The trek to base camp takes only 3-4 hours from Gorek Shep. Since base camp is actually situated on a glacier (the Khumbu glacier) we end up having to trek along the top edge of the glacier for a couple of hours before we actually descend into it.
We arrive at a makeshift entrance to Base Camp. There are tons of prayers flags and scarves all around the entrance monuments. Over the years people have added personal mementos or simply written messages on the rocks around the entrance. We notice that there's a dog sleeping peacefully in the sunshine. I asked Karma if this was a wild dog and he said "No, it's not a wild dog, it's a free dog". Not sure what the difference is but it was a friendly dog, definitely used to people.
Rick and I add a Canadian flag buff to the mix, take some photos and we continue on. Last step is to find the PeakFreaks Camp site. Karma is not sure where it is, but he thinks its "at the end" of the base camp (of course it is, cause that means more walking! ;-)
Base Camp was not what we expected it to be. Yes there are tons of tents set up but we kinda expected them to be set up on a flat, rocky field. This was no flat field. The living glacier is constantly moving and melting. There are streams, crevasses, and many icy hills and gulleys throughout base case. Its not somewhere where you would want to walk in the dark. To get an idea of the size, we've been told that to walk from one end of base camp the the other takes about one hour. At one point when we were walking, we had no way forward except to jump over a rushing stream...kinda scary.
We see various Sherpas coming out of tents to yell instructions to Karma (thank god) and we end up climbing a small hill where we can scout the tents a bit more. I spot the PeakFreaks logo not to far off so we head off.
We are greeted at the camp by Tim Riopelle, PeakFreaks owner and the Everest Climb leader. He offers us tea and we sit in the main dinning tent to chat, get acquainted and ask questions. We find out that we are the last trekking "group" to arrive this season and that all the climbers are currently on Everest waiting in camps 1 and 2 for a window in the weather to open up so they can press on.
After we get our gear stashed in out tent, we head off to find the medic / first aid tent. We want to see if we can get some sterile gauze etc. for Rick's sunburned hand (which has really blistered quite badly). The Sherpas so far seem attracted to looking at Rick's blistered hand, so he has joking told them all that it now costs 100 rupees per viewing.
Popcorn (for snack) is served at 4:00pm and dinner at 6:30. For dinner we're served tuna sushi, pasta and vegetables with canned fruit for desert. It seemed like a gourmet meal to us.Throughout the afternoon and evening, the radio is crackling on and off with climbers reporting into base. Tim makes a point of explaining everthing that is going on.
After dinner we're all pretty much ready to head to bed, so we scout out where the nearest "outhouses" are, layer up in multiple pants, tops, jackets, hats and mitts then slip into our sleeping bags. We're hoping this night isn't too cold.
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