Mera Peak 2012

-  the adventure begins

 




Over the past year Frank and I had been preparing ourselves to climb our first mountain in Nepal.  After many years of treks we had decided to attempt to climb Mera peak in the Khumbu massif.

Unfortunately the weather was not in our favour and after the cancellation of all flights to Lukla for two days we decided not to waste any more time waiting.  We contacted our trekking agent and in two hours we managed to arrange a jeep and two porters and left for Jiri that afternoon.  We arrived in Jiri at 8.30pm, had dinner, sorted our bags for the following day and crashed as we had an early start to following morning.

Lamjura Pass

Prior to the flight cancellations, our plans had been to fly to Lukla, spend six days acclimatizing by walking up to Namche Bazar and on to Kundi and then return to Lukla to meet the crew and begin our walk to Mera.  By losing two days in Kathmandu waiting for a flight and having to walk in from Jiri, it was a daunting task.  Usually the walk from Jiri to Lukla is 6 days but we had to do it in 4½ days as we planned to meet the staff and then walk three hours out of Lukla for the first night. 




The next day we were up early, breakfasted and left Jiri at 7am.  To give us the best chance of making Lukla on the scheduled day we had brought Chartra and Pemba from Ktm to carry our gear.  We had all our climbing gear with us, plastic boots, harness, ice axes etc. as well as all our warm gear, goggles, down jackets and waterproof trousers.  We couldn’t possibly have walked 12 hours each day to Lukla carrying this gear.  Chartra and Pemba were great, young and full of energy.


Junbesi

The morning was fresh, it  was a pleasant walk and by 10.30 we were at Shivalaya, and after 2 check posts we ate  a good dal bhat and then started the long walk up to Deorali.  By now it was close to noon and the sun was blazing down so it was a hot and tiring walk especially as the trail was very uneven and difficult. 

Eventually at 3.30pm we arrived at Deorali where we had a cool Sprite and biscuits to energise ourselves.  Then it was a ‘hard’ walk down to old Banda where we found a nice quite lodge.  A refreshing bath with the water jug, clean clothes and a strong cup of tea soon had us feeling a bit better. 

To get over the pass and down to Junbesi , our intended stop that day we had to reach the village of Kenja at the base of our walk at Lamjura by 8.30am.  Unfortunately it was harder than we expected and arrived about an hour later than we expected.  We then realised that we would not be able to reach Junbesi and so aimed for Goyan, the last village just before the pass. 

Luckily the weather clouded in and so we were not walking in the sun like the day before.  As this was a longer climb than Deorali we appreciated the cloudy day.  That and a cool wind made it easier to walk however it took us till 5 pm to arrive at Dukla, just below Goyan. We stopped there rather than be caught in the dark trying to find Goyan. 

After a 12 hour sleep we started early as we knew we had a long day ahead.  While we walked up towards Lamjura pass we saw 5 planes and 2 helicopters on the way to Lukla.  What a shame as wecould have been on one of them but we weren’t to know when the weather would be clear for flights.  There were many more lodges on the way to the pass plus one directly on the pass.  No snow this time like our first but a rocky walk down to the bottom where we stopped for lunch.    We discussed our final stop for the day and realized that we had a long afternoon ahead.  First to Junbesi, out and up to a high trail in the next valley and then a long walk to Ringmu which we arrived at 5pm with another 1.5 hours to our intended stop at Taksindu.  The last hour of our walk we finished with head torches till we arrived at a good lodge for the nightjust before our 2 porters.


We aimed to reach Bupsa and had worked out with Chatra and Pemba that if we reached this village we would only have a 5 hour walk the next day to Lukla. The trail down to the Dudh Khosi had been trampled by many donkey trains.  Unfortunately these had been allowed to use the trail up to Namche and they had destroyed the old trail.  Also we were constantly stopping to let them pass and at one point a donkey bounded into Frank and broke his walking stick.  Thankfully he was not hurt and was able to purchase a new pole in Lukla.  Along the way we passed a number of porters carrying large loads of timber for new houses further up the trail.  At Bupsa we found a good lodge with large comfortable rooms, a hot shower and a spacious dining room. 




