Chamlang Expedition
Chamlang (7,321 m) is the long white wall that closes the western side of the Barun valley, and it is one of the least-c
Trip Overview
Chamlang (7,321 m) is the long white wall that closes the western side of the Barun valley, and it is one of the least-climbed 7,000 m peaks in Nepal. It was first ascended in 1962 by Soh Anma and Pasang Phutar on a Japanese expedition, and in the sixty years since it has seen a handful of successful parties — some decades almost none.
The reason is the mountain itself. Chamlang is a long ridge rather than a summit pyramid, with a grade D route on steep snow and ice, a corniced crest that runs for hours, and a base camp in the upper Barun that is eight days' walk from the nearest road. It is not harder than Ama Dablam in any single move; it is harder as a whole, because there is more of it, nobody has fixed it for you, and there is no one else in the valley.
Trip Highlights
Summit Chamlang (7,321 m): One of the least-climbed 7,000 m peaks in Nepal, first ascended by a Japanese team in 1962.
A Grade D Ridge: Sustained steep snow and ice with a corniced crest that runs for hours, fixed by our own Sherpa team.
The Barun Valley Approach: Eight days from the road head through protected forest and one of the great unvisited valleys of Nepal.
Makalu and Everest from the Summit: Makalu across the Barun, Everest and Lhotse to the north-west, and the Hongu basin to the south.
One Climbing Sherpa Per Client: One-to-one high-altitude support on a mountain where there is no other team to call on.
Itinerary
A 33-day expedition on Chamlang (7,321 m), a grade D ridge in the upper Barun, with three camps above base, an acclimatisation rotation, rope fixed by our own team and three reserve days.
1Day 1Arrival in Nepal – Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Arrival in Nepal – Kathmandu (1,400 m)
You land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you in the arrivals hall and drives you to your hotel.
Rest is the only item on today's schedule. Unpack and lay out your equipment tonight — tomorrow it is inspected item by item, and Kathmandu is the last place anything can be replaced.
Your expedition leader calls at the hotel in the evening to introduce themselves and set tomorrow's plan. Overnight in Kathmandu.
2Day 2Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Expedition Briefing and Equipment Inspection
Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Expedition Briefing and Equipment Inspection
A full working day. Your leader takes the thirty-three day plan apart stage by stage — the approach up the Barun, base camp, the rotations, the summit window and the reserve days — and then goes through the route itself.
The equipment inspection is item by item: boots, crampons, harness, ascender, belay device, screwgates, down clothing, mitts, goggles, headlamps and batteries. Anything missing or unsuitable is bought or hired here today.
Because the Barun approach is a week of walking from the airstrip with no resupply, the packing is done carefully and weighed. Overnight in Kathmandu.
3Day 3Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Ministry Briefing, Permits and Cargo Dispatch
Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Ministry Briefing, Permits and Cargo Dispatch
The formal side of an expedition. The team attends the briefing at the Department of Tourism with the liaison officer, where the permit is issued, the regulations are read out and the waste-management deposit is registered.
Meanwhile the expedition cargo is weighed, sealed into barrels and dispatched to Tumlingtar, where porters and pack animals will take it up the Barun.
The afternoon is free, and it is the last one with hot water, restaurants and thick air for a long time. Overnight in Kathmandu.
4Day 4Fly to Tumlingtar (405 m) and Drive to Num (1,560 m)
Fly to Tumlingtar (405 m) and Drive to Num (1,560 m)
A forty-five minute flight east to Tumlingtar (405 m), a grass airstrip on a plateau above the Arun river in subtropical eastern Nepal. It is hot, green and about as far from a glacier as Nepal gets.
From the airstrip a jeep road climbs north for four to five hours through rice terraces, banana and cardamom, gaining a thousand metres on a rough and spectacular hill road.
Num (1,560 m) sits on a ridge crest with the Arun gorge dropping away on both sides. It is the road head; from tomorrow everything moves on foot. Overnight at Num.
