Trip Reports

Mera Peak - 20 Oct to 12 Nov '07

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, November 2007

On Sunday 4 November, eight team members with Mungo Ross and three Sherpas summited Mera Peak; Robin, John, Syam, Steve, Peter, Christian, Andrew and Nicola were blessed with glorious sunshine and perfect snow conditions with great views of the high peaks of the Everest region. This was the last Jagged Globe Mera trip of 2007, and concludes what seems to have been a very sucessful season in Nepal.

The twelve of us had met at London Heathrow on the 20 October, travelled out to Nepal together and enjoyed a dry, if cloudy trek from Lukla to the mountain via the east side of the Hinku Valley. This approach to Mera offers a truly wonderful walk through a spectacular and unpopulated rgion, providing essential and thorough acclimatistion prior to the climb. Beyond Tangnag, we found ourselves above the clouds that appear to have dominated the lower valleys this autumn. Unfortunately one of the team had difficulty acclimatising, developed symptoms of cerebral oedema, and had to be evacuated to Kathmandu by helecopter from Kare before, before having a chance to get to base camp. Being one of the fittest and strongest in the team, this yet again highlights the random nature of adapting to altitude.

Another member started to present symptoms of AMS at high camp and as his condition appeared to be deteriorating, we decided to play safe and he descended to Kare, abandoning his summit bid. One more member decided after an hour or so on summit day to turn around, so this left a team of eight on four ropes to make the final ascent. The chorus of quotes like "the hardest thing I have ever done", "worth the effort - what a view", "much harder than I expected", "amazing experience", were tempered by the perfect conditions and that it wasn't even all that cold.

So another group have gone home fom Nepal with personal altitude records, the satisfaction of a summit reached, experience of mountaineering in the Greater Ranges, and above all, sharing time together in a very different environment to what they are used to at home. Yet again it has been the preparedness for a group of strangers to get on together, supported faultlessly by our team of porters, cooks and Sherpas that has sent us on our separate ways with memories of a great three weeks in the mountains.

Mungo Ross, Expedition Leader « Previous report | Next report »

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