Kala Patthar
A dark rocky hump above Gorak Shep and the classic close-up viewpoint for the summit of Everest.
Kala Patthar means 'black rock'. It is not a true peak but a spur of Pumori, and from its top at about 5,644 m you look straight across the Khumbu glacier to the south-west face of Everest, with Nuptse and Lhotse beside it.
Most people climb it before dawn from Gorak Shep, a two-hour slog in thin air, to see the first light on Everest. It is also popular at sunset, when the summit glows long after the valley falls into shadow.
