Ed, absolutely. That said , just getting up Kala Patar wore me right out, much respect to the men and women who climb for real.
As promised for Stooboy, my kit list.
Rucksack - North Face Terra 60 litres. Bit of a heavy pack but once worn in lovely and comfy. I wouldn't take a bigger pack, because I'd fill it.
GOOD sleeping bag. Mine is Mountain Equipmenet dreamcatcher 750 , good for about -15. I was never cold in my bag. I also took a silk bag liner, adds a few degrees of warmth and protects your bag. After the first few days I stopped using it as I was too warm.
First Aid kit, small but comprehensive enough. This included a broad spectrum antibiotic , ibuprofen and diamox ( a useful drug for dealing with altitude). I also include i this a big pack of Strepsils for the Khumbu cough , or in my case bronchitis, and a small tin of vaseline which doubled as lip balm.
Bits n bats- Duct tape ( fixes anything) , swiss army knife, head torch. Mobile phone - doubled as a camera when mine gave up briefly- plus they actually work as phones in many spots over there! Nalgene water bottle, plus iodine tablets. You can get water at the lodge and use iodine to make it safe. Most nights we got the owner to fill the bottle with hot water, used it to keep us warm at night and in the morning we had clean water. Trekking poles -wouldn't have been without them, they made ascent easier and descent much safer.
GOOD SUN GLASSES. I was sceptical but didn't wear glasses for the first day, that alone meant I had to have two rest days at Namche instead of one. Its brighter up there so get good cat 4 glasses and wear them.
Clothing- not much. I had two top and bottom base layers, a crag hopper micro fleece, a pair of craghopper kiwi trousers and a winter pair, three pairs of socks and undergarments. Each day I'd get out of my bag , remove my helly hansen bottoms, my icebreaker top and climb into my winter weight craghoppers, upper base layer and crag fleece. At night , before climbing into my bag, I'd reverse the process. Socks and undergarments were worn for a couple of days . I was able to get some cleaned at Namche so three sets was plenty.
I also had a berghaus insulated coat ( the yellow one on one of the photos) plus a ME lightline down jacket. I didn't use the down jacket but wouldn't consider not taking it.
Hat, gloves , mittens, sunhat ( very important) and a buff! Don't forget the buff, its a scarf, a balaclava, a beannie, a sunhat and even ( god help me) a hankie). I'm wearing it over my face on a lot of the photos because I'm not very handsome and because it keeps the dust out a lot.
I left my rainproof in Namche, that was a gamble I would never take in the UK but the chances of rain when we went was so low it was a fairly safe gamble, plus there are lots of places to shelter for most of the trek.
Wash bag- mine had a toothbrush, the tiniest toothpaste I could buy, a very cheap microfibre towel from a poundshop, the tiniest shower gel I could buy and hand wash gel. That was it. ( You will smell, so does everyone else).
Good boots and a pair of warm slippers, I'm serious about the slippers. We wore our boots all day including in the lodge, but middle of the night when you need to go for a pee ( and thats part of the acclimatisation) its handy just to slip on the slippers.
Copy of the Lonely Planet Trekking in Nepal guide. The only book we took.
Think thats about it.
As promised for Stooboy, my kit list.
Rucksack - North Face Terra 60 litres. Bit of a heavy pack but once worn in lovely and comfy. I wouldn't take a bigger pack, because I'd fill it.
GOOD sleeping bag. Mine is Mountain Equipmenet dreamcatcher 750 , good for about -15. I was never cold in my bag. I also took a silk bag liner, adds a few degrees of warmth and protects your bag. After the first few days I stopped using it as I was too warm.
First Aid kit, small but comprehensive enough. This included a broad spectrum antibiotic , ibuprofen and diamox ( a useful drug for dealing with altitude). I also include i this a big pack of Strepsils for the Khumbu cough , or in my case bronchitis, and a small tin of vaseline which doubled as lip balm.
Bits n bats- Duct tape ( fixes anything) , swiss army knife, head torch. Mobile phone - doubled as a camera when mine gave up briefly- plus they actually work as phones in many spots over there! Nalgene water bottle, plus iodine tablets. You can get water at the lodge and use iodine to make it safe. Most nights we got the owner to fill the bottle with hot water, used it to keep us warm at night and in the morning we had clean water. Trekking poles -wouldn't have been without them, they made ascent easier and descent much safer.
GOOD SUN GLASSES. I was sceptical but didn't wear glasses for the first day, that alone meant I had to have two rest days at Namche instead of one. Its brighter up there so get good cat 4 glasses and wear them.
Clothing- not much. I had two top and bottom base layers, a crag hopper micro fleece, a pair of craghopper kiwi trousers and a winter pair, three pairs of socks and undergarments. Each day I'd get out of my bag , remove my helly hansen bottoms, my icebreaker top and climb into my winter weight craghoppers, upper base layer and crag fleece. At night , before climbing into my bag, I'd reverse the process. Socks and undergarments were worn for a couple of days . I was able to get some cleaned at Namche so three sets was plenty.
I also had a berghaus insulated coat ( the yellow one on one of the photos) plus a ME lightline down jacket. I didn't use the down jacket but wouldn't consider not taking it.
Hat, gloves , mittens, sunhat ( very important) and a buff! Don't forget the buff, its a scarf, a balaclava, a beannie, a sunhat and even ( god help me) a hankie). I'm wearing it over my face on a lot of the photos because I'm not very handsome and because it keeps the dust out a lot.
I left my rainproof in Namche, that was a gamble I would never take in the UK but the chances of rain when we went was so low it was a fairly safe gamble, plus there are lots of places to shelter for most of the trek.
Wash bag- mine had a toothbrush, the tiniest toothpaste I could buy, a very cheap microfibre towel from a poundshop, the tiniest shower gel I could buy and hand wash gel. That was it. ( You will smell, so does everyone else).
Good boots and a pair of warm slippers, I'm serious about the slippers. We wore our boots all day including in the lodge, but middle of the night when you need to go for a pee ( and thats part of the acclimatisation) its handy just to slip on the slippers.
Copy of the Lonely Planet Trekking in Nepal guide. The only book we took.
Think thats about it.
