Toilet Issues

A very common question I get asked is, ‘What is the toilet situation on the mountain?’.

Basically it’s this.

At base camp there is a toilet tent.  That is, a tent around a built up area that has a blue barrel in the middle of it.  One squats over the barrel, it’s private, it’s fine.
A lot of people have a pee bottle (usually just a nalgene bottle) to use inside their tent at night, it requires great accuracy.  I don’t like them, I don’t use one.  An accident would be dreadful!

Higher up the mountain holes are dug in snow.  Often these holes are not deep and not that private, people can usually see when you’re on the toilet. Now I don’t know about you but I’m not good at going to the toilet when people are shouting ‘Hey look, Squash is on the toilet!’ and taking photos.