EVEREST BASE CAMP & GOKYO LAKES
A Midlife Journey to the World’s Greatest Trek
Coming Soon!
I signed up for Everest Base Camp during what can only be described as a mild midlife wobble.
You know the type.
You start googling “big challenges” at 11pm.
You convince yourself altitude is character-building.
You forget you quite like oxygen.
What I expected: a tough trek.
What I got: frozen passes, helicopter chaos, teahouses from hell, Gandalf hallucinations, egg-and-chips diplomacy, and a version of myself I hadn’t met before.
This book is the full story.
And it’s coming soon.
Join the Expedition List
Before this goes live to the world, I’m inviting a small band of early readers to follow the journey behind the scenes.
If you join, you’ll get:
✔ Early chapter previews
✔ Real, unfiltered trek photos
✔ Behind-the-scenes writing updates
✔ Launch bonuses
✔ First access to signed copies
A free guide: “7 Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To”
No spam.
Just mountains, honesty, and the occasional questionable decision.
What This Book Is (And Isn’t)
This book is:
✔ Honest about fear
✔ Funny about failure
✔ Written at 5,000 metres (sometimes emotionally)
✔ A midlife perspective on doing something slightly unreasonable
✔ A story about friendship, ego, doubt and thin air
This book isn’t:
✘ A summit-bro hero story
✘ An Instagram highlight reel
✘ A neat redemption arc where everything ties up beautifully
The Himalayas don’t care about your personal growth plan.
And that’s sort of the point.
The Story
From chaotic Kathmandu to that infamous airstrip in Lukla…
Through prayer-flagged valleys, icy switchbacks, and one particularly aggressive yak stare-down…
Across Cho La Pass where I briefly considered writing my will in the snow…
This is Everest Base Camp and the Gokyo Lakes as it actually felt.
Cold.
Huge.
Humbling.
Ridiculous.
Beautiful beyond words.
There’s a village that nearly broke morale.
An Irish pub no one saw coming.
A helicopter scramble that turned into a full-blown mountain lottery.
And one final twist that forced a decision none of us expected.
It’s not a survival epic.
It’s not a macho mountaineering manual.
It’s a very human story about chasing something big when you’re old enough to know better.
About Marc
I’m Marc Jerrard — creator of Walking in Circles UK, winner of Hiking Blog of the Year 2025, and someone who probably says “this will be character-building” more often than necessary.
I’ve spent years walking the UK’s hills, trails and coastal paths, documenting routes, sharing GPX files, and encouraging people to get outside — even when the forecast says otherwise.
But Everest Base Camp wasn’t just another hike.
It was the biggest thing I’d ever signed up for.
I’m a dad of four.
A husband.
A midlife man who thought altitude might answer questions I hadn’t quite formed yet.
Spoiler: it didn’t answer them neatly.
What it did do was strip everything back.
Ego. Comfort. Assumptions. Oxygen.
This book is the result of that.
It’s written the same way I walk — honest, curious, occasionally overconfident, and usually learning something the hard way.
Why I Wrote This
On paper, life was full.
But somewhere between school runs and blog posts, there was that quiet question:
Is there something bigger I’m supposed to attempt?
Everest Base Camp seemed… sensible.
(Reader: it was not sensible.)
This book isn’t about conquering mountains.
It’s about what happens when you stand in a place so vast and indifferent that your ego quietly packs up and goes home without you.
Behind the Scenes
The pass that nearly broke me.
The teahouse that tested everyone.
The lake that made the whole thing worth it.
The moment at 5,000 metres where someone started playing Dancing Queen and morale went from “we’re doomed” to “is this a festival?”
You’ll see it all.
The Timeline
Manuscript complete ✔
Beta readers survived it ✔
Final edits underway ✔
Cover reveal coming soon ✔
Launch date: To Be Announced
This is the calm before the thin-air chaos.
If This Sounds Like You…
If you’ve ever:
• Googled “big life challenge” late at night
• Wondered whether you’ve still got something bold in you
• Felt equal parts brave and ridiculous
• Wanted a story that doesn’t pretend everything was heroic
Then this might be your kind of book.
Join the Expedition List
Be part of it before launch day.
Get the previews.
Get the bonuses.
Get the behind-the-scenes chaos.
Because sometimes the slightly unreasonable decision turns out to be the one worth writing about.