The Himalaya, meaning "abode of snow", is the planet's highest range and home to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include Mount Everest and K2. To comprehend the enormous scale of this mountain range consider that the Andes, culminating at 6,962 m, is the highest range outside Asia, whereas the Himalaya includes over 100 mountains exceeding 7,200 metres ...
Separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayas stretches across six countries: India, Bhutan, Tibet, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan. Some of the world's major rivers, the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, and the Yangtze, rise in the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 1.3 billion people. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many Himalayan peaks are sacred in both Hinduism and Buddhism.
Baruntse, one of the beautiful 7,000m snow peaks in the Himalayas of Nepal, is our prime objective. Baruntse, a substantial and symmetrical snow peak , lies in the heart of Khumbu massif surrounded by some of the famous peaks of the world, Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Chamlang, Amadablam and Mera trekking peak. The peak is crowned by four summits on four ridges. It is also one of the few peaks of this height with a high rate of success of ascent on normal route via South Ridge.
The approach to Baruntse up to Mera La passes by the Mera Peak (6476m), which we will climb, and then to Baruntse base camp (5,250m). The route is not technically demanding and essentially a straightforward climbing on snow and ice with some sections of overhangings. Normally, two high camps are established above the base camp in Baruntse climbing. The camp I is set up just below East Col. at an altitude of 5,700m and the camp II is on the South – East Ridge at a height of 6,420m.
Our Baruntse (7129m) / Mera Peak (6476m) expedition will start on October 5 for over one and half month, and here is our program:
Oct 5 / Day 01: Fly Kathmandu-Lukla and trek to Payun (2,290m). 45 min flight, 5 hrs walk. Flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (40 min) is one of the great flights of the Himalaya. If the sky is clear during our flight, we will get our first views of Everest and the region in which we will be climbing. The Twin Otter aircraft will take us to the hillside village of Lukla, which is the start of our trek. Here we will meet our camp staff and porters and set off straight away down to our first camp at Poyun. Overnight in camp.
Day 02: Trek to Pangkongma (3,010m). 7-8 hrs walk. We will follow the main trail briefly before turning up a path that leads into the forest and traverses around many ridges to the valley of the Khari Khola. Although our camp elevations are similar for the last days, we are undulating over two major ridges, the Chutok La (2945m) and the Kari La (3080m). As we approach Pangkongma, set in the base of a small bowl like valley immediately below the Pangkongma La, we travel through forests of rhododendron, pines and oaks. This is a little known trail used only by the local families and apart from a couple of small settlements along the way we see little evidence of human activity. Pangkongma is a very old settlement little changed, with a new gompa and expansive views out over the valley. Overnight in camp.
Day 03: Trek to Kurke (4090m). 4-5 hrs walk. After breakfast early in the morning we will set out towards the beautiful valley of Hinku. The views on the approach to our camp promise to be spectacular. Reaching camp involves gaining height. Overnight in camp.
Day 04: Trek to Zetra (3,790m). 5 hrs walk. Begins a long, steady climb through juniper, rhododendron and bamboo forest until we reach the high point at approximately 3300m. Good intermittent views of Mera Peak are expected at various clearings on your ascent through a virgin forest. The descent is steep, rocky and hard-going, and full concentration required! We willthen begin another steep climb for an hour or so before descending to the river, crossing over a log bridge and a 5 minute climb to your campsite – deep down to our camp. Overnight in camp.
Day 05: Trek to Kote (4,120m). 6-7 hrs walk. Our route will now contour around many ridges on the eastern side of the Hinku, descending lower into forests of rhododendron and scree. Our campsite is planned on a pleasant grassy patch, on the now much higher bank of the rocky riverbed. Overnight in camp.
