Thank you so much zongoid, for watching and for your super thoughtful comment! So glad you enjoyed the video and it could give you a feel for what the trek was like :)

Hello and thank you so much for your message! That's great that you are doing Mera Peak next year, and I'm so glad that the video could help a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions or wanted any help organizing your trip!

Awwww thank you Marie xoxoxo! You would have been totally fine on the summit part, especially since you are a skier. Some people even ski down from the top! Anyway, can't wait until you and Erik are here to see it here in person!! xoxoxo

Yesss we were very surprised and happy for the clear skies that morning :)

Thank you so much Ranganathan :)

Hi Edward! Thank you so much for your comment. Must have been something special to do this trek back before it was as developed. And special to hear that it had such an impact on you, too. Namaste :)

Awesome, have an amazing time! If you need a guide by chance, I have a good recommendation ;)

Thank you Prabin! Thank you also for your mom’s delicious achaar, we love it 😍

Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it ☺️

Thank you so much! And yes, you should definitely do Mera Peak, it is perfect to do after doing a few other treks in Nepal ;)

Thank you so much for watching, I'm glad you enjoyed 😊

Thank you Leslie :) It is such a beautiful place!

Thank you Som :) :) :)

Thank you for writing Dawn, so glad you enjoyed it 😊

Thank you Dipankar! And yes, it’s such a beautiful place :)

Thank you Nir Lama!

Thank you so much Javier, I appreciate your kind words :) so great you’re are coming to do Mera Peak in August, you’ll have an amazing trek! Again, let me know if you have any other questions ;)

Thank you so much Christopher, so glad you enjoyed :)

Thank you so much for watching and for your comment :) all the best to you too!

Thank you so much Peter and so glad you’re considering doing this trek :) Do should definitely do it!

Yes, it is indeed a spectacular place!

So glad you liked the video and it was helpful! And great that you’re planning to do Mera Peak coming up. Let me know if you need any help with your logistics or planning!

Thanks so much for your comment! Have you been able to do any trekking in Nepal? What is a Contiki tour?

Thank you so much for your kind message, I’m so happy that you enjoyed the video :) That’s great you’re going to be doing EBC trek in a few months, and maybe Mera Peak someday too! Will this be your first time trekking in Nepal?

Thank you so much CP :) I hope very much that you are able to come visit the Himalayas one day. From where are you writing?

Thank you so much Richard! That's great that you are considering doing Mera Peak in December. Will definitely be a bit colder than it was for us in May, but should hopefully be clearer skies in the winter months. Although you never know in the mountains! Happy trekking to you too :)

Thank you Harsh! Haha we were hoping the same, and were definitely so grateful for the clear skies that showed up the morning of the summit ;)

Thank you so much and so happy to hear you are coming to Nepal in April to do the Mera Peak Trek! Take your time on the way up and I’m sure you will make it to the top :)

Thank you Anil, the trekking trail definitely does reinforce good life lessons ;)

Thank you so much for watching and I'm so glad you enjoyed :) And thank you to your friend for sharing! Are you planning on coming to Nepal to do Mera Peak??

Thank you so much Shaun, I really appreciate your comment :) That's awesome that you'll be coming to Nepal for the first time and doing Annapurna Base Camp! ABC is a beautiful trek as well. Let me know if you have any questions or need any recommendations or anything for your trip - I'm happy to help!

Thank you so much for your message, and I'm so glad that you found the video informative :)

So beautiful! And not even too technical, just a little bit of harness and rope work, that is no problem for a non-technical climber if you have an experienced climbing guide with you :)

Thank you so much CH MAN :)

Thank you so much ☺️

Thank you so much Sky Blue, very much appreciate you watching and taking the time to leave such a nice comment :) Awesome you have done this trek as well, and crazy you did it in December?? Must have been so cold! You can make it to the summit in this month?

@@StephThorntonNEPAL yes I did it in December and for sure it was very very cold and windy… -35 degrees at the summit ! We stayed just 10 minutes because it was tooooi cold 😏

@@SkyBlue-zo6zy Wow, that is so impressive!! Good for you for making it to the top AND in those extreme conditions. We did it in May, which I think is the warmest month, and that was cold enough for me haha 🥶You were probably rewarded with clear winter skies though, right?

Thank you so much Gary! Yeah, since living in Nepal I've been able to do a fair bit of trekking, but still so much more I'd love to do! That's great you've had the chance to come and do EBC. What did you think? And awesome you're planning to return to do Mera Peak next. Great choice!

Hi Philip and thank you so much for your message! Glad it could bring back memories of your time on the Mera Peak trek :) When did you and your son do Mera Peak?

