Everest Base Camp (EBC)

My bright yellow Ozark tent, complete with a small mattress, patio area plus vestibule was a sight which nearly brought tears to my eyes. Set at 5200m against the panorama of Everest, my tent was one of 26 sleeping tents which formed the ‘Adventure Peaks Village’ at the foot of the North side of Everest. Off to the right are two blue toilet tents, a make-shift shower (complete with solar heating) and two dining “Mess” tents, a communications tent and, finally, the cooking tent. This area would soon be our ‘Hilton’ for the coming weeks and months.

I was pleasantly surprised at how few people were at Basecamp as you often hears stories about people fighting for space - premium mountain property - and practically camped on top of each other. We have plenty of space and privacy and the nearest tents are a few hundred metres away. The ground is rocky and the mountains rising up on either side of our camp are rocky, dusty peaks. There are several long lines of prayer flags flapping in the breeze and make a very picturesque sight with their bright reds, blues, whites and yellows.

Within about 2 minutes of getting settled into my tent loud groans could be heard coming from the ‘Mess Tents’ where lunch was being served. Many of us are still suffering from the after effects of Tingiri so I wondered whether the groans were prompted by a massive wave of ‘Tingiri-itis’. The source of the groans was quickly confirmed as the Sherpas served us the first ‘proper’ western meal that we’d had in ages - French fries, potato salad, broccoli, cheese and spam. My taste buds were doing summersaults with sheer ecstasy. For the first time in about 1-week it was a meal that we ate in sheer silence apart from the chomping of food and the clinking of knives and forks on the plastic plates.

The Mess Tents not only serve as the food tents, they also serve as the ‘Entertainment tents’ as two giant 32” televisions rest on giant crates at the far end of each respective tent. Before leaving Kathmandu, Stu purchased about 100 dvd’s to keep us entertained on the long cold evenings when the temperatures drop from a comfy 15 degrees to -5. Highlights include Borat, Top Gun, Men Who Stare at Goats, Seven Years in Tibet, Little Miss Sunshine, American Gangster, Gangs of New York, Inglorious Bastards and a giant collection of 100-years of Oscar movies..

Beneath the eating table which dominates the ’room’ is a small heater. Giant thermoses filled with boiling hot water are a permanent fixture on the table and replenished on a regular basis. Also on the table are a massive collection of condiments - HP sauce, ketchup, sugars, orange squash, crackers, corn flakes, instant coffee, powder milk… It was, literally, like kids in a candy shop and we were delighted to learn that we would be spending at least 5 days acclimatising here, living in the lap of luxury.

I built a flagstone path going into my tent much to the amusement of my neighbours Josh, Keith and Stephen as we occupy the north-east perimeter of the camp. I then proceeded to build a giant stone patio around the perimeter of the tent - a task which I’d underestimated thanks to the effects of the 1000m increase in altitude. Every time I picked up a rock to carry to my patio it would leave me gasping for air. Even the most simple tasks such as getting in and out of my tent required considerably more energy than normal.

It was going to be good to spend the next 5 days here enjoying various walks up into the surrounding hills and the luxuries of base camp.