Why is Base camp so important?

I’ve been asked what’s base camp like. The size and set up of each camp varies from individuals to companies with 35 paying climbers including all the support staff and accompanying logistics that such a scale requires. I am with a company called Himalayan Ascent who mainly run small to medium size groups and screen their team members not only for technical capabilities but also fit with the rest of the team. Our HA base camp is a refuge where we can be comfortable, socialize, eat well and recuperate. Even though we are living on top of a glacier we have a Kitchen, Dining and Shower tent as well as separate sleeping tents. In the dining tent which also serves as a (heated!!!!) common meeting area we have the communications center. I’ve appreciated the comfort and food over these past days but I have no doubt this will increase significantly in 5-6 days time. At 3am tomorrow morning we will start our 5-6 day rotation. All going well we will rotate through camps 1,2&3 marking our final planned acclimatization routine. Being at high altitude for that length of time base camp will be a Shangri-La oasis upon our return. Then it becomes a waiting game as our summit window will be dictated by the weather and our ability to remain healthy. Lucky we’re not in Melbourne, how hard is it to predict the weather one day out let alone a whole week 😜! Pictures of our camp. 1) My tent. 2) Dining tent with the elements from our Puja alter that are being maintained for the duration of our expedition. Breakfast in the foreground - fresh base camp made yogurt, grains and fruit. Are you kidding me? @ 5300 meters, can‘t beat that! 3) Communications station. All the mod cons to meet our technology addictions. See you in a little while YouTube.