LOBUCHE PEAK CLIMBING

We will start on our grand journey planned by Sherpa Expedition and trekking once we arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. There, a most welcoming member with a polite namaste from the gate receives us and smoothly personal transfer to our comfortable hotel in the core part of Thamel. After completing check-in at our hotel and getting ourselves refreshed, we’ll convene at the lobby for a comprehensive pre-trip orientation.

There, our main climbing guide will explain to us the climb itinerary, do a thorough gear check-up, review the protocols relating to altitude safety measures, and confirm we have the requisite trek permits arranged.

In the evening, you can go for a walk along the buzzing street where you can try mouthwatering delicacies like authentic Nepali delicacies, which is then followed up with answering your final questions, and we call it a night.

We wake up really early in the morning as our team will transfer us to the airport where we will take an aerial 30-minute scenic flight to Lukla's Tenzing-Hillary Airport. After landing, we'll meet our local porter team here and get sorted with all our gears before starting the official trek.

Once outside the town we turn right and head down on stone paved paths passing by chortens and prayer wheels towards the beautiful Dudh Koshi River Valley. We walk across our very first suspension bridges and traverse some small settlements such as Chheplung and Ghat. At the local municipal entry post, our guide gets our permits registered for the day ahead after which we have a nice and fresh lunch in one of the cozy little teahouses located along the banks of the river.

From here onwards we continue walking on the gentle and winding path keeping on the left side of the river bank till we arrive at this peaceful village called Phakding where we sit back and enjoy ourselves having a hot and hearty dinner followed by an overnight stay at a comfortably set up teahouse. 
 

We start the day with breakfast back at our teahouse and then embark on the day's trek along the banks of the Dudh Koshi River. The trail takes us back and forth across various heart-pumping suspension bridges. We continue through Monjo where we have to verify our park permit at the Sagarmatha National Park check post.

After trekking further a short distance to Jorsalle for lunch, we brace ourselves for the climb, a mostly vertical ascent to a stunning viewpoint that unfolds with the convergence of the Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi rivers with yet another impressive suspension bridge, the Hillary Suspension Bridge.

Beyond this fearsome bridge, the trail takes a sharp right into a switchbacking climb through pine forests and rhododendron that offers up a tantalizing progressive views of our destination, Everest and then of course the array of lights of Namche Bazaar, which finally gives us pause as we find our teahouse for a much deserved evening meal and sleep.
 

Our morning begins with impressive mountain views from our lodge and an early breakfast prior to embarking on our day's important acclimatisation hike. Leaving the lodge we ascend the ever-present stone steps to the right, climbing up towards the Everest View Hotel. We follow an upward path above the town to gain our ever-increasing panoramic views of Mount Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam.

We take an ample amount of time at the Everest View Hotel terrace enjoying hot drinks while gazing at the incredible panoramic scenery.

For our loop we turn left to take us across towards the high altitude airfield and walk through traditional Sherpa villages including Khumjung and Khunde. We can also visit the monastery in Khumjung and the local Hillary School. In Khumjung we enjoy our delicious lunch prior to an easy and relaxed stroll back down into Namche Bazaar. After enjoying some time shopping in the town for souvenirs and baked goods, we have a fine dinner and another night of fine sleep at our teahouse.

Today’s journey begins with a delicious breakfast before heading back towards Tengboche Monastery on foot. As we walk, we’ll traverse a gorgeous stretch of forest consisting of birch trees, conifers and rhododendrons.

Then, after crossing a wooden bridge spanning the rushing waters of the Imja Khola River, we will begin walking gradually upwards towards Pangboche by turning left. We’ll walk past ancient stone walls and then stop off at a local teahouse in Somare for some relaxing lunch, enjoying up-close and personal views of the mighty mountain Ama Dablam.

Now the forested area will transition to a drier, shrubby landscape typical of alpine regions as we climb further up in altitude. Here we’ll come across another river confluence point - you'll need to pick the route going to the right here - which leads us up and into the wider wind swept valley known as Imja. After passing through stone walled fields, we’ll reach our final destination today of a high altitude Sherpa settlement called Dingboche and will be checking in at our lodge there and have time to relax and enjoy an evening meal and night’s sleep.

