Nepal is set to celebrate 70 years since the first successful summit of Mt Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. But since then, has anything changed?
If you are part of the mountaineering fraternity you might say that a lot has changed and get technical, but for the rest of us, how has this great mountain changed for us?
It’s good to know that we no longer have to walk for around two weeks in order to get great views and experiences of Mount Everest. Today we can board a helicopter in Kathmandu, fly over the lowlands and into the mountains, land on a view point of over 5,000m with stunning views of the Himalaya, breakfast with Everest in our sights, and happily take our ageing parents in the knowledge we will all be back in Kathmandu in time for lunch.
Namche Bazaar, Tengboche, Kalapattar, Everest Base Camp all have a special ring to them and are engraved in the history of the Himalaya. So, it is exciting to know that now it is possible for anyone to access the mountains and see these locations without the worry and stress of trekking.
The history of this great mountain starts way back, back to a time when the Great Trigonometrical Survey was taking place in the early 1800s. The Surveyor General of India, Andrew Waugh, suggested naming this great mountain after the man who had spent 25 years working on the survey project, George Everest. Whether this was originally meant to be a temporary name is now mute, and the whole world knows it at Mount Everest.
Indian mountaineers have also made their mark on the mountain as have others from around the world, the best known of which are perhaps Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay who were the first to summit and return to tell the tale.
Since that day in 1953 there has been quite a rush to climb the mountain, and in more recent years, another flood of visitors who are happy to trek to its base. Today, it is not just the young and fit who aim to spend weeks in the mountains in order to reach Everest Base Camp. As technology and abilities moved on, even the most sedate among us can make the trip. Albeit perhaps not on foot!
Today we can take part trekking/ part helicopter tours of the region or an entire helicopter tour. Lasting from 4 to 5 hours, the EBC Helicopter Tour is within the reach of everyone. Departing from Kathmandu in the early hours of the morning, the flight into the Khumbu, or Everest Region, is one you won’t forget in a hurry. Flying over foothills, forests and then rugged terrain, the whole of the Himalaya seems to spread out in front and above you.
Refueling at Lukla gives the first breath of rarified air as you stand and watch planes come into the landing strip. Then back on board you have a birds-eye view and ringside seat to the beauty of the mountains, dwarfing man-made settlements such as Namche Bazaar and Dingboche. The great monastery at Tengboche somehow complements the landscape. A landscape which is a panorama of mountains which only highlight the spirituality of the place.
By the time the helicopter reaches Everest Base Camp, we are stunned into silence by the beauty of it all. Below trekkers carefully make their way along the narrow trails, and mountaineers go about their daily lives preparing for their mammoth climb. We cannot land at base camp because of the ever moving ground of the Khumbu Ice Fall. But we do land at Kalapattar, a huge rock which gives even clearer views of Everest and the nearby mountains.
We stand at Kalapattar in awe of the scenery. There is nothing more to say. The power of nature and the gods takes over. All too soon, we are back on board and fly off to another fabulous location. Landing at Everest View Hotel, here we take breakfast, somehow coming out of our stupor and yet still enthralled by the views of Everest, again so close to us as we sit on the hotel balcony.
Information about the Everest Base Camp Helicopter Tour can be found through Magical Nepal, along with a few other new helicopter tours of the area. It’s gratifying to know this tour comes in under one lak IC per person; little less if you hire the whole helicopter (maximum 5 seats).
As a side, we remind ourselves of the many Bollywood producers and stars who have visited Nepal and, in some cases, Everest. The latest of whom was Aamir Khan who flew into Kathmandu for Vipassana in May of this year.
