Pumori Expedition
Pumori (7,161 m) is the elegant pyramid standing directly over Everest Base Camp, and it was named by George Mallory — P
Trip Overview
Pumori (7,161 m) is the elegant pyramid standing directly over Everest Base Camp, and it was named by George Mallory — Pumori, mountain daughter, for his own. Every trekker who walks up Kala Patthar photographs it without knowing what it is, and every climber who has been on it knows exactly what it is: a steep, serious, avalanche-prone mountain that is a great deal harder than its neighbours suggest.
First climbed in 1962 by Gerhard Lenser, it gives sustained climbing on snow and ice at grade D, with a summit ridge that is corniced and narrow and a route that is genuinely exposed to serac and avalanche hazard on the lower face. It is the natural objective for a climber who has done Ama Dablam and wants a 7,000 m peak before committing to an 8,000 m one — and it is a harder climb than either Manaslu or Himlung, whatever the numbers say.
Trip Highlights
Summit Pumori (7,161 m): Mallory's mountain daughter, the peak that stands directly above Everest Base Camp.
A True 7,000 m Objective: The natural step between Ama Dablam and an 8,000 m expedition, with harder climbing than either Manaslu or Himlung.
Grade D Snow and Ice: Sustained steep ground with a corniced summit ridge, climbed on fixed rope with a full abseil descent.
Base Camp Beside Everest's: Camp within sight of Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar, with the Khumbu Icefall directly opposite.
One Climbing Sherpa Per Client: A dedicated 1:1 Sherpa above base camp, with a stated oxygen allocation held in reserve.
Itinerary
A 36-day expedition on Pumori (7,161 m) above Everest Base Camp, with three camps on the mountain, a full acclimatisation rotation, progressive rope fixing on grade D ground 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. Most climbers arrive with two or three duffels of equipment shipped or carried in; unpack tonight and lay everything out, because the next two days are spent turning it into a working expedition load.
Your expedition leader calls at the hotel in the evening to introduce themselves and set the plan for the morning. 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-six day plan apart stage by stage — the approach, base camp, the rotations, the oxygen plan, the summit window and the reserve days — and then goes through the route itself.
The equipment inspection is item by item and takes hours: boots, crampons, harness, ascender, belay device, screwgates, down suit, mitts, goggles, headlamps and batteries. Anything missing or unsuitable is bought or hired in Kathmandu today, not discovered at 7,000 m.
Your oxygen mask and regulator are fitted and tested against your own face and hood, which is the single most useful hour of the day. Overnight in Kathmandu.
3Day 3Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Ministry Briefing, Permits and Final Preparations
Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Ministry Briefing, Permits and Final Preparations
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 rules are read out and the waste-management deposit is registered.
Meanwhile the expedition cargo is weighed, sealed into barrels and dispatched — some by air to Lukla, the rest by helicopter sling load or yak, depending on the season and the weight.
The afternoon is free, and it is the last one for two months with hot water, restaurants and thick air. Most climbers use it for the last phone calls home rather than for sightseeing. Overnight in Kathmandu.
4Day 4Fly to Lukla (2,840 m) and Trek to Phakding (2,610 m)
Fly to Lukla (2,840 m) and Trek to Phakding (2,610 m)
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 when the peak-season schedule applies.
The expedition load is divided between porters and yaks over tea, which on a trip of this size takes a good part of the morning and involves a great deal of cheerful arguing.
The trail drops north through Chaurikharka and Ghat to Phakding (2,610 m), past mani walls and water-driven prayer wheels. Around 3 to 4 hours. Overnight at Phakding.
5Day 5Trek from Phakding (2,610 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Trek from Phakding (2,610 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
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 beyond it the trail turns uphill for 600 m of steady work, with a first view of Everest over the Nuptse–Lhotse ridge partway up on a clear morning.
Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) is the last town — bakeries, an ATM, gear shops and a hot shower. Around 6 hours. Overnight at Namche.
