Everest Base Camp and Island Peak Expedition

Our representative meets our team at Tribhuvan International Airport and transfers us to our hotel in Kathmandu. We use the remainder of the day to rest and settle into our rooms.

We spend today conducting final gear checks, sorting climbing equipment, and attending a comprehensive briefing with our lead guide regarding the trek and climb. We leave any unnecessary luggage at the hotel storage.

We catch an early morning flight from Kathmandu to Lukla's short mountain airstrip. After meeting our porters, we begin our descent along the Dudh Koshi River toward Phakding at 2,860 m.

Our trail crosses suspension bridges over the Dudh Koshi River and climbs steadily through pine forests into Sagarmatha National Park. We complete the steep final ascent to reach the trading hub of Namche Bazaar at 3,440 m.

We hike up to the Everest View Hotel at 3,880 m and surrounding ridges to assist with altitude adaptation. We return to Namche Bazaar in the afternoon to explore the local markets and Sherpa culture museum.

We traverse an undulating trail high above the river before descending to Phungki Thanka. A long, steady climb through pine and rhododendron woods brings us to Tengboche at 3,860 m and its prominent monastery.

We drop through birch forests, cross the Imja Khola, and pass through Pangboche village. The valley opens up as we climb past stone-walled barley fields into Dingboche at 4,410 m.

We spend our second acclimatisation day climbing the slopes of Nangkartshang Hill to an elevation of 5,100 m. We enjoy views of Makalu and Ama Dablam before descending back to Dingboche for the night.

We walk along the wide moraine valley to Dughla, pausing at the memorial shrines dedicated to climbers. We then tackle the steep terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier before reaching Lobuche at 4,910 m.

We follow the rocky trail alongside the Khumbu Glacier to Gorakshep, then continue onward to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 m. After observing the tents and icefall, we retrace our steps to Gorakshep for our overnight stay.

We make a pre-dawn ascent of Kala Patthar at 5,643 m to watch the sunrise over Everest and Nuptse. Following breakfast in Gorakshep, we pack our gear and descend past Lobuche down to Dingboche.

We take a relatively short walking day up the Imja Khola valley beneath the towering south face of Lhotse and Ama Dablam. We arrive in Chhukung at 4,730 m by midday to rest and prepare our climbing equipment.

Our route navigates a steep trail through the Lhotse glacier moraine and across the valley floor to the base of Imja Tse. We pitch our tents at Island Peak Base Camp around 5,087 m.

Our climbing guides conduct a mandatory training session on snow and ice techniques. We practice using crampons, walking with an ice axe, and handling ascending and descending gear on fixed ropes.

We begin our summit push well before midnight, climbing up rocky gullies and a steep snow slope to reach the exposed ridge. We cross the crevassed ice cap to the summit of Island Peak at 6,189 m before descending all the way back down to Chhukung.

We reserve this day as a weather buffer for our Island Peak climb in case high winds or heavy snowfall prevent an attempt on Day 15. If the summit was achieved on schedule, we use this day to progress our return trek.

We retrace our steps down the Imja valley, passing through Pangboche and crossing the river to climb back up to Tengboche.

We descend rapidly through the pine forests to Phungki Thanka, cross the Dudh Koshi, and follow the undulating trail back into Namche Bazaar.

Our final trekking day takes us down the steep stone steps out of Namche Bazaar, across multiple suspension bridges, and along the valley floor to Lukla.

We catch our morning flight from Lukla back to Kathmandu and transfer to our hotel. We spend the afternoon relaxing or celebrating our successful expedition with our team.