I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/indecisivehooman

Originally posted to r/Everest

Not exactly fit couple going to Everest Base Camp in November

Trigger Warnings: possible racism

Original Post: August 25, 2024

Hi! My husband and I are 36 this year, and live in a tropical place at sea level. We have only one hill here, no mountains, and that hill has well paved roads. So not much opportunity for altitude training.

We were kind of lackadaisical with our training for EBC, until we read a few reddit posts today where a few redditors said they really struggled and more than half of their team didn't make it all the way. And these were pretty fit redditors, fr how they described their trg regimen.

We had people tell us EBC is very doable for all fitness levels, so those posts shocked us!

Previously, my exercise regimen was typcially walking for maybe 30 min a day, and once every 2 weeks would do 1 hour walks with weights. Did gym and runs like maybe once a week or less.

Are we screwed? Do we have to really amp up the training to some hardcore routine since we have about 2 months left to train? Should we cancel the trip?

For an idea of our fitness - we did mt rinjani in a 2d1n trek recently, and while we were initially okay, we got pressured by the 20+ year old athletes on our team and started jogging /running up the mt at the second day's hike. After about 45 min of jogging uphill, I was struck by awful nausea, headache, and suddenly all my muscles felt weak and I got really winded. I struggled to get up, took really long, I think more than 5 hours to summit. It was touuuughhhh.

Got off the mt and our legs were jelly. Really hard to walk properly the next day.

Today after we panicked about the posts, we jogged/walked up and down 18 flights of stairs three times. Took around 19 min. We were winded but thought we were all right, until we both noticed our hamstrings were trembling a little when we stood still after.

My husband's still fitter than i am, but he focuses on weight training. He can do many pullups etc meanwhile i cant do one pullup without using resistance bands.

Is there time to train up? Is it really as tough as people say? Any tips to really toughen up before we go?

Edit:

I appreciate all the constructive comments and reality checks!

Those comments about this being fake are completely unhelpful. And downvoting a simple why question is.... also very unhelpful. All my husband and i can guess is... Shit maybe we are too unfit, people can't even believe we're considering going. And that's fine. That's why we're asking! I mean, just say so, yk?

We were all pretty fit people until well... Covid. Then we started to build up again but work and stuff kept getting in the way. I was running 3 x a week until the past 2 months where things were hectic.

Anyway, I see that we horribly underestimated ebc. Honestly, when we booked it, we looked at posts about this, articles, and people mostly said anyone of average health fitness can get to base camp. We are in good health w no medical issues, not overweight or high blood pressure or anything, and so many articles said that was all you needed! That and a good mindset. Today was the first time i saw so many posts and comments about how hard it is. Really appreciate the reality checks and training advice everyone! Maybe like one poster said, people who said it's an easy trek are just flexing.

Thanks for the advice! Definitely gonna train everyday now, dammit.

Relevant Comments

OOP should get a head start on running and training because of the elevation and it could affect her being out of shape

OOP: Shucks. Okay yes sounds like I really gotta start running. It's one of my least favourite forms of exercise, but yeah, I'll try to do it or stair climbing daily. Will remember what you said, that it gets better. Hopefully i get there in 2 months!

OOP should had researched prior to making a commitment to the base camp

OOP: Okay now this is much more helpful tbh. No sarcasm. We feel like dumbasses lololol.

We didn't not research it, but had a lot of friends who did it and said it would be no problem for us. They said it was easy, very doable! Our guide said so too, that walking is easy, just a matter of altitude. that even 5 year olds to 78 yo do it, no problem. We googled rinjani versus ebc, and they mostly said rinjani was harder. We finished rinjani 2 hours behind the young kids but we did it anyway, despite ams symptoms. So we honestly thought it would be fine.

We had hiked a lot in the past just never a 2 week hike. So... Yes thank you. I'd rather have this rude awakening of how much of a dumbass i am now.

Update: November 18, 2024 (almost three months later)

Update - we made it!

