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Trek to the Everest Base Camp in next week’s Lawnchair Travel presentation

Wolfgang Hofmeier will be presenting his trip as part of the Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel Series

Wolfgang Hofmeier and his sister, Irmgard,embarked on a trek to the Mount Everest Base Camp in October 2011. The trek typically takes between 12 and 13 days with the return.

Throughout his lifetime, Hofmeier has climbed the highest mountains in Germany, Austria, France and Africa. Hofmeier knew he wouldn’t be able to make it up Mount Everest, so he did the next best thing: he trekked to the base camp, going as far as the viewpoint Kala Patthar at an altitude of about 5,700 meters above sea level.

To get to the trek, Hofmeier and his sister had to fly from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to Lukla in the Himalayan region of the county. The Lukla airport is nicknamed “the deadliest airport in the world,” as small planes are forced to fly through the mountains in unpredictable weather to land on a short runway on top of a cliff nearly 2,900 metres above sea level.

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From there, the multi-day trek took Hofmeier and his sister through the mountains of the Khumbu Valley.

“The highlight for me was the view of Mt. Everest from the summit of Kala Patthar at an altitude of about 5,700m,” Hofmeier said, writing to the Observer from his vacation in New Zealand.

An avid traveller, Hofmeier has visited approximately 35 countries around the world.

The Quesnel-area local will also be giving his first presentation in the Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel Series this Monday, March 18.

In his presentation, Hofmeier says he’ll talk about the trek, which took him through the Khumbu Valley in Nepal. He plans to go over the geology, vegetation and culture of the region in particular.

The 13-day trek doesn’t involve any climbing, but the hike experiences dramatic changes in altitude.

“Altitude sickness is a problem for a few people,” says Hofmeier, “but the risk is lower for people who are as slow uphill as I am.”

Hofmeier will be presenting his trip at Rocky’s General Store at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 18. Gates open at 7 p.m.



Heather Norman
Community Reporter
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