6Day 6Acclimatisation Day at Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Climb high, sleep low. The morning walk goes up to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m), whose terrace looks straight up the valley at Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam.
From there to Khumjung and Khunde beneath Khumbi Yul Lha, past the monastery with its disputed yeti scalp and the hospital built by Edmund Hillary's foundation in 1966, which is still the referral point for the whole valley.
The afternoon is free. Your leader takes the first oxygen saturation and resting pulse readings tonight, and will keep taking them daily for the next two months. Around 4 hours. Overnight at Namche.
7Day 7Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Tengboche (3,860 m)
Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Tengboche (3,860 m)
Two hours of near-level balcony trail out of Namche, high above the Dudh Koshi, with Ama Dablam ahead almost the whole way.
At Phunki Thenga the trail drops to the river and climbs 600 m through rhododendron and birch to the saddle.
Tengboche (3,860 m) holds the largest monastery in the Khumbu. Every Everest expedition since the 1950s has stopped here, and many take a blessing from the Rinpoche before going up the valley. The afternoon ceremony is open to visitors. Around 5 to 6 hours. Overnight at Tengboche.
8Day 8Trek from Tengboche (3,860 m) to Dingboche (4,410 m)
Trek from Tengboche (3,860 m) to Dingboche (4,410 m)
Down through Deboche, over the Imja Khola above a narrow gorge, and up to Pangboche (3,930 m), the oldest permanent Sherpa settlement in the Khumbu and home to a great many of the climbing Sherpas working on the mountain this season.
Above Pangboche the last trees give out and the valley opens into a wide grey trough of moraine and grazing land, walled by Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Taboche.
Dingboche (4,410 m) sits among stone-walled potato and barley fields at the junction of the Imja and Khumbu valleys. Around 5 hours. Overnight at Dingboche.
9Day 9Acclimatisation Day at Dingboche (4,410 m) – Nangkartshang (5,083 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Dingboche (4,410 m) – Nangkartshang (5,083 m)
The first time above 5,000 m. We climb the ridge behind the village to Nangkartshang (5,083 m) — steep and non-technical, two to three hours on scree and rock.
Makalu appears over the eastern ridge, with Lhotse, Island Peak, Taboche and Cholatse arranged around you. On an expedition this is also the first honest read on how each climber is adapting, and your leader watches the group as much as the view.
Back for a late lunch and rest. Four litres of water, more food than anyone feels like, and an evening saturation check. Around 4 to 5 hours. Overnight at Dingboche.
10Day 10Trek from Dingboche (4,410 m) to Lobuche (4,940 m)
Trek from Dingboche (4,410 m) to Lobuche (4,940 m)
North-west onto a broad ridge, then along the shelf above the Pheriche valley to Thukla (4,620 m) and the steep pull up the terminal moraine of the Khumbu glacier.
The top of that climb is the Thukla memorial — a field of stone chortens and plaques for climbers who died on Everest and the peaks around it, including Scott Fischer and Babu Chiri Sherpa. Every expedition walks through it on the way up, and it is a quiet twenty minutes.
Lobuche (4,940 m) is a handful of lodges on the moraine beside the glacier. Around 5 hours. Overnight at Lobuche.
11Day 11Acclimatisation Day at Lobuche (4,940 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Lobuche (4,940 m)
A deliberate extra night below 5,000 m before committing to base camp. The morning is an acclimatisation walk up the ridge behind the lodges toward Lobuche East, gaining 400 to 500 m and coming back down.
The afternoon is rest, and for most people a slightly uneasy one — from tomorrow the expedition proper begins, and there is nothing left to prepare.
Your leader reviews saturation readings and appetite across the team tonight. Anyone whose numbers are drifting the wrong way spends an extra day here rather than starting the expedition already behind. Around 4 hours. Overnight at Lobuche.
