Base camp
A base camp (Engl. Basecamp ) is in mountaineering sense of Talstützpunkt for most multi-day or multi-week company on a mountain . Since the term actually describes a tent city that is built away from roads, settlements and any form of infrastructure , it implies remoteness and almost always appears in connection with extra-alpine mountains, e.g. B. in the Andes , in Alaska , in the Himalayas , Karakoram , Pamir or in the Antarctic . The base camp serves as the starting point for usually a single intended tour on the mountain and is used several times as a retreat in bad weather, as well as a supply and regeneration station , especially for longer activities in the high mountains .
The base camp for expeditions
For high-altitude mountaineering and expeditions involving many people , the base camp often consists of numerous tents, i.e. H. personal single tents, washing and cooking tents. The equipment, which weighs tons for larger undertakings, is usually brought to the base camp by local porters. Since none of the mountaineers is present in the base camp during the mountaineering activities on the mountain, people must be charged with guarding the valuable objects and tents that are essential for the success of the expedition; often these are e.g. B. local cooks who take care of the physical well-being of the expedition, or an expedition doctor who does not take part in the ascent himself. It is obvious that large mountains can have multiple base camps at the foot of their different sides, corresponding to the flank of the mountain that requires a base to climb. The base camps of particularly frequented and sought-after mountains, e.g. B. the one on the south side of Mount Everest , are real settlements from a three-digit number of tents at peak times. The inevitably resulting high level of environmental pollution (if only in terms of faeces) is one of the major problems of high altitude mountaineering.
Advanced base camp
In some cases, for logistical, technical or security reasons, the base camp is still so far away from the actual wall foot that it is necessary to set up an advanced base camp , which can be up to several kilometers away from the base camp and is in the immediate vicinity of the entrance . The advanced base camp is also called ABC (from advanced base camp ). In the further course of the ascent, additional, usually two to five high camps are usually set up, which, in contrast to the base camp (s) in the valley, offer almost no comfort, but are essential as resting and protection points.
The base camp in the Alps
In the Alps it happens from time to time that larger groups of mountaineers travel to a certain mountain or a certain wall in order to spend a longer time there and climb various routes, possibly also to carry out first ascents . Especially if the group is traveling from abroad and / or does not have the financial means to regularly rent a place in the valley, but also for the reason to shorten the approach time to the mountain, such an improvised tent base can be necessary, and one speaks then too in the alpine context of a base camp.
Things worth knowing and mentioning
- Some base camps have a legendary status among high-altitude mountaineers, as they are linked to numerous landmarks in the history of alpinism on the one hand and are often located in a breathtaking landscape on the other. One of these famous base camps is the so-called fairy tale meadow on the eight-thousander Nanga Parbat in Pakistan .
- In order to enable mountain enthusiasts, who do not have the possibilities and skills to take part in an expedition themselves, to experience the distant high mountains and to get in contact with extreme mountaineering, numerous tour operators offer trekkings aimed at the base camp of a high mountain. The most famous “base camp trekking” leads to the base camp on the south side of Mount Everest at an altitude of approx. 5300 meters.
- In colloquial language, the term base camp is also used in a figurative or ironic sense for bases that are still part of civilization ( "We use our car as a base camp" ). It is also used independently of alpine activities as a synonym for starting point , base . This can include retail stores that sell outdoor equipment.