5Day 5Trek from Num (1,560 m) to Seduwa (1,540 m)
Trek from Num (1,560 m) to Seduwa (1,540 m)
A day that loses and regains eight hundred metres and ends almost where it started. The trail drops steeply off the Num ridge through terraced farmland to the Arun river at around 700 m, crossing it on a suspension bridge.
Then straight back up the other side, through villages, bamboo and cardamom gardens, in heat and humidity that comes as a surprise on the way to an 8,000 m peak.
Seduwa (1,540 m) is the entrance to the Makalu Barun National Park, where permits are checked. Around 5 to 6 hours. Overnight at Seduwa.
6Day 6Trek from Seduwa (1,540 m) to Tashigaon (2,100 m)
Trek from Seduwa (1,540 m) to Tashigaon (2,100 m)
A gentler day climbing steadily north through farmland and forest, past scattered Rai hamlets, millet terraces and grazing buffalo.
The country here is entirely unlike the Khumbu — subtropical hill Nepal, with the mountains still hidden behind ridges — and the walking is through working farmland rather than trekking infrastructure.
Tashigaon (2,100 m) is the last permanent village in the valley and the last place to buy anything. Above it there is nothing but forest, ridge and, eventually, glacier. Around 4 to 5 hours. Overnight at Tashigaon.
7Day 7Trek from Tashigaon (2,100 m) to Khongma Danda (3,500 m)
Trek from Tashigaon (2,100 m) to Khongma Danda (3,500 m)
The hardest day of the approach: 1,400 m of ascent on a relentless staircase of a trail, through dense rhododendron and oak forest hung with moss, with almost no flat ground anywhere on it.
The forest is genuinely beautiful and genuinely exhausting, and in spring the rhododendrons are in full flower for the whole climb.
Khongma Danda (3,500 m) is a small clearing on the ridge crest, the first camp with a view, and the first cold night. Six to seven hours. Overnight at Khongma Danda.
8Day 8Cross the Shipton La (4,220 m) and Trek to Dobato (3,800 m)
Cross the Shipton La (4,220 m) and Trek to Dobato (3,800 m)
Out of the forest and onto the ridge. The trail climbs past a series of small lakes to the Shipton La (4,220 m), named for Eric Shipton, who came this way in 1952 on the reconnaissance that found the route to Makalu.
From the pass the mountains finally appear: Chamlang to the north-west, the Barun valley opening below, and on a clear morning the top of Makalu itself.
A rough descent along the ridge leads to Dobato (3,800 m), a camp on open ground with the whole approach behind you and the valley ahead. Six to seven hours. Overnight at Dobato.
9Day 9Trek from Dobato (3,800 m) to Yangle Kharka (3,600 m)
Trek from Dobato (3,800 m) to Yangle Kharka (3,600 m)
A steep descent off the ridge into the Barun valley itself, dropping through fir and birch to the river and then turning north up the valley floor.
The Barun is one of the great valleys of Nepal and almost nobody sees it. Walls rise two thousand metres on both sides, waterfalls come off hanging glaciers, and the forest is old and undisturbed — this is protected habitat for red panda, musk deer and snow leopard.
Yangle Kharka (3,600 m) is a grazing meadow beside the river, and the loss of height here is useful acclimatisation. Around 5 to 6 hours. Overnight at Yangle Kharka.
10Day 10Trek from Yangle Kharka (3,600 m) to Langmale Kharka (4,410 m)
Trek from Yangle Kharka (3,600 m) to Langmale Kharka (4,410 m)
North up the valley floor, climbing steadily as the walls close in and the forest gives out. The trail passes through summer grazing settlements — stone huts used by herders from Tashigaon for a few months a year, empty the rest of the time.
Above the last trees the valley becomes rock, moraine and grass, and the scale of it becomes obvious: Chamlang's south face on one side, the Barun glacier ahead, and Makalu still hidden behind a shoulder.