April of 2018, I was 59 at the time. Starting to look at a return trip, perhaps Lantang Valley or Jiri to EBC. Do you have a recommendation for a return trip? Will definitely take a Gopro this time to capture some video.

Oh, you did it not too long ago! That's great that you are planning to come back. Both Langtang Valley and Jiri to EBC are great options, and there are definitely plenty more depending on what kind of trek you are looking to do! I'd be happy to help you with any of your Nepal trip planning, I love brainstorming trek options with folks. Feel free to email me at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com if you'd like, it's a bit easier to communicate there!

Thank you so much Vivek, this wonderfully kind comment made my day :)

Hi Stephanie, there may be a window of opportunity for me away from my work, would May be a good time to climb Mera Peak this year? Thanks

@@vivekbisht7122 Yes, May is definitely a good time to climb Mera Peak! It is usually just ahead of the start of monsoon and you have warmer temperatures than other times of the year when you could climb. I would aim for as early May as you can just to have a better possibility of good weather. Although every year is different! We did the trek in early May as well, and as you can tell from my video, the weather wasn't always ideal as monsoon seemed to arrive a bit early last year. But it was still an amazing trek, and we managed to get clear skies for the peak :) Hope that helps and let me know if you'd like any help setting up any of your permit and/or guide or anything!

Thanks again Stephanie for your prompt reply and valuable input. Will surely revert should I need anything more help / advise. Looking forward to this amazing trek. Till then, best wishes and regards.

@@vivekbisht7122 You will do doubt have an amazing experience! Best wishes to you as well :)

Thank you so much Arl, I really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :) I was using a GoPro Hero 9 and an iPhone Xs camera, so nothing too crazy. I just had one extra GoPro battery, but brought a 30,000 mAh power bank. It is a bit of extra weight, but I was so grateful to have it, as there weren't a lot of opportunities for charging along the trail. Batteries definitely drain quick up in the cold and high altitude, but my bigger issue is my fingers get way too cold, so I can't take them out of my big gloves haha.

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Wow, that's great, the quality made it look as if you were carrying a big Sony/Canon type camera haha. Hope you keep making these to bring us wonderful views from faraway beautiful valleys. Wish you the very best!

Merciii Annick :) :)

Hi Michael! Thank you for watching and for your kind, supportive message :) And that's great that you are planning to do Mera Peak this October - it's definitely one of my favorite treks and experiences! I live in Nepal and we happened to know our guide, Dafuri Sherpa, so we hired him directly and got all our permits through a trekking agency that is registered with Nepal Mountaineering Association. In general, I would say it is best to arrange your trek before you arrive to Nepal. You connect with a trekking agency that can arrange your permits and guide, and then once you arrive in Kathmandu, you can meet with them and be ready to set off to Lukla and start the trek. I can connect you with the trekking agency who helped arrange all our permits and recommend a guide for you as well. You can email me at stephthorntonnepal@gmail.com if you'd like me to help you with this!

Hi Suraj! Have you had the chance to do Mera Peak yet??

Thank you so much Ruvan, and so happy to hear that you are also doing this trek in October! Will you be coming from somewhere in Nepal, or from another country? In any case, have a wonderful journey and please let me know if you have any questions about the trek before you go :)

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Thanks for your response, Stephanie. I'll be coming there with a group from Belgium. It'll be my 4th trip to Nepal. Previously I've done the ABC & EBC trekking, but this time it'll be bigger challenge... Yes, I do have a few questions on preparation, but is it ok to raise them in this channel? Thanks. TC

@@ruvanvitharana1739 Oh cool, so you've been on a number of treks in Nepal already! And sure, if you have any general questions, please feel free to ask here if you'd like :)

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Dear Stephanie, sorry that I didn't come back on this before, I was busy with other activities... In early Oct I'll be visitig Nepal for the Mera Peak climb, so I'm busy now getting ready for this trip. Regarding the climbing materials... Some of them could be hired in Khare, but we've to organised the other items such as mountain boots that are required for the summit, a sleeping bag which can go up to -20°C etc. When you did this climb, did you've your own materials or did you hire/rent them? Is it possible to hire them in Kathmandu/Thamel? Thanks.

@@ruvanvitharana1739 Exciting that your Nepal trip is only a month away! For gear, we carried our own sleeping back with us the whole way, but we rented all the climbing equipment needed for the summit in Khare (mountain boots, crampons, harness, ropes, zoomer, etc). In Khare we stayed at Mera Alpine Lodge, where we also rented the gear, and all was decent quality and worked well for us. I'm sure it is possible to rent all the gear in Kathmandu, but then you have to 1) pay for renting it for the full trek when you only need it for the two days of the climb, and 2) you have to carry it all the way from Kathmandu, or hire porters to carry this extra weight. So if you are planning to rent the gear anyway, I would probably suggest renting it in Khare, although if you have a big group it might be good idea to call ahead of time to make sure they can reserve all the correct boot sizes for everyone. Are you working with an agency to get all your permits and guides/porters arranged for you?

