Everest base camp, with its Wi-fi, baked goods and trendy coffee, is a far cry from the old days
Gone are the days of deprivation at Everest’s 5,634-metre-high south base camp, with hipster perks and modern conveniences ensuring life is cushier than ever on the roof of the world
Wi-fi, baked goods and trendy coffee: gone are the days of deprivation at Everest base camp. Hipster perks and modern conveniences are ensuring life is cushier than ever on the roof of the world.
The Khumbu Glacier at the foot of Everest is transformed every spring into a high-altitude metropolis of surprising luxury for the hundreds of climbers aiming for the peak of the world’s highest mountain.
Canned food and bulky satellite phones are a thing of the past. Today’s climbers enjoy fresh salads, Instagram and creature comforts unthinkable when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first stood atop the 8,848 metre (29,028 foot) peak 65 years ago.
“The first question people ask when they arrive at base camp is where’s the Wi-fi. The second question is where’s the hot shower,” says Everest veteran Russell Brice, owner of Himalayan Experience, one of the area’s oldest and most established expedition operators.
In the past, the first intrepid teams to attempt Everest took a month to reach base camp on the Nepal side of the mountain. The journey was cut to eight days with the construction of a small mountain airstrip at Lukla, the gateway to the Everest region.
