In fact, this was my first time climbing a snow mountain.
I had always only read about others’ overseas mountaineering adventures online, never imagining I’d get to experience it myself.
When I learned that a friend was preparing to climb in Nepal, I asked to join their ten-person mountaineering team.
The main destinations of the trip were:
- Gokyo Lake (4700M)
- Gokyo Ri (5357M)
- Cho-la Pass (5330M)
- Kala Patthar (5643M)
- Everest Base Camp (5364M)
- Island Peak (6189M)
To keep this travelogue from getting too long, this article will only cover the climb up Island Peak.
We set off from the large village of Dingboche (4343M) en route to Chhukung (4730M).
Because of heavy snowfall the day before, the next day had turned into a white world.
Yaks are commonly seen animals—don’t get too close, as they may become startled and act aggressively.
Along the way, we often saw climbing guides and other Sherpas exchanging mountaineering information, as the weather and trail conditions change daily.
To save energy, you can hire local Sherpas as porters—they never seem to tire on the trails.
Everywhere we passed was surrounded by massive snow-capped mountains, incredibly close, truly close.
Upon reaching Chhukung (4730M), we began checking our gear for the next day’s climb.
After the check and lunch, we conducted climbing training, which was taken very seriously.
The most basic mountaineering gear. (Photo above)
It was extremely cold at night, so our teammates turned on the heater to keep everyone warm.
The heavens gave us a wonderful opportunity—the morning sky was beautifully clear.
We’d seen this road sign countless times online, and this time we took a photo of it for our teammates as a keepsake.
The mountain in the photo was our climbing target—Island Peak, so close yet so far.
As we got closer to the snow mountain, our excitement grew.
Getting enough rest, drinking hot water constantly, and slowing all movements are ways to reduce the onset of altitude sickness.
During the ascent, you must walk at your own pace and not match others’ speeds.
That tiny dot in the distance was our porter—our stamina really wasn’t even close.
This is the Island Peak Base Camp (5084M).
Since the nearby streams had frozen over, we couldn’t proceed to High Camp and had to camp at Base Camp instead.
After dinner and waking up, we set off for the summit at 0000.
Halfway to the summit, we witnessed the moonrise.
At 0530 in the morning, we reached the snow line and began changing into climbing gear.
Once we’d packed everything up, we all waited together in anticipation.
The mountaineering guide Nima conducted a final check of our gear.
Looking back at the path we had just climbed before ascending further.
The mountain was wrapped in snow, its depth unknowable.
Looking back at the footprints we had made.
Team members climbing upward step by step.
Due to ice caves along the route, the guide went ahead to inspect and secure them.
Beyond the snowline, sunglasses are essential—otherwise, the sunlight reflecting off the snow can cause snow blindness.
The summit shown in the photo is the top of Island Peak.
The climbing section has an incline of about 80 degrees.
As it was the early season for Island Peak, the route was covered with icefalls.
The guide was fixing ropes to help team members ascend the icefall.
After the icefall, we continued climbing vertically upward.
Giving our all for the final push to the summit.
Island Peak (6189M) is actually surrounded by other massive snow-capped mountains.
Mount Lhotse (8516M) lies right behind us, very close.
Descending, we retraced the same route.
After 18 consecutive hours of climbing up and down, all I can say is that it was utterly satisfying.
That’s the end of the Island Peak adventure story—see you next time.
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