In Kothe?? The owners are so lovely there and the food was so good! How was the rest of your trek?

Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed the video :) And we must have been in Lukla around the same time since we left for Kathmandu on election day! Were you also out trekking during this time? It was definitely a feeling of accomplishment getting up to a higher altitude, and I was grateful we were healthy and it didn't feel dangerous or risky. We don't have any plans to climb anything else, we really enjoy just trekking as well, and still so much we haven't seen in Nepal! It would be nice to get to 7000m though...We will see!

Hi Christian and thank you for watching and for your kind praise :) Very cool that you and your fam are planning to do Mera Peak coming up and I'm happy to answer your questions. I do want to say first though that July is unfortunately not a great time to do this nor most treks in Nepal, as it is during peak monsoon time (June - September), when rains are at their heaviest. This website covers a bit about why it's not the ideal time: www.himalayanglacier.com/best-time-to-climb-mera-peak-in-nepal/#4_SummerMonsoon_Season_June-August So if you all have some flexibility with your timing, might be best to push the trip up or postpone by a month or so. It's not impossible to do in July, just maybe not ideal. To answer your questions though: 1) Yes, you do need to have a couple permits to do this trek, first and foremost a climbing permit, which can only be obtained by a local trekking agency (I can recommend a company if you need help with this). You will also need a Makalu Barun National Park permit. For the route we did, we did not need it, but some route options may require Sagarmatha National Park permit as well. A good link to find a summary of permit and costs is here: www.thirdrockadventures.com/blog/mera-peak-climbing-permit#required_documents 2) As for renting the full set of equipment in Khare (mountain boots, crampons, harness, ropes, zoomer, helmet, ice axe, etc) for 2 days/1 night, it costs ~$100 USD per person. For the tent rental at high camp + the food + cook, it's an additional $60-80 USD per person (depending on your guide's relationship with the hotel ;) ) We stayed at Mera Alpine Lodge in Khare and they arranged all this. They had good equipment and really nice staff! You can contact them on WhatsApp as well if you would like to ask any other questions. +977 984-7697121. Are you all planning to have a guide with you the full trek or just get a guide to go up to the summit with you from Khare? Hope this help and please feel free to ask any other questions :)

Super helpful advise Stephanie ........ Christian is my son ........... we are coming to Nepal this coming July ☺

Yeah, just about as steep as the final little ascent to Mera Peak (which I didn't film because my hands were too cold haha). Definitely was glad to be clipped into a rope in both cases :)

Hi Raulis! You need a climbing permit to do Mera Peak (and a trekking agency registered with Nepal Mountaineering Association will need to help you get this), and the price varies by season: Spring ($250), Fall ($125), Winter and Summer ($70). You'll also need an permit for Makalu Barun National Park (~$30). Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions! Looks like you just did the Gokyo Ri + Cho Lo trek?? Beautiful views as well!

Hi Marlene and thanks so much for your comment! It is certainly a great experience getting to Mera Peak, and you are well-rewarded with amazing views! Great you are coming to Nepal to trek and considering Mera Peak too! I think Mera Peak is a great alternative to EBC, although definitely a different type of experience - so really depends what type of trek you are looking for and what you feel ready to tackle. Here are some differences that I see: 1) Compared to EBC, Mera Peak is a much more off-the-beaten-path trek, which is something I love. EBC is the most popular trek in Nepal and is often pretty crowded in high season. On the Mera Peak trek, on the other hand, don't see hardly any other trekkers on the trail, although we still did enjoy the company of a few others at several of the tea houses. For this reason, you get to hang out a bit more with the folks who run the tea houses, and it's a bit less business-ey feel. In my opinion, this means more time to be at peace in this beautiful natural place and more time to get to know the local folks up there running their hotels. 2) On the Mera Peak trek, you do reach quite a bit higher altitude (~6400 m as compared to ~5400 m with EBC), so it's good to have had some prior experience trekking at altitude to know how you handle it. That being said, as with any trek, you can take it slow and add in acclimatization days as needed. Mera Peak also requires that little bit of training in Khare to get used to clipping into ropes and using a zoomer, and you will use the rope on your way from High Camp to Mera Peak. This does not mean Mera Peak is scary (I am quite risk averse, so I'm the first to vouch that it wasn't scary), but it's good to keep in mind that you will be stepping over a few (very narrow) crevices, and you will use a rope in some spots (which is really just an added sense of security!). Finally, 3) Reaching Mera Peak versus EBC really feels quite climactic, as you can imagine! It is very cool to reach EBC of course (and getting up to 5400 m is no joke), and you also have Kala Pattar peak to climb on the EBC trek as well, but reaching the summit at Mera Peak feels much more like this epic goal that you reach, which is such a nice addition to the beautiful journey that you already take getting there and back. Anyway! Long-winded way of saying that I absolutely recommend Mera Peak if you feel ready and it sounds like the things you are looking for on a trek! You can definitely get a guide without a porter if you prefer (this is what we did, and you can email me at stephthorntonnepal@gmail.com if you'd like my amazing guide Dafuri's information). I would recommend having a guide with you the whole time, but it is possible to arrange a guide and porter in Khare if you wanted to to do the climb from Khare to High Camp to Mera Peak (although I'd make sure to arrange this ahead of the trek to ensure there's someone ready for you). Absolutely you should take a guide past Khare! Guides know the trails like the back of their hand and are very important to ensure your safety and provide you peace-of-mind. Please let me know if you have any other questions - I'm happy to help as much as I can! And thanks again for your message :)

