Trip Facts: Activities : 16 day Trekking, 3 nights in Kathmandu with one full day city sightseeing.

Start/End: Kathmandu

Destination : Mera Peak Summit

Trip Duration : 20 days

Max. Altitude : 6654 meters

Group Size : Min. 1 / Max.20

Best Season : February, March, April, May, June, September, October, November & December.

Trip Grade :

Daily walking Hour: Approx. 4-6

The trek will start from Lukla (9100ft), where all Nepalise climbs start, Everest included. We move on to Pangom and then on to Pangum La (10,400ft) over the next two days. Over the next four days we disappear from the usual trekking routes and ascend to Chunbu Kharka (13,700ft) and on to Tagnag (14,400ft). On day 11 at Tagnag we have an acclimatization day and to check we haven't left anything at home! From day 12 to day 16 we attempt the summit from a high base camp at 18,500ft leaving at 2am reaching the summit (21,100ft) mid morning and then descend back to the high base camp for a nice cup of tea.

ItineraryDay 01: Arrival in Kathmandu and transfer to the hotel.

Day 02: Sight seeing in kathmandu Valley.

Day 03: Fly from Kathmandu to Lukla (2800m.). Trek from Lukla to Chutanga (3050m.), and you camp. This morning we take the short but spectacular flight to Lukla where we meet our crew. We then begin walking for 3 to 4 hours due east from Lukla, passing through a number of tiny hamlets before entering thick forest on the hillside below the Kalo Himal Ridge. Be careful to stay with the group on this section as there are many trails leading away from the main path. There are many streams with numerous places for the first camp, all of which are loosely referred to as Chutanga.

Day 04: Trek from Chutanga to Zatrawala Pass (4610m.) to Zatrabok (4704m.) and you camp here. You trek steep ascent path to cross Zatrawala Pass. From here you can enjoy the spectacular views of Numbur Himal, Kongdi Ri, Karyolang peak and many other mountains and peaks. Now you walk along the leveled trail for almost one and half hours and then the trail turns downhill and you trek through this descent path all the way to Zatrabok. This is campsite surrounded by hills.

Day 05: Trek from Zatrabok to Kothe (m.) and you camp here. To reach Kothe you trek steep descent path all the way. En route, you pass forests of juniper, rhododendron and other local vegetation. The views you can enjoy are of Mera peak, Nauleku peak and many other mountains and peaks.

Day 06: Trek from Kothe to Tangnang (4356m.) (Sabal Tsho-Lake) following Hinku Valley (4600m.). You trek along the bank of river and find bush on both sides. The path is gradual ascent and you can enjoy the views of Kusum Kanguru peak and many more.

Day 07: Rest day at Thangnang. This is an acclimatization Day at Tangnag. This will be a rest day to let your bodies recover from the past days of hiking. You will relax and soak up the beautiful views of peaks and glaciers surrounding the head of the Hinku Valley.

Day 08: Trek from Tangnang to Dig Kharka (4659m.) and you camp here. We now walk towards the mountain as the trail swings to the east. We gain height gradually until we find ourselves at Dig Kharka (4,650m), close to the foot of the Hinku Nup Glacier. This is a pleasant, grassy camp in an impressive situation.

Day 09: Trek from Dig Kharka to Khare (5045m.) and you camp. Today we will climb above (5,000 m.) for the first time. Our hike up to Khare (5,100m, 16,728ft) is short, but we will take it slowly, with frequent stops to soak up the incredible surroundings. The trails heads eastward out of Tangnag along with the lateral moraine of the Dig Glacier. We will pause to climb up the moraine for a view of the pristine Sabai Tso glacial lake. A drop in lake level, caused by a recent rupture of the natural dam the held the lake, is clearly visible. We will arrive at Khare in the early afternoon and have lunch. From Khare, the beautiful north face of Mera Peak is in plain view and Mera glacier spills steeply down into the valley.

Day 10: Rest day at Khare. This is an acclimatization day as you can prepare yourself for the Mera Peak climb.

Day 11: Trek from Khare to Mera La (Pass) (5350m.) and you camp. Today you will travel a short distance, slowly ascending up onto Mera glacier. The climb is initially steep, but flattens out as you reach the crest of the glacier. You will traverse a long flat on top of the glacier as you make your way to the pass, called Mera La (5,400m, 17,710ft). From here, the views are stunning. Crevasse fields gently stretch out in front of the pass and you are literally enclosed by a ring of jagged peaks and blue-green glaciers. The remaining route up to the summit of Mera Peak is clearly visible.

Day 12: Trek from Mera La (Pass) to Mera Peak High Camp. This day you trek gradual ascent path all the way. This area is quite covered by ice glacier. The views make you speechless as you can enjoy the Everest, Makalu, Baruntse, Kusum Kanguru and many other mountains and peaks in panorama. Moreover you feel chill by the magnificent views of Mera Glacier.

