Going to trek/climb Island Peak in October--anyone out there been up it?
I'm going w/ Alpine Ascents so it'll be guided--any do's dont's on altitude headaches/water/food/gear would be appreciated!

sugarbear wrote:Going to trek/climb Island Peak in October--anyone out there been up it?
I'm going w/ Alpine Ascents so it'll be guided--any do's dont's on altitude headaches/water/food/gear would be appreciated!

My Guess is you'll do it with my friend Winslow. She's awesome, and has done it for several years now. And her and the Nepali guys will treat you well, and will give you the answers to what youre asking here. Meantime, i'd say that learning some Nepali, doing the stairmaster, and drinking lots of water would help (and would impress both Winslow and the Nepali guys).


Have fun. I'm Jealous.

Here's winslow's profile pic. she also has a bio too.

http://www.alpineascents.com/images/guides/winslow.html

I did it last October combined with a few others. Its technically straight forward but lung sapping none the less.

On the trek in (or out) try and convince the team to take alternate trails. There is one on the other side of the river between dengboche and tengboche which was so quiet and peaceful. Gets you away from the EBC trekking crowds

Take your time getting to base camp - dont rush.

Try and convince the team to camp about 200m round the corner from base camp (towards where the route starts up the mountain) - its quieter and less smelly.

Go straight from base to the summit and back in the day. No need to camp up the hill like some do.

Enjoy it - its fantastic scenery from the top!

basecamp. Are you joining a group under the supervision of someone who can escort you roped across the glacier and give you some guidelines on ascending fixed ropes , securing yourself and descending by abseil?

radson wrote:basecamp. Are you joining a group under the supervision of someone who can escort you roped across the glacier and give you some guidelines on ascending fixed ropes , securing yourself and descending by abseil?

Radson, last October there was no real need to rope up before getting to the fixed ropes on the headwall - well according to our leader anyway. It was the same for Mera. I was a little reluctant based on my European experiences of always roping up on Glaciers, but bowed to his greater knowledge and experience of the Himalaya (and yes, he was a westerner).

Aparrently April/May is a different story though?!?

I am no expert, but I am of the opinion that it's always good practice to rope up on glaciers unless it would slow you down under a serac fall or some other mitigating circumstance.

I have roped up both times I have climbed Island Peak...but that's just me.

I tend to agree with you Radson, but changing a teams tactics to suit my goals and trying to convince someone who has climbed Island dozens of times as well as a few other mighty mountains round the world isnt an easy task.

As I mentioned, it was the same on Mera and the day I summited there were probably 4-5 other teams on the mountain, only 1 of which were roped up.

No wrongs or right, and I do agree with you, but it is interesting to see how different people assess risk.

AndrewSmyth wrote:I tend to agree with you Radson, but changing a teams tactics to suit my goals and trying to convince someone who has climbed Island dozens of times as well as a few other mighty mountains round the world isnt an easy task.

As I mentioned, it was the same on Mera and the day I summited there were probably 4-5 other teams on the mountain, only 1 of which were roped up.

No wrongs or right, and I do agree with you, but it is interesting to see how different people assess risk.

Totally agree with you Andrew.