Lhotse / Nuptse 2022
Typical trekking and acclimatisation itinerary
Obviously there will be a degree of flexibility to allow for changes to the weather, individual acclimatisation, illness etc but the rough itinerary for the duration of our expedition is as follows:-
Day 1 (Sunday 27th March 2022) – Arrive Kathmandu (KTM). You will be met at the airport and transferred to a 4* Hotel on the outskirts of Thamel. We will then pop in to town for our first group meal (meals in Kathmandu at the start of the trek are included in the cost of the trip)
Day 2 – Sightseeing trip in the morning (transport, guide and all entrance fees are included). Meet for lunch at the fantastic culinary paradise that is Mike’s Breakfast on the outskirts of Thamel. Sort gear / final preparations for the expedition in the afternoon
Day 3 – Early morning flight to Lukla (2,800m). This is the flight of a lifetime. After our early morning departure we’ll arrive in Lukla and transfer to our lodge for breakfast. After sorting the gear in to loads we start trekking. We follow the easy trail, stopping for lunch along the way (again all meals en route are included in the price) and gradually descend in to the valley bottom. We use teahouse accommodation for the trek in and our first stop is at Phak Ding (2,650m). Around 4 hours of easy trekking
Day 4 – After breakfast we start on the trail along the side of the Dudh Kosi (Milk River) which originates from the Khumbu Glacier some 30 miles away. We cross the river 4 times on the route today on some quite exciting (but very well constructed) suspension bridges. We enter the National Park at Monjo and then make our way gradually up the zig zags to Namche Bazaar (3,450m). In Namche Bazaar we convene at the Everest Bakery for Coffee and Chocolate Doughnuts and then continue along the trail to stay with my good friends Tashi and Lakpa at Kyanjuma. All in all about 4 and a half to 6 hours of walking. (Interesting point to note … Tashi & Lakpa are visiting the UK in January for an audience with HRH The Prince of Wales. Lakpa was one of the Sherpas when Prince Charles visited Nepal in the 80s and has been invited for an audience with His Royal Highness at Clarence House. So I’m sure we’ll get to hear all about their trip when we stay with them)
Day 5 – A rest day. But when we say rest day it merely means that we will stay at the same teahouse – in the meantime we will go up an exciting ‘hidden staircase’, an amazing construction, and follow the trail to the Mong La (3,950m) where we will have lunch. We’ll then descend back down to Kyanjuma in time for afternoon tea. At some stage today we’ll also visit Tashi’s amazing prayer room
Day 6 – Today we transfer to Thame. We crest a col and drop down to Syangboche where we stop for elevenses. We then follow a great trail through a beautiful, wooded valley, to Thamo, where we stop for lunch before continuing to Thame (3,800m). Around 6 to 8 hours of easy walking
Day 7 – Today we go to the most amazing monastery, set in the hillside a short walk above Thame. There are some fantastic painted mani stones along the way and we visit the monastery for a puja
Day 8 – A lovely walk up the quiet Thame valley to the village of Marylung (4,150m). A short day (around 3 hours of walking)
Day 9 – Another acclimatisation day where we trek up to around 5,000m before dropping back down to stay for another night at Marylung
Day 10 – Today we cross the first of the high passes – The Renjo La. It is an easily accessible pass with a great staircase – but it is at 5,345m and the altitude will make it slow going. The views when you get there are well worth the effort involved. After admiring the scene we drop down to Gokyo (4,750m) for afternoon tea
Day 11 – For those who fancy an early start there is the opportunity to see the sunrise from the summit of Gokyo Ri. Or if you prefer you can go in the late afternoon for the sunset views where you get to experience the alpenglow on Everest. Whichever you choose you’ll need a warm jacket, hat, gloves, headtorch and camera
Day 12 – We descend the Gokyo valley on the East side – a rarely trodden route. The terrain is spectacular and there are hardly any trekkers who take this trail descending to the quiet village of Phortse. It’s a 1,000m descent so you can be assured of an excellent night’s sleep
Day 13 – Another day when we will see very few trekkers. This time we are taking the high level route to Pangboche. Great trekking and awesome views especially as we approach Pangboche and have Ama Dablam in the windscreen
Day 14 – A pleasant day of trekking initially along the main Khumbu trail but after an hour or so we veer off to Dingboche. Dingboche is an amazing village nestled at the bottom of the Imja valley with great views of Island Peak (Imja Tse) at the head of the valley and Ama Dablam opposite the village