Hi Dan and thanks so much :) Happy New Year to you too, and that's great that you're planning on Mera Peak in a few years! I think you might consider bringing some gluten free snacks with you, but you can actually find quite a bit of gluten-free options on the trail as well. Nepalis eat a LOT of rice as you may know, so lots of rice dishes available. As with almost all Nepali treks you'll also find various potato dishes, non-gluten soup and egg options too.

Thank you so much Narendra, for taking the time to watch the video and for your thoughtful comment. And very exciting to hear that you are planning to do this trek this fall! I would definitely recommend taking a guide with you, at least for the portion of the journey from Khare to High Camp and up to Mera Peak and back to Khare. Even if you have experience in some mountain climbing, guides like Dafuri have done this route many, many times, and can really ensure that you have a safe and fun journey! Please email me at stephthorntonnepal@gmail.com if you'd still like me to put you in touch with Dafuri.

Thank you so much for your comment :) I used a GoPro Hero 9 and my iPhone to film. Are you considering coming to Nepal to trek, or are trekking back home in Colorado?

@@StephThorntonNEPAL I am planning a solo trip to Nepal...Thinking this upcoming March. Ideally I would like to do Mera Peak and Island Peak 🙏 So excited planning this trip now. Your video was very inspiring and your energy is magnetic! Loved how you described why you enjoy hiking towards the end. I feel the same exact way 🥰

Hello! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment. That's awesome you just did EBC and that you've already caught the Nepali trekking bug ;) I was also hesitant about doing Mera Peak at first because I also had ZERO technical climbing experience. And it was absolutely fine and I 100% recommend going for it! It is one of my favorite treks I've done in Nepal. And of any of the trekking peaks in Nepal, this is a great way to get up to a high altitude without it being technically challenging or scary. When you make it to Khare you have a day to acclimatize there, and you can rent all your gear there and your guide will do a training with you to show you how to use the harness, ropes, zoomer, etc. You can see a clip of this in the video @ 16:21. Please let me know if you have any other questions and if you'd like any help in organizing your eventual next trip to Nepal! Feel free to email me at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com :)

Thanks so much for watching Andy, and excited to know you’re on visiting Nepal! Will this be your first time? For the route we did, from Lukla to Mera Peak and back to Lukla, it tool 10 days for us, although as I mention in the video, we had all done other treks just prior, so didn’t need as many days to acclimatize on our way up to the higher altitudes. If you needed to take more time to acclimatize, you could take more days on the route we did, or there are other routes that are a bit longer that are a bit more gradual of a climb to Hinku Valley. We happened to already know our guide through a personal connection, and I would be happy to connect you to him or other guides we know are amazing, if you’d like!

Could you please share guide names as I am looking forward for this trek. Many tour operators provide 21 days trek which seems a bit excessive for some experience with altitude. Many thanks 😊

Thank you so much Christopher, I'm glad you enjoyed the video :) We hired our equipment (ropes, harness, boots and crampons) in Khare at the Mera Alpine Lodge, and that worked out great for us. Good quality stuff and we found a good fit. There happened to be a porter that was going back up to High Camp the day we were climbing up there, and he helped us carry the climbing gear from Khare to there, which was helpful. Those boots are not light as you probably know!

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Oh that's great news. I hope to do this trek one day, and not having to bring all the equipment with me from Kathmandu will help! I look forward to your next video :)

@@christopherb1823 Yeah, it was so convenient being able to rent it all in Khare :) And hope you have the opportunity to do this trek soon, definitely one of my favorite ones yet!