12Day 12Trek from Lobuche (4,940 m) to Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
Trek from Lobuche (4,940 m) to Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
North along the lateral moraine of the Khumbu glacier to Gorak Shep (5,164 m), the last flat ground in the valley and the site of the 1953 Everest base camp, with Pumori filling the sky to the north-west the whole way.
A short climb off the trail brings you onto the moraine shelf where Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m) is already standing, within sight of Everest Base Camp across the glacier and directly beneath Kala Patthar.
The afternoon is spent settling in and looking at the route, which from here is legible from bottom to top: the shoulder for Camp 1, the steep face above it, and the corniced ridge running to the summit. Around 4 hours. Overnight at base camp.
13Day 13Puja Ceremony and Settling In at Base Camp (5,300 m)
Puja Ceremony and Settling In at Base Camp (5,300 m)
The puja is held this morning. A lama comes up from Pangboche, a chorten is built, juniper is burned, and the climbing equipment is stacked at the altar to be blessed. No Sherpa on the team will go onto the face before it is done.
The rest of the day is low effort: personal tents arranged, the mess-tent routine established, radio schedules and camp rules explained, and the water and charging arrangements sorted.
Prayer flags go up over the camp, and in the evening the lights of Everest Base Camp are visible across the glacier. Overnight at base camp.
14Day 14Assessment and Training Day at Base Camp (5,300 m)
Assessment and Training Day at Base Camp (5,300 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 speed above all else. On Pumori the safety margin is created by moving quickly through the exposed sections of the face, and a climber who is competent but slow is a problem for the whole rope.
Anyone the leader is not satisfied with is told today, at base camp, and does not go above Camp 1. Meanwhile the Sherpa team begins fixing the lower face. Overnight at base camp.
15Day 15Acclimatisation Day at Base Camp (5,300 m) – Kala Patthar (5,545 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Base Camp (5,300 m) – Kala Patthar (5,545 m)
An acclimatisation day with the best viewpoint in the Khumbu attached to it. Kala Patthar (5,545 m) is a rocky bump on Pumori's own southern ridge, two hours up from camp on a good path.
From the top the whole Everest–Nuptse–Lhotse wall stands opposite, with the Khumbu Icefall pouring down beneath it and Everest Base Camp a scatter of yellow dots on the glacier.
Turn round, though, and the more useful view is behind you: the south-east face of Pumori at close range, with the camps and the fixed line already visible. Your leader uses the hour up here to walk the team through the route in detail. Overnight at base camp.
16Day 16Acclimatisation Rotation – Climb to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
Acclimatisation Rotation – Climb to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
The first time on the mountain, and it is steep from the start. The route leaves base camp onto the lower face and climbs on fixed line for four to five hours, on snow and ice that never really eases.
Part of this ground lies under serac and avalanche terrain, so it is climbed early and quickly, and nobody stops in it. That discipline is set today and kept for the rest of the expedition.
Camp 1 (5,800 m) is a set of platforms on a shoulder above the face, with base camp visible directly below and Everest Base Camp beyond it. Overnight at Camp 1.
17Day 17Acclimatisation Rotation – Descend from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Base Camp (5,300 m)
Acclimatisation Rotation – Descend from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Base Camp (5,300 m)
Down the fixed ropes by abseil in two to three hours, off the exposed ground before the sun is properly on it.
Sleeping high and recovering low is the mechanism, and at 5,300 m recovery still happens — which is exactly why the rotation returns here rather than staying up.
The afternoon is food, fluid and sleep. The Sherpa team continues carrying loads and fixing the face toward Camp 2. Overnight at base camp.
18Day 18Rest Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
Rest Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
A full rest day: eating, drinking four litres, sleeping in the afternoon and staying off the legs.
For anyone who wants a walk, Everest Base Camp is an hour across the glacier and most teams go over at some point in the expedition. It is worth seeing, and it is a strange thing to visit as a climber with your own mountain behind you.
Your leader takes saturation and pulse readings and briefs the second rotation in the evening: Camp 1, then the steep middle face to Camp 2 at 6,400 m. Overnight at base camp.