The view from Lukla

The next morning was clear and sunny with our first major trek up of 4 hours mainly in the shade.  However the donkey trains were everywhere and after the night before rain they had made the trail into a quagmire.  After that 4 hour climb we found out it was still another 2-3 hours to Lukla.  We contacted Mingmar at Lukla rearranging our first camp to be only 2 hours walk out of Lukla.  So then the race was on, and after a few boiled potatoes and a cup of tea we quickly moved to Surke and then the hour climb to Lukla arriving there at 1.30.  At Lukla we said goodbye to Chartra and Pemba who had carried our bags up over very long days.  The rest of the crew had gone on so Mingmar walked with us to our camp spot at Tupting.

Kharka Teng

The trail from Tupting to Kharka Teng , our first day of the walk in to Mera, was difficult as it is not a main trail and only used by those going to Mera. On the way we had fantastic views back down at Lukla and the thick jungle we had walked through.  This day was a short walk which suited us due to the many long days we had completed beforehand.  So we were able to enjoy a restful afternoon, a quick supper at 6pm and then an early night.

Chatrabuk

Although the next day was going to be comparatively short it was going to be hard,  going over a 5,000mt pass.    The weather looked threatening when we awoke with a lot of high cloud.  An hour into the climb thunder soon brought in light snow and cold swirling winds.  Unfortunately the cloud meant no views of the countryside on the other side of the pass and the mountains in that area.    Eventually 4 hours from the start we crossed Zatra La at nearly 5000mt and stopped at a small bhati for a hot cup of tea.


Arun Valley





From here we descended to a small settlement of Chatrabuk which had one lodge and the rest of the buildings were stone rooms that the different kitchen staff used to prepare meals.  Near the stone rooms were grassy areas where the climbers tents were pitched.  We had our meal in the dining hall of this lodge along with groups of Russians, Poles, English and Spanish.  Over 50 people all on the same agenda and timetable for Mera.

It was a cold morning but at least no rain.  So after a quick breakfast we left before all the big groups, walking through autumn coloured low bush until we went over another pass and gazed down on the Arun Valley and the start of the Makalu Conservation Park.  The descent to the river below was over a rocky shaly trail so we were pleased it was not raining which would have made it very slippery. 



Damage from the burst glacial lake

Eventually we came to the banks of the Inkhu river and gazed at the huge walls that were cut out when the glacial dam burst 15 years ago.  The walls from the raging stream to the sections that was not touched would have been 50 metres high in some places.  An hours walk later saw us in a pleasant village of Khote where there was a number of lodges and camping grounds.  This was a very nice village in a good location.  During the night we sat in the dining room where they had a pot bellied stove which heated the room and dried some of our clothes.

Next day was fairly easy walking up beside the Inkhu river coming down from the Mera glacier. At the start we were walking over small boulders left by the burst dam but by mid morning we were traversing grassy meadows with small trees as we were well above the water line. This must have been how it looked before the dam burst. 






Mingma pointed out a small monastery further up the valley which served the whole area. I had brought some prayer flags for our summit attempt and asked if they could they be blessed by the resident lama.  

The isolated gompa nestled under a huge boulder

The gompa was a small building perched high amongst the cliffs.  Part of the room was a large overhanging boulder.  Inside the monk was chanting for some climbers and when they were finished he started on a small puja for our prayer flags and the success of our climb.  From here it was only a short walk to Tangnag where we had scheduled in a rest day.



Tangnag

Tangnag was a small collection of buildings most for the cooking staff and grassy areas for tents similar to Chatrabuk.    All the villages up to Mera are only used for the short climbing periods of Sept/Oct and March/April. Then all the people in the area return to Lukla where most have another lodge.


