15-Day Everest Base Camp Trek from Kathmandu with Kalapathar

Clothing

• Jackets (fiber or down).
• Woolen shirts and thick sweaters.
• Waterproof jacket with hood or poncho.
• Tracksuit.
• Track shoes.
• Trousers.
• Thermal underwear and thermal coat.
• 2 pairs of loose-fitting long shorts/skirts.
• Pair of gloves.
• Pair of sandals.
• Thermal underwear.
• Woolen hat.
• Long-sleeved shirt.
• Towel and hankies.
• Lightweight walking boots.
• 2 pairs of thin socks and 2 pairs of woolen socks.

Equipment and Accessories

• Snow glasses and sunglasses.
• Trekking sticks.
• Duffle bag or kit bag to carry gear while trekking.
• 2-4 plastic bags and 2-4 large plastic bags to separate clean clothes from dirty ones, plus 6-10 smaller plastic bags to dispose of garbage.
• Daypack bag to carry your personal requirements.
• Water bottle and water-purifying tablets.
• Toilet articles and towels, toilet paper.
• Umbrella (optional).
• Headlamp, torch, candles.
• Matches/lighters.
• Binoculars, camera, trekking map and compass, pillow, knife, passport photograph, reading materials, pencil, rubber, pen and notebook, lip guard.
• Toilet papers.

Details of Trekking Equipment

• Camp shoes/sandals: A luxury for your feet at the end of the day. Sandals or running shoes are better and can be bought cheaply in Kathmandu. They are a necessity for showers during the Khumbu and Annapurna treks.
• Thermal shirts/underwear: Good thermals, both tops and bottoms, are best for cold-weather trekking.
• Nightwear thermals: Good for keeping warm at night in the sleeping bag. Silk-weight is the lightest and warm.
• Fleece/sweatpants: Good for the cold evening and morning.
• Day-wear T-shirts/shirts: At lower altitudes, trekking weather will be hot, so T-shirts and shirts are recommended.
• Trekking pants: Recommended to have 2 pairs.
• Wind pants: If your trekking pants are reasonably windproof, then special wind pants are not needed. If you do bring a pair, it is not necessary to have Gore-Tex. Similar non-waterproof options are quite OK.
• Underwear: Regular everyday type.
• Neck gaiter: For winter trekking, these are really the best for staying warm.
• Trekking poles: Trekking poles are very useful, especially for downhill walking. On popular treks in Nepal, you can also buy wooden trekking poles sold by children, and trekking can be done without trekking poles as well.
• Sunglasses: Good wraparound glasses suitable for snow are recommended. It is bright up there, but specialized glacier glasses with side pieces are not needed. Contact lens wearers report very few problems except cleaning them in the conditions.
• Mittens/gloves: A good pair of windproof gloves is essential. You can buy them cheaply in Kathmandu if you do not have them.
• Sun hat/woolen hat: Trekking in spring and summer at lower altitude is hotter and sunny all day, so you can bring a hat or small cap to protect from sunburn. On the upper part of the trek, it is colder and windier, so you can have a woolen hat to keep your head warmer.
• First aid kit: All our trekking tour and trek leaders carry a first aid kit box, including medicine for altitude sickness, diarrhea, and other small problems. You should bring any personal medicines that you need, as sometimes your local medicine is more effective than what we provide.
• Water purification: Some places on the teahouse trek sell mineral water, but it is discouraged from an environmental point of view because of the plastic bottles. Hot and boiled water can be obtained from the guesthouse. Iodine tablets and chlorine water-purification drops are recommended to take.
• Water bottle: Two 1-liter water bottles are recommended. Bring good ones that can take boiling water and are leakproof. European aluminum bottles are best.
• Torch/flashlight: A flashlight or headlamp is necessary.
• Towel: During the trek, towels are not available at guesthouses, so you need one small and light towel for trekking.
• Sunscreen and lip balm with sunscreen: The sun is strong at altitude, especially after snow. Bring at least sunscreen and lip balm with SPF 15, and better still SPF 30+. You can buy these in Kathmandu.
• Moisturizer: The air is dry and windier, with dust on some parts of the trek, so moisturizer is good to carry for your skin.
• Toiletries: Shampoo, soap, scissors, hair products, toothbrush and toothpaste, tissues, sun cream, chap stick, antiseptic hand wipes, face washer, etc.
• Daypack: This should be comfortable, and a good waistband that transfers some of the weight to the hips is most important. It needs to be big enough to take a jacket, fleece, water, camera, and odds and ends. Kathmandu now offers a range of cheap fall-apart packs to top-of-the-range options.
• Footwear: One pair of sturdy light- to middle-weight hiking boots. Typically, these are a combination of nylon and leather. We suggest boots with a Gore-Tex lining to be waterproof. These types of shoes have a lug sole for good traction and provide lateral support for the ankles, which is essential while hiking. Heavy-weight all-leather backpacking boots are not recommended. Be sure your footwear is broken in and fits well. Boots should fit comfortably over one thin liner sock and a mid-weight wool sock. This reduces chafing and blisters. Tennis shoes or sandals are also useful for camp use or bathing.
• Socks: Four pairs of liner socks and four pairs of mid-weight wool socks. Socks and footwear should be coordinated for a proper fit.
• Backpack: For travel in Nepal and for trekking, a backpack is more suitable than a suitcase. If you plan on trekking or hiking, a sturdy and comfortable backpack and daypack are essential. You should have your backpack expertly fitted to you before your departure. Your backpack should also have a waterproof cover. Normally, you need 2: one of 60 liters and another of 25 liters is more suitable.
• Sleeping bag: Down-filled sleeping bags are better for Nepal tours and trekking. Beg, borrow, or steal a good one, ideally a 4-5 season bag, because high-altitude nights will be cool. Good down is fluffy, light, and thick. A muff, an extra section around the neck, makes a big difference to the overall warmth of a bag. Reasonable sleeping bags are cheaply available for rent or purchase in Kathmandu. We advise you to take one rated to -20.
• Sleeping bag liner: Cotton, silk, or fleece. It saves washing your sleeping bag and adds warmth.
• Down jacket/Gore-Tex: This jacket is needed for trekking up to 3200 m and is also useful in the cold evening and morning. If you do not have one and want to use it only for trekking in Nepal, you can rent one in Nepal.
• Fleece jacket: Most trekkers consider this essential, but alternatives are a thick thermal top or a light down jacket. In Kathmandu, you can get almost any sort of copy fleece you need.
• Rain jacket/wind shell: The jacket should be very water-repellent and roomy.
• Layering: Keeping the proper temperature is best accomplished by adding or taking off layers of clothing. While hiking during the day, you may be in shorts or a skirt and a long-sleeved shirt. During the evening, as the temperature cools, you will add a sweater and perhaps a parka. Bringing the items outlined below will ensure that you are adequately prepared. Make sure that your clothing is sized to allow your layers and still move comfortably.