A clear morning is the best time to see the exquisite monastery in Tengboche. This is a perfect time to unleash the camera! We then continue our trek taking the upper trail taking advantage of the views to witness the view of this ancient monastery before passing through several Chortens and Mani walls and several small villages. While enjoying our lunch break we can take in the fantastic close-up views of Ama-Dablam. The afternoon takes us north to Pheriche, or alternatively, we can take the trail heading east beneath the towering north face of Ama Dablam. From this point, the trek is fairly easy-going before we enter the Imja Valley. The valley gradually opens up as we approach the confluence of the Lobuche River. We then descend into the river and begin the last and steepest climb of the day up to Dingboche On arrival in Dingboche, we see a spectacular array of fields enclosed by stone walls to protect the barley, buckwheat, and potatoes from the cold winds and grazing animals. Breakfast, lunch & dinner included.

Today’s goal will be to get your body ready for those crazy heights as you take on more active acclimatization. Start with a hearty breakfast then wrap up warm and hit the trails heading east from Dingboche.

Take the right hand trail which gently climbs through the spectacular Chhukung Valley. On this walk through an open glacial floor you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy incredible views of Island Peak, the massive south face of Lhotse and dramatic looking glaciers off of Nuptse.

Once you’ve reached the high point of Chhukung stop in the village to grab some hot drinks and maybe even treat yourself to some tasty lunch. Then make use of these glorious high-alpine mountain scenes to relax and really take it all in Following the 'climb high, sleep low' practice, time to turn around and hike down the most beautiful trail in this valley towards Dingboche. Rest this afternoon and drink more fluids then have another warm supper. Another overnight at this teahouse awaits you.

The day starts with a hot breakfast, after which we ascend to the ridge above Dingboche and then descend towards the large grazing fields of Dusa. The trail winds gradually up the high valley above the glacial stream bed with great views of peaks like Tawache and Cholatse on either side. We traverse a log bridge across a tributary stream from the Khumbu Glacier and reach the small settlement of Thukla, where we take a packed lunch in good time. The most challenging hike of the day begins next; a fairly abrupt rise along the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier takes us to the crest where we encounter a memorial park for Everest climbers who have passed away. At the memorial grounds we take the trail bearing to the right and head onto a gravel moraine leading in direct line to Lobuche, the trek which should take only a couple of hours. We check into our mountain lodging and relax later.

We'll leave Lobuche early post-breakfast today as we head towards the lateral moraine of the massive Khumbu Glacier where we're going on an awesome trek.

Our journey will involve crossing over loose rocks, boulders, and then getting into steeper areas of glacial debris. As we reach lower levels, we'll find ourselves dropping down to the sandy area of Gorak Shep.

We check in at our teahouse, where you can drop your packs, grab some nourishing food for a short lunch break, and then set out on your way to Everest Base Camp.

For the first leg, you take a right turn from this point and trek on the glacial trail, crossing a trail of ice formations, rocky walls and to top it off witness the renowned Everest Base Camp at 5,364m right beneath the mighty, yet infamous Khumbu Icefall, a major danger zone for high-altitude expeditions on the world's highest peak. Have an awe-inspiring 2-3 hour stay in EBC as you take pictures with the world famous Everest Base Camp in the background. Once done, we retrace the steps and travel back towards the glacier again till we reach Gorak Shep, where we have a hot soup and dinner followed by staying at the overnight lodge.

We awaken in the pre-dawn dark, with sub-freezing temperatures. Fitted with our headlamps, we will begin our ascent to Kala Patthar. We will turn left on our way from Gorak Shep and will begin our steady uphill slog up steep, rocky, and grass covered ridges.

At sunrise we'll reach our destination, Kala Patthar summit at 5,545m for unbelievable, unobstructed views of Mount Everest, Nuptse and the other surrounding peaks of the Himalayas. After sufficient time taking in the scenery and snaps, we'll begin our descent back to Gorak Shep and have a proper warm breakfast. We pack up our duffel bags and begin to retrace our steps up the valley, down the path alongside the rocky trail along the moraine of the Khumbu glacier. Early in the afternoon, we arrive at Lobuche and get into our teahouse for a filling lunch, a much-deserved break, dinner, and to get a full night of sleep as tomorrow we will set off for High Camp.

We head off the main trekking trail after breakfast. Turn right here on this narrow rocky path and walk due towards Lobuche Peak. The first half an hour is scrambling on rocky alpine terrain, and then walking is an extremely tough hike due to walking through loose scree along with technical scrambling of granite boulder fields.

This will take about 3-4 hours and eventually lead us to our camp at 5,600 meters called the Lobuche High Camp. It’s located on a high rocky ledge next to a glacial lake. Once there, our experienced Sherpas set up your mountain tents and prepare a nice warm lunch.