Langmale Kharka (4,410 m) is the last grazing camp. Around 5 hours. Overnight at Langmale Kharka.
11Day 11Trek from Langmale Kharka (4,410 m) to Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
Trek from Langmale Kharka (4,410 m) to Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
The last day of the approach. The route climbs onto the moraine of the upper Barun and then turns west off the Makalu trail, onto ground that sees no traffic at all.
Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m) is established properly today — mess tent, kitchen, storage and toilet tents alongside the sleeping tents — because this is home for the next fortnight.
The afternoon is spent reading the route from below: the shoulder where Camp 1 goes, the steepening ground above it, and the long corniced crest that is the whole character of the mountain. Around 5 hours. Overnight at base camp.
12Day 12Puja Ceremony and Settling In at Base Camp (5,000 m)
Puja Ceremony and Settling In at Base Camp (5,000 m)
The puja is held this morning. A stone chorten is built, juniper is burned, and every piece of climbing equipment is stacked at the altar to be blessed. No Sherpa on the team will go onto the mountain before it has been done.
The rest of the day is low effort: tents arranged, the mess routine established, radio schedules explained, and the water and charging arrangements sorted.
Prayer flags go up over the camp. With Makalu at the head of the valley behind you and nobody else in the Barun at all, the silence takes most people a day to notice. Overnight at base camp.
13Day 13Technical Assessment and Training Day at Base Camp (5,000 m)
Technical Assessment and Training Day at Base Camp (5,000 m)
A full working day on the ice above camp. Every climber is taken through two-tool movement on steep ice, screw placement, jumaring on a loaded line over an edge, and abseiling from a hanging stance.
Your leader is assessing efficiency under fatigue rather than best-case technique. On a route with a summit day this long and a full abseil descent, minutes lost fumbling with a device compound into hours.
Anyone the leader is not satisfied with is told today, at base camp. Meanwhile the Sherpa team begins fixing the ground toward Camp 1. Overnight at base camp.
14Day 14Acclimatisation Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
An acclimatisation walk up the moraine toward 5,400 m and back, gaining and losing height on ground that asks nothing technical.
The view from up there is the argument for the whole trip. Makalu stands at the head of the Barun to the north-east, Everest and Lhotse show over the ridge to the north-west, and the Barun glacier runs south between them with nothing man-made anywhere in it.
The afternoon is rest and packing for the rotation. Your leader reviews the satellite forecast in the evening. Overnight at base camp.
15Day 15Acclimatisation Rotation to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
Acclimatisation Rotation to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
The first time on the mountain. The route climbs off the moraine onto snow and ice and follows the fixed line to the shoulder — five to six hours with a personal load while the Sherpas move the camp.
Camp 1 (5,800 m) sits on the crest of the shoulder, with the Barun spread out below and the steep ground of the upper route rising directly above.
The night here is the point. Sleeping at 5,800 m before returning to base camp is what makes a summit push from 6,900 m realistic, and it gives your leader a proper look at how each climber moves on the actual route. Overnight at Camp 1.
16Day 16Descend from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Base Camp (5,000 m)
Descend from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Base Camp (5,000 m)
Down the fixed ropes by abseil in three to four hours, off the steep ground before the sun has been on it long.
Descending to recover is deliberate. Adaptation from last night's altitude consolidates far better at 5,000 m than it would higher, and a team that rests properly now climbs faster on the push.
The Sherpa team spends the day carrying loads and fixing the ground above Camp 1 toward Camp 2. Overnight at base camp.
17Day 17Rest Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
Rest Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
A genuine rest day, worked at rather than enjoyed. Eating past the point of appetite, four litres of fluid, an afternoon asleep, and staying off the legs.
There is equipment work too: ice tools sharpened, crampons checked and adjusted, and harnesses inspected for wear after a day of jumaring.
The Sherpa team is high on the mountain establishing Camp 2 and pushing the fixed line toward the high camp. Their report on the state of the ridge is the information the summit plan rests on. Overnight at base camp.
