PHOTO FRIDAY: EVEREST BASE CAMP BY THE NUMBERS

From Everest Base Camp, finally, with the infamous Khumbu Icefall in the background. Got lucky with the weather.

EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK: BY THE NUMBERS

Done. Here's Everest by the numbers, with a few pictures as a Photo Friday Bonus:

• Days: 14
• Distance hiked: 125km/75 miles-ish
• Max altitude reached: 18,209 ft (Mt. Kalapathar)
• Mt. Everest altitude: 29,029
• Blisters treated: 8
• Garbage bags filled: 22
• Average cost of hotel/tea house: $2.50/night (with shared bath, no heat, and requirement for guests to eat at hotel)
• Showers taken: 3 (Liz is high maintenance)
• Cost of a hot shower: $5 near base camp; $3.50 at trail head in Lukla
• Number of yaks dodged and seen: Lots
• Avalanches witnessed: 6

One of a handful of avalanches we saw while trekking. This one shook the ground as we watched from a safe distance.

Liz haggles with a lady selling bells that hang around yaks' necks. The sounds of the bells, whose clappers are made of yak horn or bone, can be heard all along the trail and warn trekkers to move aside to let the hairy animals pass.

Sale made. Looks like the lady wasn't too happy with the deal...but she was...and so were we, especially Kip, who tied the bell to his bag and rang it every time we rounded a curve in the trail to warn hikers we were coming. 

No roads here, which means everything moves on the backs of people, yaks, or mules. Here, two sherpas carry heavy loads--one hauls water barrels and a metal chimney, the other transports an iron furnace. Loads can top 250 lbs.

A dream realized--Kip drinks water from Mt Everest via glacial melt from the Khumbu Icefall.

Liz gets some soul purification as a few local porters pass by on their way down the mountain.

A Tibetan Snowcock strikes a pose near Everest Base Camp. While at EBC, we also saw two mountain hawk eagles, a pair of red-billed choughs, and another species we've yet to identify. Kip also spotted Nepal's national bird, the Danfe, in the underbrush further down the trail.

Prayer flags wave overhead as Kip appreciates the view. 

Rob the Zimbabwean vet, TiAgaram the guide, and Vim the porter on the trail with Kip. We hiked with these guys for a few days, and they also graciously helped us out on our trail clean up.