As predicted by Tsering, our logistics leader, we were up at 6:30 AM for breakfast, breaking down our tents one final time in preparation for departure. It had been more than five weeks since we first arrived in Lukla on April 16. Now, Everest Base Camp was behind us—and Kathmandu ahead.
In anticipation of this day, we had already shipped our nonessential gear back to the city before our summit push. That bag included my base camp sleeping bag, lighter trekking clothes, my laptop, and any items we wouldn’t need above Camp 2. It was a relief to have just one duffle bag left to organize.
Due to the altitude (17,500 ft), helicopters departing Base Camp can only accommodate two passengers per flight. The helipad was a short walk from camp. Our team departed in stages, and I flew with Tsering at 8:15 AM, landing in Lukla just 15 minutes later.
There, we waited a few hours for a larger helicopter that could carry all five team members and the rest of our gear. Around 11:00 AM, we landed in Kathmandu’s domestic terminal. The 45-minute flight gave me time to imagine the luxuries I’d missed: a hot shower, a warm bed, and an ice-cold beer.
Since Saturdays are holidays in Kathmandu, the traffic was light. We checked into the Marriott Aloft in Thamel and retrieved our stored street clothes and personal belongings. After a hot shower and a blissful two-hour nap—the first time I’d slept in a real bed in over a month—I stepped on a scale: 162 pounds. I had lost 20 pounds since the expedition began.
At 4:30 PM, Mingma, our Kathmandu guide, picked me up and drove me to CIWEC Hospital. The doctors at the Everest Base Camp clinic had insisted I get a chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia.
At the hospital, a nurse inserted an IV and gave me 1.5 liters of fluid while blood samples were drawn. We then moved to radiology for the chest X-ray.
Good news: I did not have pneumonia.
Bad news: I had bronchitis, a sinus infection, high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), and possibly high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE).
Worst news: I was so severely dehydrated I was on the verge of kidney failure.
Another issue I raised during the exam was the complete numbness in my toes. The doctor diagnosed me with chilblains—a cold-induced nerve condition that, while not as severe as frostbite, causes painful inflammation and temporary nerve damage. The good news: I wouldn't lose any tissue. The bad news: it would take weeks to fully heal.
I asked the doctor how much fluid I would need. He said I required five liters of electrolytes overnight to avoid serious complications. If I chose not to be admitted, I would still need to return the next morning for follow-up bloodwork before I could be cleared to fly.
I opted for the comfort of my hotel. I returned to the Aloft around 8:00 PM and went straight to bed, waking every two hours to drink a liter of water mixed with the electrolyte powder they sent me home with. It was a disciplined regimen, but it worked.
The next morning, I weighed myself—eight pounds heavier than the night before—and felt significantly better, though I was still coughing and sleeping in short stretches. I took a taxi back to CIWEC for the follow-up. The blood test confirmed it: I was cleared to fly.
The five liters of fluid had done the trick. Our team met over lunch at the Aloft, and we said our goodbyes. Ryan and I shared a taxi to the airport at 3:30 pm. My flight departed at 7:00 pm. Matt had already departed the night before, and Grace and Jason were planning a later departure to Seoul for two weeks of pampering in the large city. I was scheduled to fly to Dubai that night, and if all went smoothly, I would be back home by Memorial Day Monday.
