Press & Media
A curated selection of recent features, interviews, and stories spotlighting Rugged Luxury Expeditions.
The Mountain that Waited
Ker & Downey World Travel | May 2026
Travel Designer Nicole Porto had wanted to trek to Everest Base Camp since childhood. When she finally went, a decade after a canceled attempt, she chose Rugged Luxury Expeditions specifically because she wanted the best possible chance of actually reaching it.
The piece, "The Mountain That Waited," follows her through the full 12-day journey and is candid about how hard it was, including three nights at altitude where she considered asking to be evacuated. What got her through was the mountaineering schedule RLE builds its treks around, designed for acclimatization rather than volume, and a guide team that prioritized her safety over her comfort. She reached Base Camp proper, which the article notes most trekkers never do. "Little" Tendi Sherpa is photographed and named as an 19-time Everest summiteer and Rugged Luxury guide.
You Can Now Glamp Your Way up Mt. Everest—and Still Get the Bragging Rights
Robb Report | November 2023
Award-winning adventure travel journalist Jen Murphy joined the Rugged Luxury Everest Base Camp Trek traveling alongside climbers preparing for full Everest summit attempts. Her feature for Robb Report is the most detailed account of what the experience actually delivers, from the tea houses along the route to the full Base Camp setup at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall.
She also addresses the question most prospective guests are quietly asking: whether the comfort compromises the experience. Her answer, after ten days on the mountain, is that it doesn't. What it does is make success possible.
CTSS founder and six-time summiteer Mike Hamill explains the program's foundation simply: "With any other sporting pursuit, you try to save your energy and be comfortable, well-fed, and well-rested to perform. For some reason, in climbing, especially on Everest, you are expected to suffer a lot and somehow still be successful."
Nearly 95 percent of trekkers turn around before Base Camp proper. CTSS is one of the only operators permitted to bring non-summiting guests all the way in.
On Top of the World: Transformative Trek to Everest Base Camp
Jetset Magazine | November 2023
Writer Brian Meyer came to the EBC trek as someone newer to this level of physical challenge. His piece tracks not just the route but the cumulative effect of how the trip is structured: carefully vetted lodges, deliberate pacing, and a guide team that kept the group healthy enough to keep moving. By the time he reached Base Camp, he was fit enough to walk into the Khumbu Icefall.
The article quotes Caroline Pemberton directly on the philosophy behind it: "Happy, healthy, comfortable climbers and trekkers have a fuller fuel tank, and it's that extra fuel to draw on when the going gets tough, that we have found can be the difference between success and failure."
Big Tendi Sherpa is named as trek leader and five-time Everest summiteer.