Lobuche East Peak Summit attempt & Mt. Everest Base Camp Trek

He's done it!

Dan reached the top of Lobuche East on Monday after 13 days of climbing. Here's a day to day breakdown of his amazing achievement!

Day 1 - Dan's trip began with a plane journey at 1:30am from Kathmandu to Lukla, where the climbing was set to start

Day 2 - Whilst nursing a hangover, the group hiked from Phakding to Namche Bazaar (an elevation of 3440m!), crossing the famous Hillary Bridge as they went. It was at this point that they had their first glimpses of some of the taller peaks of the Himalayas.

Day 3 - Dan and the team did an acclimatisation hike to the Everest View Hotel, stopping at the village of Khumjung where they visited the local monestary and got their first real look at Everest.

Day 4 - Day 4 included a trek to Deboche (3810m) which included around 10km of walking. Dan did all this whilst sick with suspected food poisoning! What a trooper!

Day 5 - Dan passed the highest altitude he had ever been at by this day, at 4410m. It was at this point that they had their first peek at Lobuche East (pun intended!). The first part of their day was spent at the oldest monastery in the Khumbu region, Pangboche Monastery (circa 16th century!). They received a blessing for safe passage in the mountains before making their way up to Dingboche

Day 6 - Another acclimatisation hike to Nangkartshang Peak (5070m). Dan was still unwell at this point, which was draining his energy. He had been seen by a doctor and there was a chance he'd have to do an extra night alone at Dingboche and catch the team up a day later!

Day 7 - Luckily Dan was given the green light to keep climbing! He wasn't feeling 100% but was definitely on the road to recovery. They hiked from Dingboche to Lobuche and were at an altitude of 4940m by the end of the day.

Day 8 - The team reached the Everest Base Camp!

Day 9 - Dan and the gang set off at 4am so they could watch the sunrise over the Everest region. What an experience! This was the last update we had due to Dan's lack of internet that high up but he filled us all in with their plan - to climb to Lobuche East high camp on day 10, have a training day and then begin their final push to the summit

And on day 13 they reached it!

Since our last update a while ago, Dan has been a busy bee preparing for his climb which is now just days away! He let us know what he's been up to and we want to share it with you.

Dan took part in a Via Ferrata experience at Honister Slate mine in the heart of the Lake District. For those that aren't familiar with this, the experience involves using the original miners track up the steep outer incline of Fleetwood Pike! This gave him some experience of fixed lines and carabiner clips and involved vertical climbs, rope-bridge crossings, steel ladder ascents, a run-away zip line and even a Tarzan swing!

Dan's next big achievement to tick of his list was completing the Lakes 24 Peak District challenge in an impressive 18 hours and 51 minutes. He was a full 5 hours ahead of schedule on completion!

The 24 peaks challenge is exactly as it says on the tin; 24 peaks in 24 hours. In total, the challenge combines these peaks into 11,640ft of climbing and includes some well known peaks such as Bowfell, Helvellyn, Great End, Fairfield and Scafell Pike (the tallest peak at 978m). Whilst 11,640ft sounds impressive, it is just over halfway of the height Dan will reach doing this challenge. Once he reaches the summit of Lobuche East Peak he will have climbed a dizzying 20,076ft!

While he's not scaling mountain sides, Dan is building his strength in the gym to make sure he's in tip top condition for when the big climb arrives. He's been improving his grip and upper body strength (both important when mountain climbing!) and has taken on a 100 push ups per day for 100 days.

This means that on top of his climb, he'll also have to stop each day to do his 100 push ups. We can't imagine doing 100 push ups in the gym, let alone on a mountain!