Morning at Makalu Base Camp

Base camp is a stony shelf beside the Barun Glacier, used by climbing expeditions in season, with old tent platforms, cairns and prayer flags. In the early morning, Makalu's south face catches the first light above you, its rock and ice standing more than 3,500 m higher. It is a steep, forbidding wall, and you understand at once why the first ascent came from a different side of the mountain.

We walk up the moraine slopes nearby for a wider view, as far as altitude and weather allow, usually for an hour or two. Our guide names the peaks and the glacier features, and tells the story of the 1955 French first ascent and the later climbs of the south face. The air is thin and cold, so we move slowly, eat and drink often, and turn back at the first sign of trouble.

By late morning cloud usually rises from the valley, so the best views come early. We head down toward Langmale or Yangle Kharka in the afternoon, losing height for a better night's sleep and a warmer evening. Over the next days, the walk out retraces the Barun valley and the Shipton La, and the forests and villages feel very different on the way down, with base camp behind you.