4th April

 0915hrs, Train from London

Of course things would go a little Lukla right up until the end – baggage took long enough for me to miss my train and caught the next one an hour later. And I’ve just had the conductor tell me to fork out an extra £60 to go home due to a muck-up on their website. Frigging typical – now I have to jump off and wait for 30min at the next stop.

At least the rest of the return home went as planned.

On the Tube to London Liverpool, I met a man who recognised my hat and asked if I’d just been or going. Turns out he went to the Annapurna region in November and we spent a few moments talking about our experiences.

I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to say my experiences in Nepal makes me a member of an elite cadre – I didn’t summit Everest after all! But I have become part of a large group of people who have all shared similarly-amazing and life-changing experiences. Ray did say that those who walked in the Himalayas said they wished to return one day, regretting they hadn’t done so before. Others I have talked to said it was profound, life-changing experience. And I am glad to say that I agree with them on all accounts.

To be surrounded by so much beauty, with such humble and sincere people supporting you every step of the way, giving you their all and asking for so little in return, makes you pause for thought. It feels like I have cheated that land, having not given anywhere near enough back – hence hoping to work there someday soon. To have taken so much when having given so little is unfair on all and I sincerely hope I can right that balance.

To return to our everyday lives so quickly also does little justice to our experiences; then again perhaps such a sharp return will cause us to assimilate these experiences quicker and make us change sooner – for the better too. I hope that my time with the Sherpas, porters and cooks will impart on me something positive, that of all the lessons I have been taught I will take heed of at least one of them.

The stranger on the Tube mentioned of how joyful it was simply to walk and leave the cares of work and the world behind. While I cannot say my mind was completely blank to those things, certainly I did not dwell too often on the daily grind – a welcome respite especially given the crap that comes my way some days. Even Italy, during my yearly retreats, is not as satisfying an experience as this one has been.

Still no pangs of regret, as I feel I made the most of my time there and did all I could – certainly I did more than I should have been able to do! With so little training achieved and only using half the kit for the first time in anger I should have come away a failure at the first hurdle. Instead I – we – all struggled on and achieved so much in such a short amount of time, more than Jeff initially believed we could at least. More than I had dared to hope, stuck in Kathmandu nearly 14 days ago.

What we did, as individuals and as a group, was a staggering success. £64,000 raised between us already; all of us seeing mighty Everest for ourselves, and everyone reaching dizzying heights. So many have said they want to return and I hope we can – perhaps together, perhaps alone, but all learning from the triumphs and mistakes of one another. I cannot help but admire his strength and determination of our group – and especially Baz, Matt and Shehnaz, who certainly had the toughest times of all.

As I finish this first recount of my attempts to reach Everest Base Camp I hope that of all those who read this, at least one person will learn something. That someone will look again at their dreams and ambitions, and realise their dreams and make them a reality.

Baz’s “bucket list” inspired us all to make more of our lives and taught us that sometimes it is not the world that makes things impossible, but only ourselves and our imposed limitations. I hope I can do more than simply say I will listen to that advice and try. Instead, I will do.

-Chris

Chasing Base Camp 2011 - Photo courtesy of Matt