Sherpani Col Passes Trek

Welcome to Nepal. 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.

The briefing for this expedition is detailed and takes most of the afternoon. Your climbing guide goes through the twenty-four day plan, the three cols and how each is protected, the abseil off the West Col, the weather decision points, and the fact that the Hongu basin has no walking exit. We check personal equipment item by item and fit harnesses, crampons and boots.

Insurance documentation is confirmed today. We do not issue permits without a policy that covers mountaineering to 6,500 m and helicopter evacuation. Overnight in Kathmandu.

An early flight east to Tumlingtar (410 m) in the Arun valley, about 45 minutes, with the whole eastern Himalaya along the left-hand windows if the morning is clear.

From the airstrip a jeep climbs north on a rough hill road through subtropical farmland, terraced hillsides and cardamom plantations, gaining more than a thousand metres to the ridge.

Num (1,560 m) sits on the crest with the Arun gorge dropping away on both sides. The view north on a clear afternoon takes in the peaks at the head of the valley, and the road ends here.

Around 4 hours driving after the flight. The porters are organised this evening. Overnight at Num.

A deceptively hard first day: down 800 m and back up 800 m, with almost no net height gained.

The trail drops off the Num ridge in a long series of switchbacks through terraced farmland to the Arun river at around 700 m, crosses on a suspension bridge, and then climbs the other side just as steeply.

It is hot and humid at this altitude and the climb is relentless. Start early, drink constantly, and treat it as the day that shakes out how your legs are.

Seduwa (1,500 m) is a scattered village on the western slope where the Makalu Barun National Park permits are checked. Around 6–7 hours. Overnight at Seduwa.

A steady climb north up the ridge through farmland and into the forest belt.

The trail passes through a string of small settlements with rice and millet terraces, water buffalo, and cardamom drying in the sun. As height is gained the crops change to potato and barley and the houses change from thatch to stone and slate.

Tashi Gaun (2,100 m) is a Sherpa village and the last permanent settlement before the pass — everything above it is forest, ridge and, eventually, glacier. It is a good place to watch how a working village at this altitude organises itself.

Around 5 hours. Overnight at Tashi Gaun.

The hardest day of the approach: 1,450 m of climbing on a steep, wet, root-tangled forest trail.

The route goes straight up the ridge through dense rhododendron and bamboo, on ground that is muddy in almost any season and requires hands as well as feet in a few places. In spring the rhododendron is spectacular; in any season this is a long, sweaty grind.

The forest thins around 3,200 m and the trail comes out on the open ridge with the first big view of the day — south down the Arun and north to the peaks around the Shipton La.

Khongma Danda (3,560 m) is a ridge-top settlement of a few lodges and a camp, exposed and often cloudy. Around 7 hours. Overnight at Khongma Danda.

A day at the same height before the pass, and the first of several deliberate pauses on the way up.

The acclimatisation walk climbs the ridge north towards the shoulder below the Shipton La, gaining four or five hundred metres and returning to sleep low. Three to four hours at an easy pace with time at the top to look at the route ahead.

The ridge here is a genuine weather divide. On a clear morning Makalu (8,485 m), Chamlang and the peaks of the Barun appear to the north; by mid-afternoon cloud usually rolls up from the Arun and closes it all down.

The afternoon is rest, and a first careful look from your guide at how the group is handling the height. Overnight at Khongma Danda.

Over the ridge and into the Barun, the valley that leads to Makalu.

The trail climbs past a chain of small ponds — Kalo Pokhari and others — to the Shipton La (4,216 m), named for Eric Shipton, whose 1950s reconnaissances opened this country to mountaineering. There is a second minor pass immediately after it.

The view from the crest is the point of the day: Makalu, Chamlang (7,319 m) and Peak 6 across the head of the Barun, with the valley falling away below.

The descent north is steep and often muddy through rhododendron to Dobato (3,900 m), a small camp on the valley side. Around 6–7 hours. Overnight at Dobato.

Down into the Barun valley proper, and the start of the finest walking on the trek.

The trail drops steeply through forest to the Barun river and then turns north up the valley floor. The change in scale is immediate: walls of rock rise more than a kilometre on both sides, with waterfalls dropping the full height of them after rain.

The Barun is one of the least disturbed valleys in Nepal, protected as a strict conservation area, and the forest here supports red panda, Himalayan black bear and snow leopard higher up.

Yangle Kharka (3,600 m) is a grazing meadow with a few herders' huts and a simple lodge. Around 5–6 hours. Overnight at Yangle Kharka.

Up the valley above the treeline, with the mountains closing in on all sides.

The trail follows the Barun through juniper and birch scrub, past herders' shelters and mani stones, climbing steadily. The trees give out around 4,000 m and the valley opens into a broad glaciated trough.

