Twelve Weeks to Everest Base Camp: A Coach's Training Blueprint
You don't need to be an athlete to reach 5,364m — you need time on feet, strong calves and a plan. Here's the structure Coach Sanjay uses.
The only metric that matters
Time on feet under load. EBC is 8–9 days of 5–7 hour walking at altitude. Your training should peak with back-to-back weekend hikes of 4–6 hours carrying 8–10 kg. Everything else — gym work, stairs, Zone 2 — exists to make those hikes feel routine.
Weeks 1–4: base
Three walks a week (one long), two strength sessions focused on legs, calves and core. Start carrying 4–5 kg. Add a weekly stair session — 20 minutes is plenty at first.
Weeks 5–12: build and rehearse
Extend the long walk 10% weekly, add pack weight every fortnight, and make week 9 or 10 a full dress rehearsal: boots, pack, poles, the actual snacks you'll carry. Cut all volume by half in the final ten days — you can't gain fitness in the last week, only fatigue.
Generate your plan
Our free plan generator now builds trek-prep programs — pick Everest Base Camp and it adapts every day, finisher and heart-rate zone to the goal.
Turn this into a journey
The AI planner builds a personalized itinerary around exactly this kind of experience.
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