One of the first questions people ask themselves when faced with the concept of climbing mountains is “Am I physically fit enough?” and honestly, it’s a very valid question.
It may be a bit simplistic to say so, but anyone can hike the Everest Base Camp. That said, we don’t mean it in the way that anyone can decide to hike up there on a whim. It still takes massive amounts of training and preparation to make the trek.
The trail to Everest Base Camp will be difficult. Definitely. It’s long, cold, and sometimes even involves trekking through snow. These are definitely things that you need to be prepared for, both physically and mentally.
When we say anyone can trek Everest Base Camp, it just means that it doesn’t matter how old or young you are. The youngest person to trek to Everest Base Camp was a Spanish-Ukranian American 3 year old named Lia de Cos, and Max Stainton of the UK, is the first person with cerebral palsy to reach Everest Base Camp via horseback. Basically, it really boils down to how you prepare for the trip, and how you go along the trail.
A common misconception is that you need to be an Olympic level athlete to hike Everest Base Camp. This is not true. Certainly, you will need to be fit to make the hike. But you’re not required to perform any Olympic-level tests of strength and endurance.
That being said, we still recommend training for a hike. We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again: Adventure Abroad always advocates for training for an upcoming hike. We put safety above all, and ensuring that you have the proper training and preparation for a major hike will make a massive, massive difference in how well your journey goes.
If you’re unsure how to prepare, check out our tips for preparing for a major hike.
Hiking to Everest Base Camp will be difficult, exhausting, and draining. But with the proper preparation, it will also be amazing, exhilarating, and unimaginably beautiful.