Island Peak Climbing

An incredible expedition experience combining a trek to Everest Base Camp with a climb of nearby Island Peak (6189m). Island Peak is a more technical climb, involving a grade 1 scramble up a rock gully and an easy rock ridge, to a glacier. Above the glacier, a steep snow head wall leads to the summit ridge, which continues, in an incredibly exposed position, to the summit. After, climb we descend to the main Everest trail with its welcome teahouses. This will certainly provide a contrast from our last two weeks in the remote high mountains.

Our adventure begins in Kathmandu where you enjoy a sightseeing tour of the Kathmandu Valley and two nights accommodation at the  Hotel.

From here we fly to the mountain airstrip at Lukla and enjoy incredible Himalayan views throughout the flight. We'll meet our porters at Lukla and then commence our trek, staying the first night at Phakding, right by the Dudh Kosi river. The next day we arrive at the bustling Sherpa village of Namche Bazzaar. At Namche we take in our first views of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and numerous other Himalayan giants. During our free day in Namche we'll visit the local monastery and seek a blessing from the Lama before a visit to the Everest View Hotel later that morning.

From Namche Bazzaar, we'll ascend slowly to Thyangboche and then onto Deboche.  We'll have plenty of time to visit the cultural centre and monastery at Thyangboche, along with their famous bakery!  The next day we'll travel further up valley to Dingboche where we'll spend two nights to assist us with the acclimatisation process. At Dingboche we'll enjoy awesome views of Lhotse, Island Peak and Makalu. From Dingboche we trek to Lobuche and then alongside the Khumbu glacier all the way to Gorak Shep and historic Everest Base Camp.  From Gorak Shep we have plenty of time to ascend Kala Pattar (5545m) and enjoy classic views of Everest, Nuptse and the Khumbu Icefall.

With a fantastic preparation&acclimatisation, we'll return to Dingboche and start preparing for our climb of Island Peak (Imja Tse). From Dingboche we'll trek to Chhukhung and that afternoon we'll practice ascending fixed ropes, abseiling and the mountaineering techniques we'll need on Island Peak. The next morning we'll move up to Island Peak Base Camp and make final preparations for our summit attempt the next day.  Leaving at around 3.00a.m. the next morning will see us safely on the summit around 6–7 hours later.  We'll then return to our base camp and back to Dingboche later that afternoon or the next day.

With plenty still to see and do, we'll trek back  to Pangboche, Khumjung and Khunde. The next morning we'll trek to Monzu and the following day back to Lukla.  In Lukla we'll enjoy a farewell party with all our guides and porters before flying back to Kathmandu the next day.

Our itinerary includes plenty of rest days allowing for safe altitude acclimatisation. This is a moderate to challenging high altitude trek combined with an introductory mountaineering experience that assumes guests have no previous climbing experience. Guests with previous climbing experience will also find this expedition challenging, particularly if they are new to high-altitude mountaineering.

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• Trip Itinerary