Snow and bitter cold – but Everest mission accomplished!
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Lincolnshire Freemasons Jez Hyland and Rob Wright have reached Everest base camp unbeaten by two inches of snow and temperatures plummeting to Minus 11 – not to mention all the climbing!
In his latest dispatch from the Himalayas, Jez Hyland reports: “Apparently, because there isn’t a great view of Everest from Base Camp, the completion of the experience is to hike to a viewing area on a mountain called Kalapathar for either a sunset or sunrise viewing of Everest.
“Based on the weather forecast, our guide advised us to do Everest Base Camp on the Saturday and Kalapathar on the Sunday morning for a sunrise view with a 3:30 am start. Boy was he right, but more of that later.
“Reaching Base Camp was a nine-hour day from Lobuche via Gorakshep, then returning to Gorakshep ready for the sunrise climb. The Camp day was tough, with so many rock and boulder step overs, but we had brilliant weather again and achieved the goal, getting to Everest Base Camp safely.
“On Sunday we woke up to at least two inches of snow, which would’ve made Base Camp nearly impossible, so massive thanks to our guide for calling it correctly. However, two inches of snow and Minus 11 at 3.30am made the Kalapathar climb, with sunrise at 5:47 am, and no descent or flat on the hike, probably the toughest of all. But for our efforts, we got to see Everest in all its glory. Viewing the tallest place on the planet with your own eyes is an incredible experience.
“Finally, Rob and I want to thank everyone for their support, and a massive thanks to the rest of the team, Kenny, Cameron, Dean, Steve and Andy who accompanied us on our journey and also supported the Lincolnshire 2025 Festival very generously.
“I must also compliment the Nepalese people, who have been absolutely fantastic. They are very happy smiley nation. But on reflection it did make me think how terribly lucky and grateful we should be for being in the fortunate position of being able to achieve these sort of lifetime challenges. At the same time, everybody who supports such challenges should be proud they are able to help those less fortunate than themselves.”
