Trip Reports

Mera Peak 17th Oct to 9th Nov '14

Written by Leader Tamsin Gay, November 2014

17th October to 9th November 2014

Team: Gary, Paul, Carl, Raghav, Simon, Kev, Peter, Adrian, David, Malcolm, Russell and Tamsin

At Heathrow our team, a Island/ Mera Peak team plus an Annapurna Sanctuary trip merged generating mountains of red Jagged Globe luggage and heightening excitement levels. Our flight from Delhi to Kathmandu was delayed and we were stalled by a long queue in Kathmandu visa hall. As a consequence we had a hurried turn around at the Summit Hotel, arriving jet-lagged at 7pm and leaving at the 4.30am the following morning. The lack of sleep was offset by the adrenaline inducing flight in a Twin Otter from Kathmandu to Lukla.

In Lukla, 2800m we met Tenzing, our Sirdar, and our 18-strong team of porters. Over the next week we circuitously made our way toward the Hingku Valley and the Mera foothills. This approach allowed us to acclimatise properly and also to enjoy the sense of a journey as our surroundings changed from oxygen rich jungle and views of terraced farmscapes to dry, rocky shrubbery and open spaces with dramatic mountain scenes. During this first week the weather was hot enough for vests and shorts even during the heavy 2 hour soaking we received on our ascent to Nashing Dingma, 2700m. This rainfall brought a little snow above 4000m but it wasn't until we reached 5000m that we were walking in snow. Our trip had started under the cloud of the recent tragedy in the Annapurna region caused by sudden, exceptionally heavy snowfall. There was sympathy within our group over the resulting loss of life but also understandably anxiety about what it meant for our trip. It turned out that the bad weather hadn't extended as far South as the Mera region and while there had been some snowfall it was minimal and the snowline hadn't dropped below 4,500m.

As a group we mastered a spectacularly non-competitive plod of 1.1miles an hour (according to Peterís gps) that helped to keep acclimatisation problems at bay and afforded plenty of photo opportunities. Most days saw us on the move for 6-8 hours a day during this first week. Our experience in the visa hall had been a useful early lesson in slow-moving Nepali time where patience is the only approach that will see things completed. In contrast we had to get used to a strict regime of 6am breakfast teas and early starts imposed by our Sherpa team. This might sound shockingly early but it was countered by early nights where we often found ourselves spinning out time to make it to the grown-up bed time of 8pm.

On day 6 we arrived at Khote, 3585m in the Hingku valley, this was celebrated in several ways: The views broke open to reward us with stunning mountain vistas and the first real feeling of having arrived in the Himalayas. Our arrival also coincided with Diwali, a Hindu festival. When I asked one of our Sherpas, he explained that Diwali was their ëspecial asking for moneyí festival.í Indeed we were encouraged to exchange rupees for dancing and singing performances which became interactive as the evening wore on and Jagged Globe proved that white men really canít dance! Finally and possibly of less importance to the rest of us Simon was released from his Imodium bond. Earlier in the week Simon had got his ëIísí muddled up and hadn't taken Ibuprofen for his knee pain!

Simon wasn't the only one to lighten his load in Khote. We knew that we would be returning via Khote after our summit attempt so most people decided to ease the load on the porters by leaving behind things they now knew they wouldn't need over the next 10 days, such as beach towels! I'm not sure itís ever possible to feel comfortable with the loads that the porters carry but it is possible to reduce your personal impact by limiting your baggage to the bare essentials. I also find that porters really appreciate the offer of food and water on the trail particularly on harder days when they perhaps aren't carrying handy snacks as we might do.

After Khote we spent two days in Tangnag, 4350m where most of us permanently donned our base layers for the next 10 days. We ascended to 5050m on our day off and got our first taste of sustained plodding in the snow and mist. On our second day in Tangnag Raghav concluded that he couldn't continue with us due to an ankle sprain so we carried on without him although his spirit lived on for quite a while in the form of the Toblerone and medical supplies he gifted us.

Our next stop was Khare, 5045m where we took an extra day to practice ascending fixed ropes and to add in another acclimatisation jaunt ascending to 5245m. At this point Carl decided that he wasn't acclimatising particularly well and chose to descend so it was a team of 8 that set off for base camp, 5315m the next day.

Although we had sunshine early on in the trip, the weather had been unstable with heavy cloud forming in the afternoons and as we climbed higher we could see plumes of snow spinning from the summit suggesting strong winds and threatening our chances of success. We kept forging on in the hope that we would get a weather window that would allow us to snatch the summit. The cold too became difficult to cope with and as we arrived at high camp, 5800m everyone was focussed on simply functioning. We agreed that putting your boots on was possibly the most challenging task at this height although exiting your sleeping bag at 2am was pretty foreboding. As we went to sleep (or lay down attempting to sleep) the wind was strong and I really doubted whether we would be able to leave high camp at all the next morning. Amazingly however, when we got up it was ominously calm and not actually that cold, possible anyway to remove our mitts momentarily to grapple with shoe laces and crampon straps. As we ascended it did get colder and windier but never quite enough to turn us around. Happily all 8 members triumphed over the gruelling climb to summit in sunshine and revel in the crisp views of 5 of the Worldís highest peaks. Well done everyone, it wasn't a dead cert by any means as you know!

It is a mistake to think that the difficulties are over having summited Mera. We returned to Lukla over 4 days retracing our route to Khote and then heading steeply up to cross the Zawtra La, 4600m before descending in snow to Chutang, 3600m and then Lukla. It was the ascent to the Zawtra La that presented the most challenging day of our return trip and a debate over whether it was harder than summit day.

Our return to Lukla saw us head straight for ëStarbucksí and an overindulgence in wifi, chocolate and beer. This excess was followed by further excess in the shape of rum punch shared with our Sherpa and porter team. The next day we were all suspicious about what was in the rum punch. Was it the voltarol and rum combination Simon wondered or was it the sudden increase in oxygen? Whatever it was we all participated, more vigorously than I would have though possible after the rigours of the trip, in a night of exuberant dance and drink.

We returned to Kathmandu two days earlier than expected as we hadn't needed to use our contingency days and so had three full days to take in the sights and shop for souvenirs although most importantly to relax and get clean.

Congratulations to everyone on summiting and Dhanyabhad to Tenzing and all the Sherpas and Porters. « Previous report | Next report »

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