Peak Climbing
Type
Tour description
Type of Venture:Peak Climbing
Duration:18 Day
Code: 199
Size:5-15 Person
Type of Treks: Camping Trek
Elevation:6654M
Grade: Alpine
Price: Upon Request
Best Season:Autumn/Spring
Region: Everest
Overview,
With elevation of 6,6541m Mera Peak is the highest of official trekking peaks (Group B NMA Peak). It is a very stunning mountain with 3 summits North Mera (6,476m/ 21,240ft), Central Mera (6,461m/ 21,840ft) and South Mera (6064m/ 19890ft). The view from the summit is unforgettable and the best Himalayan panorama with view on Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse, Baruntse, Makalu, Ama Dablam, Kanchanjunga, Chamlang and Kangtega.
Our standard climbing expedition is to Central Mera Peak due to safety considerations, however for experienced mountaineering team wishing to summit North Mera Peak we can operate the North Mera route on request. The west and south faces of the peak offer more difficult technical routes.
The trek to Mera starts with the famous and spectacular flight to Lukla followed by 11 day trek to the climbing camp through stunning valleys and classic vistas. The standard climbing route itself, although somewhat strenuous, technically is not difficult and indeed very accessible to a beginner climber. As a part of our Mera Peak Trekking expedition our climbing guides would provide a basic snow climbing training to enable trekkers with athletic skills but no snow climbing experience to summit the Central Mera Peak.
Our trek to Mera is designed as an acclimatization sequence, so by the time we reach the climbing camp we are ready for the climb. We spend 2 days in Lukla and exploring the area around Chutanga (3,050m), building up strength and tolerance to the altitude before we make our crossing of the Zatrwa La into the Hinku valley with pristine forests of blue pine and rhododendron. We eventually will leave the valley to alpine meadow around Thangnak, where we start seeing spectacular views of west face of Mera and Peak 43 (6769m) also called Charpati. In Thangnak (4356m) will undergo our second acclimatization stage. We will visit and explore the area of Sabal Tsho Lake and take an
acclimatization hike to the cairn (5271m) on the flank of Kusum Kangguru (6367m).
We continue to Khare (5,045m) our Base Camp, where we undertake our last acclimatisation stage. After that we will be ready for the climb. We move to next camp at Mera La pass (5415m), where we start to travel along the Mera glacier and to our Mera High Camp at 5780m at the edge of the glacier, from where we make summit attempt. On summit day, we leave camp in the dark of the night, navigating the glacier carefully with the headlamps and we will reach the first false summit by sunrise. We continue towards the Central Summit negotiating a short steep section before the summit. For people, who have never climbed glaciated high peak before it will be an exciting experience and for everyone it will be an unforgettably spectacular summit vista.
Itinerary,
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu airport and Hotel transfer and We meet all other expedition members and the leader, conduct initial briefing and preparations and we will have an opportunity to do last minute shopping in Kathmandu.
Day 02: After early breakfast we can enjoy the morning of sightseeing of the major UNESCO world heritage sights in Kathamdu Durbar square, significant Buddhist gompas of Swoyambhunath, and Bouddhanath and one of most significant Hindu temple of Pashupatinath; After lunch we meet with our climbing guide, check our equipment and conduct last preparations for the trek.
Day 03: We take morning flight from Kathmandu to Lukla and Spend the rest of the day in Lukla for acclimatization. Lodge accommodation.
Day 04: We trek (3-4hrs) to Chutanga for the overnight camp. This will allow a reasonably solid acclimatization.
Day 05: After 2 days of acclimatization we will ready to cross Zatrawa La pass and Down climb to Khartitang. This will be a classic acclimatization stage we will below our highest elevation of the day.
Day 06: We are entering now Hinku Valley. We climb up through the lush forest on the west side of the Hinku Valley and through the red Rhododendron forest on the beaten Himalayan trail. The trees will change to pine with the increasing elevation. There are still opportunities to spot some wildlife in the forested areas but we are going to emerge in to areas of mountain meadows.
Day 07: It is a short walk today but we gain 700m and cross 4000m threshold so we will take acclimatization break tomorrow. We are in the meadow areas and walk through traditional Sherpa villages with Buddhist gompas and mani walls. We will enjoy fantastic view of south face of Mera Peak throughout the day.
Day 08: We need this rest day to allow our bodies to recover and settle at the elevation before we can sleep at 5000m. This is also nice area to relax and soak up the beautiful views of peaks and glaciers surrounding the head of the Hinku Valley, we can see pyramid of Peak 43 and west face of Mera Peak; We will visit Sabal Tsho Lake and take an acclimatization hike to the cairn (5271m) on the flank of Kusum Kangguru (6367m).
Day 09: We follow the lateral moraine of Dig Glacier to Dig Kharka, which offers spectacular views of Charpate Himal. The trail climbs through moraines and to the snout of the Hinku Nup and Shar Glaciers and then climbs more steeply to our camping spot at Khare with spectacular view on Mera Peak.
Day 10: This is a required acclimatization day to get accustomed to 5000m threshold and to be able to cope with the summit elevation. There are many hike possibilities, however if not feeling strong we will take a rest to gain the strength.
Day 11: We trek from Khare to Mera La pass (5350m), our Base Camp. We will conduct a snow training for our expedition members unfamiliar with snow climbing techniques. We all have to become familiar with using crampons, rope and ice axe.
Day 12: We will start trek from Mera La pass to Mera Peak High Camp, where we setup our final climbing camp.The track may be hazardous if there was snowfall covering crevasses, this for conducted our training at Mera La pass. The views are stunning from here on Everst, Makalu, Cho Oyu , South face of Lotshe, Nuptse, Chamlang and Baruntse.
Day 13: This will be a long and tough day. We plan two days of climbing contingency. Weather permitting we will wake-up at 2am, have some breakfast and attempt to summit Mera Peak (6654m); we will return to Mera La (5350m). We should be well acclimatized so we should reach the summit in 4-6hrs. From the summit we can see magnificent views of Mt. Everest (8,848m), Cho-Oyu (8,210m), Lhotse (8,516m), Makalu (8,463m), Kangchenjunga (8,586m), Nuptse (7,855m), Chamlang (7,319m), Baruntse (7 ,129m) Ama Dablam (6,812m) Kangtega (6,779m) and many peaks over six thousand meters.
Day 14: We descend to Hinku valley to Kothe for our overnight camp, leaving behind the outstanding Himalayan adventure and taking unforgettable memories back home.
Day 15: We climb up through the lush forest on the west side of the Hinku Valley to Thuli Kharka and through the red Rhododendron forest on the beaten Himalayan trail.
Day 16: Return to Lukla via Zatrwa La pass with stunning Lukla Valley view from the pass. This is last evening in the mountains, the ideal opportunity for a farewell party with our staff.
Day 17: Early in the morning we take a flight from Lukla to Kathmandu, which takes about 35 minutes, transfer to hotel and have a leisure and shopping day in Kathmandu;
Day 18: Full Day sightseeing in Kathmandu valley (Durbar Square, Swoyambhunath, Boudhanath & Pashupatinath); Farewell- Celebration dinner in the evening.
Day 19: Farewell Dinner in Kathmandu before departure with seven star Special Gifts and transfer to the airport for final departure or alternatively join other activities.