Thank you so much Karl, I really appreciate your support :) Ani, tapaailaai nepali bolna auchha?? That's awesome, sounds like you are a veteran Nepal trekker, and have some good treks under your belt! Before doing Mera Peak, I was in a similar situation as you. I had done quite a few treks, and was curious about doing something over 6000m. I am also very much a trekker, and not a mountaineer by any means. I do not have any technical experience and while I love the physical challenge of trekking and going up to higher elevations, I don't enjoy anything even remotely treacherous. So with that, Mera Peak couldn't have bee the more perfect option! As compared to Island Peak or Lobuche East, Mera Peak was described as the least technical AND it was higher elevation (and with the best views!). And indeed, it was a rewarding challenge of getting up to 6,400+ meters, but not scary by my standards (and my risk aversion is quite high!). You wear crampons from just above Khare, and harnesses and stay roped together the entire way up from High Camp to Mera Peak. There were a few foot-wide crevices you had to step over, and one that was a bit wider, but there was a fixed line you hooked into as you did a small jump over it. Then the final 50-100 feet to the summit, it's a steep climb up a rather narrow ridge, but you are hooked into the fixed line once again and use your zoomer to get to the top. So it felt secure! And in Khare you do a short training on all this, with getting up and down fixed line, so you are already familiar with all the gear and how to use it before you head up. The crampons of course make you also feel very firm on snowy trail as well :) As for the route options approaching Mera Peak, I think the first two depend on how prone to altitude sickness you are and if you are already acclimatized. We took the most direct route because we had recently done other treks, but the route down from Kharikhola would be a good option if you needed a few more days to get adjusted to altitude, or simply wanted a bit of a longer trip and a chance to see a couple other nice villages. As for Amphu Labsta, I've heard this is a fairly technical pass and of course would be a much longer journey. But as long as you have good guides and gear with you, I'm sure it could be manageable! Hope this helps and please feel free to send along any other questions you have! And keep in touch about your Mera Peak plans, would be interested to hear what you decide to do! All the best Karl :)

Wow, thank you so much for your detailed answer Stephanie! Maalai ali ali nepali bolna aauchha ;-) (Seriously tho, I just want to impress Nepalis with a few words other than thik ccha, dhanyabaad & namaste - so I try to learn some basic grammar and words for everyday use, nothing special or near the level of your language skills haha :-) I wouldn't consider myself a 'veteran' just yet, but I love Nepal too much so I always come back for some more experiences and trekking! Thanks for confirming that Mera Peak is indeed not so technical compared to the other climbing peaks. To be honest, I think I am really good at acclimatizing to high altitude (so far at least) as I always take my time, don't rush things, take enough rest days and go bistari bistari ;-) That's also the reason I went solo and without a guide/porter so far, and be my own guide basically. I like the smaller, more authentic villages in the lower Khumbu more than the big tourist hubs above Lukla. I also love researching new regions on my own, taking different approaches and alternative routes, and thus avoiding the 'main trekking crowd' along the way as much as possible. Of course for a climbing peak I'm gonna need a guide and staff. I am planning another trip this fall/winter to Nepal with a whole month trekking in the Khumbu, so if I ever decide to try a climbing peak I would do so at the end of my itinerary when I am really well acclimatized to the height. Oh well, we will see :-) Thanks again for responding and all the best with your farm as well!

Looks like you speak more Nepali than you give yourself credit for! I think that's so wonderful you've dedicated time to learning Nepali and it fits with the approach you seem to have for traveling and trekking too. I very much admire those who take the time to research the place they're visiting, try to dig a little deeper into the culture, take the road less traveled to know the places that are off the main tourist trail. Takes more time and effort for sure, but certainly makes for a much richer experience in many ways, doesn't it? Your plan sounds great, and I'm sure it will be an incredible trip no matter what your final itinerary ends up being. Would love to hear what you end up doing! Thanks for commenting and sharing and all the best to you too :)

He is amazing! Send me an email at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com and I’m happy to provide you more details :)

Hello! Yes, definitely. Send me an email at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com and I’ll help connect you to the right people :)

Thank you so much for writing and I’m so glad to hear you found the video informative :) And great you’re considering doing this trek! In general, I don’t seem to have too much trouble with altitude, but we also always go up at a good pace so our bodies can adjust. Same with Mera Peak, we acclimatized well and the higher elevation felt quite manageable! It definitely made for a good challenge and we were moving slowly on our way up to high camp and then up to peak, but aside from Khadak getting a minor headache, we felt pretty good!

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Thank you so much for your reply! I am so excited to do this Trek!