19Day 19Second Rotation – Climb from Base Camp (5,300 m) to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
Second Rotation – Climb from Base Camp (5,300 m) to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
The lower face again, and noticeably faster — three to four hours where the first rotation took five. The acclimatisation is working and the ground is familiar.
Loads are light: the Sherpa team has already stocked Camp 1 and is working above it, so climbers carry personal equipment only.
Camp 1 (5,800 m) by late morning, with the rest of the day to lie down and drink before the harder ground tomorrow. Overnight at Camp 1.
20Day 20Second Rotation – Climb the Face to Camp 2 (6,400 m)
Second Rotation – Climb the Face to Camp 2 (6,400 m)
The day the mountain shows its grade. Above Camp 1 the face steepens into sustained snow and ice at 45 to 60 degrees, fixed by the Sherpa team, 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 we assessed speed at base camp.
Camp 2 (6,400 m) is a handful of tents on platforms hacked into the face. It is small, exposed and steep-sided, and everyone stays clipped in. The night here is the point of the rotation. Overnight at Camp 2.
21Day 21Second Rotation – Descend from Camp 2 (6,400 m) to Base Camp (5,300 m)
Second Rotation – Descend from Camp 2 (6,400 m) to Base Camp (5,300 m)
A long abseil descent — the upper face, Camp 1, and the lower face — timed to be off the exposed ground early. Four to six hours in total.
The acclimatisation programme is now complete. The team has slept at 6,400 m on steep ground, and there is nothing more to be gained from going higher until the summit push.
Base camp (5,300 m) by midday, and from here everything waits on the forecast. Overnight at base camp.
22Day 22Rest Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
Rest Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
The first of two recovery days after the rotation, and the harder one to spend well because the fatigue of two nights on the face arrives late.
Sleep, drink, and eat past the point of appetite. The cook crew works hard at this stage of an expedition and the menu improves accordingly.
The Sherpa team is on the mountain fixing the upper face and establishing the high camp at 6,700 m. Their report on the snow conditions above Camp 2 is the information the summit plan actually rests on. Overnight at base camp.
23Day 23Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (5,300 m)
Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (5,300 m)
The last day before the push, spent on the plan rather than on the hill. Loads are packed for four nights, ice tools are checked, crampons adjusted, and boots dried.
Your leader briefs the summit sequence stage by stage with timings, and sets a hard turnaround time for summit day. On a route with this hazard profile the turnaround is set early and is not renegotiated on the ridge.
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 face. Departure is set for the small hours. Overnight at base camp.
24Day 24Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (5,300 m) to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (5,300 m) to Camp 1 (5,800 m)
The summit push begins in the dark, on the lower face for the third time, and it goes quickly now — three hours or so on entirely familiar ground.
The team is off the exposed section well before the sun reaches it, which is the whole reason for the early start.
Camp 1 (5,800 m) in the morning, with the rest of the day to rest and hydrate. An easy evening and an early night. Overnight at Camp 1.
25Day 25Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Camp 2 (6,400 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,800 m) to Camp 2 (6,400 m)
The sustained middle face again — five to six hours of 45 to 60 degree snow and ice on fixed rope, with a heavier load than on the rotation.
It is the section that separates a party that will summit from one that will not, and your leader watches the pace closely. A team arriving at Camp 2 late has already lost the next day.
Camp 2 (6,400 m) in the afternoon. Melt snow, force fluid and food, and sleep as well as a platform cut into a 50-degree face allows. Overnight at Camp 2.
26Day 26Summit Push – Climb from Camp 2 (6,400 m) to High Camp (6,700 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Camp 2 (6,400 m) to High Camp (6,700 m)
A deliberately short day — three to four hours up the upper face to the high camp at 6,700 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 6,700 m the night before a summit. Overnight at high camp.
