Less than a month ago, Balarang Public School teacher Coralie Ashley stood in the Mount Everest region as rocks plummeted from the towering mountains above, thinking "this is it".

On April 25 the world turned its attention to the small Himalayan nation of Nepal and the aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 8000 people and left thousands homeless.

Ms Ashley was trekking at an altitude of 1280 metres, just outside the small village of Dingboche en route to Mount Everest.

It was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime.

Lucky to be alive and back at home in Australia, Ms Ashley recalls: "I didn't think I was going to survive.

"At first I thought it was just altitude sickness because my vision was going and I had been getting headaches from the lack of oxygen earlier, but after about 10 seconds we realised what was happening," she said.

"It was surreal. All the mountains around us were swaying. There was a landslide on one side of the mountain and rocks falling all around us.

"It went for about a minute and a half I think, but it felt like forever.

"We just grabbed hold of a huge rock and tried to take cover because we were in an open space."

After the earthquake, the area went into "lock-down" and Ms Ashley and other trekkers were stuck for a further five days before they could fly back home.

To help, Ms Ashley together with the students, teachers and staff at Balarang Public School held a mufti day charity drive on May 15, raising almost $800 for Ms Ashley's guide Arjun Nepal and his village in Dhading.

Ms Ashley said her experience had changed her perspective on life.

"I just don't sweat the little things. I just focus on the things that really matter in life."