MOUNTAINEERING & CLIMBING IN NEPAL

We offer small group and tailor made mountain expeditions in Nepal. There is a wide range of options for climbing in Nepal, you can ascend to a Himalayan summit or cross a high mountain pass. We provide an expedition support and guiding service for mountaineering in Nepal. You can join one of our fixed date departures or we can organise a private group on a bespoke basis. 

The world’s highest mountains are in Nepal and this includes eight summits above 8,000m. Annapurna mountain range in Nepal has several summits with the tallest mountain being Annapurna 1 (8,091m). In the East of Nepal is the Kanchenjunga mountain at an altitude of 8,586m. Our Managing Director, Roland Hunter, went on expedition to Kanchenjunga in Spring 2003. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world at 8,848m. Roland summitted Everest from the Tibet side in Spring 2001. Roland climbed to the summit of Mount Makalu at a height of 8,485m without supplemental oxygen in Spring 2009.

The Mountain Company has been operating trekking and mountaineering in Nepal since 2004. We have organised expeditions to climb Mount Saribung, Mera Peak and Dhampus Peak. We have also organised the technical crossing of the three high passes on Makalu to Everest GHT. Our expedition leaders have a wealth of experience and knowledge about trekking and climbing in the Himalaya. With this track record we are known as one of the best mountaineering companies in Nepal. Find out more about us and Our Operations.

The Mountain Company are specialists in organising mountain expeditions in Nepal below 7,000m. For the 8,000m peaks it takes much longer to acclimatise to the high altitude. Expeditions to peaks over 8,000m can take up to two months with a lot of this time spent in Base Camp. We think that the best mountaineering in Nepal is on the peaks and passes between 6,000m and 7,000m. These trips are enjoyable as they incorporate a trek and then climbing on the mountain.

We recently set up Saribung Expedition in the Damodar Himal mountain range in Nepal. Our first group to climb to the summit of Saribung in April 2019. The trek to and from Mount Saribung travels through a beautiful place in a very remote region of Nepal. There is a climb on a glacier to Saribung Pass and from there it takes a further two to three hours to the summit. The view from the pass and the summit are both superb. You can see the scenery and landscape from this trip on our YouTube video for Saribung. Take a look at our AITO Traveller Reviews for Saribung.

Mera Peak is the classic expedition to the highest trekking peak in Nepal at a height of over 6,400m. Since 2008 we have organised ten expeditions to Mera Peak and Roland led half of these groups. The view from the summit is one of the finest in the Himalaya with five 8,000m peaks visible. You can view our AITO Traveller Reviews for Mera Peak. We discuss the difference between Saribung and Mera Peak in our Blog article: What is the best 6,000m mountain expedition in Nepal?

Dhampus Peak is at an altitude of 6,012m and we include this climb as an option on our Dhaulagiri Circuit trek. The climbing route from Hidden Valley follows the ridge from Dhampus Pass. For more information read our Blog, Is it worth climbing Dhampus Peak on Dhaulagiri Circuit? You can view our AITO Traveller Reviews for Dhaulagiri Circuit.

Makalu Base Camp to Everest GHT follows the second section of The Great Himalaya Trail in Nepal. We cross three technical mountain passes Sherpani Pass, West Col and Amphu Laptsa. This is a superb journey through the highest mountains in the Himalayas.

Our mountain expeditions in Nepal are suitable if you have basic mountaineering skills. You should also have previous experience of trekking in the Himalaya at high altitude. The climbing routes on our expeditions are on moderate angled snow slopes. We travel as a rope group on a glacier if there is a risk of crevasses. For sections on rock some of the routes might involve scrambling using fixed rope for protection.

For our expeditions we use international leaders working together with Sherpa guides. Having an experienced leadership is key for a safe and enjoyable experience. The leaders will provide refresher training for key mountaineering skills during the trip. If you do not have mountaineering experience then join a course in the mountain ranges near to where you live.  You can find mountain guides in the European Alps, New Zealand Alps or the Rocky mountains in the USA or Canada. Please get in touch with us for further feedback on your suitability. We can give you ideas for further training to develop the technical skills.

The peak season for mountain climbing in Nepal is during the months of April, May and October. The climbing conditions in the Himalaya are, as a general rule, better in Spring than Autumn. The vast majority of expeditions to Mount Everest summit in May. This is also true for peaks between 6,000m and 7,000m but as they are lower in height it is also possible to climb in October. The Spring season is the best for mountaineering in Nepal as it is warmer than Autumn. Also the duration of the climbing season is longer in Spring. Whereas for Autumn season monsoon rains can extend into the middle of October. Later in October the temperatures are dropping and it is getting very cold to climb at high altitude.

We have selected the best month for our fixed date departures. This is from our knowledge of operating these expeditions over the years. We have written a blog article When is the best time to go trekking in Nepal Himalaya? and this should help you select when to travel.

Most of our mountaineering expeditions in Nepal are Camping style. These are fully supported trips where our cooks will cater for all meals. We provide group equipment including personal tents, mess tents, kitchen tent and toilet tent. The advantage of camping is you can access remote areas away from the busier trails with a lodge network. We no longer organise Island Peak in Nepal as it is too crowded. This is due its location close to teahouse lodges in the Everest region. There are other mountains that are climbed from a lodge but we prefer to explore the less busy regions of Nepal.

We have written a detailed packing list for each of our treks and expeditions in Nepal. The kit lists are included on each trek web page under the Practical Information tab. This will help your preparations for your climbing holiday in Nepal. The kit list also provides information on the range of temperatures in Celsius. It is important for your comfort and safety to follow our kit list and your leader will do a kit check after arrival in Kathmandu.

We have a gear rental service for our mountaineering expeditions in Nepal. We keep this gear in our store in Kathmandu and will give to you after arrival to Nepal. We rent out ice axes, crampons and harness packs. This includes harness, belay device,  large carabiner, three screwgate carabiners, Petzl handled ascender (jumar), two slings and prussik cord.

As a part of the preparations for your Nepal expedition it is a good idea to buy a guidebook. Take a look at Trekking and Climbing in Nepal by Steve Razetti and Victor Saunders. We also recommend Trekking the Peaks of Nepal by Bill O’Connor. The book by O’Connor is an older publication but it is still useful for finding out about the sub 7,000m peaks in Nepal. We also recommend Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya by Lonely Planet.