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Start of the Journey We flew from Kathmandu to Lukla. From there, we walked for seven days to Base Camp on the south side of Mount Everest. We walked slowly so we got used to the high altitude. Base Camp is 5380 metres above sea level.

Khumbu Icefall We spent the second week at Base Camp. Here, we got used to the high altitude. Meanwhile, our sherpas set up ropes and ladders for the climb up the Khumbu Icefall. The Khumbu Icefall is one of the most dangerous parts of the climb. It is part of a glacier, which is moving down the mountain. The ice is always moving and falling. Huge pieces of ice can fall on you. After a week at Base Camp, we began our climb up the Khumbu Icefall. We started the climb during the night. The cold temperatures

make it safer because the ice on the Khumbu Icefall is frozen. By the end of the day we reached Camp 1, which is 6,065 metres above sea level.

Western Cwm The next day, we walked up the Western Cwm, a gently rising valley, to the base of Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain on Earth. Camp 2 is here. Camp 2 is 6500 metres above sea level. The Western Cwm is very quiet because the sides of the valley keep the wind away. It can be very hot here. The following day, we climbed up to Camp 3, which is on a small rock at 7,470 metres. From there, it was another 500 metre climb to Camp 4 at 7,920 metres.

The Death Zone Then we entered the Death Zone. The high altitude and thin air means humans can only stay here for two or three days. But to reach the summit, we needed good weather, and in the Death Zone, the weather can change very quickly. It was a 12 hour, 1000 metre climb to the top of Mount Everest. We left at midnight. First we reached "The Balcony" at 8,400 metres, where we could rest. From there, we walked through deep snow to the South Summit (8750 metres). From the South Summit we walked along the southeast ridge. It is very dangerous here. At the end of the ridge was the Hillary Step, a vertical rock face 12 metres high. We climbed this on ropes. After the Hillary Step, we climbed a rocky slope to the summit and finally we were on top of the world! We spent just half an hour there because we had to get back to Camp 4 before it got dark.