This is not the only period when regular trekkers can catch sight of serious mountaineers, though.
Everest Base Camp plays a key role in any serious expedition to summit Everest. Initially, climbing parties hike up here from Lukla, sharing the trail with regular trekkers, before establishing a camp and acclimatising here, often for several days. This is not the only period when regular trekkers can catch sight of serious mountaineers, though. Typically, expeditions involve a series of ‘rotations’, in which climbers ascend higher up the mountain and then drop back down to Base Camp to recuperate before, ultimately, attempting the summit. The window of good weather needed for this final summit bid changes each year, depending on when the monsoon occurs in Bengal, but most successful attempts occur in late May.