I'm heading off to Nepal in a day or two's time and I've arranged to climb Mera Peak with one of the guiding companies out there. I only have around 15 days to do my trekking though, and the proposed itinerary therefore suggests summiting Mera Peak on Day 9.

I've been reading Jamie McGuinness' guide to trekking in the region and he calls this a "dangerous itinerary" and suggests summitting on or around Day 13/14. Am I really pushing this too hard - is it risky to try and summit so quickly? Would Island Peak be a better option given my circumstances (seems to have a quicker return, so could allow more time for the ascent)...?

Any comments gladly appreciated.

The important thing is to get to elevation quickly. As I mentioned above, that won't be in Katmandu. So you've got to get out and up right away without taking in the sights of K-du.
So you should book your local flight to Lukla as early as possible. Maybe even not leave the K-du airport.

Apologies. Wasn't above, was a different thread.
http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=48316

wow lots of people gonna be on Mera.

If you count the day you fly to Lukla as Day 1, then I can advise that I summited on Day 14. Ive just looked at my diary and it reminds me:

Day 5 - climbed from 3700m to 4300m (high point) then back down to 4100m to sleep. I had a fairly fuzzy head that day at the high point.

Day 12 - At Mera Base camp of 5300m (across the glacier). Crap night sleep - 3 to a tent which was pretty cramped.

Day 13 - Mera ABC (5750m) - another crap nights sleep although felt OK on Day 14 - summit day (adrenalin???).

Having said that, I summited in about 4.5 hours from leaving ABC which I believe is quite fast? A few less days acclimatising may have slowed me down and made me a little less uncomfortable, but I still may have summitted. 9 days seems very short now I reflect!

Thanks for the comments. John - i'm not including the time spent in Kathmandu, so Day 1 is the flight to lukla. I have 15 days for trekking - I've asked if I can summit on day 12. Does this sound feasible or will the descent take too long?

6500 meters in 12 days? Yes. It's doable.
night 1 Phakding
nights 2 - 3 Namche
night 4 Pangboche
night 5 Pheriche
nights 6 - 12 do the peak

Island Peak could be an extra couple of days trekking

Good Luck and let us know how you make out!

Hi there

Yep 12 days is doable, but be prepared for no rest days and maybe having to push up the mountain in unfavourable weather (unlikely in Oct).

Enjoy, wonderful views from the top (Im jealous)

AndrewSmyth wrote:Enjoy, wonderful views from the top (Im jealous)

Exactamente. I pulled up the page and there's the best shot of Everest I think I've ever seen from the Nepal side.



As you can see from this map (pardon the black line) Island Peak is way further. Probably not doable in the time allotted.