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Heavy breathing and the crunch of loose rubble underfoot filled the empty alpine air as I made the last steps before reaching my ultimate destination, Everest Base Camp. It was here, amongst the rugged mess of debris and ever shifting ice of the Khumbu Glacier that mountaineers from across the Earth converge with the dream of standing on top of the world. As I strode across a rocky ridge that ran parallel with the glacier, the summit of Everest revealed itself between its neighbour peaks. In my euphoria, the realisation dawned that this moment would likely be the closest view of this mountain, Everest, which I have revered for many years prior, that I will have on this odyssey. Almost like time had slowed down, I could see the gentle stream of snow dispersing from the peak, a silent reminder of how exposed and unforgiving the summit environment was. Eleven days had passed since my group and I walked out of Lukla through the Pasang Lhamu Memorial Gate and arrived at base camp. A significant moment of recognition that we too would follow the route taken by the first Nepalese woman to summit Everest, and sadly also claim her life. Each step we took down those initial stairs we thought back to months of planning and research, it was finally happening. We had already completed what we thought was going to be the most daunting part of our trek, the flight into Lukla. Deemed the world’s most dangerous airport, flying to, and more importantly landing at Tenzing-Hillary Airport, requires courage and precision as pilots navigate their way through mountainous terrain, often hidden behind cloud and morning fog. As we reached the bottom of this first set of stairs we snapped out of our daydream. It was time to live and experience what we had imagined and read so much about. It’s hard to discern whether any part of the trek was more beautiful than another, the environment changes notably from lush forest to harsh alpine the further you move up the valley. Providing an incredible introduction to the Sherpa way of life, our first few nights in the Khumbu Valley were spent in the settlements of Phakding and Namche Bazaar. Walking to these settlements takes you beneath massive cliffs and over the raging glacial fed river system several times, while giving you the privilege of witnessing firsthand the abundance of crops which are grown to support the entire region. Each night our group would battle with absolutely frigid conditions, my first being a particularly difficult experience. It was nearly winter, and I thought that, instead of unpacking my -20 grade sleeping bag the night before, I would just put on as many layers as I could and use the thick blanket supplied by the tea house owner. My regret was enormous. Most of my night was spent in a struggle to fall asleep while being too cold to get up and do anything about it. Just before dawn, I woke again, this time to something other than the cold. While in my semi-asleep state I heard the crash and reverberating echo of huge boulders that had dislodged from the surrounding cliffs and fallen to the valley floor, a reminder of how unknown this environment was to me. Further up the valley I experienced my next great challenge, altitude. It was only after an acclimatisation day spent climbing the ridge above Dingboche that I began to feel the effects of altitude sickness, something which I had not prepared myself for. A seemingly simple and short walk to Lobuche came close to defeating me. With each step came a jolt of pain to the head and the feeling of nausea. The afternoon clouds had again encircled the group, turning our path grey. The pain felt almost symbolic as I took the final steps of a steep uphill only to reveal the Everest Memorial, an area covered with pillars and remembrance plaques to those who had fallen while conquering Everest. I entered Lobuche with the ultimate feeling of relief. It was to be another three days until I would find myself standing upon my final destination, Everest Base Camp.