Climb Island Peak with Berg Adventures – Trip Description

Berg Adventures offers a climb of Island Peak (Imja Tse 20,305 feet / 6189 meters), as an extension to our Everest Base Camp trek in both the spring and autumn seasons. This lovely glaciated peak is almost exactly the same elevation as Denali, North America’s highest point. It is located in the upper Imja Valley of the Khumbu, surrounded by Himalayan giants: the South Face of Lhotse, Makalu, Baruntse and Cho Polu dominate the skyline as you climb this beautiful peak. Closely linked with Everest history, Island Peak was named by Eric Shipton in 1952 and the first ascent was made by members of the 1953 British Everest team as a training climb. The climbing is challenging yet attainable for the beginning alpine climber and the summit ridge provides one of the most aesthetic mornings that a Himalayan climber could dream of.

Qualifications

Island Peak is an alpine climb of easy to moderate difficulty. You should have some experience walking with an ice axe, using crampons and doing self-arrest. Summit day on Island Peak will require a pre-dawn “alpine start” and your team will need to move efficiently on fixed lines and on rope teams across narrow ridges. The climb is spectacular! Your guides will offer review of the necessary skills, but it is essential that you are familiar with the use of your climbing equipment (harness, crampons and ice axe) before the trip.

Internet Dispatches

Your adventure on Island peak will be cybercast to the Internet via satellite phone. Daily dispatches will be posted on the Web on BergAdventures.com. These dispatches will not be a forum for personal messages but will be a great way for your group to share stories and photographs of your adventures while “on the scene”. In the past, our cybercasts have been used by family, friends and supporters to track the progress of our groups, by classrooms to learn about the wild places we visit, and by local newspapers to report stories of interest.

View our previous Island Peak expedition dispatches.

Kathmandu and Trip Extensions

Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu is vibrant with history and culture making it an exciting trip destination on its own. With every Berg Adventures trip to Nepal, we spend a few days in Kathmandu, but there is always more to see and do. If you are interested in extending your trip to give you more time to explore this colorful city, we are happy to help you make arrangements. Read our article “Things to Do in Kathmandu” to learn more.

Those with extra time to spare should consider trip extensions to Tibet, Bhutan or other regions of Nepal. Check out these trips: Seven Days in Tibet and Trekking in Bhutan, or contact our office for alternate regions of Nepal and customized itineraries.