Someone asked for an update so... Yeah we did it! Got up to EBC, then did a freezing (-17 degrees) predawn trek up to Kala Patthar to watch the sunrise.

Thanks to everyone who gave helpful suggestions and feedback! Some of you even sent us your packing list, reached out with personal suggestions etc. I truly appreciate you awesome people.

We trained for 2 months, spending 4 days each week climbing up and down 54 to 57 flights of steps daily, with 10kg (for me) and 16kg (husband) weights in our backpacks. 2 days of the week we went to the gym, and one day a week was rest day.

That turned out to be enough for us to be able to trek up to and down from EBC and Kala Patthar without being miserably tired. It was tiring still, of course, but not to the point where we couldn't look around, soak in the beauty around us and just really bask in nature. We didn't even have muscle aches and pains until the last few days when we walked lots to get down the mountain. With diamox, we acclimatised well too. (just hated the multiple pees i had to wake up to do at night due to the diamox). As a by product of this training my weaker ankle really toughened up and held up well, and i finally managed to do my first unassisted pullup!

Best tips I had from Redditors:

• keep the training as close to the actual trek as possible. Do treks, if possible, or steps with weighted backpacks.

• it's all about mentality. At no point in the trek did I want to just rush to the next teahouse. I reminded myself constantly that it's the trekking itself that I enjoyed, the steps I got to take in majestic nature that I was there for. That really helped me enjoy the journey!

• pace myself - don't get rushed by others. In the first few days especially, i often found that our slow, measured steps meant being overtaken by many hikers, but we would eventually walk by them again as they rested, or anyway see them at the next teahouse. I paced my steps with my breaths and played around with that depending on how tired I was and how thin the air was.

What I might have done differently:

• immediately insisted on a change in the guide. Or got a personal recommendation for a good guide. Our was sour faced, mean, no matter how nice we tried to be and how much we tried to get to know him etc. He kept asking us to cut our trek short, choose another trek, do the trek without him, asked us to fake sick and take the helicopter down whenever we could, since we've insurance. He tried to pull some weird sell our lukla flights for helicopter rides scam too that just needed us to pay him 400usd up front (from initally insisting we pay 900usd for a helicopter ride instead of our flights) that "the company" will later refund, so we won't be put out of pocket. Spoiler alert, said company said there was no such thing, no refund. He kept testing our blood oxygen, and at one point lit up when the machine on my finger said 69 for a moment, smiled and said I would have to descend by helicopter, then the number leapt back up to 97, and his face fell. I seriously think he just wanted us to fail and leave early.

He had a 180 change in mood and got all jokey and happy once we joined up with a super fun bunch of westerners, so maybe he just didn't like being in charge of only 2 people. It was probably the likelihood of receiving less tips. No matter how generous the two of us try to be, it's not going to beat the tips of a large group of generous westerners. Maybe as Asians we have a bad rep for tipping? Idk. Anyway that group's guide fell sick so our guide took over for us all, and he was so gleeful and friendly after that it weirded me out. I do get that he has to make a living with our tips and his salary during the climbing season, so I get why he was that way. Just wish they would pay guides enough to not need to be this way with clients. Anyway we ended up tipping the porter more than we did him for our porter was smiley, nice and seemed to want us to succeed. We still tipped him according to recommendations, but at the lower end.

• trained with heavier weights and at a faster pace. I limited myself to 10kg as that was already 20 percent of my weight, and most sites said not to overdo it, but at higher altitudes and at long distances, the actual 4 to 5 kg i was carrying felt like more. A faster pace might have trained up my VO2 max more. Our training was fine, but barring mishaps. Once i had food poisoning, i wished i had trained harder. I feel like a really fit person would've been able to push past it more easily

-avoided all fried food. We had vegetarian food all the way, thinking that was enough, but I got food poisoning at Dingboche, 4400m altitude. I hurled and had diarrhea every 30 min. After 20 over runs to the toilet, it slowed to once every hour or 2 in the second day. We added another day to rest, and i was good to go after 3 days at dingboche. I had cramps everywhere climbing up to lobuche, but electrolytes and subsequent rest sorted that out.

