Taking risks

There are a couple of ways to reach the starting point for a trekk to Basecamp Everest or Kala Pathar. You can take a bus from Kathmandu to Jiri and then walk all the way to Lukla, which takes an extra week on a rollercoaster trail. You can also - as most people do - take the plane directly from Kathmandu to Lukla, and start walking from there.

We had decided to fly to Lukla. The week before our arrival, a plane crashed on the runway. For some reason, the plane got stuck in some kind of fence on the side of the runway. Everybody on the plane died. It was tragic.

Considering the characteristics of the runway in Lukla, one might be surprised that accidents hardly ever happen... The runway is leaning on the mountainside, starting with the rock face and ending with a steep precipice dropping 700 m to the valley down below. The runway is 527 m long from start to end, leaning 12 %. Helicopters and Twin Otters operate here. To start and land in Lukla, you need to operate with great perfection.



Wind and weather cause plenty of delays here. Usually the planes can start and land during the morning hours. If it is foggy, you must wait for your departure until the next day, or the day after or...


"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Franklin D. Roosevelt