Everest Base Camp Cycling in “Fastest Known Time”

“The alarm went off early at 12:45 am on May 20th in Lukla, Nepal, the Gateway to Mount Everest (8,848 m). After a few weeks training out of the Chiwong Monastery (2,950 m) with the Monks in the Solukhumbu district, the mind and body were ready for the challenge on deck, an attempt to set a Fastest Known Time (FKT) cycling the traditional trekking route from Lukla to Everest Base Camp. 63 km, and around 4,000 m of vertical gain were on deck through this rugged trail to the biggest mountain in the World!

This FKT had been on my mind for a while, getting a chance to go for it during the peak climbing season was a bonus. Base Camp was full of expeditions from around the World and the action would add a great aspect of excitement to the challenging ride. There were some concerns the trail would be busy, so I left in the middle of the night to hopefully get past the busy parts in the calm of darkness.

Setting off at 1:40 am, the first 1.5 hours of the ride were pretty rad ripping through all the small villages, dropping from Lukla (2850m) to the usually busy trekker haven of Phakding (2600M). The trail was mostly rideable, with some sketchy step sections, and a few hike a bike run ups. Around 3 am I hit Monjo, the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park. It was exciting to pass through this gate and into the National Park protecting Mount Everest! The Army guys warned me of Tigers in the jungle ahead. It wasn’t my first rodeo, knowing the region, I was pretty sure they were just playing with me. Coming from Canada, where we have to think about Grizzly bears and other wildlife, it adds a cool dynamic to know that you may not be alone in the forest. This is the way our World is meant to be and Nepal seems to be doing a good job at protecting some of it’s best natural assets, its wildlife.

After Monjo was the steep climb up to Namche Bazar, the Sherpa headquarters of the Everest Region. This was hike a bike for the bottom 2/3rds, but towards the top it became rideable, cresting into the hillside village of Namche at daybreak. My goal was to get past here before the hoards of trekkers took to the trail around 8am. Mission accomplished! The next part was a sweet rideable section, ripping past Stupas, along a wide sidehill trail with towering Ama Dablam (6812M) in the background. There were some porters on the trail but otherwise it was pretty easy cruising, eventually dropping down a pretty gnarly descent from 3650m to a National park checkpoint at 3300m. The descents were mostly rideable, although they had my Kona Hei Hei bike on the limit with some questionable riding, and insanely rocky sections. If in doubt I would walk, as a big crash back here in the Himalayas while going solo wouldn’t be good. Caution in the big mountains is always important!

Going at night I avoided a few check posts, but the one below Tengboche Monastery cost another 15 minutes. I made the mistake of telling the guy I was coming from Lukla. This lead into a circular conversation , “no that’s impossible, where did you come from TODAY!?… “Lukla” I would respond, “no I mean today!”. Eventually stamping my permit, it was back en route again, it was a tough climb up to Tengboche Monastery at 3870 M. Again the bottom 2/3rds were hike a bike, before riding the top bit, cresting the hill into a beautiful sun lit morning with Tengboche Monastery and some Monks basking in the early morning warmth. I started to take some more pictures and videos from this point on, costing a fair bit of time, but I also wanted to enjoy the beautiful day and epic scenery!

The next section of trail from Tengboche to the village of Pheriche was one of the highlights of the ride. It was mostly rideable with huge mountains surrounding the trail 360 degrees. The trail was starting to get busy with trekkers, porters and Yak Trains, but it was mostly manageable. The trekkers were great at giving the way, while I would give way to the Porters packing huge loads, and the Yak as they bulldozed themselves down the trail. I had no interest getting head butted off a cliff by one of these stubborn beasts. It was a busy morning with helicopters heading to basecamp every 5 minutes, and almost zero cloud cover as this area near the Tibetan boarder is in a dry zone. The constant buzz of Helicopters brought back memories of racing the Cape Epic in South Africa.

Food wise I was relying on my F2C Liquid nutrition as it can be hard on the stomach to digest solid foods in such a long and hard effort at altitude. Water was plentiful everywhere, over the years I’ve learnt to trust this mountain water and have luckily never had an issue with it. With the Everest trail being so developed, I also stopped for a couple cups of fresh coffee at the numerous teahouses now offering this service. All the teahouses also meant their were countless spots to get food, or shelter if the weather turned, a nice bonus of the Everest Region.

Stopping at Pheriche, I realized I had lost my Inreach tracker on the last rough descent. Guessing it would cost an hour to try and retrieve it, I opted to talk to a passing trekker instead. Asking Bastian, a young fit guy, to look for it as he hiked by, giving him my email in case he found it. After a coffee in Pheriche, I messaged a few friends to not worry in case they saw my tracker was stopped. I then carried on for 15 minutes on the only flat piece of trail in possibly all of Nepal. This came to an abrupt end with an unrideable rock garden, and then another tough climb up to Lobuche pass at 4900 meters. This climb was 80% hike a bike and the altitude was starting to hit pretty hard. I had done some good training beforehand riding up on Pikey Peak and Ratnange mountains but nothing above 4060M. From the pass, it was a great bit of riding, a gentle incline on a maze of trails heading past Lobuche village. This ended at a section of moraines and glacier crossings. From here it was going to be mostly nasty hike a bike for the final 6 km towards base camp, passing the last village of Gorakshep at 5160 m.