Day 06: Trek to Thangnak (4,350m). 5 hrs walk. Following the west bank of the Hinku Drangka northwards, the forest eventually disappears and the valley widens and becomes much more open. There are no villages in the Upper Hinku, only small kharkas used for grazing goats, sheep and yaks. The twin summits of Kusum Kanguru appear on the left while the valley is bounded on the right by the steep rock face of Mera's satellite peak. Ahead framed in the sharp "V" of the valley is the imaginatively named Peak 43. We will take lunch at Gondishung, a summer herders’ settlement consisting of a few roofless huts and stone-walled enclosures, as well as a long ancient ‘mani’ wall of intricately carved prayer stones. Beyond Gondishung we pass nearby a fascinating 200 year-old gompa built beneath a massive boulder, and a number of crude mani walls. It is well worth visiting this gompa to burn some juniper at the shrine, an offering that just might ensure a successful ascent of Mera Peak. From the gompa it is an hour’s walk over moraines to the Yak herders settlement of Thagnak. Once similar in appearance to Gondishung, nowadays there are several teahouses here catering mainly to the porters who accompany Mera expeditions. Overnight in camp.
Day 07: Acclimatization day at Thangnak. Thangnak is a location to have an acclimatization day and we will prepare and check our climbing gear also. There are many good ridges and slopes to trek up for a few hours and spend valuable time acclimatizing ourselves at these greater heights. We aim to gain at least 500m following a ridge behind the village as a side excursion on this day. There are views of peaks towards Kusum Kanguru and across towards Mera. Overnight in camp.
Day 08: Trek to Khare (5,100m). 5-6 hrs walk. We trek up to Khare heading up from Thangnak towards the Mera Base camp at Khare, a good trail leads up and across the moraine which dams Charpatti Tal, and reaches a high point lined with cairns overlooking the glacial lake in about 30 minutes. From here the trail descends slightly to cross a sandy bowl and then climbs alongside a khola or stream to the large pasture of Dig Kharka. Here we cross the khola on stepping stones and then climb for a further hour and a half to Khare, the base camp for Mera Peak. Overnight in camp.
Day 09: Acclimatization day at Khare. This is another acclimatization day, in final preparation for the climb. Overnight in camp.
Day 10: Trek to Mera-La (5,415m). 3-4 hrs walk. Leaving base camp, we first climb to the crest of the moraine above Khare and then steeply up a slope of scree or snow to reach a boulder-strewn bowl below the lower tongue of the Mera Glacier. We should reach this point in 1½ hrs from Khare. The route crosses the bowl and climbs the ground to the right of the tongue to a large rock platform beside the glacier. Here, we will put on our crampons and climb 30 – 35 degree snow or ice for 10 or 15 minutes to reach the plateau leading to the Mera La. Unless there has been recent snowfall, there will be a good trail which weaves its way around and between the crevasses toward the Mera-La. It is about an hour’s walk across the plateau to reach the pass itself. It is possible to camp in many places on the wide expanse of the Mera-La but it is better to drop down 100m on the Hongu side to a good, sheltered site that enjoys the early morning sun. Overnight in camp.
Day 11: Ascend to Mera Peak High Camp (5800m). 5 hrs walk. We will make the climb to the high camp. This is located at about 5,800 m on the Northern slopes of the upper mountain. It provides an excellent launch pad for the final climb to the summit. There is no need to make an early start but we must get our equipment ready so that the Sherpas can help with carrying this and the camp stores to the high camp. Having gained the Mera La, the route turns left (south) and follows easy angled snow slopes. After a short distance an area of crevasses is reached. Under normal conditions these can be walked around very easily, although looking into their deep, dark depths is always impressive. The crevasses soon give way to slightly steeper but open snow slopes that lead without difficulty to the high camp. This camp is in an excellent setting with wonderful views of Everest, Makalu and the Nuptse, Lhotse wall directly ahead. The setting sun casts an unbelievably magic light on these awesome mountains. Overnight in camp.
