Camp 1 is located in the lower part of the Western Cwm, just above the Icefall. After the chaos of the Icefall, Camp 1 is relatively serene with neat rows of red, green and yellow tents sitting on pure white snow sparkling in the sunlight. However, this is not always the case. In 2005, the colourful city of tents was mercilessly transformed into an expanse of ruins covered with snow, ice and rocks as Camp 1 was completely destroyed by a massive avalanche. Miraculously no one was killed but it just goes to show that there are no safe places on the slopes of Everest.
Camp 1 is generally only utilised during acclimatisation climbs, and is not usually used during the summit attempt as climbers tend to push on to the better equipped Camp 2. When descending from the summit climbers again tend to miss out Camp 1 and go straight from Camp 2 down to the relative comfort and safety of Base Camp.