Trip report for Mera Peak (Nepal) led by Chris Horobin November 2013

Trip report for Mera Peak (Nepal) led by Chris Horobin November 2013




Photo: Mera Peak summit in November 2013As discussed in our Trip Report for Kanchenjunga to Makalu GHT trek I led in October, the weather was very unstable in Nepal in early
Autumn with a lot of precipitation and snow at higher altitudes. Luckily by the
time our Mera Peak group arrived to Nepal in November, the weather had settled with high
pressure system over the Himalaya resulting in sunny days as one would normally
expect at this time of year. However this group had the added challenge of large amounts of snow and very low temperatures throughout the trip.
For our November 2013
expedition to Mera Peak, we had a full group of fourteen people and as usual this was an international
mix with people coming from UK, Australia, Canada, USA and Italy. The leader
Chris Horobin had been to Mera Peak on three previous expeditions and therefore
is very familiar with the route on this mountain. This is the second time Chris
has worked for The Mountain Company; in August 2012 he led a successful trek to K2 BaseCamp Gondogoro La in Pakistan. Our sirdar for this expedition was
Domi Sherpa who had been with me on our 2012 Mera Peak Expedition. Our
regular cook, Saila Tamang, was in charge of the kitchen and his team would no
doubt provide a range of tasty meals to
the group throughout the expedition.After the flight to Lukla airport on November 4th, the group
started their trek into Mera Peak Base Camp following the longer trail rather
than taking the short cut option over the Zatra La pass (4,700m). We have never
organised this expedition by going over Zatra La direct from Lukla as this is
simply too risky in terms of lack of acclimatisation. Also when approached from
Lukla side this pass is quite steep and holds its snow ice for longer due
to its northerly aspect, therefore in practice many groups are unable to cross
the Zatra La as planned.

Instead for The Mountain Companys Mera Peak itinerary we take ten days to walk to Base Camp
following the long trail through Pangom village and past Panch Pokhari holy
lakes. Not only is this a beautiful walk through a less travelled region of
Nepal, butalso involves long days with
significant ascent and descent. This trek into Base Camp will improve everyones fitness level before
arriving to Mera Peak (as well as of course helping the acclimatisation
process) and thereby increasing their chances of summit success.On arriving to the camp at Tagnag (4,400m) there was still snow on the slopes only 200m above the village. This was leftover from the heavy snowfalls experienced in October. In the past I have led six expeditions to Mera Peak and have never
seen snow this low in altitude as the snowline is usually near the glacier on
the way to Mera La. Throughout this trip I gather it was very cold with much lower temperatures than normal at this time of year.

Our Mera Peak itinerary has two nights at
Tagnag to help the acclimatisation process and on the extra day Chris organised
a training day to show the group how to use fixed ropes. At Mera Peak Base Camp (Khare) Chris and Domi held another training day, this time for winter skills to show the group how to use crampons and
ice axes practicing on the snow slopes nearby. This training is essential for people who have
joined this expedition with no prior mountaineering experience and also a good
refresher for those who already have learnt these technical skills from past expeditions.On November 15th the group headed up to Mera La (5,300m) and
due to the low snowline this was far more challenging than usual, especially walking along the ridge to access the glacier. Once onto the glacier
it is a flat walk around to Mera La before descending to the camp on east side
of this pass. On the next day the group continued up the glacier to High Camp
(5,800m). This section of the mountain is exposed to the wind and I gather was
a very cold day for everyone. The view from High Camp is superb as one
can see Makalu and Kanchenjunga to the east, Everest and Lhotse to the north and Cho Oyu to the north west. The mountain vista from High Camp and above is no doubt one of the most impressive viewpoints in
the Himalaya.The summit day on Mera Peak starts early and this year the group
left High Camp at 2am. It is always a cold few hours as everyone is walking in the
dark and by the far the best way of staying warm is to keep moving. The roped groups made good progress and summited Mera Peak between
9am and 10am. I gather it was a clear and sunny day although very cold with strong wind. After enjoying the views from the top it is a quick descent to
High Camp for hot juice and noodle soup before continuing down to Base Camp.
This year the group arrived down at Khare between 3pm and 4pm after a long but
incredibly satisfying day. Well done and congratulations to the summitters!It takes a further three days to walk out from Base Camp to
Lukla for the flight back to Kathmandu. On the third day one crosses Zatra La
pass and as mentioned the descent on Lukla side is steep and can be icey. Our
Sherpa crew went ahead that morning to fix some rope to safeguard the descent
for the group and porters. In summary, this year there is no doubt that the conditions were very tough on
Mera Peak with a low snowline making the trail up and down to Mera La
far more challenging than normal. The temperatures were cold throughout the expedition and in particular when accounting for the wind chill factor on the mountain. Therefore
it is essential that you bring clothes and equipment that can cope with these low temperatures. I heard from Chris that the estimated wind chill factor on summit day was down to -35 Degrees Celsius.

Mera Peak is not a technical climbing expedition however it is a tough objective for anyone. Right from the start there are long walking days with significant ascent and descent. Once
onto the mountain you are walking at high altitude where any physically exertion
is always really hard work. For many people who have already completed the classic circuit treks in Nepal there is no doubt that Mera Peak is significantly more difficult. For that reason we have given Mera Peak our highest trip grade of "Challenging/ Mountaineering": to view all of our grading definitions.
We have received some great feedback from the group and have
copied two of the testimonials below:“Absolutely awesome trip! No complaints whatsoever. Great
group! Chris was a fantastic leader and I would go on another trip with him in
a heartbeat. Very experienced leader with a fantastic attitude. Domi Sherpa was
extremely competent. Our safety and comfort was always his top priority. One of
the nicest persons I have ever met! The kitchen crew did a fantastic job of
keeping us very well fed and the food was great. All the other support staff
were very friendly and fulfilled their duties to a very high standard. Thanks
for organising a great trip!” Patrick“This was a fantastic trip and experience which I will
neverforget and has inspired me to get in to climbing in the nearfuture.
Chris was an excellent leader who is highly experienced and has a great
attitudewho was firm but very fair when it was needed. I would nothesitate
to use him again for a similar or more technical trek /climb.” AnthonyI would like to thank Chris and Domi who did a good job leading this group and of course the rest of our amazing Nepali trek crew. I would also like to thank Choire, Chris's son, who helped out during the mountaineering training days as well as volunteering to escort one of the group back down early on summit day, sacrificing his own summit in the process.For a more detailed description of this Mera Peak Expedition please
take a look at Chris Horobins blogThe Mountain Company is planning to organise Mera Peak Expedition in April and November 2014, please get in touch soon if you would
like to join one of these groups.Roland Hunterwww.themountaincompany.co.uk