The Journey to Base Camp

Last Thursday, members and guests enjoyed a fascinating presentation of two men's journeys to the Mt Everest Base camp. Raj Muker and Brian Morrison made the trek during March this year and at their highest point, reached 5500 metres above sea level - see Raj pictured with Mt Everest in the background (the darker mountain). The quest was not without it's challenging moments. Raj injured his ankle 2 weeks before the trip and had to have intensive therapy before he could proceed. To reach the start of their journey, they had to land on one of the world's shortest runways (half the length of our Maryborough runway). And once into the journey, Raj became very ill and had to catch up with the rest of their party after a day and a half's rest. Brian interspersed Raj's narrative with interesting facts about Nepal and Mountain trekking e.g. 8500 people have reached the summit of Everest, but 235 people have died in the attempt.