Trip Reports

Mera & Island Peak - 2 to 31 Oct '10

Written by Leader John Eames, November 2010

Our group of 9 first came together in the leafy oasis of the gardens of the Summit Hotel, with its superb view over the city of Kathmandu towards the snow peaks of the Langtang and Garwhal Himalaya beyond. After the long international flight this was a paradise, further enhanced by a great meal and a couple of beers – before packing ready for an early rise and flight to Lukla in the morning.

The flight was all as expected, with dramatic views of Himalayan giants followed by that first view of a the ‘postage stamp’ airstrip through the cockpit of a Twin Otter and finally, the improbable landing on the steeply-sloping tarmac of Lukla! We quickly sorted loads for the porters, grabbed a cup of tea and headed off downhill to our riverside lunch-spot whilst later plane arrivals screeched in over our heads. But it was a great to get away from the hustle & bustle of Kathmandu and to start to enjoy the incredible quietness and calm that takes over as soon as you round the corner away from Lukla – and stays with you until you round another corner back into Lukla 25 days later! The first couple of days’ trekking were quite hot but delightfully unspoilt and well away from the trekking ‘herds’ heading up-valley towards Everest and with great views back to the snow peaks of the Khumbu. On day 3 we crossed our first pass, got our first glimpses of Mera Peak (with its huge, intimidating south face obscuring the far more approachable glacier ascent normally followed!) and descended down to a wire suspension bridge over the Hinku river. This marked the beginning of 2½ days of mainly ‘up’! But it was good ‘up’, taking us through rhododendron forests and high above the tree-line to our first 2 night acclimatisation camp at Chembu Kharka (4245m.). To reach this sheltered campsite we passed the sacred waters of the Panch Pokhari, a remote lake surrounded by a collection of tridents and cairns left by Hindu pilgrims – whom probably happily reached this spot in flip-flops and cotton robes and without the benefits of Goretex and stout taking boots! Then down into the forests again for a night at Khote – hot showers for some! – and then following the Hinku river again to Tangnag, a fantastic spot right at the very feet of several 6000m plus peaks, complete with tumbling glaciers and soaring rock spires! This is also the next good place for acclimatisation as we approached 4500m – and a chance to practice our rope-work, ascending fixed lines and abseiling, ready for the challenges of the Mera and Island Peak and, especially, the crossing of the Amphu Labtsa.

Now it was time to begin the serious stuff … first of all up to Khare for another 2 night acclimatisation break and then onto the Mera Glacier itself to reach the Mera La at 5400m. From here we dropped down to a campsite on the far side, overlooking the Hongku valley; Karma, our sirdar, did his magic and found a cleaner site with a good water supply a little lower than that used by most others – definitely worth the extra effort! Prior to this at Khare we had spent some time on the glacier to further hone our ropework skills and become even more familiar with crampon, harness, ‘descender’ and jumar. We also savoureded the luxuries of the teahouse for the last time for many days, in particular the delights of kerosene under-table heating! Warm – but slightly worrisome!?

The weather had been fairly unsettled up to now with a couple of days of thick cloud and some light rain, intermixed with a couple of days of blue skies and crystal air, the snow peaks looking as if they were within touching distance. At Mera La Base Camp, it changed again and we endured a 19 hour snowfall! With a day or two spare (built into the itinerary for such an eventuality!) we decided to sit tight and play cards for another day; a good move as the weather started to improve the following day going up to high camp and then on our summit day the sky was clear with dramatic views of 5 of the 8000m peaks, from the Eastern borders of Nepal to the edges of Tibet – plus all those shapely smaller peaks that simply litter the space between! Karma was the ‘trump card’ again – bad weather meant the route was deep under snow and, as a human snowplough, he did an extraordinary job breaking trail, making it possible to reach the dome-like east summit of Mera.

With Mera ‘ticked’ we entered on what is for me the best part of the trip – descending into and trekking up the remote Hongku valley, one of my favourite places in the Himalaya. We had the valley to ourselves, with Everest and Lhotse looming beyond the Amphu Labtsa, catching the sun at each end of the day, Chamlang soaring overhead, Baruntse a graceful curl of snow to the east and mighty Makalu peering over the bounding ridges of this high altitude Shangri-La. On the 4th day in the Hongku the group took on and enjoyed the challenge of the ‘stepped glacier’ that leads to the Amphu Labtsa; from the eyrie at the top we could enjoy the extraordinary solitude and drama of this place, the empty and untracked valleys, surrounded by peaks of world-reknown and with just the distant view of the path to Island Peak High Camp as an indicator of the busier Khumbu valley that we were about to enter. Getting down from our eyrie is the focus of this day; fixed ropes to the lowering point for loads and porters and then a short traverse to the abseil down steep rock & snow. From here more fixed rope followed by a stoney mountain-side of gradually lessening steepness – and finally the horizontal of a lake-bed! We looked back and thought: “Did we really come down there?!”

And so to Island Peak, sentinel of the Imja valley, the 6200m ‘little brother’ of Lhotse, the awesome giant! From a grassy Base by a clear river (thanks again, Karma!) the whole group were really able to revel in this ascent; we were all well-acclimatised by now and although we were the last of the 3 groups to set off for the summit that day, we were the first to the fixed ropes and up to the top! (Not being competitive, of course!?) Night-time scrambling, followed by the maze of the crevassed Island Peak glacier and then the ‘ice wall’ to the ridge, a real challenge as it reared up in the pre-dawn gloom – but we all did it, and enjoyed it, in fine style! The summit ridge snaked up through the sunrise, a golden pathway to a sharp, snowy summit – and we were all there to enjoy the moment, together.

The next day began with a mid-morning beer at Chukkung – our first for ‘weeks’ and very well-deserved! The walk from then on, down to Pangboche, Tengboche, Namche and Lukla was an ideal time to reflect on the trip, to savour the successes and experiences of this very special area of the Himalaya – and to enjoy the return to trees (Oh yes, even trees!), teahouses, flowers and yaks. And also ‘chang’, the occasional beer, the first ‘call’ home and hot showers – and, for some, Mars bars! Those simple pleasures that make up the complexities of a great expedition, the feelings of satisfaction of goals achieved, the enjoyment of the mountains travelled through and the sharing with those unique people who live there, who make it all possible.

Summiteers:
Mera Peak: Mark Bathe, Lieven de Vlamink, Ian Mitchell and Charles Murray. 4 others (Amanda Carroll, Andy Harbach, Dennis Milstead and Rob Watson) reached 6305m in deep snow and very low temperatures – a very creditable effort!
Island Peak: Mark Bathe, Lieven de Vlamink, Ian Mitchell, Charles Murray, Amanda Carroll, Joe Carroll, Dennis Milstead and Rob Watson.
Jagged Globe leader: John Eames
Local guides: Karma Gyalje Sherpa (sirdar), Pasang Lama and Tenzig Sherpa – 3 ‘stars’, supported by a hard-working and professionl crew of cooks (Ramesh Mogur), assistants and the 13 porters that we could not have done without.

John Eames
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