This was my second visit to Nepal, and my second time working with Prakash and his brother, our guide, Mukesh. Everest Base Camp has been a long-held dream of mine, and one that I knew was going to challenge me on every level. I undertook the 15-day trek as both a personal challenge and to raise funds for a charity dear to my heart back home (The Irish Hospice Foundation). It was very important for me to achieve my Base Camp goal. With this in mind, I didn't think twice about contacting Prakash knowing he would be the perfect person to help me with my endeavour. Prakash was extremely supportive and helpful in assisting me and my two dear friends in planning our December trip. He was always at the end of an email, ready to answer every question and provide alternatives and options when needed. From the minute the plane landed, to the day we left the country, Prakash ensured that we were blanketed in the same Nepali hospitality and care that I had been privileged to receive on my first visit to the country four years ago. I feel blessed also that Mukesh was available to guide us through our adventure.
I cannot express enough the high regard that I hold for him and the care with which he does his job. Through the difficult and easy times, he was ever there with knowledge, patience, service, and genuine support, concern and friendship. We also had two wonderful porters help us through the trek, Nema Sherpa and Songay, and whose company we enjoyed through many a game of Speed on the long. dark evenings. I can recommend December highly for the Base Camp trek for a number of reasons. Even though the temps are cold at night, during the day the clear sunny skies make it very pleasant for trekking. Also, it is out of season so the route is not overwhelmed by other trekkers. This has a knock-on effect at the lodges because they are quiet and it means that you can easily get extra blankets at night. When we finally reached Base Camp, we had it all to ourselves, which was a wonderful thing. Base Camp Trek is an exhilarating and humbling experience, particularly when you find yourself sharing the pathways with the local people carrying incredible loads, or in the midst of a memorial ground for the many who lost their lives in pursuit of their dreams to summit the highest mountain in the world. The experience though was ultimately made memorable though by the people with whom I shared it, and who made it possible ... Prakash, Nema Sherpa, Songay, my two good friends Shelley and Michelle, and especially Mukesh ... I wouldn't have gotten up that mountain without them! A huge thank you from the bottom of my heart.
