A row of nine yellow alpine tents faces the famous Khumbu Glacier, with a river flowing by the roadside that gurgles during the day and freezes into a “white sheet” as temperatures drop at night.
This is a gentle slope at an altitude of 5,334 meters, surrounded by glaciers and gravel, with two snow-covered ridges in the distance — this is the base camp of the “2014 China First Civilian Women’s Everest (South Side) Mountaineering Team.”
The Everest Base Camp is built at the tongue extension of the Khumbu Glacier, full of gullies and crevasses, with the surface consisting of rocks left by glacial movement and about four or five centimeters beneath that being somewhat bluish ice. A twenty-centimeter-wide gravel path runs across the entire base camp, and the campsite of this women’s climbing team is located in the middle. Below the sleeping tents is a gentle gravel slope, beneath which lies a small flat area where the Sherpa support staff have organized a dining tent, command tent, and shower tent.
Sleeping Tent
For mountaineering team members who will stay at high altitudes for over a month, the comfort of the sleeping tents directly determines whether they can summit in the best condition.
This time, the sleeping tents of the climbing team have moved away from the oppressive feel of dome tents, opting instead for alpine tents where team members don’t have to crouch to enter.
These tents are definitely VIP level — each with a bedroom and a small living room. In addition to the tents, the mattresses are like Simmons, with a moisture-proof pad underneath, so you can lie in your sleeping bag at night with a soft base beneath, extremely comfortable.
After moving in, many of the female team members have decorated their tents beautifully, giving off a bit of a high-altitude boudoir vibe.
Dining Tent
It looks similar to a brick house, with a long table inside on which coffee, sugar, tea, and other items are placed. During the day it serves as a dining hall, and at night it is converted into a cinema and small lecture classroom.
For the team members, the kitchen is the most popular place — it has stoves and all kinds of food, such as tomatoes produced in Nepal and instant noodles bought from China.
Command Tent
Currently, it is just a place for charging devices, but during the summit period, it will be the busiest spot.
Shower Tent
Inside there is only a bucket and a stool — so-called showers mean you can only get a bit of hot water to rinse off briefly.
Toilet
Going to the toilet at such a high altitude is extremely difficult — squatting down and standing up again can make your head spin for ten minutes. To protect Everest’s natural environment, each team has simple toilet tents with a large bucket and two wooden boards. Once the bucket is full, it is sealed and carried down the mountain by porters.