How Difficult Can It Be? Everest Base Camp Trek Day Seven

Altitude sickness on Everest Base Camp trek day seven

You’d think rolling up a sleeping bag and stuffing it into its bag would be easy, right? WRONG! At 4,400m it is a chore and a half. I’m knelt on the bed coaxing the damn day thing into its bag. Once complete, I flop into a breathless heap on the bed. I repeat the process for the second bag and the two blow-up mattresses. The whole process takes a whopping 30 minutes. Things we take for granted at sea level require military timing at altitude.

Dingboche to Luboche

So that’s how our day started before the 8km walk to Luboche, our last overnight stop before Everest Base Camp.

Morning: Dingboche to Thukla 4,620m

The day’s trek starts with a short climb from the village, before reaching an undulating plateau. It’s like a lunar landscape, with a backdrop of dramatic snow-covered peaks and a boulder-strewn moorland in the foreground. We spot the occasional dwelling, decorated with prayer flags, and descend to follow the river. In the distance, we can see tantalising glimpses of a turquoise lake before our path veers away. Eventually we reach our lunch stop after traversing a flimsy bridge over tumbling waters.

Afternoon: Thukla 4,620m to Luboche 4,910m

After lunch, the long ascent begins. It’s a 90-minute slog up a zig-zagging path. Silence as we focus on deep breaths and putting one foot in front of another. We know our reward is the memorial park at the top of the hill and we can see the prayer flags fluttering in the breeze. It seems like an eternity before we clamber up the last few steps to reach the climber’s memorial. Goldie is there to greet us with photos and his words spur us on for the last few metres.

Climber’s memorial

The memorial is a touching tribute to the lives of those lost on Everest. It’s a poignant place with sweet words from loved ones etched onto memorial plaques, multiple tiny stupas, and endless prayer flags. I take a moment to reflect on the stupa for Scott Fischer who died on the mountain in 1996 whilst trying to save his expedition guests. A tragic waste and one which likely could have been avoided but for the selfish behaviour of some of his paying guests.

I read the plaques on other memorials, saddened by the young ages at which many died. I guess they died doing the thing they loved and knew the risks, but it makes it no less tragic.

We eventually prise ourselves away from the site and continue our trek towards Lobuche. It’s a mere hamlet, surrounded by gigantic mountains with a few tea houses and a coffee shop. Bizarrely, it also hosts the highest bakery in the world which is jam packed!

Last words

It’s been another amazing day of incredible sights, hilarious conversations and poignant moments. It’s likely been my most emotional day by far. Ascending the valley and looking back at the huge peaks behind us I felt overwhelmed with emotion and grateful to be here. Yes, despite being sick and the altitude sickness, there is nowhere else I would rather be than in these mountains.

Fast facts

Height change:

Dingboche (4,410m) to Lobuche (4,910m)

Distance travelled:

8 km

Trekking time:

6 hours

Overnight digs:

New EBC Guest House with shared western-style bathrooms.

Read more:

Here are the other posts in our Everest Base Camp trek series if you want to know how we fared on previous days.

Everest Base Camp trek – day one, day two, day three, day four, day five, and day six.

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Why Everest Base camp?

We trekked to EBC to raise money for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice. If you would like to sponsor us, please head to our justgiving page.

Day seven route

Here is our route seven route approximately. Google Maps will not pull through the exact route we followed but this gives you a good idea nevertheless.