back to the same routes in the end.

Answer: Dead climbers on Everest

When one passes through the Dughla Pass, one feels a sense of awe, wonder, and reverence for all of the stupas there. A stupa is a memorial pile of rocks, and is a traditional Buddhist and Hindu custom. The families of people who have perished on the climb to Mt. Everest's summit can put up a stupa in the Dughla Pass. As we passed through, I could only marvel at the amount of stupas decorating the pass.

It is located near the Chola Tsho, a sacred lake for the Sherpa people. It also makes for a very breathtaking vista.

Since we had seen the movie "Everest" (2015) when were staying at Namche Bazaar, we were familiar with the story of Scott Fischer and Rob Hall. We went to visit the stupas of both these great mountaineers. On both stupas there were many Buddhist prayer flags covering them in memoriam. It was a very staggering experience just being there.

Answer: Glacier

The Khumbu Glacier is located between Mt. Everest and Lhose/Nuptse and is a permanent glacier. As such, it is the world's highest glacier in terms of elevation as it sits between 7,600 m to 4,900 m. It is the starting point of many Everest summit treks, and is a constant source of danger to mountaineers as it is always moving, even during summit season when it is traditionally colder and less active.

In the picture you see the exposed glacier. However, the deposits in the front of the picture are actually glacier as well. Run off from melting ice deposits silt and soil atop the glacier giving it a look as though it is land, however, we were actually walking on a river of ice.

Answer: Kala Patthar

Kala Patthar, literally 'black hill' in Lhasa, is a hill overlooking EBC where you get amazing views. While the locals call the height anywhere from 5545m and 5555m, it was actually measured by satellite to be 5643m above sea level. A pretty darned tall 'hill'! Atop Kala Patthar you can see all around panoramically with amazing views of the peaks, and the closest you will see Mt. Everest on the EBC trek (you can't see the peak from EBC itself).

Oh Kala Patthar... surely the toughest part of the entire trek. It's really not a difficult hill to climb, physically. However, due to the thin air and the cold, it felt like my legs were lead weights and every step was a chore. I had to put down my head and go left, right, left, right, until... I made it! The sunrise was breathtaking and the views left me speechless!

In the picture, sunrise is between Mt. Everest on the left and Nuptse on the right. Don't let the parallax fool you; Nuptse seems taller because it's closer. In the foreground is the black rock of Kala Patthar.

Answer: No

The Everest Base Camp that trekkers get to walk up to is the old Everest Base Camp and is a few kilometers south of where the new EBC is. You don't generally want to walk to the new EBC if you don't have to. It is a messy and littered place, and due to the cold weather and the ice it sits on, it retains bacteria and viruses so you have a higher chance of getting sick if you stay there. However, getting to EBC was an awesome experience. I stood where great people had stood before me and set out to conquer the tallest peak on Earth! It was a very humbling moment.

In the picture is the new EBC taken from the old EBC. It was not summit season for Everest so there was only one camp at that time. That expedition was going to climb Nuptse and we all wished them success in our hearts.