Adventure Of A Lifetime! Family Hikes To Mt Everest Base Camp With 4 Young Kids, Including A 2-YO

In a recent remarkable feat, a family of six broke all rules and hiked up to Mt Everest base camp with a two-year-old with them on the journey. The Matulis family from New Zealand climbed up the notorious twisting paths and precarious high altitudes of Everest last year.

Family Hikes To Mt Everest's Base Camp With 2-YO Child

Chris Matulis, the father, opened up about the difficult journey with Insider. Chris and his wife Cindy had always been an adventurous pair. The family had previously hiked many mountains and hills and had decided that Mt Everest was simply another peak waiting for them.

Keeping high morale and a square chin, the couple undertook the challenge and brought along their four?children that were all under the age of 12, including their daughter Hazel who was only two years old at the time they climbed up to the base camp.

Chris Matulis

Chris shared how their quest began as an exploration, “At first, we thought it would be cool to just walk the start of the trail and get to see the culture, and other hikers starting their journeys.”

For those unaware, the hike up to the base camp is nearly 160 km and takes weeks to complete along with fatal challenges like fading oxygen levels and a language barrier.

The Couple Did Everything To Make Sure Their Children Were Well

However, the parents were in no way carefree when it came to the kids. They shared how the couple regularly kept a record of the children’s oxygen levels. As for bringing their two-year-old daughter on the journey, the pair found out that many families before them had achieved the feat with children much younger than Hazel, so they took up the gamble and brought her along.

They broke up the kilometres between days to make the whole trip more manageable and give the family more time to adjust to the altitude and oxygen levels.?

Even though the parents tried their best to make the trip an easy one, the journey to the top was not a cakewalk. The family had to not only move through perilous trails but also encounter creatures like leeches on the way.

Chris Matulis

Leaches must be the worse the trail could offer is what the family thought until they had to face the hardest moment of their trip. A landslide that forced them to make a detour.?

Chris told the outlet, “It was a narrow muddy trail that went straight up a hill and back down.” He continued, “The mud was two-feet-deep in places, there were leeches, it was raining, and since it was the beginning of the trip our bodies were not used to carrying a lot of weight.”

The Family Almost Gave Up

Just before the family reached their destination they almost gave up on their goal. They had reached an altitude of 17,000 feet and oxygen levels were at an all-time low. However, they did not give up and completed their journey to the base camp.?

Chris remarked how the time they spent together was the best part of the hike. “You really get to know your kids a lot when you spend hours on the trail, just talking,” he said.?