The 10 best things about living on a glacier
By Marshall Thompson
As of today, I have spent nearly a full month living on a glacier at Mount Everest Base Camp. Over his Everest climbing career, Apa has spent almost three full years living on the glacier beneath the Khumbu Ice Fall. Glacial living is interesting at best. To help you at home understand, I’ve gone around base camp and compiled the 10 best things about living on a glacier. Enjoy.
1. Strange sounds in the night
Just as you’re about to drift off to sleep, you hear a loud, hollow crack and the ground moves a little bit. For the rest of the night you dream about falling into a massive crevasse.
2. Sculpting
If you pee in the same place every night, you can create your own small ice ravine.
3. You never need a cooler
Want to keep something cool? Just chop a hole in the ice near your tent. I’ve even heard reports of Sherpas chopping massive holes in the sides of the glacier to store whole sides of yak. Mmmmm. Yak.
4. The occasional hand or other body part
Over the years, many people have died on Khumbu Ice Fall. Eventually, their bodies move down through the glacier and end up in base camp. It would be inaccurate to picture base camp like a graveyard, but there is a hand that turned up just a few hundred meters from tent. It gives you more to think about when the ice cracks at night.
5. Ergonomic sleeping conditions
After a few weeks sleeping in the same spot, the ice underneath you starts to melt. Soon, you have a comfy spot that has adapted to the shape of your body. It’s natures memory foam.
6. No snakes
This may seem like a no-brainer because the glacier is such an inorganic and cold environment. However, the other day, we saw these cute little mice in our mess tent. These mice, which have no tails, are apparently indigenous to the area, but do not actually live on the glacier. They only show up to eat our scraps. I joked with one of our team members that where there are mice there are snakes. Apparently, she took me seriously and went and cleared out her tent, fearing the whole time that she would happen across some vicious glacier snake.
7. The quick way down
The entire glacier is covered with a thin layer of rock and gravel. When I’m rushing down a hill to the toilet tent in the middle of the night, it often happens that this thin layer of rock and gravel gives way and I end up taking the fast way down. Sure I get some bruises and cuts, but I get to the toilet tent on time, which is ultimately much more important.
8. Every day is different
While living on a glacier, each day is a new experience. The terrain changes constantly. So much so, in fact, that you have to fix the foundation of your tent every two weeks or so. Yesterday, Apa and several other Sherpa’s helped me fix mine. Just in front of my tent, the glacier had melted to the point that my first step every morning was about three feet down. I was starting to take the quick way down to breakfast more and more often. So we moved my tent over, built up a wall of rocks and flattened out the ice. We repositioned the tent to face in a new direction so I shouldn’t have to worry about falling down every morning. Thanks Apa.
9. No lawn mowing
Enough said.
10. Sympathy when you get home
This hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’ve heard it’s quite enjoyable.
Marshall…You’re cracking me up! I really relate to your sense of humor. I wish I could be there living the “high” life. The only things I can picture myself missing over there would be shade and my intellibed. Tell Apa hi and namaste from Rob. (The ice ax man.)
Hi Marshall! @jenhill here. You are too funny! This post made me smile. I love the idea of ‘nature’s memory foam’. LOL! And the ‘pee ravine’! HA!
Although I could do without finding the odd body part, good lord!
I hope that you all are doing well. Say “Hi” to that man Andrew Coppin for me. He’s a good ‘hugger’ too. FYI.
He will definitely be getting Sympathy when he gets home. For a day or so anyway. ;p
Stay warm and safe.
Jen Hill
Vancouver
Dont like the sound of cracking and moving ice, how do you sleep after that!
Well I thought I you could never think of 10 things that are good living on a glacier.
I can think of the song, “I feel the earth moving under my feet” play in my head just reading your list.
Thanks Marshall – great imagination or is this from too many experience.
Cheers,
Greg from Down Under
(no glaciers here brother, we barely have snow)
G.
You are obviously having a good time in the mountains, don’t you Marshall? How’s the “small ice ravine” by the way? You surely tickled me right there.
Jake Boyd
Bartlesville, OK
http://trailersexpert.com/
A very humorous and well written view of life on the glacier. I found the no 4 the most creepiest!! As summer is coming, no 9 I totally agree with but on the whole, I don’t think I could have stayed in the glacier for more than a day!
@Greg, lol “I feel the earth moving under my feet” ; )
Never had the experience and with the recent earthquakes, not sure if a glacier would be all that safe a place to be living.
But I would like the #10 fact, No Lawn Mowing, yes that chore drives me nuts esp when we have the rains followed by the sunny “grass growing like bamboo” days that are plentiful in spring.
H.P
I was laughing the entire time I was reading this post. It’s so witty. You’ve managed to look at the brighter side of life.