Day 13: Climb High Camp (5780m.). Today, you make the climb to the high camp. This is located at about 5,800 metres 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.

Day 14: Climb Mera Peak and return to Khare and you camp at Khare. 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 metres. Your reward, however, is a feeling of ecstatic jubilation as you survey the magnificent panorama from the top. After taking pictures and enjoying the view, we descend by the same route back to our campsite below the Mera La.

Day 15: Trek from Khare to Kothe and it takes about eight hours. This day you walk along the gradual descent path passing through Tangnang. This is a small village and you find yak settlement here. To reach Kothe you follow the same kind of path. On the way you pass forests covered with fir, rhododendron and local vegetation.

Day 16: Trek from Kothe to Zatrabok which takes about six hours. The trail goes steep up all the way to Zatrabok. On the way you pass forests and green hills.

Day 17: Trek from Zatrabok to Chutanga and it takes approximately five hours. Till Zatrawala Pass the trail is ascent and then you trek descent path to reach Chutanga. En route, you walk through rocky path.

Day 18: Trek from Chutanga to Lukla and it takes about four hours. You trek through forests of fir, rhododendron, oak, juniper and local vegetation. The trail you walk along moves downhill all the way to Lukla. You can enjoy the views of Numbur Himal, Kongdi Ri, Karyolang peak and many other mountains and peaks.

Day 19: Fly from Lukla to Kathmandu and it takes about 35 minutes.

Day 20: Departure from Kathmandu

Note: It is possible to combine with some other activities such as white water rafting and wildlife safari. The itinerary can be customized according to your duration of holiday.

Service Includes

• Conservation/national park fees and all govt. taxes.
• Climbing peak permit
• 3 (three) nights hotel in Kathmandu on twin sharing bed and breakfast basis.
• Domestic airfares and domestic airport tax.
• All airport/hotel/airport transfer
• An Experience head Sardar/Guide.
• Trained Cook and Kitchen boy(s).
• Required number of porters
• All camping gears, high quality tents two men tent with sleeping mattress.
• Group dinning tents with table and chairs
• Kitchen tents and Toilet tent
• EPI gas with stove for high camp
• All meals quality and hygienic (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
• All hot drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, juice)
• Available high food
• All necessary Climbing hardware gears including Climbing ropes.
• Complete first aid kits
• Oxygen with mask and regulator for emergency/medical purpose.
• Insurance of all local team members
• Equipment for porters
• Half day world heritage sites tour.

• Medical/personal high risk insurance (suggest have rescue coverage policy as well)
• International airfares and departure tax.
• Personal climbing gears.
• Major meals in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
• Cost of personal expenses
• Tips

Climbing

• Climbing harness;
• One 3 metre/10 foot sling and three 2 metre/6 foot slings.
• Figure 8/Abseil belay device;
• 1 large mitten sized ascender (most members use the large petzl) and arm length leash;
• 2 locking carabiners, 1 large and 1 small;
• 4 regular carabiners;
• Ice axe w/leash;
• Crampons - must fit boots perfectly. Steel crampons with anti-balling (anti-bot) plates are the best;
• Optional; Adjustable trekking poles;
  

• 2 cotton t-shirts;
• 1 polypropylene t-shirt;
• 1 long sleeve polypropylene shirts, lightweight;
• 1 polar fleece pullovers, medium weight;
• 1 polar fleece jacket.
• Gore-Tex jacket with hood, waterproof and breathable;
• Lightweight down jacket for those chilly days in camp;
  

• 1 pr. lightweight poly-liner gloves. These will be worn when tying knots, but not inside your mitts;
• 1 pair mittens, consists of 1 Gore-tex over mitt matched with the very warm polar fleece mitt liner

Head

• Warm hat wool or synthetic that covers your ears;
• Balaclava;
• Face mask;
• Ballcap or brimmed suncap;
• Glacier sunglasses with side shields (you can purchase these inexpensively in Kathmandu, including prescription sunglasses, which can be made for $20, it might take a week or two);
• 1 pair ski goggles (Optional) with light and dark lens;
• Headlamp with extra batteries and bulbs;
• Bandana or head scarf, also useful for dusty conditions.

• Cotton underwear briefs;
• 1 pair walking shorts;
• 1 pair walking trousers for trekking and around camp;
• 1 pair lightweight thermal bottoms;
• 1 pair medium or expedition weight thermal bottoms;
• 1 pair polar fleece trousers;
• 1 pair Gore-Tex trousers, salopettes, or bibs. Waterproof/breathable with full side zips;

Feet

• 1 pair Double Plastic boots (Koflach);
  • Modern single waterproof-leather climbing boots with special insulation for cold weather/winter climbing on 4000 metre/13,000 foot high peaks are OK, as long as they will fit comfortably with two thick pair of socks and a vapour barrier liner and the boot will fit the crampon perfectly.
• 1 pair sturdy leather walking boots with good ankle support (we mean leather trekking, not climbing boots) for the trek;
• 1 pair trainers, running shoes and/or sandals for Kathmandu and in camp;
• 1 pair down booties (optional);
• 2 pair med-heavy poly or wool socks;
• 2- pair of liner socks. Polypropylene or wool;
• vapour barrier liner socks or plastic bread-bags;
• 2 pair lightweight trekking socks, poly or wool;
• Cotton socks for in town.

