I have this interest in possibly climing Mt. Everest....I am ok with just hiking to the first or 2nd basecamp. I am not necessarily interested in hiking all the way to the top.

Does anyone know of any good websites or travel companies that take people on Mt. Everest hikes? Is it necessary to go with a travel company?

Also, I am not rich, and this is one of those life-long kind of dreams....so the cheaper the better.

Thank you!

Just for comparison purposes, you could look at REI Adventures; they are generally at the low end on costs for adventure trips. The Everest Base Camp trek (22 days) is around $3000, and you have to add airfare to Nepal. It is not possible to go entirely on your own, and hiring a private guide would be much more expensive. Here is the link: http://www.rei.com/adventures/trips/...al_everest.jsp

But other companies may offer shorter treks for a bit less.

Thank you sooo much!!

While I don't plan on climbing everest any time soon, it is one of those lifelong goals...ya know? Just to be able to say I did it!

Thank you so much!!

brithdaygirlstrip,

Hav eyou ever climbed any mountains before? Some friends of mine just came back from Kili. They said it was hard, but doable.

I would love to see Mt. Everest basecamp. Of course I would love to see the peak even more, but I recently read Into Thin Air.

Totally! I saw the story about Into thin Air and while I have hiked before, I am not by any means a big mountain climber. But I love the idea of making it to at least the 1st or 2nd basecamp. Just being able to say I went to Mt. Everest, ya know?

I have stamina, but am lousy at running or speed.

Birthdaygirl-

If you have more time than money, then the best way to do it is to go to Nepal, and book your trek from Kathmandu. It will cost you about a quarter of the price of booking it from the US. There are no shortage of treks going to Everest Base Camp, but it's unlikely you will find one going higher unless you are a "serious" climber.

My guess is that if you are not an avid climber, base camp should be sufficient. It's probably more strenuous than you would imagine.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but no one "hikes" to the top of Everest. It is a multi-month endeavor, with considerable planning, time, and expense involved. The reason so many people died during the trekking season in the book "Into Thin Air" is because trekking companies took climbers who had more money than experience up with them.

We trekked in Nepal in 1998 and found a guide and a porter once we arrived. It was an amazing experience. To give you an idea of cost, at the time we went, we spent we spent approx. US$700 for two people for the eleven day trek we did. But, this included everything that the guided companies don't:
Permits, Conservation fees, extra clothes we had to buy and kept later, flights for us and guide and porter, bus ride to Pokhara (we did the Jomsom trek, not the area around Everest), Taxis to airport and from the end of the trek to Pokhara, Airport tax, all food, accommodations, rentals of sleeping bags and backpack, and our porter and guide's fees.

You might try the Lonely Planet Thorntree message boards for local guide recommendations.

Thank you so much! I used hiked only liberally...I know it takes a lot of endurance and time to scale such a peak!