Kjolhaug hikes to Everest Base Camp

Christopher Kjolhaug, graduate from Clearbrook-Gonvick, hiked to the base camp of Mount Everest in Nepal at the end of May along with two other team members who aspired to do the same. Christopher, along with Lucas Hendrickson, from the state of Washington, and Blake Saathoff, a South Dakotan, made up the team of three.

What united them was their common interest in trekking, and traveling to this part of the world was a celebration for Christopher following the completion of his degree in Physical Therapy. After extensive preparation, he invited others to join and the team was set to go.

Everest Base Camp reaches just over 17,600 feet above sea level and the assent was scheduled to happen over a two-week period. As they reached new heights, they monitored their oxygen levels several times each day and rested their bodies accordingly which meant they needed to acclimate by staying at that particular place until they felt strong enough to continue.

The adventure began with an almost missed flight out of Boston as the flight out of Minneapolis was delayed three hours. Once the connection was made in Boston, the next stop was a fourteen hour layover in Dubai. From there, Christopher met his other team members in Katmandu, Nepal. 

After spending several days in Katmandu in order to acclimate, they arrived at a smaller domestic airport to make the connection to Lukla which should have been an easy thirty-five-minute flight to where the base camp trek would begin. However, once they arrived, and discovered an overflowing airport terminal due to inclement weather, the team instead decided to helicopter out, which would be better suited to get them to the location. As this area of the world is mountainous, and the clouds are plenty, flying can be dangerous if the right precautions are not taken. Thus, the helicopter was able to get them at least near to their desired destination.

Landing in a field several kilometers from Lukla, they began their base camp trek from a rural Teahouse. The extra hike took the team about five hours to reach their destination for that evening in Phakding, but the views along the route were worth each step taken. The views, the village people, and the adventure made it memorable. As they chose to do this trip with no guides and no porters to help carry their packs, this team had the flexibility to set their own pace and change the plans along the route as needed. 

It was an excursion requiring ample preparation in both physical training, route planning and gear preparation. Christopher had met with others who had taken the trip, and they made the recommendations needed for the route.

The weather was great throughout the duration of the trip with the exception of the last four hours of their hiking as the monsoon season hit and they were utterly drenched when reaching the end.

“What surprised me most about the trip was the difficulty of it. Although I had read and prepared as best I could, high elevation is hard on the body and the seriousness of this is a very important component for safety.” 

“The summiting season was just ending, but those who desire to go to base camp may do so year round. The height of the climbing season is in October, so this time of year it is not so overcrowded.”

“My favorite place was a little village we happened upon on our way back. The beauty of it, and the friendliness of the people made it very unique; deep in the Rhododendron Forest, a place called Tengboche.” 

“The most enjoyable part was meeting other international travelers along the trek. The villagers were more than hospitable, and the beauty of the area in which they live is breathtaking. Experiencing sights is difficult to describe with the combination of smells, sounds, and the natural environment which encapsulates this area of the world. Hopefully, these pictures capture in a little of what I was able to experience.”