@@tylergabrielle3260 Yeah! And please let me know if you'd like any help with organizing any part of your trek or trip to Nepal :) You can email me at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Thank You So Much!!

Hi Sarawoot, Thank you so much for watching and that's great to hear that you are planning to trek Mera Peak this coming spring! To answer your questions: 1. How long it takes to get to the summit from high camp totally depends on your pace. We held a pretty steady pace and didn't stop too much, and it took us about 4 hours. We left at 3am and reached at around 7am. I think it usually takes people from 4 to 6 hours. 2. From the summit we actually went past Khare and onto Thagnak, and we arrived at around 3pm. After the summit it took us only about 1.5 hours to reach High Camp again, where we had some food and rest. Then we continued down to Khare, packed up, had a snack, and then continued the short way down to Thagnak. You can see the summit day in this video, starting at 23:34 ;) Hope that helps, and let me know if you have any other questions!

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Hi Stephanie. Thank you so much for quick, detailed and practical response. I really appreciate. You and your husband are very strong to make 4 hours and later passing Khare and to Thagnak all at once. Hat off. My plan is to trek in up to summit, trek down to Khare and took helicopter back to Lukla. I would love to trek all the way back - but not enough time though. Thanks again and keep watching your adventure in Sagarmatha.

@@sarawootch No problem at all Sarawoot! Your plan sounds like a good option if that's the only way you will have time to do Mera Peak. It seemed like a lot of people too helicopter from Khare, although the weather definitely delayed some folks for a few days I think, so that's something to anticipate. I think they probably still got to Lukla sooner than if they had trekked though. Have such a great trek and let me know how it goes when you finally do it!

@@StephThorntonNEPAL That's very helpful. I sent note to my agency in KTM too. :) I will keep you posted.

haha no, I believe that was snow! Thanks for watching with such a careful eye ;) That's great that you've had the chance to do EBC and are coming back to Nepal for more trekking! I've never done Island Peak, but I can obviously highly recommend Mera, so I'd say you've made the right choice to do Mera Peak. Our guide, Dafuri, who has done a done a lot of trekking, including Island Peak and Lobuche East (and even Everest a few times!), says Mera Peak is his favorite, because the views are absolutely spectacular! Have a great time on your upcoming adventure in Nepal! Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help with connecting with a trekking company to help you get your permits, guide, etc :)

Thank you so much Diwas, glad you enjoyed :) And definitely I can pass Dafuri's info along, can I find you on FB and send a dm?

Thank you so much Linus! Haha, I'm not sure I'm good enough to be a pro. Is that a real career??

@@StephThorntonNEPAL yes. Sign up for some audiobooks with ACX. Soon you’ll be doing video games.

​@@LinusWilson Thanks Linus, I appreciate the suggestions, maybe I will check ACX out, ;)

Apparently the official altitude of Mera Peak is a bit unclear, as one person has told me it's actually lower than I've mentioned! There are several different summits at Mera Peak, so I think that is where the discrepancy lies??

Thank you so much Rexy! When are you heading to Mera Peak? So exciting! And yes, I did get travel insurance with World Nomads for the approximate days I would be above 5000m. I recommend it, in large part for peace of mind :) I got their Explorer Plan (for higher altitude) for 6 days and it was just under $100. This price varies slightly with your age. Hope that helps!

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Thank you for your information! Will certainly make a look into it. Thank you so much! Looking forward to see more of your hiking vlogs in the future! Take care :)

Hello! I’m not exactly sure the model, as my jacket is back in Nepal, but I can tell you it’s North Face

Namaste! Very cool you're considering doing Mera Peak - and in a few weeks too! The cost will vary a bit depending on what season you're climbing and on the # of days you spend out there, if you want a guide the whole way, and if you have your own gear. Here's a loose breakdown of what I budgeted: 1) Mera Peak Climbing Permit in Spring (March-May) = $250 2) Makalu Baron National Park Fee = $30 3) Food/Lodging (~$25/day x 10 days) = $250 4) Guide (~$30/day x 12 days) = $350 5) Insurance (for possible days above 5000m) = $100 6) Gear Rental (ropes, boots, crampons, etc) for Khare - High Camp - Summit - Khare = $100 7) Tent + Meals for High Camp (1 night) = $80 Total = ~$1160 *Note this does not include transport to/from Lukla. *Mera Peak Climbing Permit is only Dec-Feb is only $70 Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions, or if you'd like any other recommendations on setting up your trek.