18Day 18Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (5,000 m)
Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (5,000 m)
The last day before the push, spent on the plan rather than the hill. Personal kit is split into what goes up and what stays, rope pairs are set, radios tested, and your leader briefs the four-day sequence with timings for each stage.
A hard turnaround time is set for summit day and it is not renegotiated on the ridge. On a crest this long, a party that is behind schedule at the halfway point will not catch up.
The satellite forecast arrives in the evening and the go decision is taken on it and on the Sherpa team's report of the upper ridge. Overnight at base camp.
19Day 19Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (5,000 m) to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (5,000 m) to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
The summit push begins, and the ground to Camp 1 goes noticeably faster the second time — four hours or so for a climb that took five or six on the rotation.
Loads are light: the camps above are already stocked by the Sherpa team, so climbers carry personal equipment only.
Camp 1 (5,800 m) by early afternoon, with the rest of the day to lie down, drink and eat. Overnight at Camp 1.
20Day 20Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Camp 2 (6,500 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Camp 2 (6,500 m)
The day the mountain shows its grade. Above Camp 1 the ground steepens into sustained snow and ice on fixed rope, and it stays that way for five to six hours.
There is no easy ground and nowhere flat to stop. Climbers front-point, clip past anchors and keep moving, and by the top of it most people understand why the assessment day mattered.
Camp 2 (6,500 m) is a handful of tents on platforms cut into the face — small, exposed, and steep-sided enough that everyone stays clipped in. Overnight at Camp 2.
21Day 21Summit Push – Climb from Camp 2 (6,500 m) to High Camp (6,900 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Camp 2 (6,500 m) to High Camp (6,900 m)
A deliberately short day — three to four hours up to the high camp at 6,900 m, arriving by late morning so the team has most of the day lying down.
The camp is two or three tents on the smallest usable ground on the mountain, directly beneath the summit ridge, and it is the coldest and least comfortable night of the expedition.
Dinner is early and minimal. Kit is laid out, rope pairs confirmed, and your leader restates the turnaround time. Nobody sleeps much at 6,900 m the night before a summit. Overnight at high camp.
22Day 22Summit Chamlang (7,321 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (6,500 m)
Summit Chamlang (7,321 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (6,500 m)
Moving by one in the morning, roped and on the fixed line. The ground above high camp is steep snow and ice by headlamp, and it leads within a couple of hours onto the feature the mountain is built around.
The summit ridge is narrow, corniced, exposed on both sides, and long. It is taken one at a time with the Sherpas probing the crest ahead, and it goes on for hours — this is not a section to be hurried and it is where the turnaround time earns its place.
The summit (7,321 m) looks north-east across the Barun to Makalu, north-west to Everest and Lhotse, and south into the Hongu basin, with Baruntse standing between them.
The descent is a long sequence of abseils down the ridge and the face to high camp and then Camp 2. Twelve to sixteen hours. Overnight at Camp 2.
23Day 23Descend from Camp 2 (6,500 m) to Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
Descend from Camp 2 (6,500 m) to Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
Camp 2 comes down and the whole face is abseiled, with the fixed rope stripped as the team descends. On a mountain this rarely visited, leaving rope behind is not an option — it stays for decades and helps nobody.
The steep ground is timed for the cold of the morning as it has been throughout.
Base camp (5,000 m) in the afternoon, with thick air by comparison, a hot meal and the first unbroken sleep in four days. Five to seven hours. Overnight at base camp.
24Day 24First Reserve Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
First Reserve Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
The first of three reserve days, and on Chamlang they are used more often than not. A ridge this long and this exposed is closed by wind that would be perfectly climbable on a shorter route.
If the summit was missed, the team rests today and goes back up tomorrow with the ropes still fixed. Your leader weighs the party's remaining reserves as heavily as the forecast.
