Everest Base Camp

two staging areas for mountaineering activities on Mount Everest, in Nepal and Tibet

Everest Base Camp is a campsite at the bottom of Mount Everest. There are two of them, located on opposite sides of the mountain. They are used as bases by mountain climbers. The climbers usually rest at base camp for several days to acclimatise. This lowers the risks and severity of altitude sickness. Climbing starts from one of these two camps.

  • South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of 5,364 metres (17,598 ft) (28°0′26″N 86°51′34″E / 28.00722°N 86.85944°E / 28.00722; 86.85944). It is used when climbing via the southeast ridge. 50,000 people visit Everest South Base Camp from Lukla each year. [1] The South Base Camp has the clearance area of 900m2 for camps by Everest climbers, small area for Helicopter landing, and a sparkling large signboard installed in 2024. [2]
  • North Base Camp is in Tibet at 5,150 metres (16,900 ft)[3][4][5] (28°8′29″N 86°51′5″E / 28.14139°N 86.85139°E / 28.14139; 86.85139 (North Base Camp)). It is used when climbing via the northeast ridge.[6] The North Base Camp in the Tibetain Side is acessable by road network of about 120kms, with the last town before the base camp being Rombuk. [7]
Climbers' tents at North Base Camp in Tibet.

Food and equipment are brought to the South Base Camp by Sherpas or porters, with the help of animals like yaks. The North Base Camp has a track that vehicles can access, but usually only during summer.

References

change
  1. Hillary Step, Treks. "Everest". Hillary Step.
  2. Nepal, Trekking Routes. "Everest Base Camp".
  3. Foster, Simon; Jen Lin-Liu; Sherisse Pham; Sharon Owyang; Beth Reiber; Lee Wing-Sze; Christoper D. Winnan (2010). Frommer's China. John Wiley & Sons, 2010. p. 5. ISBN 9780470526583. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  4. Reynolds, Kev (2006). Everest - A trekker's guide. Cicerone Press Limited. p. 231. ISBN 978-1-84965-076-2. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  5. Buckley, Michael (2008). Shangri-La: A Travel Guide to the Himalayan Dream. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 165. ISBN 9781841622040. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  6. Mayhew, Bradley; Bindloss, Joe (2009). Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1741041880. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  7. Mountain, Monarch. "Everest Base Camp".