After a night on the glacier, I wondered what it would be like to spend TWO MONTHS living at Base Camp. So I asked Pemba….
Pemba, At Home On The Glacier
The first few days living at Base Camp is not too bad, but when we are staying a long time, you feel kind of boring. You want to see more grassland and more green. A long time staying on the glacier is not a good feeling. Always we are greedy to see plants and vegetation.
Early on, both climbers and support staff are busy to get everything set up. Sherpas are doing a lot of climbing to push up all supplies from base camp to higher on the mountain. Foreigners are doing less climbing–just for acclimatization. After Camp 4 (high camp) is completely set up and everyone has good acclimatization, then we are just waiting and waiting for good weather–always waiting for a good weather window.
People play cards and games and make jokes to pass the time if there is bad weather for three or four days. That’s all–there is no extra fun. Now the majority of people come down to Gorak Shep, Lobuche, or Pheriche if there is a forecast of one week bad weather. They want to see vegetation, have a good shower, and relax.
Water is a big problem here because there is only running water (melted ice) during the day. Morning and evening there is no running water from the Icefall, so people use glacial lake water for drinking and showering. Glacier water has strong micah content. The first two weeks is difficult to adjust to the water’s mineral content. It smells different and makes an uncomfortable stomach.
Some people are very satisfied staying a long time on the glacier because there is clean rock, ice, and snow. Sometimes we organize ice climbing for 2-3 hours in a day and refresh everyone’s skills. If there is a lot of fresh snow, there are many fun things like ice climbing, playing with snowballs, building a snowman, and even taking a snow bath if it’s a sunny day.
For me there is no frustration or boredom even if I stay two months because I have spent so many years on the glacier. Now I feel comfortable just like staying lower down. I have fully adjusted to the glacier environment, and I feel very easy.
EBC is an international base camp with so many different people from different countries. It’s good to see people and interact with them. It’s quite important for climbers and trekkers because they can learn so much about climbing, culture, and politics all across the world.