The burst glacial lake

Start of the Mera snowline

Our so called ‘rest day’ was spent with us getting better acclimatized.  Behind Tangnag there is some small hills of around 800 – 1000mt and it was one of these we went up.  This was a fairly easy track which zigzagged up the hill and not carrying a pack made it so much easier.  Soon we were able to see Khare, our destination for the next day and the beginning of the Mera icefall that we would have to negotiate in the climb. 
After 3 hours we reached the highest point we could and were able to look down in Khare and the icefall so we figured we had climbed to over 5,200 metres.  After resting there 30 minutes we retraced our steps and were back in camp in an hour. The remainder of the day we spent resting and eating preparing for our climb.

Mingmar and Frank below Mera Peak

Mera Massif

In the morning just before we left Tangnag for Khare a helicopter flew in landed at Tangnag to drop off a man and several bottles of either kerosene or AV gas.  It then took off for Khare where after a short while it returned with passengers.  Back at Tangnag they piled the bottles back in and away it went down the valley. 


Along the way we walked along the barren shores of the glacial lake that burst many years ago.  By the time we reached Khare we were walking with many other trekkers and in Khare there must have been over 30 tents.    Not long after we arrived the weather changed, low cloud came rolling in and soon after it started to snow lightly.  The temperature dropped and that night was our coldest with water in our tent freezing up.

Sometime during the night the weather cleared and we awoke to a clear day. This was good as we planned a rest day here as well where we would trek up to the start of the snowline to practice crampon and jumar skills.  We walked up the trail towards the snowline and at a good place Mingma anchored a rope off 2 points and we then changed our walking boots to the climbing “plastic” boots we hired in Kathmandu. We then spent an hour descending down the rope and then ascending using the jumar.  

Start of the Mera ice fall

It was good practice if we came across an area we may need these techniques.  Also it gave us time walking in the crampons as they take a little getting used to and we would be walking in them from the next day once we hit the snow.  After this we walked back down the rock scree to our camp for a late lunch.  During the afternoon Frank and I sorted out only what we would take up to the mountain leaving the rest of our gear at Khare.









At last our big day arrived where we would start the actual climb of Mera Peak.It was a strenuous but not long walk ascending from Khare to Mera La.    As we walked up there was a stream of people both in front and behind going up to Mera plus all their staff.  Soon after we passed our training area from the day before we began the ascent towards the snow line.  This was an icy and unstable rock section. 

Walking up to Mera La

During our climb through this a large ‘bowling ball’ sized stone came crashing down.  We were able to jump out of the way but it still just clipped the heel of Mingma’s plastic boots.  If he had normal boots he would have been seriously hurt but fortunately the rigid boots took all the shock.  Still it shook him up so we hastened through this area and onto the snow section away from the rock fall. 


Dangerous crevasses

The snow was well packed down by many other groups so instead of losing time putting on our plastic boots we carried on in our hiking boots.  Soon afterwards we were enveloped in low cloud so it was difficult to see any views.

Mera La

Eventually we arrived at Mera La, a bowl like section extremely rocky but devoid of snow.  Here we scrambled down to our mess tent amongst all the others.



One of the porters had signs of altitude sickness so he was sent back down to Khare.  The rest of our day was sent drinking lots of fluids.  All of this was
done in our sleeping tent as the kitchen tent was very small, reeked of kerosene and every spare space not occupied with food or cutlery equipment was taken by the remaining staff.  Later they would create a space and sleep there as well.
 

Mera peaks in the background

Mera La was a cold place but at least early in the morning the sun shone on it.  This warmed the tents and melted the evening snow. As it was not far to high camp and not good to stay too long at altitude we only set off at 9am.


This was our first long walk in our plastic boots and crampons.  They didn’t take long to get used to but were heavy.  The weather pattern of nice sunny morning continued so on our walk up to high camp we had some spectacular views of the mountain on both sides of Mera and up towards Everest. 

 



Ice flues



 






Due to its position at the end of the Khumbu massif it is credited with being in a position to have some of the most stunning views of mountains.







