AN Aylburton man has helped the Review to achieve new heights by toughing-out a 135 km round trek to the Base Camp on Mt Everest.

John Cresswell's walk was rated as 'strenuous' and the four men and two women who accompanied him were supported by local Nepalese guides and porters.

His trip to Nepal started with two days in Kathmandu for sightseeing and shopping before taking a 30 minute flight to the mountain airstrip of Lukla (2,784m). The trek started shortly after arrival at 8am with a three-hour walk on steep mountain paths strewn with stones and boulders to the small mountain village of Phakding (2,623m), with a small descent in altitude in order to help with acclimatisation.

"The following morning the really hard walking started with a six-hour trek over rough mountain tracks and high 'sky bridges' crossing the Dudh Kosi Valley, otherwise known as the Milk River," said John.

"This flows down from Everest and the Khumber Glacier, culminating in a very steep ascent to Namche Bazaar (3,440m), the home of the Sherpa people of Nepal.

"From Namche the route followed the Milk River valley as it made its way up to the Khumber Glacier. Overnight stays were in Sherpa tea houses where the accommodation was basic but where the food and hospitality was welcome at the end of a long day's walking."

After a further three days of strenuous walking of up to eight hours a day, up and down steep hills and along narrow mountain passes with impressive drops on either side, the small group eventually crossed the Khumber Glacier for the final tough walk up to the entrance of Everest Base Camp at 5,364m above sea level (equivalent to 17,605ft).

A further four days of walking over the rocky and steep paths was required to return to the start point in Lukla where the only alternative transport to walking is by mountain pony, yak, or donkey. The nearest road is a further four-day walk south from Lukla.

"This is truly one of the most remote regions in the world," says John.

John describes the trek as the hardest physical and mental challenge he has ever undertaken, "but it was a trip of a lifetime, never to be repeated".