Base Camp (17,700 ft), situated on the edge of the Khumbu glacier is
our home away from home while on the mountain. Numerous international teams gather here before, during and at the end of their climb. The camp buzzes with activity; the mixed emotions of excitement, fear, anticipation, anxiety, exhaustion, and competition creating a unique atmosphere and unforgettable experience. Apart from climberís camps, there is also a medical tent, a shop, and an internet 'café' (tent!) with a satellite phone. Although facilities are generally extremely basic, limited, somewhat unreliable (and expensive), it is great to maintain some communication with the outside world.


Base camp with the Khumbu Icefall in the background

Base Camp lies at the entrance to the Khumbu ice fall (18,000 ft-21,000 ft), a spectacular but treacherous horror-chamber of bottomless crevasses, seracs and ice blocks. Chunks of ice as large as houses lie among freestanding ice walls up to 30 ft high and are negotiated with the aid of aid of fixed ropes and aluminium ladders. The ice-fall is an ever-changing maze and is maintained daily by 'the ice fall doctors' to maximise safety.


The Khumbu Icefall

The ice-fall leads to Camp 1,-(The silent valley)- (20,000 ft-21,000 ft),
also known as the Western Cwm. This is a massive glacial snowfield,
a vast, flat area of endless snow, deep crevasses and mountain walls, frequently washed by avalanches. The sun here reflects off the walls of Nuptse and the western buttress of Everest, paradoxically generating powerful heat, despite the freezing ambient temperatures. Nightfall
brings deep, murmuring, cracking sounds beneath the tents as crevasses open and close deep down in the glacier below.


Camp 1 in the Western Cwm

Camp 2 (21,000 ft) is a bleak, desolate spot marked by a rocky patch at the foot of the icy Lhotse wall, at the upper end of the Western Cwm. This place is absolutely stunning in good weather but most unwelcoming in bad. Clouds roll in from the lower ranges of the Himalayas, up the valley and into the camp. At times, the winds here can be violent enough to destroy tents/camps.


Moving oup the mountain from Camp 2

Camp 3, Lhotse wall (22,300 ft - 26,300 ft). This is a 4000 ft high wall of sheer blue ice. It is climbed using fixed ropes. Early in the season, prior to acclimatisation, this wall can be a major ordeal. It leads to Camp 3,
a narrow platform placed right out of the wall. A traverse then leads to a distinctively coloured rocky section known as the Yellow Band, (the world's highest fault) just before the Geneva Spur and Camp 4.


Climbing on the Lhotse Face

Camp 4 (26,000ft), in the South Col, is frequently besieged by ferocious winds. This spells the final part of the climb, a mile and a half from the summit, yet the most testing and dangerous part of the climb. The average distance covered per minute here is a mere 12 feet. The narrow Southeast ridge precedes the South summit (28,710 ft), which leads to the infamous, exposed Hillary Step - a 40 ft rock/ice climb in the sky which is the last major obstacle before finally reaching THE SUMMIT.


En route to the South Col

The summit (29,028 ft) is at a height which airliners cruise and is approximately the size of a snooker table. It offers some of the most awesome views of the world, overlooking Tibet/Nepal and the largest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas.