The Long Hard Slog: Jiri to Lukla

A couple weeks ago Donnie and I set out to walk in to Everest from the old starting point of Jiri. It's old because most people fly into Lukla these days and the walk in from Jiri makes the trek longer by almost a week for most people, and that is if you plan on flying out. The views over this portion of the trail can be nice, but it pales in comparison to what you see in the upper Khumbu, the valley that is home to Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam and Everest. On top of this, instead of heading up a large valley this route is hard slog that takes you up and over several passes as you cut across four different valleys before reaching the Khumbu valley itself. In fact you gain and lose so much elevation that by the time you reach base camp you have climbed more than the equivalent elevation as if you had gone to the very top of Everest from sea level, almost 30,000'. Still despite the difficulties and the lack of breath taking snow covered peaks walking in from Jiri is in my opinion worth it and offers some things you just don't get on the rest of the trek.