Day 15 – A rest day. And today, if you so desire, you can actually have a rest day
Day 16 – Today is a short hike to Chukkung to gain a few hundred meters elevation where we are then poised for our crossing of The Kongma La
Day 17 – A great hike today to ascend Chukkung Ri – 5,550m and great views of Lhotse and Makalu
Day 18 – We trek up and over the pass and descend to Lobuche village. A great day with fantastic views from the Kongma La lake camp
Day 19 – (Thursday 14th April) We now follow the main Everest trail to Gorak Shep – the highest village in The Khumbu situated at 5,250m. From here we continue to Everest Base Camp where we will move in to our encampment where we will be based for the next 4 or 5 weeks
Day 20 – A rest day and time to unpack and get ourselves orientated to our new home
Day 21 – Puja. The Base Camp puja is all a part of the expedition experience but it is also a very important blessing – in particular for the Climbing Sherpas. Depending on the auspicious dates in the calendar this may be on another day but there is plenty of flexibility to allow for any changes
Day 22 – A reconnaissance day in to the lower stretches of The Khumbu Icefall. Partly this is to acquaint ourselves with the lower section of the route but importantly it is to have an introduction to some of the skills you will need to be moving safely through The Khumbu Icefall and on up to Camp 1
Day 23 – A day to be packing our gear to get ready for …
Day 24 – Today we move straight through The Khumbu Icefall and establish ourselves at Camp 1 (around 6,000m)
Day 25 – Depending on how people feel we may spend a second night at C1 or we may move to C2 at 6,400m (and indeed the group can quite safely split according to how they are acclimatising)
Day 26 – Transfer to C2 (or a second night at C2 if already there)
Day 27 – A trip around towards Nuptse Camp 3. Sleep Camp 2
Day 28 – Rest Day Camp 2
Day 29 – Carry to Nuptse Camp 3. Sleep C2
Day 30 – Carry to Nuptse Camp 3. Sleep Camp 3
Day 31 – Rest day at Nuptse C3 / or for those so inclined an opportunity to assist with some humping, dumping and rope fixing
Day 32 – Descend back to C2
Day 33 – Return to EBC
~~~~ NUPTSE SUMMIT BID ~~~~
We are then in a position of waiting for the weather until we get a suitable window forecast. Either which way it is time to chill, relax, drink plenty and eat all the snacks we can in readiness for the off. In which case:
Day 1 – Transfer to C2
Day 2 – Rest day C2
Day 3 – Transfer to C3
Day 4 – Rest up for the day and spend time getting ready for the forthcoming journey in to the night …
Day 5 – Summit early morning, return to C3, rest and descend to C2
Day 6 – Return to EBC (early start to get through Khumbu Icefall)
~~~~ LHOTSE SUMMIT BID ~~~~
For anyone climbing Lhotse the schedule is fairly similar until this point. However Lhotse is a tad higher and is a bit more affected by the jet stream in which case the summit bid is likely to be a bit later.
If the weather is looking poor for an extended period we may drop down to Dingboche (4,400m) or Pangboche (3,950m) to chill and relax. Alternatively if the forecast is looking promising and we don’t want to be lower down the valley when we ought to be under starter’s orders we may stay at EBC. Or even, at a stretch, we may stay at C2 if the two itineraries are going to dovetail together nicely.
Day 1 – Transfer to C2
Day 2 – Rest day C2
Day 3 – Transfer to Lhotse C3
Day 4 – Transfer to Lhotse High Camp
Day 5 – Summit early morning, return to C3, a quick rest and descend to C2
Day 6 – Return to EBC (early start to get through Khumbu Icefall)
The trek out can be anything from a leisurely 4 day stroll to a mad 2 day dash depending on how eager people are to get home and availability of flights. This is where Iswari, our agent, is very good and we have even flown out of Namche Bazaar for only US$350 per person rather than descending to wait in the queue at Lukla.
Once in Kathmandu Iswari and co will busy themselves looking in to bringing flights forward and we will enjoy the crazy sights and sounds of Kathmandu not to mention a few hearty meals and a milk shake.
Or a beer.
This is a really good trekking and acclimatisation itinerary that not only gets us off the beaten track but also means that we arrive at Base Camp fit, healthy, really well acclimatised, trained up and ready to go. We make a very smooth transition from fun trekking mode to fun, but serious, expedition mode and as a result of the 3 week trek we can spend less time in the Khumbu Icefall.
As ever, if you have any questions then don’t hesitate to ask.
Yours – Tim