Black hikes to Everest base camp

Phil Black boarded a plane that carried him from Birmingham to Atlanta.

And then another that took him from Atlanta to Istanbul, Turkey.

And then another that took him from Turkey to Kathmandu, Nepal.

While the three flights lasted a combined 19 hours, they marked only the beginning of a three-week journey from Sept. 29 to Oct. 20 that culminated in Black reaching Mount Everest base camp.

Everest is the world’s tallest mountain.

“In my 63 years, I’ve done a lot of things, but that was absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever done by far,” Black said, “because you get up there in the higher elevation — it’s like 17, 18,000 feet — and there’s just no air. It’s like half the air you have here in Birmingham.”

Black, a Mountain Brook city councilor and Planning Commission member, said the trip was on his bucket list. He met the first American to summit Everest, Jim Whittaker, while growing up in Chattanooga.

The encounter planted a seed.

“To get there, it was kind of like a childhood dream of mine,” he said. “It was really amazing.”

Upon landing in Kathmandu, Black met the other six members of his hiking expedition. Only three of them, including Black, completed the 96-mile trek.

He said the other four had to be evacuated by helicopter due to severe altitude sickness.

“That was kind of a kick in the teeth from a morale standpoint,” Black said, “because I then became the oldest person in the group.”

REI organized Black’s expedition, which was led by a cohort of sherpas, cooks and porters. They began their hike in a tiny Himalayan mountain town called Lukla, a 30-minute plane ride from Kathmandu.

“The airstrip there, you can Google it,” Black said. “It’s the most dangerous airstrip in the world. It is 900 feet long.”

Black’s first day in Lukla was dedicated to acclimatization, as it sits at 9,000 feet above sea level. Then, the hike began.

Black said it took 11 or 12 days to reach Everest’s base camp, the oxygen decreasing with every step.

“You’d wake up, and you’d feel like you’ve been holding your breath for five minutes,” Black said.

The temperature during the day reached 40 degrees, but at night it fell to single digits. Black camped in a tent and sleeping bag, bundling up in a parka to stay warm.

He and other group members hiked for six to nine hours per day and covered anywhere from 6 to 9 miles, all while carrying a 10- to 15-pound backpack. The porters hauled most of the supplies with the help of yaks.

Over the course of the trek, Black said he lost 15 pounds. The altitude depressed his appetite, so he relied primarily on water, tea and candy bars.

“If you’re a mountain climber trying to go up to the top of Everest, that’s all you really eat,” Black said. “You drink a lot of water and you eat a lot of candy bars because no one wants to cook up there in those high camps.”

Peanut M&Ms and Heath bars fueled Black in his ascent. When he got there, he said he had no energy left in the tank.

“I knew, even with the candy bars, I could not have taken another step probably,” he said.

Black said the scenery on Everest amazed him. The sky was a black-blue color because there wasn’t much atmosphere overhead, and the sun was so close it looked like a furnace.

Black compared the surface of Everest to that of Mars, consisting only of rock and ice.

“To see Everest in person, it’s hard to put into words,” he said.

Black’s party only stayed at base camp for about an hour before beginning its descent, which took four days. Black credited his extensive preparation for getting him to the end.

This past spring and summer, he hiked on the weekends at Oak Mountain State Park while toting a weighted pack that got up to 47 pounds. He also took monthly hiking trips to the Smoky Mountains to expose himself to higher elevations.

“The last hike I did was 18 miles, so I was in as good of shape as I could be, I guess,” Black said. “It proved to be everything I needed.”

After arriving in Lukla, Black took the short flight back to Kathmandu. He had a day to recover and enjoyed his first shower since departing the city nearly three weeks prior.

Then, he began his long trek to Birmingham.

As for his next trip? Black said it will likely be closer to home and include more oxygen.

“I think it’s going to involve the beach,” he said, “something at sea level.”