27Day 27Summit Pumori (7,161 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (6,400 m)
Summit Pumori (7,161 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (6,400 m)
Moving by two in the morning, straight onto the fixed line. The upper face is steep, cold and unrelenting, climbed by headlamp for several hours with Everest Base Camp a scatter of lights a vertical mile below.
The face gives onto the summit ridge — narrow, corniced, and exposed on both sides — which is climbed one at a time with the Sherpas probing ahead. It is the section that gives the route its character, and it is not hurried.
The summit (7,161 m) is small, and the view is the reason people climb this particular 7,000 m peak: Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse directly opposite with the whole Khumbu Icefall and Western Cwm laid out beneath them, Cho Oyu west, Makalu east, and the Tibetan plateau running north.
The descent is a long sequence of abseils down the face to high camp and on to Camp 2. Ten to fourteen hours. Overnight at Camp 2.
28Day 28Descend from Camp 2 (6,400 m) to Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
Descend from Camp 2 (6,400 m) to Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
Camp 2 comes down and the whole face is abseiled, with the fixed rope stripped as the team descends. Leaving rope on a mountain is neither safe for anyone following nor acceptable practice, and clearing it properly takes hours.
The lower face is again timed for the cold of the morning, and nobody stops in the exposed ground even on the last descent.
Base camp (5,300 m) in the afternoon, with thick air, a hot meal and the first unbroken sleep in four days. Five to seven hours. Overnight at base camp.
29Day 29First Reserve Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
First Reserve Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
The first of three reserve days, and on Pumori they are used more often than not. The commonest reason is not storm but snow-loading: a face that is climbable on Monday can be an unacceptable avalanche risk on Wednesday.
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, the day is rest, and most teams walk across to Everest Base Camp in the afternoon simply because it is there. Overnight at base camp.
30Day 30Second Reserve Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
Second Reserve Day at Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m)
The second reserve day. Three of them exist because this mountain's conditions change faster than its weather does, and one day in hand is frequently not enough.
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 higher camps come down — Camp 2, the high camp and Camp 1 are stripped by the Sherpa team, and everything comes off the face. Overnight at base camp.
31Day 31Third Reserve Day and Break Camp at Base Camp (5,300 m)
Third Reserve Day and Break Camp at Base Camp (5,300 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 up goes back down, the barrels are packed, the site is cleared, and the Department of Tourism deposit is refunded against it.
The chorten from the puja stays with its prayer flags. Most teams spend the last hour of daylight looking across at Everest, which after four weeks under Pumori looks like a different mountain from the one in the photographs. Overnight at base camp.
32Day 32Trek from Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m) to Pheriche (4,371 m)
Trek from Pumori Base Camp (5,300 m) to Pheriche (4,371 m)
Off the moraine past Gorak Shep and down to Lobuche, then the steep descent beside the glacier snout to Thukla and the memorial chortens.
Walking through that memorial field at the end of an expedition is a different experience from walking through it on the way up, and most teams take longer over it than they did in the other direction.
Pheriche (4,371 m) in the afternoon, with beds, hot showers, bakeries and a menu after four weeks of expedition food. Around 6 hours. Overnight at Pheriche.
33Day 33Trek from Pheriche (4,371 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Trek from Pheriche (4,371 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Down the Khumbu valley through Pangboche, where several of your Sherpa team live, and on through Deboche to the Tengboche saddle.
The trees come back below Tengboche, and with them birdsong, warmth and air that after a month feels almost thick enough to chew.
The steep drop to Phunki Thenga and the balcony trail bring you to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m). Around 7 to 8 hours. Overnight at Namche.
34Day 34Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Lukla (2,840 m)
Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Lukla (2,840 m)
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, then the final climb to Lukla (2,840 m), which after a month always feels steeper than it is.
The evening is the end-of-expedition dinner with the leader, the climbing Sherpas, the cook crew and the porters, and the point at which the summit bonus and tips are given. Around 6 to 7 hours. Overnight at Lukla.