If the summit went to plan, this is rest, and rest at 5,000 m in an empty valley after a 7,321 m summit day is a strange and rather good way to spend a morning. Overnight at base camp.
25Day 25Second Reserve Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
Second Reserve Day at Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m)
The second reserve day. Three of them exist because the Barun is eight days from the road head, and an expedition that runs out of margin here cannot simply extend — the flights, the porters and the food are all committed.
If a second attempt is running, the team is at Camp 1 or Camp 2 tonight rather than here.
If the expedition is finished, today is when the camps above come down: the high camp, Camp 2 and Camp 1 are stripped by the Sherpa team and everything comes off the mountain. Overnight at base camp.
26Day 26Third Reserve Day and Break Camp at Base Camp (5,000 m)
Third Reserve Day and Break Camp at Base Camp (5,000 m)
The last reserve day and the end of the expedition's margin. If it is not needed for the climb, base camp comes down today.
The waste management is done properly: everything the expedition brought into the Barun goes back out on porters and pack animals, and the Department of Tourism deposit is refunded against it.
The chorten from the puja stays with its prayer flags. Most teams sit out for a while after dinner — the upper Barun at night, with Makalu at the head of the valley and no light anywhere, is not something you get many chances at. Overnight at base camp.
27Day 27Trek from Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m) to Yangle Kharka (3,600 m)
Trek from Chamlang Base Camp (5,000 m) to Yangle Kharka (3,600 m)
Off the moraine and down the Barun through Langmale Kharka, losing height fast and watching the vegetation return — grass, then juniper, then birch and fir.
By the afternoon there are trees, a river loud enough to talk over, and air that after a fortnight above 5,000 m feels almost solid.
Yangle Kharka (3,600 m) is the last camp with the mountain still visible behind you. Around 6 to 7 hours. Overnight at Yangle Kharka.
28Day 28Trek from Yangle Kharka (3,600 m) to Dobato (3,800 m)
Trek from Yangle Kharka (3,600 m) to Dobato (3,800 m)
Down the valley floor and then the long steep climb back onto the ridge — the last real ascent of the expedition and, on legs that have finished with mountains, an unwelcome one.
The forest on this side is dense and old, and in late May it is warm and full of birds after two months above the treeline.
Dobato (3,800 m) gives a final view back up the Barun to Makalu, which from here is a small white pyramid at the head of a very long valley. Around 6 to 7 hours. Overnight at Dobato.
29Day 29Cross the Shipton La (4,220 m) and Trek to Tashigaon (2,100 m)
Cross the Shipton La (4,220 m) and Trek to Tashigaon (2,100 m)
Over the Shipton La (4,220 m) for the last time, past the lakes, and then the enormous descent — 2,100 m down the rhododendron staircase to Tashigaon.
It is brutal on the knees and glorious in every other respect: the forest gets warmer and greener with every hundred metres, and somewhere on the way down you pass the last of the cold.
Tashigaon (2,100 m) is the first permanent village in six weeks, with houses, fields, buffalo and children. Seven to eight hours. Overnight at Tashigaon.
30Day 30Trek from Tashigaon (2,100 m) to Seduwa (1,540 m)
Trek from Tashigaon (2,100 m) to Seduwa (1,540 m)
A gentle day down through farmland and forest, past millet terraces and cardamom gardens, in heat that after Makalu base camp feels frankly tropical. The trail runs through working country — buffalo on the path, cardamom drying on racks, and children walking to school — which after two months of moraine takes some adjusting to.
The expedition checks out of the Makalu Barun National Park at Seduwa, and the waste-management paperwork is signed off here against the barrels the porters have carried down.
Seduwa (1,540 m) in the afternoon, with one hard day left. Most of the crew are from villages within a day's walk of here, and a good number of them will be home tomorrow. Around 4 to 5 hours. Overnight at Seduwa.
