Mera Peak & Island Peak

Climb two iconic Himalayan mountains over 6000m, both of which are challenging and different in their own ways. We offer climbs of both peaks or a combined expedition that tackles both in one expedition.

The standard North route on Mera Peak is a high altitude technically straightforward ascent on glaciated ground with few objective dangers like crevasses. The main challenge is being well acclimatised and mountain fit, and this makes it a popular peak for climbers and adventurous trekkers. The summit has three peaks – North, South and Central – and the highest northern one at 6476 metres offers classic panoramic views of Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu as well as many other peaks in the Khumbu region. The route to the mountain is along the Hinku Valley and offers a steady rate of acclimatisation.

The North ridge of Island Peak involves a combination of scrambling, moving on a glacier and ice climbing, although the steeper sections of the route are now assisted with a fixed line and the crevasses have ladders spanning them. The peak is actually an extension of the ridge that comes off Lhotse Shar and even at 6189 metres (20,305 feet) it is dwarfed by the huge South-facing Lhotse Wall which is an overwhelming sight and blocks the top of Everest from view.

From Base Camp at around 5100m there is a scramble up to the top of a gully and the snowline after which crampons are put on for a section on glacier to the base of a steep headwall and finally an exposed ridge to the summit. During the season the route is normally fixed but the summit day is still demanding, in particular the abseil descent which is tiring at altitude and well into the day.