High camp - on the edge

High camp is whatever space you can get around this big rock that tapers off to a drop down to ceracs hundreds of feet below. Our tent and the kitchen tent were at the end of the rock space before the drop off.  Our toilet facilities were just out the door from where we had outstanding views of Mera and the area we would be walking in on the following day. 
 










On our way up we met people coming  down who had summited that morning. The first time this season, so our hopes were up. They would have found a trail through the crevases plus being a large group  packed down the soft snow to make it easier to slog up. 

On the day before we had plenty to drink to hydrate which is necessary to combat altitude sickness.  There was no water at high camp so the staff had to collect ice (not snow) to melt, which was a long process. However we were still able to have noodles and soup before we had an early sleep to be ready for a 2am start the next day.

Even though we were mentally geared up for the climb we still had a good 7 hrs sleep before we were awoken.  We quickly dressed in layers of warm clothes, 2 pair of socks, gloves, beanies, climbing harness and plastic boots and crampons.














The night before we had taken the inner section of the plastic boots out and slept with them in the sleeping bag to ensure they didn't freeze during the night. 











Looking up to Mera North

We also had water bottles, camera, spare batteries and torches in the bag so not much room for ourselves. Our hardest start was climbing over the icy rocks near our tent to get to the snowline where we put on our boots and crampons and then roped up together with Mingma.  Our backpacks were empty except for spare gloves, torches, water and food for later as it would be a long day.









The ascent was not technical, just a long plod up through  the snow from 5700 mtrs to close on 6450 mtrs. The plan was to stop for only very short breaks to ensure we got to one of the 3 summits early as we still had a long walk back to Khare when we finished. We walked by head torch and in the dark we could see other torches plodding up ahead and behind us. We walked in the footsteps of the team who came up the day before and the ones ahead of us.  This made the walking easier than having to walk through the thick snow making our own track. 



The main crevasse we had to cross

After 2 hours we came to the main crevase which ran almost the whole length of the section of mountain we were ascending. 

The crevase was just under a meter wide so Mingma jumped it and made himself safe. We then each jumped it but if we had missed or the crevase gave way Mingma had us secure to pull us out .

We made reasonable time from there stopping only occasionally as we got out of breath. However at a certain point of the climb Mingma advised we had to make a decision between the low, or middle or high summit.  As the middle summit was only 25 meter higher and we were starting to find it difficult we decided to opt for the low summit.  From there we could carry on to the higher summit if we felt good enough to continue.











Dawn broke as we were nearing the top and the views of the orange speckled mountains around us was spectacular.  An hour later we reached the summit to be greeted by an icy wind that howled along the exposed ridge. 
















Mingma unraveled our prayer flags and we took a number of photos before dropping back down the way we had come to get out of the wind and take more photos of the great views.




Mt Everest with its snow plume

 

Makalu

Apart from the mountains close by we were able to view back up the khumbu massif all the way to Everest.  On the other side we could see Makalu and further across was Kanjenchunga. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually we started down, stopping once for food before we carried on to our tents at high camp arriving about 7 hours after we began. Here we sat and drank cup after cup of juice to rehydrate before we started the long walk down to Khare. 

 

At the rockfall at the end of the snowline we removed our crampons and for the next hour gingerly negotiated this area of loose rock and scree.  At last we rejoined an easier trail which led us to Khare and our tent. Here we consumed more liquids before getting out of our climbing gear and into our sleeping bags for a long enjoyable sleep.

The day after we summited we walked away from Mera. By lunch it was around the corner and out of sight.  So as we walked we lingered to view where we had been and take in what we had done. 

We had not been lucky with our start having to walk in from Jiri however in the end our luck and determination won through.  People who had gone past us on the way up had returned without summiting and the night after we summited it snowed heavily again which reduced the chances of those behind us.  We stuck to our planned attempt and in the end were successful. 

 

 

 

 

Over a year of planning and organizing ended with us summiting a mountain on our first and last attempt. Four days later after walking the route we used to come in we were on a flight out of Lukla and within an hour back in Kathmandu. What a fantastic trip.

Photos taken by Ross and Frank