The Everest Base Camp trek has become iconic in and of itself. There are two Everest Base Camps on each side of Mount Everest. The Nepali camp serves as a base camp in the south. The Tibetan camp is the other base camp to the north. When people talk about “trekking to Everest Base Camp,” they usually mean South Base Camp.
The south side of the Everest Base Camp trek is at an elevation of 5,364 m. It is among the most popular trekking routes in the Himalayas. It brings approximately 40,000 people making the trek from Lukla Airport each year.
Trekkers typically fly from Kathmandu to Lukla before beginning the trek to the base camp. It makes the trek less tiresome and saves time. Although trekking to Lukla is possible, there are no roads connecting Kathmandu and Lukla. So, the only way to transport large and heavy goods is by plane.
You will take about 10 to 12 days from Lukla to complete the “Everest Base Camp trek.” The Everest Base Camp trek usually involves trekking to Namche Bazaar. Then walking through villages like Tengboche, Lobuche, and Dingboche. You will also pass through Sagarmatha National park. There will be sightseeing of Everest at Kala Patthar and so on. The Everest Base camp, however, will be the main destination.
On the other hand, the Everest expedition is not limited to just one camp. The south side of Everest has 6 camps en route.
Camp I (Base camp) lies at an altitude of 5,180 meters. It is housed on a gravel plain below the Rongbuk Glacier.
Climbers continue from Camp I, ascending the east Rongbuk Glacier’s medial moraine to Camp II. It is located at the base of Changtse at approximately 6,500 meters.
Camp III is also known as Camp ABC or Advanced Base Camp. It lies 6,500 meters beneath the North Col.
Climbers should use fixed ropes to ascend the glacier from Camp ABC to Camp IV. The fourth camp lies on the North Col at an elevation of 7,010 meters. The fourth camp is the last stop before reaching the death zone. Rescue helicopters do not climb further than this.
Climbers then ascend the rocky north ridge from the North Col to Camp V, which has a height of about 7,775 meters. The north ridge route ascends Mount Everest’s north face diagonally to Camp VI at the base of the Yellow Band at 8,230 meters.
Climbers will begin their final summit push from Camp VI on the Yellow Band. The first step is to climb from 8,501 meters to 8,534 meters. It is a treacherous traverse from Camp IV.
The second step is to climb from 8,577 meters to 8,626 meters. It includes ascending through the semi-permanent climbing aid “Chinese ladder”. It is a metal ladder installed by a group of Chinese climbers in 1975.
The third step is to climb from 8,690 meters to 8,800 meters. After completing the preceding steps, you will see the summit pyramid. It is snow-capped and has a 50-degree slope. You will reach the top by climbing the slope. This will be the end of the Mount Everest summit.