Gorakshep to Base Camp was one of the most stunning parts of the entire ride with the Khumbu glacier on the east and massive mountains reaching to the sky all around. This part was quite busy, with lots of expeditions already coming down from the mountain after successfully summiting Everest. This wasn’t a place to rush, constantly jumping off the trail to let people and Yaks wander by. The high altitude was making the hike a bike rather difficult, with the added knowledge of having to return the same way not being too inspiring! I’ve always found anything above 5000 M to be rather difficult as the available oxygen is about 50% less than what is available at sea level. I had to be careful here as a large amount of the trekkers I passed were in a drunk state from being altitude sick, and were basically walking zombies with not to much awareness.

My reaction times were also off, making it hard to maneuver the obstacles and people on course. A few times the trekkers would just look at me like a deer in headlights while standing in the middle of the trail. I’d hop off and walk around them, offering a soft Namaste as I could see their suffering! A young sherpa heading back to base camp joined me for this section. He offered to take my bike, but I was on a solo FKT mission so politely refused. Instead I gave him the go pro to take some coverage since I was hoping to share this experience with the World, but didn’t have a film crew along.

The other time eater was taking selfies and talking to trekkers as most everyone was pretty surprised to see a bike this far up the EBC trail. The Indian trekkers were especially keen. I tried to be polite and abide to selfies, but once the questions started flowing, I would try to keep moving as the questions weren’t limited! I hope I can answer most of those questions here in this adventure report and the video to come.

Hitting base camp at 12:59 pm, 11 hours and 19 minutes after leaving Lukla, signalled the end of the FKT. It was a glorious day, sun shining, people everywhere, creating a vibrant atmosphere at the base of the World’s Highest Mountain. The helicopter action was non stop, hauling people and supplies into and out of camp. Many Sherpa guides were already down the mountain headed home, and loads of tourists were clicking photos everywhere. I spent a solid 45 minutes enjoying the atmosphere, clicking some pictures myself, before deciding to head back. Having a flight back to Kathmandu early the next morning from Lukla I had to boogie. Because this FKT had been delayed 3 days due to flights and permits, I was now on the edge of missing my flight back to Canada which was Sunday afternoon!

After the 5 km hike a bike towards Lobuche, the trip back was pretty smooth sailing. It was quite rideable, but again on the sketchy side, with a couple tough hike a bike climbs mixed in. I would make it down to Namche Bazar a few hours after dark, being caught in a massive rain and thunder and lightning storm for these final 2 hours. Stopping at a lodge to spend the night with some friends was a nice break. I had to wake up at 3:30 am for a hard 2 hour & 10 minute effort down to Lukla for the 7am flight to Kathmandu. The flight was delayed till noon, causing me to change my international flight last minute, to Monday morning. It cost $100 bucks but it provided for 24 hours in Kathmandu to catch up with friends, pack, and enjoy the city amenities after being away 3 weeks in the Himalayas. Time always flies by in Nepal and it is never enough.

Overall the FKT ride up to Everest Base Camp exceeded expectations. It was more rideable then imagined, the trail traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as I was told it might be, and everyone was quite welcoming to see my two wheels. About 80% of the trail was rideable before the moraines after Lobuche. That being said, the hike a bike is tough, and takes time, so I’m guessing the bike to hike time ratio is around 50/50. This isn’t including the out and back near base camp which is basically 5-4 hours on your feet. It’s a tough day out but the payoff far exceeds the challenges.

I would like to send a big shout out to the Nepal Tourism Board for helping out with the transportation and accommodations during this mission and my buddy GauravMan for looking after the permits and the Nepali ground support. Stay tuned for the small documentary he is working on with the go pro footage!

It was a busy turnaround but I’d catch my flight out of the Himalayan nation just in time. After a short layover in Delhi, it was onwards to Japan for an entertaining 1 day pit stop in Tokyo. This day was full of Sushi, spas and shopping with some Japanese friends, then continuing homeward to Canada where I’m now resting. Jet lag has been non existent, with a couple 10 hour sleeps in the bag. I guesse the trick is to destroy yourself with a few all nighters, then fly 2 days around the globe, totally confusing your system, and it will have no choice except to just sleep when it gets the chance!

Whenever I return home from Nepal it seems like I have been in a dream. I’ll be looking forward to the next chance to visit this amazing nation in the Himalayas for more adventures!

Namaste from the Canadian West Coast.

Cory Wallace