35Day 35Fly from Lukla (2,840 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Fly from Lukla (2,840 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Lukla flights leave early, before the valley wind builds. Thirty-five minutes to Kathmandu, or a landing at Manthali with a road transfer onward when the peak-season schedule applies.
Delays are routine rather than exceptional and can run to a full day, 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. The expedition reports to the Department of Tourism and your summit certificate is presented in the evening. Overnight in Kathmandu.
36Day 36Departure 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 — 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. Any equipment being shipped home rather than carried is handled by our office.
Safe travels. Pumori is the peak our climbers most often use as the step to an 8,000 m expedition, and Manaslu, Himlung and Everest are the three that usually come up next.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Lukla flights, airport transfers, Kathmandu hotel nights, teahouse and full expedition camp accommodation, three meals a day throughout, the Department of Tourism royalty, park and municipality permits, an expedition leader and liaison officer, a dedicated climbing Sherpa per client, all group ice equipment, progressive rope fixing, emergency oxygen, base camp medical provision 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 Lukla, including the road transfer to and from Manthali in Ramechhap when the flights are operating from there in peak season.
Private airport and hotel transfers in Kathmandu.
Three nights of accommodation in Kathmandu with breakfast.
Accommodation in local teahouses on the approach and the walk out.
Full expedition base camp at 5,300 m with mess, kitchen, storage, communications and toilet tents, plus tented Camp 1 (5,800 m), Camp 2 (6,400 m) and high camp (6,700 m).
Three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) throughout the trip.
Department of Tourism Pumori climbing royalty and permit, Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit.
Government-licensed expedition leader with technical Himalayan experience, and a liaison officer, with all equipment, wages and insurance.
One dedicated 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 high camp and at 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 at base camp for the duration of 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.
A full acclimatisation rotation through Camp 1 and Camp 2 before the summit push.
Progressive fixing of the face and the summit ridge by our climbing Sherpas, and stripping of the ropes on descent.
Daily specialist mountain weather forecasts, base camp solar power and a Gamow hyperbaric bag.
A puja ceremony at base camp before the team goes onto the mountain.
Yak and porter transport of all expedition equipment between Lukla 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 avalanche conditions, or a departure cancelled by us because the face 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 late September to October. Pumori is climbed in both seasons and the choice matters more than on most peaks, because the route's hazard is snow-loading. Autumn is generally the safer half of the year: post-monsoon the face has settled, the ice is well formed and the avalanche risk is lower and more predictable.
Spring gives longer days and warmer camps but leaves fresh snow sitting on a steep face, and the route can be shut for a week at a time after a storm. Whichever season, this is a mountain where the leader's willingness to abandon an attempt matters more than the schedule — we run a small number of departures a year and will call one off rather than commit a team to a loaded slope.
Climb Difficulty & the Route
Graded D. From base camp (5,300 m) the route climbs the south-east face and ridge, gaining a shoulder for Camp 1 (5,800 m) on ground that is already steep. Above it the face steepens through snow and ice at 45 to 60 degrees, fixed by our Sherpas, to Camp 2 (6,400 m) and then a small high camp at around 6,700 m.
Summit day follows the upper face and then the corniced summit ridge, narrow and exposed, taken one at a time. Eight to twelve hours from high camp with a long abseil descent. The defining feature of the route is not any single section but its objective hazard: significant parts of the lower and middle face lie under serac and avalanche ground, and they are managed by climbing them in the cold hours and never lingering.
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, Kyajo Ri or equivalent — and alpine experience at AD+ or above. You must be efficient on steep fixed rope for many hours, competent to abseil from hanging stances while tired, and able to move quickly through hazardous ground when told to.
That last requirement is not rhetorical. On Pumori the safety margin is created by speed through the exposed sections, and a climber who moves slowly on the lower face increases the risk for the whole rope. Your leader assesses this at base camp and has absolute authority to stop a climber going above Camp 1.
