Getting there

Quick flight synopsis:

1. Raleigh to JFK, New York, 1h35m
2. New York to Hong Kong, 16h20m
3. Hong Kong to Dhaka, Bangladesh, 4h20m
4. Dhaka to Kathmandu, Nepal, 1h40m

Start at 6:00 AM on October 31. Arrive 30 hours later at 10:20PM on November 1. Total time in the air: about 24 hours. We spend a few days in Kathmandu before flying to Lukla, where the actual trek begins.

This flight is not for the weak of heart. No, let me correct that. The flight is cake. The landing and the takeoff at Lukla is what requires either a strong heart... or some heavy sedation.

The Tensing-Hillary Airport in Lukla is up on a mountain side. Arrivals land—smartly—on the 12% uphill grade which helps stop the planes before they encounter the much steeper mountain side that is guaranteed to really stop them.  Takeoff goes in the other direction—the downhill run helps the planes accelerate to rotation speed before reaching a 2,000 foot drop-off immediately at the end of the 460 meter short airstrip.

Don't fret for me or my fellow trekkers, though! The Lukla airport has been called the safest  airport in the world, except for every other airports in the world.

Once we get get to safe ground in Lukla, the rest of the trek begins. The actual trekking to Everest Base Camp and back takes about two weeks, I think to allow time to build up our nerves (or to forget our anxiety) before we get back on the exceedingly well-maintained twin prop plane for the breathtaking 3D HD Lukla departure.

I think I'll pack lightly.