31Day 31Trek from Seduwa (1,540 m) to Num (1,560 m) and Drive to Tumlingtar (405 m)
Trek from Seduwa (1,540 m) to Num (1,560 m) and Drive to Tumlingtar (405 m)
The last walking day, and it is the Arun gorge in reverse: eight hundred metres down to the river, across the suspension bridge, and eight hundred back up the other side to Num.
It is a hard finish to a long expedition and it is over by early afternoon, when the jeeps are waiting at the road head.
The drive down to Tumlingtar (405 m) takes four to five hours through the terraces. There is a hotel, a shower, a cold drink and a bed, and the whole team eats together. Overnight at Tumlingtar.
32Day 32Fly from Tumlingtar (405 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Fly from Tumlingtar (405 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
A forty-five minute flight west to Kathmandu, over the ridges the expedition walked across two months ago.
The Tumlingtar service is more reliable than Lukla's but is still weather-dependent, which is why no international departure is scheduled for today.
The afternoon is free. The expedition reports to the Department of Tourism, the waste deposit is reconciled, and the summit certificate is issued and presented in the evening. Overnight in Kathmandu.
33Day 33Departure from Nepal
Departure from Nepal
The expedition ends today. If your flight is a late one there is time for a last morning in Kathmandu, though most people at this point want a chair and a coffee more than a temple.
Our representative collects you from the hotel and drives you to Tribhuvan International Airport about three hours before departure. Any equipment being shipped home is handled by our office.
Safe travels. Makalu is a mountain that takes a great deal and gives it back in a currency that is hard to explain to anyone who has not been up the Barun. We would be glad to see you again.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Tumlingtar flights, jeep transfers, Kathmandu hotel nights, full tented accommodation on the approach and at every camp, three meals a day throughout, the Department of Tourism royalty and park permits, an expedition leader and liaison officer, one climbing Sherpa per client, a cook crew, all group climbing equipment, progressive rope fixing, the rotation, emergency oxygen and satellite forecasts are included, while international flights, visa, mountaineering insurance, personal technical equipment, city meals, summit bonus and tips are not.
What's Included
Airport pickup and drop-off services in Kathmandu.
Round-trip flight between Kathmandu and Tumlingtar.
Private jeep transport between Tumlingtar and Num in both directions.
Private airport and hotel transfers in Kathmandu.
Four nights of accommodation in Kathmandu with breakfast.
Full tented accommodation throughout the Barun approach and the walk out, with two-person tents, a mess tent, kitchen tent and toilet tent.
Full expedition base camp at 5,000 m with mess, kitchen, storage, communications and toilet tents, plus tented Camp 1 (5,800 m), Camp 2 (6,500 m) and high camp (6,900 m).
Three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) throughout the trip.
Department of Tourism Chamlang climbing royalty and permit, Makalu Barun National Park entry permit, and the local rural municipality permit.
Government-licensed expedition leader and a liaison officer, with all their equipment, wages and insurance.
One high-altitude climbing Sherpa per climber above base camp, with all equipment, wages, insurance and summit allowance.
Emergency supplementary oxygen with masks and regulators held at the high camps and base camp for medical use.
Group climbing equipment: fixed and main ropes, snow bars, ice screws, and anchors.
Garbage deposit and the Department of Tourism waste-management fee.
Group map, and a comprehensive first aid kit carried by the guide.
Full-time cook and kitchen crew from Tumlingtar to base camp and throughout the expedition, with high-altitude food and fuel for the camps above.
A technical assessment and training day at base camp on steep ice, fixed-rope work and abseiling from hanging stances.
An acclimatisation rotation to Camp 1 with rest days at base camp before the summit push.
Progressive fixing of the route and the summit ridge by our own Sherpa team, and stripping of the ropes on descent.
Daily satellite weather forecasts, base camp solar power and a Gamow hyperbaric bag.
A puja ceremony at base camp before the team goes onto the mountain.
Porter and pack-animal transport of all expedition equipment between Tumlingtar and base camp.
Summit certificate issued after a successful ascent.
