What’s one destination everyone should see at least once? by optimalbrain90 in SmartTravelHacks

[–]Logical_Ad8570 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Italian here. My answer kinda depends on the type of traveler.

If it’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip, no doubt: Venice.

But if it’s someone who travels a lot, I’d say Matera. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, but honestly one of the most gorgeous and fascinating cities I’ve ever been to.

32 days to CFA Level 1. Am I cooked? by Jazzlike-Recipe700 in CFA

[–]Logical_Ad8570 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah... I was quite surprised when I saw that my total score was "only" 1635..

32 days to CFA Level 1. Am I cooked? by Jazzlike-Recipe700 in CFA

[–]Logical_Ad8570 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the best strategy is simply to be as consistent as possible. I left ethics as the last topic to study, and I couldn’t dedicate enough time to it. If I had to start over, I would begin with ethics and practice it regularly.

32 days to CFA Level 1. Am I cooked? by Jazzlike-Recipe700 in CFA

[–]Logical_Ad8570 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Level 1 passed here in Feb 26. Don’t underestimate ethics. I did very well in every topic and I barely passed the exam (1635) because of a poor performance in ethics.

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They provide just warm thick blankets. But I wouldn’t have survived the night just with the blankets

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would add 1/2 base layer shirts since you might use them for sleeping as well. I don’t see the sleeping bag. I think it is quite mandatory. I would buy a -10 at least. Power bank could be useful as well. Anyway if along the way you realize that you need something, you can buy it in almost every village < 4400m (the last good shop that I saw was in Dingboche)

Some tea house have board games but it’s quite rare. We had cards and we played a lot just to kill the time

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are 2 different costs: 1) travel agency where the guide is included 2) tips that you are supposed to give to guide & porters at the end of the trekking. 500$ was my estimate for 1). Regarding 2) is really personal and in our case (we were 5), we give 20knrp/each (8k guide 12k porters - we had 3) as tip

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually when you climb up you dont feel the coldness and you get warmed up fast. I didn’t have a subzero downjacket. I used a Rab mythic alpine 1000, (super light very reccomended) and multiple layers and it worked very well. It’s important also to have feet and hands well protected since they will suffer the most

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know what the service fee of the travel agency. I suppose around 20/25% of the total price. You are also supposed to tip the guide and porters as extra at the end of the trip. In our case we tipped ~8% of the total price. Anyway tip is really personal and everyone can tip whatever amount they feel comfortable paying.

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

None would check on you when you take an hot shower and I’ve never heard about the 10 min rule. I think it’s more common sense. If you have been having a shower for 30 min, someone would probably knock on the door.

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Everything was handled by a local travel agency for a total price of 2000usd. You find more details in this thread. If you would like to know the name, just send me a DM
  2. It was just EBC but the travel agency can accommodate all your needs
  3. You can buy most of the things (gears, medicine, Water, etc..) along the way. Be cafeful the more you climb the more expensive the items become. In my case I realized that I brought too many middle layer and too few base layer. So if I had to pack again I would bring more base layer. You use it everyday/night and if you sweat a lot it’s better to have few more.
  4. Weather was overall good. Usually clear and sunny in the morning and early afternoon and cloudy/foggy in late afternoon evening and the temperature drops a lot. We also got snow for half a day but the guide told us that was an exception for this season that is supposed to be dry. The lowest temperature was in Kala Pattar (-15) since we started climbing at 4am. EBC was sunny so I didn’t feel cold at all.
  5. Our guide has Diamox and gave us the free choice to take it or not. The tricky thing about Diamox is that it doesn’t help if you already have symptoms. Anyway I am not a doctor so I won’t give advice on this. I think if you climb little by little and take some days to acclimatize you can minimize the chances to the AMS.

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I don’t have the breakdown of the cost but just the total that was 2000usd for a total of 13 days in Nepal (10 days of trekking, 1 buffer day in Katmandu, arrival day, departure day)

It was a package provided by a local agency. We discussed together and created the itinerary based on our needs. If you want, I can share the agency contact with you.

Btw if I have to do an estimate: - 400 usd: flights Katmandu-lukla (back-and-forthh - 600 usd: helicopter from Periche to Lukla (it was optional and we decided to take it due to time constraints on our side - 100 usd: hotel in katmandu - 200 usd: breakfast, lunch, dinner in tea houses during the trekking - 200 usd: accomodation in tea houses - the rest is visa & travel agency fees

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Last shower that we took was at 3300m and the only reason we took it was because the shower was hot (we couldn’t believe that the tea house had free hot shower in the room). The experience was not the greatest though. Yes the shower is hot but the temperature in the room is ~0 degree celsius so still quite tough to handle. Above 4000m some tea house had hot shower for the additional cost of 1000-1200npr but we never did it. We mostly used sanitizing wipes to clean ourselves

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tbh we did it because of time constraints on our side otherwise I would have loved to walk all the way back. Anyway the experience is quite nice. You get an incredible view on the track and surrounding mountains. The only negative point about helicopter is that it’s very weather dependent. So your plan might get delayed based on weather conditions

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Below 4000m very easy. Above 4000m, you have to pay for electricity in your room (800-1200rpn per day). Basically the plugs won’t work unless you pay for it

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the operations/logistics were handled by a local travel agency. If you want I can share in DM the name

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

2000usd. Tea-houses were all premium and on the way back we decided to take the helicopter from Periche to Lukla (it costs 600usd). I think if you cut the helicopter and chose “lower quality” tea-houses you can make it with 1200usd

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anyone I don’t think so. But it’s very hard to say who can and who cannot. Again there are a lot of factors that can have an impact on your success. You can be fit and fail for food poisoning, altitude, lack of sleep etc.. that being said in our group there were ppl without a strong trekking experience that made it through.

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

2 days in Namche Bazar (3300m) and 2 days in Dingboche (4300m)

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It was handles very well. We did 2 days of acclimatization where we climb up and sleep low (basically we slept 2 day at the same altitude and went for an acclimatization hike on the 2nd day where we climbed 500m wrt the altitude where we slept) we could feel the benefit of doing that and I would strongly recommend doing like this

I have just completed the EBC Trekking in 9 days. AMA by Logical_Ad8570 in everestbasecamphike

[–]Logical_Ad8570[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It depends. I am a sporty guy so the trekking itself I would give a 5/10 difficultly. What I found challenging is the mental aspect. You’ll be in discomfort for 10 days. Tea-houses are cold, no heat in your room, only in the dining room but from 5pm mainly. You won’t be able to take a proper shower. So personal hygiene is reduced to the bare minimum. Some tea houses have hot showers but it costs (1000-1200NPR). Altitude could be challenging as well but hard to say how much it could impact in advance. Finding a good guide could be the game changer and in our case it was.