Base Camp Hiker or Mount Everest Summit Climber?
They share the same trail to Base Camp, but trekkers and climbers are on different planets. Understanding the distinction clears up confusion about the 'Everest expedition' terminology.
Trekkers wear hiking boots and carry a daypack. Climbers carry 8,000m boots, ice axes, harnesses, and oxygen masks. Their kit costs $10k+; a trekker's costs $1k. The Mount Everest summit demands technical gear.
A trek takes 2 weeks. A climb takes 2 months. Climbers spend weeks at Base Camp acclimatizing before the summit push. Trekkers visit EBC for an hour and leave. The commitment to an Everest expedition is massive.
Trekking has risks (AMS), but climbing is deadly (falls, avalanches). Trekkers watch the Icefall safely from below; climbers risk their lives inside it to reach the Mount Everest summit.
Trekkers are tourists; climbers are expedition members. Both are awesome, but they are not the same sport.