Hello and thanks for writing! To answer your questions: 1) we stayed at the summit for probably like 15-20 minutes I believe. 2) We did not have any prior experience with any sort of mountaineering or using ropes to climb. When we had our rest day in Khare, we got all our gear and our guide did an hour-long training with us to show us how to get up and down a line with the zoomer. That was plenty of training to feel comfortable in the couple spots you need to do this to get to Mera Peak from High Camp. 3) We did this trek in May. Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions or would like any support in planning/organizing your trek. I'm always more than happy to help! Feel free to email me at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Noted! Thank you so much! 👍

Thank you so much! My guide was Dafuri Sherpa and if you'd like, email me at stephthorntonnepal@gmail.com and I can help you set him up as a guide :)

Nice to get your feedback Dear stephanie. I am not going by this year. I must Email you after deciding the date. thanks in advance

@@mdmasud-um3xn Yes, please do let me know when you confirm your plans :)

@@StephThorntonNEPAL I will inform you Once I decided.

@@mdmasud-um3xn Sounds good :)

Hi Scott! Ahh so sorry I'm probably getting back to you too late. Hopefully you figured out that you can just rent mountaineering boots in Khare (which is what we did!). Hope you're having a great trek!

Namaste Erwin! Are you planning on coming to Nepal? Have you traveled to Nepal before?

Please send your husband numbers. Can I call?

Hi Sanjay! I did this trek in early May

Hello! No, you need to arrange everything for High Camp with a hotel in Khare, the place you stay before going up to High Camp (I recommend Mera Alpine Lodge). At your hotel in Khare, you can rent a tent for the 1 or 2 nights you will be at high camp, and this includes meals (snacks, tea, dinner, breakfast, lunch) prepared by a cook that goes up there with you. The tents are already all setup at High Camp, with sleeping bag and sleeping pad and everything (quite warm and comfortable). You can get all the way up to Khare without a guide if you want, but you will need to hire a guide in Khare to go up to High Camp and then up to Mera Peak and back down. Hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions, or want any help in setting up your trek!

It was early May!

Aside from being realllllyyy super cold, I think it might not be possible to get to the summit due to the snow level

Hello! Since we live in Nepal, we organized most of trek ourselves. Our wonderful friend and guide in the video helped us get the permits, etc. I can highly recommend his family’s company to help you book the trek, if you are interested. If you like me to connect you to them, please email me at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com

Hi Charlotte! No, I do not have any mountaineering experience. I had done a fair bit of trekking in Nepal prior to doing Mera Peak, and have been up above 5000 meters a number of times (including Cho La Pass and Kala Patthar as well!), but that's it. That is part of why we chose to do Mera Peak as our first "trekking peak", because it really is the perfect option if you love trekking, want to get up to higher altitudes, and don't necessarily want a technical climb that requires lots of experience. As you may have seen in our video, for the summit climb, you do wear a harness and are linked up with your fellow trekkers and guide, and there are a few times where you clip into a fixed line while stepping over a narrow crevice and then for the final ascent to Mera Peak. You get some practice on these basic skills in Khare, before you do the climb, and it's completely doable without any prior experience. Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions!

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Thank you so much! I knew hat most companies said no experience needed but I didn't want to Risk holding anyone back etc. That makes me feel a lot more confident about it :) Again, thank you so much for the reply . I look forward to future videos

Yes! We flew from Kathmandu to Lukla on Day 1 and started trekking, and on Day 10 we arrived back in Lukla. Day 11 we flew back to Kathmandu from Lukla. Hope that helps!

@stephaniethorntonNEPAL Thank you for your response. The reason I asked is that I contacted a couple of guides, and they are saying that 11 days is not enough unless helicopter back from Khare!

@@ahmadvahab968 Well 10 days is possible, but it does really depend on your fitness, how you do with altitude, and the weather conditions. We are all relatively fit and had recently been at higher altitude prior to this trek, so we were able to ascend over the Chakra La pass on our 2nd day, and walked longer days on our way back as well. The weather for the summit also just happened to be good the day we had planned to go to the summit so we didn't need an extra day there. So while you could very well do the trek in 10 days, it is a good idea to give yourself at least 12 or 13 days, just in case you need to take a bit more time to acclimatize, or if you wait a day for good conditions to summit. You've probably found this itinerary, but this is a good, standard Mera Peak schedule: www.thirdrockadventures.com/trip/mera-peak-climbing-itinerary-14-days . 14-days includes arrival/departure day from KTM. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions or want help finding a guide, trekking company or anything like that!

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Thank you very much for all your guidance

@@ahmadvahab968 My pleasure :) Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Haha you are absolutely right about that. He was not thrilled at the beginning, but by the end, he was glad that I made us do it ;) So worth it!

Thank you for the information! Guess a lot of the internet needs to make this correction as well, eh?