This is where the peaks arrive properly: Peak 6, Peak 7, Chamlang and finally the south face of Makalu at the head of the valley, one of the great mountain walls of the Himalaya.

Langmale Kharka (4,410 m) is a summer pasture with stone shelters. From tonight the group is camping, and the altitude begins to be the day's main constraint.

Around 5 hours. Overnight camping at Langmale Kharka.

A short day to base camp, taken slowly because of where it ends.

The trail crosses moraine and old glacial debris up the last of the Barun valley, with the walls narrowing and the ice becoming the dominant feature of the landscape.

Makalu Base Camp (4,870 m) sits on the moraine beneath the south-east face of Makalu (8,485 m), the fifth highest mountain in the world and, by reputation, one of the hardest of the 8,000 m peaks. In season there will be an expedition here; out of season the site is empty.

From the moraine above camp the view takes in Makalu, Baruntse, Everest and Lhotse — four 8,000 m peaks from a single vantage point.

Around 4 hours. Overnight camping at Makalu Base Camp.

A rest and preparation day at base camp, and the last one before the technical section.

The morning walk climbs the moraine ridge behind camp towards 5,300 m for the classic view of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu together, then returns to sleep at base camp — the height gain that matters before the cols.

The afternoon is equipment. Harnesses fitted, crampons checked against boots, jumar and descender rigged and practised on a fixed line, and the rope order for the crossing agreed. Your guide runs through the plan for the next four days in detail, including the turnaround criteria.

This is also where the honest conversation happens about who continues. Beyond the next camp there is no walking exit, and that decision is made here rather than higher up. Overnight camping at Makalu Base Camp.

A short move onto the glacier, and the first camp above 5,000 m.

The route leaves base camp and works north-west onto the Barun Glacier, following the moraine on the true left bank. The ground is loose and uneven, and the group moves at a deliberate pace with poles out.

Only three to four hours of walking, but at this altitude carrying a heavier pack it is enough. The crew moves ahead to pitch camp and get the kitchen going.

Swiss Base Camp (5,150 m) is a flattened area of moraine with meltwater nearby, used by expeditions on the way to the cols. Makalu stands directly above it.

The afternoon is deliberately idle — rest, hydration and an early meal. Overnight camping at Swiss Base Camp.

A hard, slow day up the glacier to the highest camp yet.

The route continues up the Barun Glacier, roped where the ice is bare, weaving through moraine and pressure ridges. Five hundred and forty metres of ascent at this altitude is a full day's work and the group will be moving in short stages with regular stops.

Sherpani Col Base Camp (5,690 m) is pitched on snow below the col itself, exposed and very cold. Water is melted from snow, which takes the crew hours, and the camp routine is entirely built around tomorrow's start.

Your guide makes the weather call this evening. If the forecast is poor the group waits here rather than committing to the crossing — once over the West Col there is no way back except over it.

Around 5–6 hours. Kit is laid out before dark. Overnight camping at Sherpani Col Base Camp.

A day held for the weather, and used more often than not.

The cols are crossed in a settled window or not at all, and this reserve day exists so that the group is never forced to choose between a bad forecast and the schedule. If the weather is good, the day is spent on a short acclimatisation walk towards the foot of the col and then resting.

If the weather is poor, the group sits it out. Camp life at 5,690 m is a slow business: melting snow, eating, drinking, sleeping badly and waiting. Your guide checks everyone twice a day for altitude symptoms, and a member showing signs of oedema descends with staff rather than continuing.

Either way, the technical drills are run again — abseil, jumar, roped movement — because tomorrow they happen in the cold with a queue behind you. Overnight camping at Sherpani Col Base Camp.

The day the trip is built around, and one of the hardest days of walking available in Nepal.

We leave camp around two in the morning, roped and in crampons, and climb snow slopes to the Sherpani Col (6,180 m), fixed rope on the steepest section. Sunrise arrives somewhere on the climb, and the view from the col is Makalu, Everest, Lhotse and Baruntse at once.

A short descent and traverse leads to the West Col (6,135 m). The far side is the crux: a steep ice and snow wall of around 100 m that the group abseils on fixed ropes, one at a time, with the staff managing the ropes above and below.

Below the wall the route works down the Hongu glacier to the frozen lakes of the basin and the camp at Baruntse Base Camp (5,450 m), under the west face of Baruntse.

Twelve to fourteen hours. You are now in a closed valley: the only way out on foot is the Amphu Labtsa. Overnight camping at Baruntse Base Camp.

A day in the Hongu basin, for recovery and for weather.

After the cols the group needs it. The camp sits beside frozen glacial lakes with Baruntse (7,129 m) above and Ama Dablam and Makalu visible from the moraine — a place almost nobody sees, and an extraordinary one to spend a day in.

The reserve function matters as much as the rest. The Amphu Labtsa is the only exit and it needs settled weather, so if the forecast is poor the group waits here with the food and fuel to do so.

