Island Peak Climb with Heli Shuttle

You may arrive at the Tribhuwan International Airport at any time. Upon your arrival, you will be welcomed by one of Nepal Hiking Team’s representative. He will help you get transferred to your hotel. Further plans and programs will also be explained to you. Overnight stay at the hotel.

This day is reserved for the final preparations for the trek and climbing. You will be focusing on checking your gears and packing necessary equipment. You may leave all unnecessary belongings at the hotel and re-pack only the necessary items for the trip. 

You will have an early morning transfer to the airport for your Lukla flight. The flight to Lukla is a lifetime experience in itself. The airfield is at a high evaluation and the difference between the two ends of the runway is about an exceptional 60 meters only.  From Lukla, you will be trekking to Phakding with an amazing, green landscape with the view of Kusum Kangraru accompanying you. Overnight stay at the guesthouse at Phakding. 

Following the Dudh Koshi River, we will be ascending through Himalayan pine and cedar forests to the celebrated village of Namche Bazaar. The village of Namche is a historic trading post where Nepalese and Tibetan traders exchanged salt, dried meat, and textiles in ancient times. Besides being a splendid destination to shop for traditional crafts, Namche also remains the central trading post in the Khumbu that attracts Himalayan and lowland merchants. 

You will spend two days at Namche for acclimatization, visit local markets, and spend time with your team. On the hike to Namche, we can capture our first glimpses of Everest and its neighboring peaks. 

This day is especially sectioned for acclimatization. We will hike to the Syangboche Airport (3700m), supposed to be the highest located airstrip in the world, then continue climbing to the Everest View Hotel for great panoramic views of the Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Tawache among many others. On the way back, we can also visit the Sherpa Culture Museum and the Everest Photo Gallery. 

The uniform and easy trail leads us towards the view of Mount Everest, descending deep into the Dudh Koshi Valley at Phungki Thanka and from this point; it ascends the right flank of the Dudh Koshi valley to the Tengboche Monastery (3860m).

The monastery is the spiritual center of the Khumbu. The climb is lengthy, but is more than adequately compensated by gorgeous views of Mount Ama Dablam and on clear days, views of Mt. Everest and its surrounding peaks. Tengboche is located at the confluence of the Dudh Koshi and the Imja River and is surrounded by the ridges covered in alpine woods. Views of the Danphe birds can also be seen in the forests. 

Descending through beautiful forests, we will cross the Imja Khola and trek through the village of Pangboche (3900m). Perhaps today is the most interesting trek because you will not lose altitude like on other days.

You can also enjoy views of Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Lhotse & many other peaks along the way. The route continues through pastures to Dingboche, known as the ‘summer valley’. At Dingboche, you can see a kilometer long wall built to protect the village’s crops. Mani Stone walls also line the trail. 

This would be your second acclimatization day that requires about 6 hours of trekking to an altitude of 5100 meters. After breakfast, you will ascend to Nagerjun (5100m), a hill located on the flanks of the Chhukung valley directly above Dingboche. The main aim is to climb high and sleep low.

The footpath becomes steep at times, resulting in a physically strenuous day.  Ascending the hill could take up to 5 hours at altitude. From this altitude, there are good views of the Lobuche East (6119m), the Lobuche West (6145m), the Taboche Peak (6367m), Thamserku (6608m), the Kangtega (6685m) and the Ama Dablam (6856m).

On a clear day, you could even see Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth highest mountain, including great views of the Pheriche Valley.  After a short rest, you will then start the descent back to Dingboche and the walk at altitude takes about 2 hours.  After lunch, we can take a well-deserved rest, as afternoon temperatures could drop rapidly as the sun sets over the mountain tops. You will also spend a second night in Dingboche.

Trekking along a broad valley floor to Dughla, we will be passing the Trekkers Aid Post at Pheriche (4240 m). This post is staffed by western volunteer doctors and supported by the Himalayan Rescue Association, which offers treatment and consultation to trekkers. Continuing up the valley, we will be gaining altitude. We will come out of the valley to descend to the yak pastures of Lobuche. 

After a short climb through meadows, you can look down at the Khumbu glacier. Straight ahead is Kalapatthar – the best vantage point to view the entire south face of Mt. Everest and the surrounding peaks. After a couple of hours, we will get to Gorekshep, and continue our journey to the Everest Base Camp. 

There is not much elevation gain, but there are a lot of ups and downs and, combined with altitude, this can be an exhausting trek – but the journey is worth it. After approximately 3 hrs of hiking, you will arrive at the base camp and can enjoy a magnificent view of the Khumbu glacier and icefall, from where the Everest expedition begins. Then we will go back to Gorakshep. 

The day starts with a hike up to Kalapatthar (5545m), an excellent viewpoint to observe Mount Everest and innumerable spectacular mountains views. Then we will trek back to Gorekshep for a hot breakfast and trek descend back to Dingboche. 

From Dingboche, we will make a leisurely start following the Imja Valley with great views of Ama Dablam dominating the skyline and follow the moraines that flow from Lhotse (8501meters) towards the sand flats at Pareshaya Gyab. We will reach the base camp of Island Peak in the mid-afternoon. We will be spending time at the tented camp for one or two day (s) and you will be having camp food cooked by our professional cook. Overnight stay at the tented camp, breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Pre-Climb Training: After lunch, our guides will provide training on peak climbing techniques and using climbing gears such as ice axe, climbing boots and crampons, harness, ascender, and on how to go up and down using ropes. Although it is not mandatory to have prior training experience for Island Peak Climbing, we believe that some training experience will boost up your confidence and climbing skills, thus increasing the chances of scaling the summit as well as to fully enjoy the experience.

Today is the Island Peak Ascent (6,189m). We will begin our climb early in the morning, generally around 1 AM. In the beginning, we will climb the rock gully. This is not difficult but there are several short rock steps to climb before we emerge on the right side of the gully.

The route then follows a ridgeline, which leads to an exhilarating and exposed traverse onto the snout of the summit glacier. We will need to rope up for the glacier as it contains several crevasses. The guides will fix a rope wherever necessary. A steep snow slope leads us onto the summit ridge. After enjoying the summit views, and taking pictures, we will descend down to Island Peak Base Camp. Then later after quick lunch or break, we will be flown to Lukla by helicopter.

You will be delighted by the mountain views for the last time while flying from Lukla to Kathmandu on your 30 minute flight. As you reach at Kathmandu airport, you will be transferred to your hotel. 

The airport representative from Nepal Hiking Team will transfer you to the Kathmandu International Airport around 3 hours before your scheduled flight from where you will depart.