In the afternoon, you’ll have a pre-climbing training session with your awesome guide who teaches all the important fixed-line techniques, how to fit your crampons properly, and much more. Then enjoy an early dinner inside our dining tent and rest as soon as possible in your sleeping bags since you’re going to need plenty of energy during today’s big summit push.

Our high-stakes day commences at about 1 am, with a tea, snack, securing headlamps, harnesses and crampons, and outside into the cold. We then turn onto the steep rocky gulley and up onto the glaciated snow covered ridge.

We use jumars over the fixed ropes put in by our Sherpa Team as they are climbing those steep 45 to 50 degree snow slopes. As soon as the sun comes up we do one last push on the narrow summit ridge which brings us to the very pinnacle of this beautiful mountain – Lobuche East (6,119m). From there we have some time to just stand there and take in all the panoramic views of Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Ama Dablam.

Once you've had your fill of pictures, it's time to start the long process of descending these slopes again. Carefully we rappel back down through the snow-slopes until we get back to High Camp to grab a nice bowl of hot soup. It doesn't take too long getting packed up though, so we can make our way down along the lovely moraine trail passing Lobuche Village and continuing on down towards Thukla where we will have a warm dinner and spend the night.

As you may have noticed, most of these days will be affected by dynamic weather patterns that accompany high altitude mountaineering in the Himalayas.

Today is built right into your package itinerary for a contingency day - an extra day in case bad weather (high winds, heavy snowfall, poor visibility) prevents us from attempting our summit climb on Day 12.

If all goes well, and we are able to successfully summit on Day 12 without experiencing any weather-related issues, then we'll use today's day at Thukla to relax, stretch out, and take a nice easy trek back down the valley.

We will start with a delicious hot breakfast at our lodge after having climbed up all that way. From here, we get ready for a long trek downwards towards lower altitudes.

From Thukla, descend the ridge and head to the river trail which turns right as you go through Pheriche. Trekking across this windy valley floor, we come upon the main trail passing through Somare and then through Pangboche. On your way to the crossing point, you will get an opportunity to enjoy the view of this beautiful suspension bridge on top of the Imja Khola River. Then have a short walk through the rhododendron forest towards the Monastery (Tengboche Monastery). Lunch and relax yourself in the teahouse. Now continue to descend steeply from here till reaching the Phunki Thenga. Then crossing the river, we begin our last contoured winding trek along the mountain walls. Finally, after long journey, by the late afternoon hours of the day, you will reach the bustling streets of Namche Bazaar. You could take hot shower and spend a celebratory dinner in town followed by an overnight stay in one of many teahouses in Namche.

Enjoy your breakfast on this final day of walking. Leaving Namche Bazaar we go steeply downhill towards the switchback path through the pines; to the Hillary Suspension Bridge, we go back and forth across Dudh Koshi River with a walk through the pine forest.

Eventually, after going through Jorsalle, we get to our park permits checked at the Sagarmatha National Park exit gate located in Monjo, then continue on this wonderful journey to reach Phakding alongside the beautiful riverbank pathway and enjoy that delicious lunch once we reach there. After having our lunch, we resume walking again, taking the gentle uphill trail crossing many local farms, passing many prayer walls and small Sherpa villages such as Ghat and Chheplung. Taking a right turn, we enter the town of Lukla where we finally find our lodge and complete our trek. So in the evenings, we have a celebratory dinner party with all of you guides and Porters and enjoy our final night in this magical mountain area.

We wake up early in the morning and go towards Lukla’s Tenzing-Hillary Airport to catch our morning flight back to Kathmandu. Once our plane takes off, we’ll give ourselves one last glance at the towering peaks of the Everest region through the window seat.

Your aircraft lands at Tribhuvan International Airport, exactly where your Sherpa Expedition and Trekking Company meets, offering you an exclusive airport pick-up to your Hotel in Thamel. You may have the rest of the afternoon free to discover more than the most significant attractions with the town, explore monuments or chill over a cafe.

Today marks the end of our stunning 17 day excursion to the Himalayas. We eat one last satisfying breakfast at our Kathmandu hotel, then bag up our hiking and travelling gears and equipment. You will be picked up from the lobby of the hotel by a representative from Sherpa Expedition and Trekking (depending on your time of departure from International Airport and based on your check-out time from the hotel).

Enjoy a leisurely drive in a private vehicle for 3 hours to Tribhuvan International Airport, an hour ahead of time of your planned departure flight from Nepal, to help check in our trekking luggage and see us off.