Hi AlienTravels! Yes, I can give you a rough estimate. And feel free to email me at StephThorntonNepal@gmail.com if you'd like any other information or would like any support in organizing your trek :) My husband and I didn't go through any travel agency, as our guide was our friend and his family's company helped us get the mountaineering permit. So we pretty much paid the baseline of what you need to pay to do Mera Peak without any frills - just guide, permits, food and accommodation, and gear that we rented in Khare (the last village before you climb up to High Camp and then Mera Peak). Here is a breakdown of about what we paid per person, which came out to around $1,300 USD. 1) Mera Peak Climbing Permit in Spring (March - May) = $250 2) Makalu Baron National Park Fee = $30 3) Food/Lodging (~$30/day x 10 days) = $300 4) Guide (~$40/day x 12 days) = $480 5) Optional Insurance (for possible days above 5000m*) = $100 6) Gear Rental (ropes, boots, crampons, etc) for Khare - High Camp - Summit - Khare = $100 7) Tent + Meals for High Camp (1 night) = $80 Most treks are organized with a trekking agency that provides your guide(s) (and porters if you need them), and sorts out all your logistics and permits. We paid for all our food and accommodation along the way, but you can also choose to have that included. Also note that in addition to the costs listed above, there is usually a logistics fee and the 13 % Nepal VAT (tax) that companies need to add. As well, if you are planning to fly in and out of Lukla, that round-trip ticket from Kathmandu is usually around $300 USD. Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy to help :)

@@StephThorntonNEPAL Thanks a lot..this will be helpful 🫶🏼

Hi Ian and thank you so much for your comment! I love hearing from folks who did trekking in Nepal back in the day. As much of an adventure as it feels these days, it was 10x the adventure back when you were trekking around. SO much respect to you and all those who did Mera Peak back before there was guest houses and no other infrastructure on the trail! I can't imagine! Sounds like it was really just in the last decade that it has transitioned from a camping trek to a very comfortable tea house trek too. And good to know it's not actually the highest "trekking" peak too, I should certainly add this information to my description. The term trekking peak was a bit confusing to me in the first place anyway, I'm not sure what the textbook definition is there, and when a trek becomes mountaineering. Certainly this one felt to me like a regular ol' trek for the most part, and a great option for the non-technical trekker (like me) who wants to get up above 6000m - the only difference being the big crampons and climbing boots, and the harness and ropes. The actual elevation of Mera Peak, and which Mera "Peak" we all climbed, was also hard for me to figure out and no one really mentions the fact that there is more than one. So thank you for clarifying that as well! Details aside, as you say, the views are indeed spectacular from Mera Peak, definitely some of the best I've seen in Nepal, and so cool to think that people from all over have been climbing up there for so many years! Thank you again for writing and for sharing a little bit of the history (and real stats) about Mera Peak :)

Hi Stephanie Many thanks for your reply to my comment on your video. I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed a successful trip. I would love to go back to Nepal and climb again but I am afraid that the old legs would no longer make it up any peak these days. The 1970’s and 1980’s were a very exciting time for Himalayan exploration. I first visited Nepal in 1977, just two years after Bonington’s team had made the first ascent of the south-west face of Everest - which was my inspiration for going. I led my first successful climbing expedition to Island Peak in 1986 and then took a 6 member team to Mera Peak in 1988. Very little was known about Mera Peak at the time but I was lucky that a friend in Nepal, Lt. Col Jimmy Roberts, who actually made the first ascent of Mera Central in 1953 and he gave me advice on the nature of the peak and the best route of ascent. Another friend climbed the South Pillar of Mera Peak in 1986 and he advised me on the approach route from Hille. I returned with a 5 man team in 1990 to climb it again, and that year we pioneered the then almost unknown route in from Khari Khola over the Pangkongma La Pass. In all I led 22 expeditions to the Himalayas, including trips to the Karakoram in Pakistan, Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan. Five of these were to trekking peaks which also included Ramdung and Parchamo. The term ‘trekking peak’ is indeed a misnomer and very misleading as the permitted list includes peaks such as Kossum Kangurru (which you will have seen rising above the Hinku Valley) which is a very technical climb. The term was intended to relate to peaks that could be climbed with the minimum of regulations in a limited time which, at the time the list was introduced, was a real innovation. All the best for the future. Once you have been to the Himalaya you are never quite the same person again and the mountains draw you back time and time again. 🙂 Ian

Do you mean person who was our climbing instructor? If so, Dafuri was our guide that came with us for the trek and he did the climbing instruction in Khare as well - we knew him through a personal connection.

Email me at stephthorntonnepal@gmail.com and I can pass along his details!

Please email me at stephthorntonnepal@gmail.com, and I can provide you his details!