All government taxes, permit fees, and service charges.
What's Excluded
International flight tickets to and from Nepal.
Nepal entry visa fees.
Travel insurance covering mountaineering to the height of this peak, including emergency helicopter evacuation and repatriation.
Personal climbing equipment — harness, crampons, ice axe, ascender, descender, helmet and carabiners (available to rent as an add-on).
Personal trekking equipment and clothing, including boots and a sleeping bag.
Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu.
Snacks, bottled water, hot showers, Wi-Fi, charging fees, and alcoholic or soft drinks.
Personal technical equipment — boots, harness, crampons, ice tools, belay device, ascender and screwgates.
Personal satellite communication devices and airtime.
Personal expenses such as laundry, phone calls, and souvenirs.
Summit bonus for your climbing Sherpa, and tips for the expedition leader, base camp crew and porters.
Any additional accommodation, transport or expenses caused by weather, an attempt abandoned for conditions, or a departure cancelled by us because the ridge is unsafe.
Route Map
Explore the terrain map showing the trek route.
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Altitude Profile
Pricing
Transparent per-person pricing based on group size, covering the services listed in the itinerary with no hidden charges.
Best Time to Climb
April to May and, less commonly, October to early November. Spring is the usual window: the ridge is better consolidated, the days are longer, and the Barun approach is at its best with the rhododendron forest below the Shipton La in flower.
Autumn gives colder, clearer conditions and firmer ice, but it also gives shorter days on a route where the summit push is long, and there will certainly be no other team on the mountain. Whichever season, this is a peak where the leader's willingness to abandon an attempt matters more than the schedule, and we will call off a departure rather than commit a team to a loaded ridge.
Climb Difficulty & the Route
Graded D. From base camp (5,000 m) in the upper Barun the route climbs onto the north side of the mountain, gaining a shoulder for Camp 1 at around 5,800 m, then continuing on steepening snow and ice to Camp 2 (6,500 m) and a small high camp at around 6,900 m.
Summit day follows the corniced summit ridge, which is the character of the whole climb: narrow, exposed on both sides, and long enough that a party moving at anything less than a steady pace runs out of day. Ten to fourteen hours from high camp with a full abseil descent. Nothing on the route is desperate in isolation; the difficulty is doing all of it, in sequence, at 7,000 m, on rope your own team fixed.
The rope techniques used on the climb are explained step by step in our guide to fixed rope and jumar skills.
Experience Required
We require a previous 6,000 m technical summit — Ama Dablam, Cholatse or equivalent — and ideally previous time at 7,000 m. You must be efficient on steep fixed rope for many hours, competent to abseil from hanging stances while tired, and comfortable on a corniced crest.
Isolation is the other requirement, and it is a mental one. There is no other expedition in the valley, no helicopter traffic as a matter of routine, and no established infrastructure on the mountain. A climber who is used to arriving at a base camp where the route is already fixed and the neighbours have a doctor will find Chamlang a different proposition, and we say so at enquiry.
Committing to the Barun, and Safety
Base camp is eight days' walk from the road head at Num, in a valley with no lodges above Tashigaon and no permanent settlement above that. The expedition travels with a full camp, a cook and kitchen crew, and all food and fuel carried in by porters and pack animals from Tumlingtar.
Chamlang is climbed without supplementary oxygen. We carry emergency oxygen with masks and regulators at the high camps and at base camp, along with a Gamow bag and a full medical kit. Evacuation is slow and weather-dependent — a helicopter can reach base camp in clear conditions and not much else — and there is unlikely to be another team to assist. Insurance documentation is checked carefully before permits are issued.
Packing List & Personal Equipment
Double or triple mountaineering boots rated for 7,000 m, technical crampons, a pair of technical ice tools, a -35°C sleeping bag, an insulated mat, a heavy expedition down jacket and down trousers or a light down suit, a full shell, technical gloves in three weights, a helmet, category 4 glacier glasses, goggles, and two headlamps with lithium batteries.
