Climb Island Peak (Imja Tse), 6189m Route

Nepal · Khumbu

The Island Peak expedition is a minimum 19 days when you include days in Kathmandu and has 16 days on trek / climb. We do recommend allowing extra time for potential flight delays getting into and out of the mountains. The gradual ascent up the Khumbu valley allows for excellent acclimatisation, which is further enhanced with a climb up Chukhung Ri (5550m) for a great view of the south wall of Lhotse. There is also the optional extra (see cost tab) of adding on an adventure up the Kongma La pass with it’s classic views over the Khumbu Glacier and a climb of Pokalde (5806m). Our main objective, Island Peak, is the final highlight of the trip and a classic 6000m peak which was climbed by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing back in 1953 as their training peak for Everest. By the time we come to climb you’ll be well acclimatised and mountain fit. During the trip, you will learn and use many skills in safe travel on mountains at high altitude including glacier travel, scrambling and moving on mixed snow and ice terrain. Good alpine skills are a requirement for this trip and if not possible to learn these before you join us them you will have plenty of time to learn and practice them before reaching Island Peak. The summit day on Island Peak does involve crossing a crevassed glacier using a climbing rope, negotiating some ladders across crevasses, using a jumar to ascend a fixed line and then a descender to come back down again (there is no top rope on the abseil) and negotiating a narrow exposed ridge to the summit. Note: some people like to also complete the trek to Everest Base Camp prior to climbing Island Peak. If you would like to do this then add two days to the trip and contact us to arrange. Remember to always allow leeway for the return flight home because the mountain flights in and out of Lukla are often delayed by bad weather. We recommend a minimum of 24 hours but 48 hours is better