Millionaire business owner reveals how he completed a ‘grueling’ nine-day trek to Everest Basecamp with just three weeks training – claiming ‘ANYONE can do it’

A terrifying airport runway, long days of hiking, a lack of oxygen and no showers – a self-made millionaire with no hiking experience has revealed a detailed account of his journey to Everest Basecamp with all luxury out the window.

Neel Parekh, 35, from Los Angeles, ventured into the Himalayas this spring with his wife for a “grueling” nine-day trek to the foot of the world’s highest mountain.

In a thread documenting the experience on can. ‘

He adds: ‘The tour itself is not too technical. It’s long, yes, but that’s to be expected. The hard parts come from the unexpected…’

From “day one,” Neel said the journey began with a pulse-pounding flight to the “most dangerous runway in the world,” which is just 1,729 feet long and “looks like it was made for ants.”

From there, Neel and his wife met a local guide named Govinda and they set off on their journey.

His diary entry for that day reads enthusiastically: ‘You feel fresh and the excitement is high. Easy day. Four hour trek. We check into a teahouse accommodation.

“Food was provided for the entire trip, so there was no problem there. No problems on day one. LFG. This sh** will be easy.”

However, on the second day, Neel’s feelings changed slightly as he wrote, “Update: This sh** was indeed not easy.”

He notes that some of the trickier moments included “seven-hour hikes,” “suspension bridges,” “uneven terrain” and “slog uphill with a side stitch.”

But he does highlight some “fun parts” of the adventure, such as “traveling through small villages” to observe “a different way of life” and “not-freakin-real” landscapes that “make you feel like you’re in another world.’

At the end of day two, Neel and his wife reached the “biggest” city in the area, Namche Bazar, and he said it “felt incredible to be near something modern (i.e., they even had a small local bar).’

When he woke up the next day, Neel said things had gotten off to a bad start because he was “freezing,” with even the shower “barely above freezing.”

But he soon warmed up with a four-hour hike uphill, which rewarded him with “a lookout point and a glimpse of the homie Everest rising above the mountain range.”

The worst of Neel’s expedition occurred on the fourth day, when it “rained all day.”

Luckily, he said, he rented a raincoat in Kathmandu, so “he threw it on and packed it.”

In addition to the bad weather, the businessman said he suffered from fatigue after “several days of poor sleep”, due to poor and very basic accommodation.

He said he ended the day in his sleeping bag, “wet from the rain and frustrated with what I had gotten myself into.”

A period of ‘schizophrenic’ weather continued on day five, with sunshine, wind, snow and ‘then sunny again.’

However, Neel said the walking trail, which took six hours, was “fairly easy”, with a series of “suspension bridges and beautiful rivers”.

From this day on, the Californian said he felt “re-energized” about the trip and “in absolute awe of the changing landscape.”

The only thing that held him back somewhat was a bout of altitude sickness on day seven after an acclimatization walk, and his head ‘throbbed’ from lack of oxygen and not enough fluids.

After ‘drinking water and Liquid IV’, Neel felt ‘a lot’ better as he planned the final trek to base camp.

He wrote for his diary entry on ‘day eight’: ‘Everest Basecamp The finish is close, baby. We set off through a valley for a six hour journey to reach the next destination. Yaks accompany us. It is a beautiful day.

‘Oxygen at this altitude is 50 percent of the oxygen at sea level. The last part is tough. I’m out of breath.

‘I’ve been stopping every few minutes for the past two hours. But my excitement at reaching the promised land keeps me going. Finally I turn the bend and see it. We have reached Base Camp.’

The next morning, after trekking to a viewpoint, Neel and his wife started the journey back to Kathmandu.

He writes: ‘Both my wife and I feel incredibly capable… and can’t wait to return to civilization. Massages and momos (dumplings) are waiting for us in Kathmandu.’

In an effort to help others plan a trek to Everest Basecamp, Neel shared his training plan and essential packing list.

Firstly, he said his three-week fitness regimen consisted of a mix of HIIT boxing and two hours of straight uphill walking.

Commenting on his fitness, he said: “Physically I was fine during the trek. The altitude left me exhausted some days, but there’s not much you can do about that.

‘In retrospect, I would tell someone to just walk the stairs every day until they can go up and down the stairs for an hour without any problems. If you have rocky trails near you, even better.”

As for packing, he suggests ‘layering’ and ‘leaving the huge coat at home’ and if you don’t have any equipment yet, buy it in Kathmandu as it is ‘much cheaper’.

In addition to hiking clothes, other essential items include altitude sickness medication (Diamox), toilet paper, pillowcase and a deck of cards as an ‘easy way to make friends in the teahouses.’