Oxygen, Sherpa Support and Safety
Pumori is climbed without supplementary oxygen, and none of our clients has needed it for the ascent. We carry two bottles per rope with emergency masks and regulators at high camp for medical use, and emergency oxygen with a Gamow bag and full medical kit at base camp.
Each climber has a dedicated climbing Sherpa above base camp. The route is fixed progressively by our Sherpa team as the expedition rotates, and it is stripped on the descent. Radio schedules are kept from every camp, every climber carries a personal locator, and no member of our staff receives a summit-contingent bonus that could bias a decision to turn round.
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.
We supply all fixed and main ropes, ice screws, snow stakes, anchors and camp equipment, and our Sherpas fix the face and the summit ridge. Climbers bring their own harness, crampons, ice tools, belay device, ascender and screwgates. On a route where speed is the safety margin, equipment you can use without thinking is worth carrying from home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find quick answers to common questions about the Pumori Expedition.
1Is Pumori harder than an 8,000 m peak like Manaslu?
Technically, considerably. Manaslu and Himlung are long glacier plods with a short steep section; Pumori is sustained steep snow and ice at grade D with a corniced ridge. Physiologically the 8,000 m peaks are harder because of the altitude and the oxygen logistics. Most climbers who have done both say Pumori was the better climb and Manaslu the bigger day.
2How serious is the avalanche risk?
It is the defining hazard of the route and it is why the mountain has a reputation. Parts of the lower and middle face lie beneath serac and avalanche ground and cannot be avoided, only timed. We climb them in the cold hours, do not stop in them, and will abandon an attempt outright after significant new snow.
3Where is base camp?
At around 5,300 m on the moraine near Gorak Shep, within sight of Everest Base Camp across the Khumbu glacier and directly below Kala Patthar. It is a full expedition base camp with mess, kitchen, storage and toilet tents and a cook crew, and it is one of the more sociable base camps in Nepal in season.
4Do we climb Kala Patthar as part of the acclimatisation?
Yes. Kala Patthar at 5,545 m sits on Pumori's lower southern ridge and is a natural acclimatisation walk from base camp, taking a couple of hours. It also gives the best view anywhere of the Everest–Nuptse–Lhotse wall and, looking the other way, a useful reconnaissance of your own route.
5What is the summit success rate?
Around 40 to 55 percent on our departures, which is honest for a grade D peak with this hazard profile. Attempts abandoned for avalanche conditions account for more turn-backs than anything to do with the climbers themselves.
6Is supplementary oxygen used?
Not for climbing. Pumori is well within the range that a fit acclimatised climber handles without it. We carry two bottles per rope at high camp with masks and regulators for medical use, and emergency oxygen at base camp.
7How many camps are there above base?
Three: Camp 1 at 5,800 m, Camp 2 at 6,400 m and a small high camp at around 6,700 m. The expedition runs one full rotation through Camp 1 and Camp 2 before the summit push, which is the structure that makes a 7,161 m summit day realistic.
8Why is Pumori less well known than its neighbours?
Because everything around it is more famous. It stands over Everest Base Camp, and visitors photographing it are looking at Everest. It also has no easy route, which keeps the numbers down — Pumori sees a handful of expeditions a season against hundreds of people on the trail below it.
9Can I combine Pumori with a trek to Everest Base Camp?
You effectively do. The approach walks the entire Everest Base Camp trail as far as Gorak Shep, and base camp is a short walk from EBC itself. Most teams walk over to visit it on a rest day, which costs nothing and is worth doing.
10How does this prepare me for an 8,000 m peak?
Well, and better than another 6,000 m peak would. Pumori puts you above 7,000 m, teaches you to live at a high camp, and demands efficient movement on steep ground for many hours. Climbers who summit Pumori are generally ready to consider Manaslu, Himlung or Everest.
Gallery
Explore authentic moments, camps and summit views from the Pumori Expedition.
Trekking Guides & Articles
Pumori Expedition: The Complete Guide — The elegant pyramid over Everest Base Camp that Mallory named for his daughter.
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