Oct 16 / Day 12: Ascent of Mera Peak (6476m) and descend to the Hongu Valley / Rato Odar. 9-10 hrs ascent/descent. The climb to the summit of Mera starts gradually and much will depend on snow and general weather conditions. The central summit will soon appear above the head of a wide glacier flanked by two ridges. We climb the centre of this over open snowfields and avoiding crevasses. The route then swings south-east, skirting below and to the east of the left-hand ridge before turning back rightwards towards the main summit ridge of Mera. Mera actually has three summits; the highest is our objective. We reach this by following a classic snow-ridge to just below the final wall that guards the top. This short steep snow slope is easily climbed but there is a big effort required to climb this last 50 m. After enjoying panorama from the top, we descend by the same route back to our campsite below the Mera-La. From the central summit we will descend first to our high camp for some tea or soup and from here to a camp above the Hongu Valley at Rato Odar. Overnight in camp.
Day 13: Trek to Seto pokhari. 2-3 hrs walk. We will trek towards our destination to the Baruntse base camp. Though the trek does not involve very long duration, it is a good strategy in terms of the expedition to recover well from the ascent of Mera peak. Overnight in camp.
Day 14: Trek to Baruntse Base Camp (5550m). 4 hrs walk. Feeling tired and exhilarated by our adventure, we pack up and descend into the Honku Valley and proceed to our base camp and main objective of the trip - Mt Baruntse. Overnight in camp.
Oct 19 / Day 15-24: Climbing period of Mt. Baruntse (7129m). We establish 2 camps above Baruntse Base Camp. The first (ABC) is placed on the flat expanses of the glacier and at the foot of the South East Ridge, at an altitude of 6,000m. Camp (C1) is on the South-East Ridge proper at a height of 6,450m. The route above C2 requires some fixing. From this camp, we climb to the summit.We have allowed plenty of time for the ascent in order to provide for additional acclimatization and for some load carrying to stock ABC and Camp 1. Above C1, we climb 45° snow slopes past a subsidiary summit at 6,745m from where the route becomes more demanding. A series of short, steep steps of snow and ice are gained until we pass onto the west side of the ridge. Some short sections of rock scrambling lead back onto the ridge until it narrows at about 7,000m. This leads to a marked cleft and an ice cliff, which is surmounted to give access to easier, broader slopes above. These lead to the summit at 7,129m (approx 10 hours of ascent). Descent is by the same route (sleeping at C1 and ABC). Overnight in camp.
Day 25: Packing up, overnight stay at Base Camp.Day 25 is reserved as rest and packing up the stuffs to get ready leaving the Base camp. As we are also responsible towards the environment, we will take all garbage (bio-degradable and non-biodegradable) back to Kathmandu or hand over to the SPCC (Sagarmathan Pollution Control Committee) at Namche. Overnight in camp.
Day 26: Trek to Amphulaptsa Base Camp. 4-5 hrs walk.We will leaving Base Camp we retrace toward Imja valley enjoying the views to Amphulaptsa Base Camp and prepare for the next day’s crossing of the pass. Overnight in camp.
Day 27: Cross Amphulaptsa (5710m) pass, further trek to Chhukung. 5-6 hrs walk.This is a big day. An early start for the 2 to 3 hour climb to the pass. After contouring across boulder strewn hillside we follow a steep trail to gravely ledges and the foot of a small ice fall. This is climbed in a series of long ‘steps’ with the assistance of fixed lines. Emerging on the ridgecrest, the view is absolutely stunning – the impressive south face of Lhotse is directly opposite and the summit of Island Peak appears to be lower than our vantage point! The summit of Everest with its tell tale plume of cloud can clearly be seen above the stupendous 8000 meter high Lhotse-Nuptse Wall. As soon as the kitchen staff and porters arrive at the pass, they will be lowered the 90 - 130 feet to the fixed ropes on the relatively less steep ground below the pass. Similarly, loads have to be carefully lowered. Wewill certainly make the most of our time in this exceptional spot before taking our turn to be lowered (or to abseil for those of us with previous experience of this technique) to the fixed lines and then making our way down to terra firma below the wall of the Amphu Labsta. By mid afternoon everybody should be off the pass and we will have a packed lunch, with some hot soup or tea, before completing the day’s journey. Downhill, on an ever improving trail, it is a walk of 2 to 3 hours to Chukung and the first of the tea-houses.