• 1 sleeping bag (good to -10 degrees C or 10 degrees F);
• At least 1 closed cell foam kari-mats. We do not recommend inflatable mats, as we have never seen one not puncture. You can buy these non inflatable mats very inexpensively in Kathmandu. Why carry foam mats around the world, when you can purchase them inexpensively in Kathmandu?

Rucksack and Travel Bags

• 1 medium rucksack (50-70 litres / 3000-4500 cubic inches, can be used for airplane carry);
• 1 or 2 large (120 L / 7500 cubic inch) duffle kit bags for clothing and equipment. Must be durable for use on pack animals;
• Small padlocks for duffel kit bags.

Personal Hygiene

• female or male hygiene supplies;
• 2 tubes lip sun cream, 1 large tube skin sun cream (min.factor 15);
• anti-mosquito cream;
• 1 toothpaste/brush;
• 1 bar soap or hand sanitizer gel/1 small towel;
• hand wipes.

• small personal first-aid kit. (Simple and Light) Aspirin, first-aid tape, plasters (band-aids), personal medications, etc. The leaders will have extensive first-aid kits, so leave anything extra behind. Please let your leader know about any medical issues before the climb;
• 1 skin blister repair kit;
• medications are inexpensive and readily available in Kathmandu with no Doctor`s prescription;
• 1 small bottle anti-diarrhea pills;
• 1 small bottle anti-headache pills;
• 1 small bottle cough and/or cold medicine;
• 1 small bottle anti-altitude sickness pills: Diamox, Acetylzolamide.
  
• 1 course antibiotics for stomach infection, available locally at chemist shop or pharmacy with no doctor's prescription;
• 1 course antibiotics for chest infection, available locally at chemist shop or pharmacy with no doctor's prescription;
• Do not bring sleeping pills. They are a respiratory depressant;
• 1 small bottle of water purification tablets or water filter;
• 1 set earplugs;
• extra prescription glasses, contact lens supplies.

Personal Food

On the mountain we supply plenty of food for you to cook 3 hot meals each day. This food will consist of soup, local cheese & sausage, biscuits, dried noodles, potatoes, rice, porridge, butter, dried and tinned vegetables, fruit, meats, and fish, tea with milk and sugar, powdered juice drink, and drinking chocolate. Our sherpas will be carrying this food to the higher camps.

• We ask each member to bring their own imported daily snack and energy foods. We do not provide cold “snack” food such as chocolate or "energy-bars". We ask that you bring or buy your own "snack" or daily cold energy food,2-3 kilos/4-6 pounds is a good amount (for the trek and Island Peak combined). A growing variety of imported foods such as European and American cheeses, chocolates, biscuits, cookies, nuts, and locally made power-bars are now available in Kathmandu, at realistic prices. However, imported power bars, GU, re-hydration drinks, dehydrated food, "freeze-dried meals", imported cheese and sausage are not available. If you want these items, you must bring them from your home country.Many of our members, especially Britons, Europeans, and Australians with tiny baggage allowances, now purchase their daily snacks in Kathmandu. Our schedule in Kathmandu allows plenty of time for shopping.

• 1 small roll of repair tape, 1 sewing repair kit;
• 1 cigarette lighter, 1 small box matches;
• 1 compass or GPS;
• 1 battery powered alarm clock/watch;
• 1 camera and film, or digital camera with extra cards and extra batteries;
• nylon stuff sacks For food and gear storage, large Ziplocs are useful also;
• 3 Water bottles (1 litre) wide-mouth Nalgene (1 is a pee bottle);
• 1 plastic cup and spoon;
• 1 small folding knife;
• binoculars (optional);
• 4 large, waterproof, disposable rubbish sacks;
• passport, 2 extra passport photos, flight ticket, flight itinerary;
• separate photocopies of passport and relevant visa pages, proof of insurance;
• dollars, pounds or euros cash for purchasing Nepalese visa at Kathmandu airport, Tibet visa, for paying for restaurants and hotels, for gratuities, snacks, and to purchase your own drinks and gifts;
• credit cards, Bank/ATM/Cash machine cards for use for withdrawing funds from cash machines (bring a photocopy of your cards), traveler's checks, etc.;
• 1 bathing suit/swimming costume (you never know);
• basecamp entertainment. It is good to bring additional items which you have found to be useful on previous expeditions. For example: paperback books, playing cards, ipod mp3 player, short-wave radio, game boys, musical instruments, ear plugs, lots of batteries, etc.;
• travel clothes for basecamp and in town.

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