The Attractions
Few teams have ever climbed the peak, so this is truly a special experience. This is not, however, a techncial climbing peak, but rather a 'trekking' peak. The principal difficulty will still be adjusting to the altitude and hauling yourself up to 6328m!
By the look of the terrain, it will be one axe, glacier travel mode for the most part with at the most a couple of sections of fixed line requiring the use of a jumar.
We will have with us a highly experienced sherpa team to assist with fixed lines, camps and general mountain guiding. High altitude porters will also assist with setting up the high camp. Everyone will need to carry their own day pack with warm jacket, water, camera and some food with them on the mountain and trek at all times. Due to the altitude this will be a tough climb and require a HIGH level of aerobic fitness. The Sherpa team will be employed to get safety equipment in place, such as fixed lines, medical kits, emergency oxygen supplies, setup camps, assist with food and hot drinks. But, alas, they will not carry you to the top - you will have to do that yourself!
Kathmandu
On arrival in Kathmandu, our staff will meet you at the airport and take you to our hotel. We will have our mid-afternoon trip briefing at the hotel which is also a chance to meet your trekking crew. Your leader will explain where things are in Kathmandu, and what will happen in the next couple of days. He and the guides will also check through your gear to ensure the smooth running of the trek and climb. We can also sort out rental gear or included loan equipment from our store in Kathmandu.
Mustang village above Kagabeni
Into the hills - getting to base camp
Leaving Kathmandu we will drive to Jagat. This is the start point for
the trek, where we will meet the rest of our Sherpas and begin our trek
immediately. Our trek crew will prepare the loads and organise with the
porters for all the equipment to go to base camp (BC).
We will be trekking during the first two weeks through the ancient
Kingdom of Mustang, a throw back in time to Tibet pre-invasion, with
the border only a few days walk away this region is dominated by people
of Tibetan origins. The landscape is similar to Tibet in the north as
the area is much higher, drier and dustier than the rest of Nepal. We
should see some great examples of Tibetan buddhist monastaries, people
and culture. This is also a restricted area for trekking which requires
a special (expensive) trekking permit. Which does at least mean we are
likely to be on our own! When China invaded Tibet in the 1950’s the
semi-independant state of Mustang asked to join Nepal and was thus
sheltered from the annexation of the rest of Tibet to China. This
section should be culturally very instersting and a great time to use
the camera.
As we make our way slowly upwards we pause at a couple of villages to
aclimatise as this will be a tough part of the trip, aclimatising and
getting used to trekking for 5-7 hours a day. Once we get toward the
upper Mustang area we go past the last villages and head into the
mountains which now close in all around us as we snake our way up a
glacial moraine to our ABC (Advanced Base Camp). From here we will
strike out to the summit using a high camp at just over 6000m to stage
our summit bid.
Mustang region trekking
The trek in
For those of you who have been on a full service Nepal style
camping trek with Chessell Adventures before you will know what to
expect, but for those new to us or the Himalayas, you will be amazed at
the work level of the local staff, cooking breakfasts and dinners if
not lunches as well. Dining tents are provided to our climbers for
eating, hot drinks, playing cards and a kitchen tent is used by our
staff to prepare meals, hot drinks and wash up all the dishes. So it’s
luxury camping but still camping! This crew will accompany us to BC but
no further and wait for us to return from the mountain.
Climbing Phase
Little is known about this peak and the other new expedition peaks in this area as until now only three ascents have been recorded of Mt Saribung. The first ascensionists have informed us the route was fairly straightforward much like a Mera peak in technical difficulty, i.e. non-technical. The peak is remote, high altitude and on glaciated terrain so ropes will be used to prevent climbers falling into crevasses. We will be doing some long days of up to 10-14 hours on summit day, so a HIGH LEVEL of fitness is required. So training for endurance is going to be the key. On the mountain we will share tents and have a simpler food menu.
Saribung La crossing a glaciated pass and descending to Na, Phu, the Kang La and Humde
Trek out end of trip
Once the climbing phase is completed the team may split, with some choosing e quicker version and trekking out the way you came in. For htose with more time, there is the more scenic trek out, exploring Lo-Manthang and surrounding region.