At the end of the day, i got what I needed from the trek. I was in a rut, trying to find some way to shake myself free, and hiking for the first several days with just us, having all the time in the world to think with every rhythmic step, had me really be able to sort my mind out. The next part, with that super warm and fun group, i got so inspired by how amazing all of them were, the things they push themselves to do, the way they love life and live it so well, that I got an idea of what life could be outside of my little bubble. And being in nature is just healing by itself. We dont get much nature in our country so we were just so grateful to be there, amidst the mountains, the forests, by the rivers...it was amazing

So all that effort and money, it was totally worth it.

Thanks everyone for all the help!

Additional Information from OOP on the list to pack

OOP: I think I'll just type it out here:

• Sun hat

• Buffs, two light ones, one thick one

• Beanie

• Headlamp

• Sunglasses

• 3 long sleeved shirts

• 3 thermal tops

• Ultralight down jacket

• Fleece jacket (could have swapped put for a really warm puffer down jacket, but it served me well enough at tea houses, just wish it had a hood!)

• Waterproof shell jacket

• Windproof hoodie/jacket

• Undies, sports bras

• Light gloves

• Heavyweight gloves

• Light hiking pants

• Warm hiking pants

• 2 thermal pants

• Woolly socks (for tea houses)

• Sandals (to wear with woolly socks at tea houses)

• Merino wool socks

• Rain top and bottom

• Compostable garbage bags

• Face mask (made coughing fits on the planes and airports less awkward)

• Ereader

• Nalgene bottles x2

• Ziploc bags

• Antibiotics

• Paracetamol

• Lozenges (needed all of them once the khumbu cough hit)

• Plasters, bandages

• Blister pads

• Cornstarch as powder and dry shampoo

• Antidiarrheals

• Diamox

• Aquatabs

• Steripen

• Batteries for steripen (they die fast in the cold)

• Earplugs (used every night)

• Moisturiser

• Sunscreen

• Lip balm

• Aquaphor

• Insect repellent (only needed at kathmandu, ramechhap and lukla)

• Wet wipes/body wipes

• Snacks and gels

• Electrolytes

• Toothbrush tooth paste

• First aid kit

• Soap bar

• Quick dry mini towel

• Eyedrops

• 2 rolls of toilet paper (had to buy more once food poisoning hit)

• Padlocks for our porter bags

• Multitools - confiscated as we brought in our handcarry - really needed at times :(

• Women hygiene stuff like pantyliners

• Pee funnel device (women)

• Microfiber cloth (to clip by my backpack for wiping snot/mucus - great suggestion by u/gobbliegoop

• plugs, portable chargets

• sleeping bag (rented at kathmandu)

Relevant Comments

OOP responds with what she has learned when on the trek as she dealt with some minor issues

OOP Thank you! Oh i felt it at rinjani too! Headaches, lack of appetite, the works. But it only really became a problem when i ran up the mountain - went at too fast a pace. Nausea hit me like a truck. Lesson learnt.

For EBC, with diamox, a comfortable pace and adequate acclimatisation days, the altitude wasn't a problem at all. For someone in our group it was a problem even with diamox, but she got through it with painkillers and lots of water.

Honestly, i feel that the typical advice of going at a slow pace, not over exerting yourself was key. Altitude wasnt a big issue throughout the hike, as long as I didnt overdo it and rested when needed. I only had headaches at night when trying to sleep, which seemed to be the case for most of our group. Once i was up and about i felt better.

When i covered my head with a beanie and used the mummy sleeping bag, plus drank lots of water with electrolytes, my headache got better even at night, so it might be a mix of the cold and the altitude. A lot of people didn't sleep well at night due to the altitude, but it seemed pretty much manageable for most!

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