Phari Lapcha Peak Climbing

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 in Thamel.

Rest is the only thing asked of you today. Thamel's technical gear shops are a short walk away and are worth a look if anything is missing.

Your climbing guide calls at the hotel in the evening to introduce themselves and confirm tomorrow's plan. Overnight in Kathmandu.

The briefing runs through the sixteen-day plan and then the route itself — the glacier, the snow slopes, the rock step and the abseil descent, with a frank account of where parties turn back.

The equipment check pays particular attention to boots and gloves, because the crux of this peak is rock climbed in crampons. Harnesses are fitted, axes and descenders inspected, and your climbing history discussed.

Our office lodges the NMA climbing permit and park paperwork with your passport and photographs. The afternoon is free. Overnight in Kathmandu.

An early flight into Lukla (2,840 m) — thirty-five minutes from Kathmandu, or a pre-dawn drive to Manthali and a twenty-minute hop in peak season.

Loads are sorted with the porters over tea, and the trail drops north through Chaurikharka and Ghat past mani walls and water-driven prayer wheels.

Phakding (2,610 m) lies below Lukla, which makes an easy first night at altitude. Around 3 to 4 hours. Overnight at Phakding.

Five prayer-flagged suspension bridges across the Dudh Koshi, then a climb through blue pine to Monjo and the Sagarmatha National Park entrance.

Past Jorsalle the Hillary Bridge crosses high above the confluence, and the trail then climbs 600 m — the first honest work of the trip, with a view of Everest partway up on a clear morning.

Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) has bakeries, an ATM and the last gear shops before the valley. Around 6 hours. Overnight at Namche.

Climb high, sleep low. The morning walk goes up to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m) and on to Khumjung and Khunde beneath Khumbi Yul Lha.

The monastery at Khumjung keeps what it describes as a yeti scalp, and the hospital at Khunde was built by Edmund Hillary's foundation in 1966 and is still the referral point for the whole valley.

The afternoon is free for the Sherpa Culture Museum and a coffee. Your guide takes the first oxygen saturation readings tonight. Around 4 hours. Overnight at Namche.

The trail forks above Namche and this trip takes the left branch, into the Gokyo valley — quieter than the Everest Base Camp trail and, most people think, more beautiful.

It climbs to Mong La (3,975 m), a saddle with a chorten and a view down into the Dudh Koshi gorge, then drops steeply to Phortse Tenga and climbs again through rhododendron, birch and juniper.

Dole (4,040 m) is a handful of lodges above the treeline where the valley begins to open out. Around 5 to 6 hours. Overnight at Dole.

A short day up a widening valley, climbing the eastern flank on a good trail with the walls of Kangtega and Thamserku behind and Cho Oyu beginning to show at the head of the valley.

Machhermo (4,470 m) sits in a side valley below the peak. The village is known for a yeti sighting reported in 1974 and, more usefully, for the rescue post run by the International Porter Protection Group, which gives a free altitude talk each afternoon.

Look up and south from the lodges: the rock pyramid above you is Phari Lapcha. Around 4 hours. Overnight at Machhermo.

A short day off the trekking trail. The route climbs west out of Machhermo into a side valley, on a yak path that gives out after an hour and becomes moraine and boulder ground.

Phari Lapcha Base Camp (4,800 m) sits on a shelf below the south-east ridge, with the whole route visible from the mess tent — the glacier, the snow slopes and the dark band of the rock step near the top.

The view the other way is the reason people remember this camp: across the Gokyo valley to Cho Oyu, Gyachung Kang and the grey sweep of the Ngozumpa glacier. Around 2 to 3 hours. Overnight at base camp.

A working day focused on the crux. On the rock outcrops above camp your guide runs each climber through moving on rock in crampons, standing on small holds in rigid boots, jumaring where the rope runs over an edge, and abseiling on a loaded line.

This is also where exposure gets discussed honestly. The step is short and moderate, and it is airy; if that is going to be a problem, base camp is the place to find out.

The Sherpas spend the day on the mountain fixing the step and the upper slopes. An acclimatisation walk to around 5,100 m closes the afternoon. Overnight at base camp.

A steady 600 m on moraine and scree, three to four hours with a moderate load while the crew moves the camp.

High camp (5,400 m) sits in a hollow rather than on an open shoulder, which makes it noticeably more sheltered than the high camps on Kyajo Ri and Kwangde and a good deal easier to sleep in.

The afternoon is preparation — kit laid out, order of climbing set, an early dinner, and the final weather and turnaround call. Asleep by seven. Overnight at high camp.

Moving by two in the morning. A short roped glacier crossing leads to the foot of the snow slopes, which run at 40 to 50 degrees for two to three hours on fixed rope, steepening as they go.

Then the feature the whole climb is built around: a rock step of thirty to forty metres, moderate in grade and completely exposed, climbed in crampons on a jumar with the Gokyo valley a very long way below your boots. It is short, and most people talk about it for years.

Above the step a snow arête leads to the summit (6,017 m) — small, rocky, room for two or three at a time — looking across at Cho Oyu, Gyachung Kang, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu, with the Ngozumpa glacier running south below.

The descent abseils the step and the slopes on the same anchors. Eight to eleven hours in total to base camp. Overnight at base camp.

The day held in reserve, and on this peak the usual reason to need it is snow on the rock step. A centimetre of fresh powder on the ledges turns a thirty-minute pitch into a two-hour one, and that is enough to lose the summit against the turnaround time.

If yesterday was cut short, the group returns to high camp today with the ropes still in place and climbs tomorrow. Your guide weighs the state of the party as much as the forecast.

If the summit went to plan, the day is a rest at base camp, or an early start down to Machhermo and Namche to bank a spare day against the Lukla flights. Overnight at base camp or Machhermo.

Camp comes down after breakfast and the group descends to Machhermo and back onto the trekking trail, then down the Gokyo valley through Dole with the walls opening out behind.

The steep drop to Phortse Tenga and the climb back to Mong La are the sting of the day, and then it is a long contour down to Namche with Ama Dablam ahead.

Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) means hot water, a bakery and a beer after four nights in tents. Around 7 to 8 hours. Overnight at Namche.

The last walking day. Steeply down from Namche to the Hillary Bridge, then along the Dudh Koshi through Jorsalle and Monjo, where you check out of the national park.

Through Phakding and past the mani walls, and then the final climb to Lukla (2,840 m), always longer than it looks on the last day.

The evening is the end-of-trip dinner with the guide, climbing Sherpas, cook crew and porters, and the point at which tips are given. Around 6 to 7 hours. Overnight at Lukla.

Lukla flights leave early, before the valley wind builds. Thirty-five minutes to Kathmandu, or a landing at Manthali with a road transfer onward in peak season.

Delays are routine rather than exceptional, which is why no international departure is scheduled for today. If Lukla closes entirely, a helicopter seat can usually be arranged at your own cost.

The afternoon is free for a long shower and Thamel. Your summit certificate is presented in the evening. Overnight in Kathmandu.

The trip ends today. If your flight is a late one there is time for a last morning in Kathmandu — Boudhanath, Patan Durbar Square, or a slow breakfast on a roof terrace.

Our representative collects you from the hotel and drives you to Tribhuvan International Airport about three hours before departure.

If you are staying on in Nepal, we can arrange Chitwan, Pokhara, Lumbini or a Kathmandu valley tour. Safe travels — Phari Lapcha is a good stepping stone, and Kyajo Ri or Kwangde is usually the next question.