It is a hard trek, but not a technical one. There is no climbing and no equipment to learn. What makes it hard is walking 5 to 7 hours a day, day after day, while sleeping higher than most people have ever slept. People of all ages finish it every season, including trekkers in their seventies.
What actually makes it hard
Two things. The first is altitude: most nights are spent above 3,500 m, and the air holds roughly half the oxygen you are used to. The second is the descents. The trail gives back almost everything it takes, and it is knees rather than lungs that people complain about by day nine.
The itinerary builds in two rest days for this, at Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) and Dingboche (4,410 m). They are not padding. Feeling breathless, tired and sore at altitude is normal. Feeling worse each morning is not, and that is the difference your guide is watching for.
How to train for it
Give yourself three months. Four sessions a week is enough if you use them well:
- Two hill walks, an hour or more, carrying the daypack you will actually bring, loaded to about 5 kg.
- One longer walk at the weekend, building to 5 or 6 hours.
- One session of legs and core, or stairs if you have no hills nearby.
Once a month, walk two long days back to back. That is the thing the trek asks of you that a single hard workout never tests, and it is the best preparation you can do. Train the descents as well as the climbs. If you have a heart, lung or blood-pressure condition, talk to your doctor before you book.
Altitude, and how we watch it
A pulse oximeter is a cheap clip that reads the oxygen in your blood, and plenty of trekkers now carry one. At sea level a healthy reading is around 95 to 100 per cent. At 4,000 m and above, everyone reads lower, so a single number on its own means very little. What matters is the trend across a few days and whether it comes with headache, poor sleep or loss of appetite. Never use a good reading to talk yourself into going higher when you feel bad. Tell your guide either way, and let them make the call.
Can a beginner do it?
Yes, if you train and you are honest with yourself about the training. First-time trekkers reach base camp every season, and a prepared beginner usually copes better than an unprepared runner. We cap groups at 8 people, which means the pace can follow the slowest walker instead of the fastest. If you want the Khumbu without the full two weeks, ask us about the shorter, lower routes.
