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Base Camp
Base camp is normally located on the gravel plain below the Rongbuk Glacier at approximately 5200m . Tents are set up on the sandy gravel valley, which cuts a north-south swathe in the high Himalayas. Our base will be in the centre of the valley, less protected perhaps than other sites but the only location that gives good radio communications with ABC.
Intermediate camp
Because of the distance, it is necessary to establish an intermediate camp between BC and ABC. The exact site varies but there is a good spot near to the first large ice pinnacles on the Rongbuk Glacier. The first part of the route is on a good trail on the right bank of the moraine. After a few miles you take a steep path to the left, rising for several hundred meters before flattening out at a grassy area. The route then crosses the moraine and becomes more difficult, generally following the left bank until finally, an obvious camping area is reached, this is the intermediate camp. (The historic site of camp 2, is a few miles further up the valley at the base of Changatse peak.) The route onward to ABC is straight up the glacier between fabulous ice towers. Both sides of the route are marked by ice towers or "shark fins," as they've been described. These ice towers, some up to 100 feet high, are the remnants of glacial ice as it decays and melts and slowly grinds down the East Rongbuk Glacier. ABC is situated at about 6500m and most people are pleased when the walk up to it is over.
Advance Base Camp (ABC)
Advance Base Camp is located at about 6500m on the of the East Rongbuk Glacier below the North Col. The site extends for several hundred metres up and down the moraine, and the various expedition's camps are scattered along the terrain. It's rocky, broken ground, requiring a lot of labour to create flat tent sites. From the camp you look directly up the North Col, but what totaly dominates the view from ABC is the Northeast shoulder of Everest with its famous Pinnacles.
ABC to N. Col
From ABC at 6500m, the climb to the North Col can take anywhere from three to six hours. Initially you move up scree and rock until you can climb out onto the ice of the East Rongbuk Glacier, at this point crampons are required. About another kilometre of glacier leads to the foot of the Col, where the fixed ropes begin. In places the route is very steep, although much of the terrain requires just moderate cramponing. Climbers ascending the North Col do not normally tie to each other, instead they use the fixed rope. The rope is fixed from the start of the glaciel ice to the North Col itself, with stakes every hundred yards or so. Climbers clip to the fixed rope and also attach a Jumar which allows them to climb up the rope.
North Col (Camp 1)
The North Col is the low point of one of the three great ridges that emanate from the summit of Mount Everest. In this case the North Ridge drops thousands of feet to a saddle between Everest and Changtse or North Peak. The North Col sits at approximately 7000m and is the launching platform for the rest of the climb.
To Camp 2
The route from the North Col up to Camp 2 starts with several thousand feet of moderately steep snow and ice which runs directly up the North Ridge. This part of the route can often be effected by the strong gusty winds that blow from Nepal. At about 7500m the terrain becomes much more rocky and the last few hundred feet into Camp 2 is awkward mixed ground.
Camp 2
Camp 2 is not a single campsite but and area nearly 800 feet long. Our Camp 2 site will be at about 7700m and is in an area commonly used by expeditions so we will have to share/fight for available space on the predominantly rocky North Ridge. Camps are located on small platforms that must be manually levelled of rock. Our site will be located in this area. This is probably the windiest campsite on the mountain, open to all the weather coming from west and Northwest. The site is quite spectacular - from the tents you can look all the way down to ABC and into Nepal.
To Camp 3
The route to Camp 3 leaves the North Ridge and continues up and slightly across the North Face. The terrain here is more sheltered from the wind. Climbers normally take three to six hours to cover this stretch. The route follows the snow as it winds up small gullies and we would normally establish fixed ropes as required in this area. As we approach Camp 3, the ground steepens and becomes down-sloping and slabby. While the rock climbing is not difficult, the terrain is loose and great care is required.
Camp 3
Camp 3 typically consists of very small places for tiny high-altitude tents. The sites are constructed from the available rock and debris of old shale. This camp is located just below the Yellow Band. From here, we can look up to the Northeast Ridge and clearly see the First and Second steps right up to the summit. The view from Camp 3 is spectacular.
From Camp 3
Climbers must find the route upward through the Yellow Band. Normally this is done by following a snow-filled gully which leads to a ledge at half height from where an sketchy ramp leads up to the crest of the ridge. A number of fixed ropes run up through these rock bands but care is needed as they are often dubious. It often takes a couple of hours to make your way up through the Yellow Band and up onto the Northeast Ridge.
The First Step
The First Step is the prow of two gray limestone bands lying one on top of another, which are separated by a wide sloping ledge. To circumvent this obstacle, a traverse of its northern face is made along the junction between the Grey and Yellow Bands until a shallow gully allows access to the ledge above. The upper gray band, forming the true top of the First Step, is then turned on the right side and the ridge regained beyond the Step. "Recent descriptions of the initial pitch have hinted at a surprising degree of technical difficulty: The shallow gully -- more like a concave rock wall -- is very steep and loose". So said Eric Simonson, who led several expeditions to the route. He compared it in difficulty to the Second Step.
Beyond the First Step
A loose ramp leads past a tower and a short, flatish, but very rough and broken section finishes on a platform marked by a mushroom shaped rock bollard. This is the site of some of the earlier high camps and is at about 8500m. Direct access from there to the Second Step is barred by a snow ridge some 50 to 60 feet high, the most prominent feature on the ridge between the two steps. This is avoided by an awkward and exposed horizontal traverse of the northern face over discontinuous ledges and steep slabs. The foot of the Second Step is thus reached beneath the ridge crest.
The Second Step
The initial climb up the Second Step itself involves a 10-foot-high slab to the right of a narrow chimney, surmounted by way of a narrow ramp and a short rock step interspersed with ledges. A prominent snow patch, some 23-30 feet high and lying at an angle of 50 degrees, leads up to the foot of the final 16-foot headwall. During the first ascent in 1960 this was climbed by a crack on its left side. A Chinese expedition placed a ladder on this pitch which is now commonly used for the ascent. From the top rung of the ladder, a tricky mantle move onto a ledge leads to easier terrain below the top of the Second Step and close to the crest of the Northeast Ridge. There are numerous fixed ropes on the second step of varying age and quality - choose carefully. At this point the exposure is incredible, with the entire North face falling away below.
The Third Step
The Third Step -- about 100 feet of blocky rock rising from the vast boulder-strewn plateau above the Second Step and situated immediately under the final pyramid -- appears rather diminutive. Like the other Steps it is usually turned on the right, through shallow gullies and over broken rocks. Though it has been tackled head-on, along the crest by a series of chimneys and ledges, the choice is yours to make at the time.
Summit Pyramid and Summit
Once a climber is beyond the Third Step, the Summit Pyramid remains as the final obstacle. The summit snowfield occupying the northern aspect of the final pyramid is steep, 50 degrees and perhaps steeper in the upper part. It is crowned by a bastion of rock, the summit tower, which is usually bypassed on the right along the uppermost part of the North Face. A ramp involving three rock steps leads back left onto the summit ridge. The summit pyramid takes an hour or more to ascend, but parties are known to have taken as much as four hours on this section. A snow crest some 500 feet in horizontal distance, the summit ridge, leads up to the highest point on earth. The ridge is not steep, but is exposed, with a 3500m drop on either side. Cornices overhang the Kangshung Face on the left, so climbers are forced to stay on the northern side of the final ridge.....
..."And there you are on the highest point, transfixed in the sky, with the spindrift banner streaming miles back from your feet." .