After eight days of trekking, I reached Everest Base Camp at the age of 77

Stunning, majestic, and peaceful.

After eight days of trekking, we’d made it to Everest Base Camp, and I was absolutely awed by the scenery.

The clouds had cleared, and blue skies formed a backdrop to the towering, snow-covered peaks. From this vantage point beside Nepal’s Khumbu Glacier you could see the tents of the climbers hoping to summit Everest.

I felt relieved that I had made it, and grateful at having accomplished such a momentous journey alongside my 45-year-old daughter.

How fortunate I was to have experienced such an adventure and such joy, I thought.

Trekking to Base Camp isn’t the kind of activity you’d usually decide to do when you’re 77. Last year, I was doing all the sensible things you should be doing to prepare to be 80 – downsizing my house, clearing my attic, and preparing my will.

I must admit, sometimes I thought: what on earth am I doing? But I told myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other

Then my daughter, who was taking a sabbatical year from work, booked a trip there. She is an anaesthetist and the pandemic was very challenging for her. After lockdown, she decided to take a year off to recharge her batteries. 

One day we were doing some gardening and she asked: ‘Why don’t you come with me?’ I told her not to be so silly, this was her trip and I didn’t want to put her in a position where she had to look after me if I had to turn back. But she insisted, and we agreed that if one had to turn back the other would continue. 

I thought about it and decided – why not?

In my twenties and thirties, my holidays usually involved camping with family in Wales and France. I only discovered the joy of group travelling in my late forties when my youngest had left home.

My tour leader kept a close eye on me to assess my stamina and balance, but throughout the trek he was so supportive (Picture: Fiona Hatton)

Since then, I have trekked to Machu Picchu and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Some of my favourite places I’ve travelled to include the beaches of Zanzibar, Petra in Jordan, sailing down the Mekong River and camping in the Sahara Desert.  

In my retirement, I like to keep fit and belong to a local running group called ‘Any 1 Can Run’. We’re out several times a week, running 5 or 6km per session.

I decided to do Base Camp about six weeks before the trip departed, so I had to do a bit of extra training to prepare. I trained for a 10km run, did resistance bands exercises, and had a trekking pole lesson. 

My daughter and I ended up in a group of nine travellers, our leader Phurba Sherpa and two assistant guides. Although many of the others were in their twenties and thirties, they didn’t bat an eyelid at me and were very welcoming. On tough days they offered to take some weight from my day pack, but they never made me feel old or knackered.

Although many of the others were in their twenties and thirties, they didn’t bat an eyelid at me and were very welcoming (Picture Fiona Hatton)

When we started the trek, my tour leader kept a close eye on me to assess my stamina and balance, but throughout he was so supportive. He didn’t make any fuss about my age or make me feel different from the others at all. 

We walked through incredible scenery by day, and stayed in Sherpa teahouses overnight. In the teahouses, we ate delicious food, talked about life, how we were feeling and our highs and lows of the day. 

When we reached about 3,200 metres above sea level, we started feeling the altitude. I must admit, sometimes I thought: what on earth am I doing? But I told myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

In any challenging situation you question why you’re doing it, but the feeling of being outside of your comfort zone is worth the effort.

And then, we made it to Base Camp. It was an amazing feeling, knowing I’d accomplished something many only ever dream of doing – and at my age, too.

We arrived in the town of Lukla after our last day of trekking and the guides joined us for a dance in the evening to celebrate. They had great moves, and should be on Strictly!

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I think all of us oldies should get out there and explore. Many of us have been hibernating since the pandemic and had friends or family who caught Covid and sadly passed away, but this trip reminded me that the world is an amazing place.  

My friends take great pride in organising their own trip to hotels in France and Spain, and tell me they wouldn’t like travelling with a group. If only they knew what they were missing: new people, new stories, and new adventures.

I’m about to go on a 10-day trip to Uzbekistan. I have no idea what it’ll be like but I’m sure it will widen my world view!

I thought I may feel too old to travel like this, but that’s rubbish.

Book the Everest Base Camp Trek at intrepidtravel.com or call 0808 274 5111 

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All of us oldies should get out there and explore.