Trip Reports

Mera & Island Peak - 6 Apr to 5 May '07

Written by Leader Chris Groves, May 2007

The plan, as usual, was to meet at the check-in desk at Heathrow. Anne & Louie£s bags were delayed somewhere in another terminal after their flight down from Glasgow, so it was a short while after the arranged time that the team finally were all able to assemble. The bar was the obvious place. We were also joined by a much larger Mera team, making us a party of 15 in total, which would grow to 16 once we arrived in Kathmandu and collected the final Mera team member.

With flights on time and a recently extended Doha airport, the journey to Kathmandu was pretty much painless. As was the transfer to the Summit Hotel. Although tired after travelling, everyone was happy and there were many questions at our evening welcome brief about the trek and the forthcoming weeks. Only the news of a 04:30 wake-up call managed to silence the room, before the volume rose again when it was realised that it wasn£t a joke.

Thankfully nobody slept in. Wearing big boots (to save weight) we returned to the airport and boarded the small plane for the flight up to Lukla and into the mountains. On arrival, there were several comments of amazement both regarding the mountain views as well as the journey & landing that we£d just completed. A very short time later, after a bit of kit faff and having met our Sirdar Dawa, we set off, walking downhill, beneath the arriving & departing planes it was only a couple of hours to lunch. Then regaining some height, to the first overnight at Poyan.

As per the itinerary, the next day was on to Pangkongma. After a long discussion with Dawa, Nev the leader of the Mera trip and his Sirdar, it was decided to deviate from the planned itinerary the following day and follow the ridge route, avoiding a major landslide and large amount of snowfall around Chunbu Kharka on the other side of the Hinku Valley. So, after visiting the monastery in the morning we headed up on to the ridge on the western side of the valley and followed it to a camp as the cloud descended, unfortunately missing our first potential views of Mera.

Weaving our way up the ridge the following day we enjoyed impressive views before contouring round to a pass over into the Hinku Valley. Unfortunately, Keith stumbled & slipped off the path cutting his head quite badly but thankfully sustaining no other injuries. The cut, requiring several stitches, necessitated a return to Kathmandu via a days long walk to Lukla. As I accompanied Keith the group continued down in to the Hinku Valley and up to a rest / acclimatisation day in Tagnag. After finding the first few days very challenging and having had to return to Kathmandu for medical treatment, Keith decided to leave the trip. After saying goodbye to him in Lukla I raced back to rejoin the team.

A couple of half days to Dig Kharka & Khare and the team were eager to get on the glacier and achieve the 5,000m mark, as well as practise skills that would be needed higher up. After descending back to Khare for another night, the following day we headed up to camp just over the Mera La. Nev and the Mera team opted for another acclimatisation day but, after discussion, we decided to go up to high camp and attempt the summit the following day.

Summit day started with a wake up at 0230, the outside temperature was -10oC but there was no wind, so things were looking good. With several inches of soft snow the going was hard and slow. By 0830 we were all on the col just below the central summit, enjoying truly amazing views from Cho Oyu in the west to Kanchenjunga in the east, while Dawa fixed the short rope to the top. 6 hours after setting off everyone achieved the summit of Mera Peak.

Having said our goodbyes to the ascending Mera team in high camp, we continued down to our camp some way below the Mera La, arriving mid afternoon. The next few days were spent walking up the wilderness of the Hongu Valley with nobody else about and with spectacular views round every corner. After very clear mornings the snow always seemed to start within 10 minutes of us getting to camp!

Having camped high, level with the ice, the approach up to the Amphu Laptsa was much easier than anticipated as was the descent on fixed ropes after the short abseil. However, the descent below was very steep, loose and long, requiring a very high level of concentration before we enjoyed lunch on the moraine below. By the time Island Peak base camp was reached the only option anybody was interested in was a rest day.

Our Island Peak attempt started even earlier than Mera at 0200, again we were fortunate to have no wind and reasonably warm conditions, though we had to share with at least a dozen other people. The glacier was tricky with a few very narrow snow bridges and quite a bit of fresh snow. The fixed ropes were very busy, due to the number of people, but progress was okay. Anne suffered badly from cold hands and almost gave up, but after re-warming and without the pressure of others around she decided to carry on, reaching the top of the steep section as the first summiteers were descending. By the time she & I reached the small summit (10am) & joined the others it was just our small team with Sirdar Dawa & Sherpa Kaji left to enjoy the views. After 12 hours on the go everyone was back in BC by 1530.

The views on our descent over the next few days couldn£t have been better (or more photographed!) The view of Ama Dablam from Chuckhung was so good in fact we had to stop for a beer and it wasn£t even 10am. After an overnight at Pangboche we enjoyed a rest day in Namche Bazaar with its bakeries and Internet. Rather than racing straight back to Lukla we stopped overnight at Dawa£s lodge in Phakding, making our last days walk only a couple of easy hours.

Back in Kathmandu, after long showers at the Summit Hotel and an afternoon amongst all the shops and people in Thamel, the team enjoyed a celebratory steak feast and glass of wine, to finish off a highly successful and challenging trip.

Chris Groves £ expedition leader
7th May 2007

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