Baruntse and Mera Peak Expedition 2013

Leader and updates: Francis Blunt
Read full details of our Baruntse and Mera Peak expedition and book online

11th October: A nice shot from the topic the Amphulabsta. We’re on our way to Lukla on the 12th then Kathmandu on Tuesday.

8th November: Francis rang today to say the group are safe and well at Chukung (4730m). Today was a long day, spent crossing the Amphulapcha Pass. The weather was good, very cold but sunny with beautiful views of the clouds across Lhotse.

Tomorrow the team will head to Pangboche at 3930m, then over the next few days will move onwards to Namche Bazaar and then Lukla ready for their flights to Kathmandu.

5th November: The team are all back together in Base Camp now after a great effort from Alex to summit Baruntse. Due to an onset of sickness and upset stomach Alex, Francis and the 2 sherpas turned around at 6600m but this still gave Alex valuable experience for his future plans.

4th November: Unfortunately due to an upset stomach and old knee injury 2 of the clients have returned to Base Camp leaving Francis and Alex planning their summit attempt at Camp 1 yesterday. Depending on the wind they plan on setting off around midnight local time. Good luck guys!

25th October: Francis and the team are now at High Camp on Mera Peak and arrived at around 3pm local time, so the last 4 hours have been spent resting and brewing up endless tea in preparation for tomorrow’s Summit bid. We’re planning on leaving at 2 in the morning local time. The group are excited and despite a few headaches are looking forward to it!…

22nd Oct: We received a message via Alex to say the team are still trekking in towards Mera Peak, one day behind schedule. All going well….

19th Oct: Francis called to update us with the group’s progress along the approach trek towards Baruntse. They are now at Chalem Kharka (3600m), just one day behind schedule so hoping to catch up over the next few days. It looks like the recent bad weather caused by the cyclone that reeked havoc on the east coast of India last week, has now passed. Francis said it looked like the snowline was down to about 4500m, but it had been dry all day today. The forecast is now good and clear for the foreseeable future.

15th Oct: Francis called today to let us know that the team have now arrived safely in Lukla. Flights into Lukla are highly dependent on the weather. After waiting for some time for the weather to clear and seeing the forecast for several days ahead, the team decided to arrange a helicopter to fly into Lukla to avoid the delays.

Everyone is well and will have a relaxing evening tonight before starting the trek in tomorrow morning.

12th Oct: The team depart for their overnight flights to Kathmandu, apart from Phillip who has arrived in Kathmandu early to enjoy the sights and sounds before the trip starts.