From day 28-onward: Our shcedule becomes more flexible as we will trek on our own-time.
- to Everst Base Camp
- then back down to KTM, via Namche Bazaar (3450) the capital of Sherpa or the Khumbu and Lukla. During 10 days, we will pass through the villages of Bibre and Dingboche, big Sherpa settlements, Thyangboche one of Nepal’s finest monasteries, and taking good look at Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.
Once in Kathmandu we will trek further through the Himalayas until mid Dec when we flight back home. Happily :)
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Mon 02 Nov -- We summitted Mera Central (6467m, Normal route North slopes, F) on October 16 and Baruntse (7158m, South East ridge, AD-) on October 26! Although the technical difficulties on the Baruntse were significantly lowered by the continuous presence of fixed ropes --so many commercial teams this year :( --, it was such a great team effort and achievement to summit all four and simultaneously !!! The team is now trekking back to civilisation: Dan, Geoff and Kieran are racing to Kathmandu; while Jeff is pacing through Solu-Kumbhu, getting a feeling for the Sherpa region.
Mon 05 Oct -- Gone into thin air ... Dan, Geoffroy, Jeff and Kieran are now gone for 45 days trekking and climbing through and atop great himalayan landscapes and summits. Our journey will take us on the scary flight to Lukla, atop the Mera Peak into the Makalu-Barun National Park, up the Hongo Khola toward the Baruntse Base Camp for a 10 days summit siege. Our summit attempt is via the West Face / South East ridge (AD, 2 high camps) on Alpine style, ie. light and in autonomy. (detailed routing on the "Climbing Plans in the Himalaya" note). On our way down, we will pass by the Everest Base Camp, and hope to meet our climbing friends Manon and co., Fabrice and Sophie, Maria and Alex on their expeditions to Ama Dablam, Cho Oyu and Baruntse East-side.Our solid and jovial team promises to achieve every effort for success and enjoy every moment of this amazing mountaineering experience :)
Sun 04 Oct -- Last day in Kathmandu. We had full & fun days here, between logistic sessions with Rinchen, cultural ventures with Luke & Tomi, lovely evening with Pragya & friends ... Smiles and wilds fully enjoyed !!! The team took most of last rests, last steaks, last beers ... Before leaving Kathmandu charming and vibrating atmosphere. Tomorrow morning.
Thu 01 Oct -- At last, the Beyond Peaks Sustainable Mountaineering Baruntse Expedition team is complete here in Katmandu! Today we all met with Rinchen to conclude formalities. Although everything is set - more so on Rinchen side than ours - the usual tidious discussions on logistics took off :)At day -3 to expedition start, we have some time to wonder around Kathmandu, get a taste of local life and meet people ... Exciting! Excited!
Mon 28 Sep -- This week was the time for final expedition preparations with Rinchen Sherpa, our agent from South Asia Trekking who deals with Nepalese tidious administrative matters and supplies logistics. Sherpa by ancestry, Rinchen is a proper himalayan inhabitant: reserved, dedicated, trustful. Well, much more likely to indicate us useful mountain tips than best bars in town ...As most things were sorted for the expedition, I then took time to check out local (night-) life before my friends arrive -as of tomorrow :)
Tues 22 Sep -- Take off to Kathmandu, Kingdom of Nepal. Jeff flies first and will be soon joined by Dan, Geoffroy and Kieran. Except for Dan who has already climbed in Nepal, this trip will be a first time discovery of Himalayan great peaks and their legendary fumes. Hereby, a view that we expect to have from the summit of Baruntse: the Everest and Lhotse blown by October jet-streams ...
