It’s one of the classic quests to the bottom of the world’s highest mountain. One of the most significant yet often overlooked things that needs to be addressed when planning for your trip is to make sure you get Safe Drinking Water during the Everest Base Camp Trek, having the right Everest Base Camp Trek cost, and making sure you prepare your body for what it’s about to go through.
This complete guide addresses the numerous methods to discover, harvest, and drink clean water on the path, so you can make choices that are fine for you, your wallet, and the planet.
The Problem with Bottled Water
Back in the day, you were required to buy single-use plastic bottled water on a Mount Everest Base Camp Tour for years. But this has brought on a calamitous environmental side effect. Because they are almost always discarded in landfills or incinerated rather than being recycled, they create pollution. Single-use plastic bottles are outlawed locally in the area, but are still offered for sale. The Price of climbing to Everest Base Camp can also significantly increase because of purchasing bottled water, and costs increase with the altitude. It’s an expensive and indefensible trade-off.
Method 1: Boiling Water
Boiling is the most reliable and oldest method of cleaning water. (It basically kills any virus, bacterium, or parasite that would make you sick in water). Boiled water is available from most teahouses on the Everest Base Camp Trek Route (often for a small charge, which tends to increase with height).
It’s pretty straightforward: you take your BPA-free-mouthth water bottle (I favor a Nalgene) and the staff at the teahouse will fill it with boiled water. Maybe get hot water in your bottles at the end of the day, so you have drinking water in the morning, not too much danger. You can even curl up in your bag and let the bottle get warm. It will keep you warm during the night on a cold evening. Be sure to ask your guide if the boiling has been long enough, as it should be at least three minutes for elevated areas.
Method 2: Water Purification Tablets
You will define yourself as the type of person who does not use some natural pure water form, but lives easily and simply with something chemical that does its job killing drinking water bacteria – yes, and we know lots of them. Choose Tablets. Chlorine or iodine tablets are available in KTM as well on the trek. They are very effective against most waterborne pathogens.
The downside with tablets is the wait: The purification process can last 30 minutes or more, and in some places, it took a few hours. Or they may feel that after eating, the taste of the table is a bit unpleasant. For taste, throw in a little pack of those flavored electrolyte or orange juice packets that help wash it down and give you an extra hydration boost, as well as keeping the reefers around;). Tablets are a good choice if you don’t have the ability to boil your water or need the ability to quickly refill from a natural source.
Method 3: Portable Water Filters
Explanation: Steripen and Water filters are the two most used by trekkers, providing a physical barrier to prevent infection. I have yet to hear of a brand I’m familiar with that has underfunctioned; both Sawyer and Katadyn are known best for actually working. With these filters, you drink to clean the water, and as an added feature, it removes bacteria, protozoa, or anything else while you are swilling back.
They are a ‘green’ replacement for bottled water since you can’t run out, and you are also saving money on the bottled water. But the majority of filters do not remove viruses. That’s why some trekkers choose to use a filter and purification tablets for double protection, like in highly trafficked areas that are susceptible to contamination. One of the things that you should consider is the filter freezing due to cold (and also the damage that it may do to its inner membrane with ice).
Method 4: UV Purifiers
UV purifiers such as SteriPEN shots are also a contemporary trick. They work by frying the DNA of microorganisms with ultraviolet light, which makes them unable to reproduce. They’re super fast — a liter of water in about 90 seconds — and don’t leave an aftertaste.
The downside to a UV purifier is that it requires batteries and does not work as cleanly in cloudy, turbid water. While temperature does not negatively affect the image quality of electronic callers, you will want to have a fresh set of batteries and keep the call warm. For best performance, a pre-filter is recommended to clear the sediment before initial use of the UV purifier.
Sourcing Water on the Trail
Teahouses are the primary source of drinking water, although they fill up from an occasional stream or tap. Even when it appears clean and clear, water is always suspect. They can also be contaminated by human and animal waste farther upstream, even if the stream appears clean. When you have a guide, he or she can set up the good water for you. Make sure to collect your water from the fastest part of a stream when drawing, as this will reduce the amount of sediment, and always use a pre-filter if you have one.
Final Thoughts: Right decision, or not?
As a member of the EBC trek, it is potentially one of the hardest routes you have ventured down, and hydration will be key to whether you succeed or not. So the best solution may end up being an integration, a la Apple (AAPL) health apps and medtech solutions. Just carry around with you a reusable water bottle with your own water purification system of some kind (take your pick: tabs, filter, or UV purifier), and drinkable water will never be in short supply. You won’t just be saving your health, but helping, in small ways, to keep the Himalayas unspoiled. Keep drinking and hiking responsibly; you’re on the trip of a lifetime.