EVEREST

4th April 2015

Before our trip H and I were chatting to my auntie Diana in Aberdovey about her Nepalese trip a few years back. She too had done a trek in the Annapurna's, but she hugely recommended taking a flight over Everest. So that is exactly what we did!

We rose at 6ish, grabbed a pastry and a cab, arriving at the airport by seven-ish. Our Everest bound flight was delayed by half an hour, leaving us with nothing to do other than a spot of people watching. As the domestic airport is for internal flights only the mix of people was interesting. Big groups of climbers from all over the world sitting along side Nepali couriers and people going about their day to day business. The time flew by.

After the half hour came and went we asked the plane people what was happening. They said the flight was canceled and gave no explanation why. We pestered for a while and they managed to squeeze us onto one other flight leaving shortly. Shortly was apparently two hours, we went back to our people watching ready to wait it out, but within minutes they called the flight and we were on the runway.

The plane was tiny and was having its propeller's elastic band twisted as we arrived. It held about twenty people and all passengers got a window seat. The cockpit was open and visible from our seats looking like a computer from a 70's bond film. The plane was mainly filled with a large group of doctors from Pakistan. There were on a company trip to Nepal and the Everest flight was their headline act. They also bloody loved selfies and had an extendable stick that was not far off the length of the plane. 

We took off thorough the smoggy haze of Kathmandu and then without warning the dramatic chiseled peaks of the Himalayas came into view, soaring above Kathmandu valley and stretching off east and west as far as your eye could see. They were framed horizontally by the haze from the city below and a light mist evaporating off the peaks. The whole scene was what some would call amazeballs. You could really see their true might from here as towns and villages were nothing more than tiny dots nestled at their feet.

We flew east trying to pick out the different peaks as we past. We must have seen a fair few over 8000m peaks on route and there are only 14 in total on the planet. Nepal really is the roof of the world. The pilots were fine with people wondering into the cockpit for a gander, so one by one all the passengers moseyed on down. Helen went first and I went last. This by pure fluke was timed perfectly. I popped my head in to the cockpit just as Everest did the same.

Set slightly further back from the other peaks, Everest was still head and shoulders above. It was a truly breathtaking sight, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I stared in wonder at the worlds tallest mountain. Photos could not even come close to doing it justice so I gave up and just enjoyed the experience. However photos did do justice to the shiny dials and buttons in the cockpit so I took a few shots of them instead. We both sat quietly staring for as long as we could before the plane about turned, heading west back to the city. 

To summit up... 

Other than it being a little pricey (but everything is linked with Everest) We both couldn't agree more with auntie Diana. Seeing Everest with your own eyes really is a once in a life time experience. You can't come to the roof of the world and not look at its most deadly yet magnificent mountain.