Ok,

I have a once in a lifetime trip planned for next autumn to the Himalaya and am after some advice from those who what "been there done that".

I have climbed in Scotland (to winter Grade III) and also done a bit in the Alps around the Mt Blanc Massif (PD+ grades).

Mera peak for me has little technical climbing so Im not overly interested, Lapka Ri, although high, doesnt float my boat due to the location, and Ama Dablam is a bit too much for my skills at this stage.

Therefore, island looks to be about right. Good altitude, PD+ grade (or thereabouts), stunning scenery, etc.

I am going with a very well respected British climber (Everest summiter) so happy with choice of leader, but dont want to walk away from the 'trip of a lifetime' dissapointed that I could have done more.

Thoughts?

How long are you going to be there and what month? Next autumn is a long time away. If you are interested in Ama Dablam you could be ready for it by next year. You have a whole winter in the gym and all next summer outdoors to brush up on your rock skills. If you climb the fixed line, the difficulty is limited. I've heard there's a lot of exposure in the Alps so if you are comfortable there, you should be comfortable with the exposure on Ama Dablam. Also,a lot of people climb Island Peak to acclimatize for Ama Dablam. If you have 4 - 5 weeks and a small group, 2 peaks is a very reasonable goal.

I've never climbed Island Peak. I don't know if you'd be disappointed. It depends on your expectations. I know a lot of people who really enjoyed it but they are not technical climbers. (I get the sense that if you're a trekker, the last couple of pitches are a bit scarey and exciting. If you're a climber they are a steepish snow slog.) All those peaks will be crowded, though. You could look at Kyajo Ri (Cosley/Houston found a good route a few years ago and were kind enough to publish some beta on their website) which would be much less crowded.

The Khumbu region is beautiful though so I'm sure you'll have fun regardless.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info Sophia, much appreciate.

I have up to a month in Nepal to play with. The main reason for not choosing Ama Dablam is because, regardless of how technical I want to get leading up to next Sept/Oct, there is nothing out there for me to test my ability/skills at 6000m + (I go fine circa 4000m but.....). Hence the thought of something a little more straight-forward, but with a lot of snow/ice to contend with.

Oh, and I much prefer ice/snow to rock. Dont know why, but I just do, which is also why I haven't yet considered climbs such as the Matterhorn.

And yes, there is plenty of exposed routes in the Alps so that doesnt bother me too much.

Its a balancing act I suppose. If I take on something too tough I miss out, too easy and I miss out on testing myself. I'm just trying to find something that is just right.

AndrewSmyth wrote:Hence the thought of something a little more straight-forward, but with a lot of snow/ice to contend with.
....
Its a balancing act I suppose. If I take on something too tough I miss out, too easy and I miss out on testing myself. I'm just trying to find something that is just right.

Not sure I understand your quandary.

Sounds like you have a fair bit of time to spend, so, you should be able to get fairly acclimated prior to any climbing.

Your experience sounds fairly good. And, you have plenty of time to find similar objectives to further hone the skills.

Imja Tse (aka Island Peak) isn't that hard if you climb especially some WI III and are comfy on, say, 4 or so rope lengths of 50 degree ice/neve. Then you hit a knife edge ridge which is very exposed but, usually a flat, beatin' in trail, to the summit (which you walk ala tightrope-esque).

I climbed it as a party of two (me and a friend) and we hired a trail guide through an agency in KTM and the agency handled getting the climbing permit and trekking permits. Easy as pie.

We only carried our boots to save weight and space. Rented gear in Namche Bazaar. Spent enough time trekking on the way in and around that the altitude wasn't an issue for us on the route. Summitted from a base camp near the base of the peak, rather than a high camp, which worked just fine. Fairly straightforward route. Stunning views. Truley an "island" in the Khumbu.

Saw it being guided, with the guides mostly fixing ropes up the steep headwall section, which gains the summit ridge. Clients then just clipped in a jug and sort of seemed to self belay and climb up. We took a line to the climber's left which was more steep and exposed, but, avoided the folks in the lower angle gully. Had one tool and a short picket that I used for a second tool. Worked out just fine. Think we had a short piece of rope (100 feet) too, and, simul climbed up together.

So, what are you wondering? Are you only considering a guided climb? If so, then, I'd say go with the bigger objective.

-Brian in SLC

Consider Chola Shan in China. 6180m, heavily crevassed, a 70 deg, 40+ meter ice-wall leads to the summit ridge. should give you a bit more challenge than Island Peak. You can find trip report here.

Imja Tse / Island Peak is technical not an interesting or difficult mountain, but the view is great, direct beside the Lhotse Wall. Dont be afraid of the difficulty, the problem i had when i was there was a really short acclimatization time less than two weeks. But normally, there would be no problem if you are in good condition.
Also an advice from my side, you can rent gear in Kathmandu, also in Namche Bazar, or buy some gear for a cheap price.

tommi wrote:Imja Tse / Island Peak is technical not an interesting or difficult mountain, but the view is great, direct beside the Lhotse Wall. Dont be afraid of the difficulty, the problem i had when i was there was a really short acclimatization time less than two weeks. But normally, there would be no problem if you are in good condition.
Also an advice from my side, you can rent gear in Kathmandu, also in Namche Bazar, or buy some gear for a cheap price.

Thanks Tommi for your help. I will be there for 3-4 weeks so acclimatisation should be fine. May also get in another summit if I have the time. Also, I have all of the gear I need except boots good enough for 6000+meters (I understand my la Sportiva Nepal Extreme's are not specified for that altitude), and ascender, and the odd bit or bob. Anything I need I'll pick up out there.

Cheers

Yes, I think if you have this time you will not have any problems with that peak, take time while walking there and walk slowly, theres no need to hurry and the acclimatization will be good then.
But i dont think that you will need other boots, the Nepal Extreme are good for Island Peak, i dont think you need other boots.
When i have been there i had my Scarpa Cumbre with MHW Gaiters, only one of my group had Koflach plastic shoes, the others had normal Mountaineering boots, they should be good to fit with crampons but for that your La Sportiva are definately adequate enough.

AndrewSmyth wrote:I understand my la Sportiva Nepal Extreme's are not specified for that altitude

I think these should be OK for Island Peak, I wouldn't get anything else if I were you. I used Karrimor KSB boots when summiting. (But I also have to add that my climbing partner turned back half way, because his hands and feet were too cold (he was using Meindl something) (this was around 4 am).)

AndrewSmyth wrote:dont want to walk away from the 'trip of a lifetime' dissapointed that I could have done more.

Thoughts?

As others have suggested, try Ama Dablam after using Imja Tse as an acclimatisation peak. (Our Hungarian group will probably be doing this in autumn '08.)

SophiaClimbs wrote:All those peaks will be crowded, though.

If you summit Island Peak by sunrise (for example by leaving high camp around 2-3 am), you can hopefully avoid the crowds going up. However, there may be a bottleneck on the fixed lines going down.

tommi wrote:you can rent gear in Kathmandu, also in Namche Bazar

Or Lukla.

Thanks for all your advice lads and ladettes!

Well I am booked. I am doing Mera and island peak, via the Amphu Labtse pass (which is suggested to be fairly tough going) in oct '08.

And I have even started training already - nothing like paying a deposit to make one get ones finger out!!!!

Hopefully bump in to some of you in 11 months time hey???

AndrewSmyth wrote:Hopefully bump in to some of you in 11 months time hey???

See you and let us know if you have any questions about Mera/Amphu Blabsa/Imja Tse.

dmiki wrote:(he was using Meindl something)

Meindl Alpine Crack GTX