Set against one of the most iconic and awe-inspiring backdrops on the planet, the Everest Trail Race ranks as one of the world’s toughest high-altitude multi-day ultras.
So – you have presumably looked at the distance and thought to yourself “153 kms … in 6 days, how hard can that be?” – Well the answer is hard, very hard actually as the distances are pretty meaningless in the face of the depletion of oxygen, the temperature ranges and the brutal range in altitude of more than 25,000 meters, Yes, that is more than 25 Kilometers.
Winding through the remote Solukhumbu region of the Himalayas in Nepal, the Everest Trail Race meanders along hard trails of frozen earth, through crisp snow covered trails, seemingly endless stepped rocky ascents and truly awesome descents punctuated with single track wired suspension bridges.
Divided into stages of roughly 22, 28, 30, 31, 20 and 22 km respectively, the daily difference in altitude goes from a heart-pounding 3,000 meters up to 5,950 metres. This isn’t the narrative that plays in you head though as you are following, literally in the footsteps of the great Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, in the early stages of the race, the routes are narrow and gnarly and then broaden on the approach to some of the most breath-taking views you will ever have the privilege to witness. Not one, but several of the planet’s tallest and iconic mountains, Everest, Lothse, AmaDablam, Tamseku, Kangtega, Makalu and Kanchenjunga. Camped in the grounds of a mountain top buddhist monastery or in the lee of the mighty AmaDablam is a truly once on a lifetime experience that leaves your head spinning in the sheer amazement of your surroundings.
Read Alice Morrison’s article leading up to the race here and how she trained for the race here
