大象传媒

Home from Home

• Graham
• 8 Apr 07, 05:53 AM

Well, here we are again at Everest base camp: home from home. I’ve now spent nearly two years of my life living on this mountain in the course of 8 expeditions, and I’d like to give a flavour of what it’s like.

For a start it’s a stunning location; we are surrounded by the world’s highest mountains, and just above camp the infamous Icefall tumbles its way down from the upper slopes of Everest. This vast ice-stream pours over a 600 metre cliff and its jumbled maze of tottering ice blocks and yawning crevasses is threatened by avalanches from the mountain slopes either side. When the Icefall reaches the valley bottom it becomes the Khumbu glacier, and that’s where we are camped.

My tent is the size and shape of a VW Beetle, and it is bright orange. It is home for the next two months, and is pitched on pure ice. Inside I have thick mat between me and the glacier, and there is a double down sleeping bag, which I will use up the mountain. Otherwise all I have is some clothes, a few books and some climbing gear in two plastic barrels. I have an ice axe, a harness and a few bits of hardware to attach me to the mountain.
During the night the slowly flowing ice cracks and groans its way downhill. If you’ve ever broken a pane of glass by standing on it you’ll know exactly what this sounds like. Last night the temperature inside the tent dropped to minus 12 degrees C, and both the water bottle and pee bottle froze solid. The pee bottle is vital because you really don’t want to get out of your bag in these temperatures during the night, particularly high up.

In the morning the Sherpas arrive with Bed Tea, a welcome hangover from the British Raj. As I sip my tea I feel rather sorry for our scientific colleagues who aren’t allowed any before their early morning tests. When the sun hits the tent the frozen condensation from my night’s breath melts and it starts to snow. Very soon, though, the temperature shoots up to around 30 degrees C and it is impossible to stay inside. You can see these extremes of temperature on the washing line outside; at one end is a frozen sock in shadow, and at the other end is its companion steaming in the sun. Further up the mountain, above the Icefall, camp life becomes even more extreme. I’ll report from there soon.