The approach also demands proper trekking kit for eight days of subtropical forest and rain. We supply all fixed and main ropes, ice screws, snow stakes, anchors and camp equipment, and our Sherpas fix the route progressively. Climbers bring their own harness, crampons, ice tools, belay device, ascender and screwgates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find quick answers to common questions about the Chamlang Expedition.
1How often is Chamlang climbed?
Rarely — a handful of successful expeditions in most decades, and seasons in which nobody attempts it at all. There is no trodden line, no established camp platforms and no fixed rope left by anyone else. Every expedition on it starts from nothing.
2How does it compare with Baruntse?
Considerably harder. Baruntse is an AD+ snow route with a corniced section near the top; Chamlang is grade D with a long corniced ridge and steeper ground below it. Baruntse is the 7,000 m peak to climb before an 8,000 m one; Chamlang is for a climber who wants the climbing.
3What is the summit success rate?
Low, and we will not flatter it — well under half of the expeditions that attempt it summit, and there are seasons when none do. Weather on the ridge and the sheer length of the summit day are the two usual reasons, both of them decided against a fixed turnaround.
4Where is base camp?
At around 5,000 m in the upper Barun below the northern flank of the mountain, roughly a day's walk short of Makalu base camp. It is a full expedition base camp with mess, kitchen, storage and toilet tents and a cook crew, and there is nobody else in the valley.
5Is supplementary oxygen used?
No. Chamlang is well within the range a fit acclimatised climber handles without it. We carry emergency oxygen with masks and regulators at the high camps and base camp for medical use, along with a Gamow bag.
6How many camps are there above base?
Three — Camp 1 at around 5,800 m, Camp 2 at 6,500 m and a high camp at around 6,900 m. The expedition runs one full rotation through Camp 1 before the summit push, and the Sherpa team fixes and stocks progressively as the team rotates.
7What makes the summit ridge difficult?
Its length and its cornices. It is narrow, drops away on both sides, and goes on for hours, so it has to be taken one at a time with the Sherpas probing the crest ahead. It is not hurried, and that is precisely why the summit day runs so long.
8Can Chamlang be combined with Makalu or Baruntse?
Not sensibly in one trip. Chamlang is a full expedition with its own rotation and reserve days and it uses the schedule it has. Climbers wanting two objectives in the Barun are better served by our Sherpani Col traverse, which links the Barun to the Hongu and includes Mera Peak.
9What is the Barun valley like?
One of the finest walks in Nepal and almost unvisited. Protected forest with red panda and snow leopard habitat, two-thousand-metre walls, waterfalls off hanging glaciers, and no lodges above Tashigaon. Many climbers say the approach was the best part of the expedition.
10Do you run fixed departures?
One or two a season, and we are willing to cancel one if conditions are wrong or if the party that assembles is not strong enough. On a grade D route with no other team in the valley, a weak team is a serious problem, and we would rather refund a trip than run one.
Gallery
Explore authentic moments, camps and summit views from the Chamlang Expedition.
Trekking Guides & Articles
Chamlang Expedition: The Complete Guide — The long white wall closing the western side of the Barun, and one of the least-climbed 7,000 m peaks in Nepal.
Baruntse Expedition: The Complete Guide — The mountain most often recommended as the step between a 6,000 m peak and an 8,000 m one.
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Showing fixed departures in Oct 2026
Guest Reviews
Flawless expedition from start to finish
“From the first planning call to the last handshake in Kathmandu, Chamlang Expedition was run to an incredibly high standard. Even the logistics nobody thinks about — permits, flights, internal transfe...
Xavier Tran
Get in Touch
Tell us the dates you have in mind and roughly what you want out of the trek — one of our guides will reply, usually within 24 hours.
Email Us
info@greencompasstreks.com
Call Us
+977 9864379436
Office
Lakeside, Pokhara, Nepal
Office Hours
Sunday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM