Touching The Void...Sort of

March 23, 2025

When Francesca booked a 6 day trek in the Himalayas to "see" Mt. Everest I thought she was nuts.  We were already worried that our kids would not be able to handle the Inca Trail trek in Peru which is much shorter (a single day, 6 hour hike) and at considerably lower altitude (7,970 ft vs. 12,730 ft).  So how she thought our self proclaimed "hike hater" kids would manage a 6 day trek was a mystery to me.  

But like the supportive husband I am, I not only went along with it, I championed it, force-marching the kids during our last two weeks in Bali to prep including a night hike up Mt. Batur, which clocks in at 5,633 ft.  Ryan and Finley aquitted themselves well, but Austen was an inconsolable wreck. As we encouraged her forward in the pitch black I thought to myself, "there is no way she is going to make the Everest Trek".  

Well I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong.  Not only did all of the kids make the grueling trek (4.5 days of long hikes + 1.5 acclamitization days) without complaint, but they actually appeared to be having fun!  We couldn't have been more proud of our kids for facing their fears - and let's be honest, their detestations - and stepping up to the challenge. Along the way they learned about trekking, about Everest about Sherpas and porters and about waste management on the mountain.  

Below is a day by day account of our journey to touch the void.....

DAY ONE of our "Everest View Trek" was from Lukla Airport (elevation 9,383 ft) to Phakding (elevation 8,563 ft). The trail is largely flat or downhill and typically takes 3 of 4 hours on average. We went at a slow pace and finished in an above average time of about 5.5 hours. :)

DAY TWO of our Everest View Trek was from Phakding (8,563 ft) to Namche Bazaar (11,286 ft). Today's trek was longer (took us about 9 hours with breaks and a stop for lunch), and more uphill (about 830 meters net elevation gain). It also boasted more suspension bridges, more yaks and donkeys and some amazing vistas. 

DAY THREE of our Everest View Trek was a field trip to the Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Heritage Center in Namche Bazaar. We had a non trekking day to acclimatize and rest so we took a short hike (45 mins) up to the center where the kids (and adults) learned about the Sherpa people and their culure (Sherpa means "people from the east" as they originally came from Tibet), about Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's many attempts to summit Everest (if at first you don't succeed....), about the various flora and fauna of the area and about how climate change is affecting the Himalayan region (among other things, more Sherpas are dying each year on climbs due to softer snow from glacial melts).

We also got our first glimpse of Everest in the distance.

We also spent some time wandering around the town of Namche Bazaar. There are many fun restaurants, cafes, bars and shops. If I was younger and not exhausted after each day's trekking I would enjoy checking out the bar scene. As it was Francesca and I did get a massage and enjoy a beer while basking in the sun.

DAY FOUR of our Everest View Trek: Namche Bazaar (11,286 ft) to Hotel Everest View (12,730 ft) on top of Syangboche Mountain. It was a relatively short trek (only about 2 hours), but the first hour+ was a serpentine trail straight up. Once on top we had a breathtaking walk along the mountain ridge where we could see the trekkers on a trail far below heading towards Everest Basecamp.

Then from the Hotel Everest View (we were not staying there) we got a nice, unobstructed view of Sagarmatha (what the locals call Everest) from close up - well, it was about 11 miles away as the crow flies, but still.

If I'm being honest, since Mt. Everest is surrounded by several other monster peaks, it's not as visually spectacular as some of the world's stand alone peaks like The Matterhorn in Switzerland, Mount Blanc in France, Mt Fuji in Japan or Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. But the journey is more than half the fun and the trek to Namche Bazaar didn't disappoint. The Khumbu Valley is a visual feast of turquoise rivers, misty mountains, green forrests and ancient monestaries.

We had one more night in Namche Bazaar before heading back the way we came, a two day trek to Lukla and then on the Kathmandu.

On our way back down from the Everest View Point we stopped in at the Sagarmatha Next Centre which teaches trekkers about waste management in the Khumbu Valley. Trash has become a huge problem with the increase in trekkers over the past few decades so the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Center (SPCC) has partnered with a non profit called Sagarmatha Next to offer some solutions. 

One solution is their "Carry Me Back" program where trekkers can volunteer to take one or more 1kg bags of trash from Namche Bazaar to Lukla. The Jahns kids each volunteered to carry 1 bag and Francesca and I committed to 2 bags each (that we clipped to our day packs).

Another is their recycling program for bottle caps which are a huge challenge in Nepal as they have no way of recycling the caps. So they cut the caps, melt them down and create colorful molds of Mt Everest and the surrounding mountain ranges.  They sell those to tourists who take them back to their own countries, thus ridding Nepal of the caps. Genius!! The girls each bought one.

On the way back down the kids were so inspired that they started collecting all the trash that was strewn about Syangboche mountain.  Ryan would spot bottles, cans or other trash and Austen and Finley would rush into the bush to collect it and put it into some bags we had with us.  They made quite the impression on the multitude of trekkers making their way down to Namche Bazaar.  Of course it took us an hour longer to get down because of it, but it was great to see them so excited about doing something good.

DAYS FIVE we trekked back from Namche Bazaar to Phakding and spent the night there.  No drama on the way down except for a part of the trail that got wiped out that was a little tricky to traverse.  The highlight was a litter of cute-as-all-heck puppies that belonged to the Tea House we stayed at in Phakding. The kids didn't want to leave the next morning so we got a bit of a delayed start while they played with the puppies some more. 

DAY SIX: Phakding to Lukla Airport, the final stretch. 

DAY SEVEN: we actually decided to add an extra day to our trek so we could take a day to chill in Namche.  So Day 7 was our day to fly back to Ramcchap to get the van for the 5 hour drive back to Kathmandu.  But the night before it rained and thundered so hard we weren't sure if the planes were going to be able to fly in the morning.  

Indeed the first several flights got cancelled and we thought we were going to be stuck in Lukla for at least another day which happens quite frequentlly.  While the weather was nice and sunny, there was some cloud cover in the mountains near the airport and since the pilots use VFR (Visual Flight Rules) they can't fly when there is any cloud cover. We heard some trekkers say they were stuck in Lukla for 2 days last week so we're hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

However, around 10am the skies cleared allowing a few planes to take off and we were among the lucky ones to get out that day. It felt a bit like what I imagine it was like leaving Saigon in 1975 with people pushing and shoving to get on the last/only aircraft out.  :)

Looking back I am sure this will be a highlight of our Worldschooling trip.  Not only for the magestic scenery, but because the kids really showed some maturity and growth to complete the trek in such a confident fashion.  We are looking forward to Machu Picchu in a few weeks.