Practically, the day goes on sleeping, drinking, drying kit in the sun and letting the crew re-rig ropes and hardware for the last pass. Your guide briefs the Amphu Labtsa crossing in detail tonight. Overnight camping at Baruntse Base Camp.

A short move west across the basin to sit below the final pass.

The route crosses the Hongu glacier and its moraine, past more frozen lakes, with almost no height gained but every step taken at 5,500 m. Three to four hours, and the crew has camp up by early afternoon.

The Amphu Labtsa (5,845 m) is visible ahead as a notch in the ridge, and it looks improbable from below — which it is, from any direction except the one the route takes.

The rest of the day is preparation: harness, crampons, headlamp, and an early meal. The crossing tomorrow starts before dawn and the descent on the Khumbu side is the steepest ground of the trip.

Overnight camping at Amphu Labtsa Base Camp.

Out of the Hongu basin and into the Everest region, on the last and steepest pass.

An early start and a climb on snow and rock to the Amphu Labtsa (5,845 m), fixed rope on the upper section. The col is narrow and the group crosses it one at a time.

The north side is the serious half: a steep, sustained descent on fixed ropes down rock and ice, abseiling the worst of it, with the Imja valley opening a very long way below. It demands concentration when the group is already tired.

Below the ropes the route works down glacier and moraine and finally onto a path — the first proper trail since Makalu Base Camp — leading to Chukhung (4,730 m), a Khumbu settlement of lodges below Island Peak.

Ten to twelve hours. A room, a hot meal and the end of the technical ground. Overnight at Chukhung.

A long, easy descent down the main Khumbu trail, losing nearly 900 m into thicker air.

The route runs down the Imja valley through Dingboche and Pangboche, on a well-built and busy trail — the first other trekkers the group has seen in more than a fortnight, and the contrast is startling.

Pangboche has the oldest gompa in the Khumbu, and it is worth the twenty minutes. Below it the trail drops to the Imja Khola and climbs through juniper and birch to the ridge at Tengboche.

Tengboche (3,867 m) is the region's principal monastery, on a saddle facing Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam. Evening prayers are open to visitors and are the right way to end this particular trek.

Around 6–7 hours. Overnight at Tengboche.

A short, spectacular day along the classic Everest trail.

The trail drops steeply through rhododendron to the river at Phunki Tenga and then contours the hillside west, with one of the most photographed views in Nepal from the shoulder above Sanasa: Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam framed together.

Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) is a horseshoe of lodges, bakeries and gear shops stacked up the hillside, and after three weeks in the Barun and the Hongu it feels like a city. Espresso, wifi, a hot shower and a bakery are all available within five minutes.

Around 5 hours. The afternoon is free — most groups spend it eating. Overnight at Namche Bazaar.

The last walking day, down the Dudh Koshi on the busiest trail in the Himalaya.

The steep descent from Namche leads to the Hillary Bridge, and then the trail follows the river south through Monjo, where the group checks out of Sagarmatha National Park, and Phakding, with a final climb of a couple of hundred metres into Lukla.

It is six to seven hours and feels easy after everything behind it. The valley is green, warm and full of people, and the mountains are behind you.

Lukla (2,840 m) is where the crew is paid and thanked. On this trip in particular that matters — the high-altitude staff fixed the ropes and carried the loads that made the crossing possible.

Overnight at Lukla.

An early start for the morning flight, which is the only kind Lukla has.

The Tenzing–Hillary Airport runway is 527 m long and drops off the end into the valley, which makes the take-off memorable. The flight to Kathmandu (1,400 m) takes about 35 minutes, or lands at Manthali depending on the season's schedule.

You transfer to your hotel and the rest of the day is yours. After three weeks the priorities are usually a very long shower, a large lunch, and sleeping in a bed that is not on a glacier.

If the weather holds the flight, that is what tomorrow's reserve day is for. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A day held for the Lukla flight, and a free day in the city if it ran on time.

Lukla is cancelled by weather in every season, and on a trip of this length an itinerary without a spare day risks your international connection.

If yesterday went to plan, today is yours. Boudhanath in the late afternoon, the old town at Bhaktapur, or Patan Durbar Square and its museum are the three best uses of it, and Thamel handles the shopping.

This is also the evening most groups have a proper dinner with the guides, which after four weeks together is worth building in. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your last day in Nepal. If your flight leaves later there is time for one more corner of the valley — Swayambhunath in the morning light is a good final stop.

Our representative collects you from your hotel and transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before departure.

You have crossed three passes above 5,800 m, two of them above 6,000 m, and walked from the Arun to the Dudh Koshi through country that a few dozen people see in a year. There is not much in Nepal that goes beyond this without a summit permit; if you want that step, talk to us about Baruntse or Island Peak with a proper expedition behind it. Safe travels.