Gurla Mandhata expedition 7728m

2007 - Day 1 Arrive Kathmandu 1350m

Flying into Kathmandu on a clear day is in itself an unforgettable experience, with the entire Nepalese Himalaya sprawling out below you. Welcome to Nepal! After passing through immigration downstairs you collect your baggage, load up your trolley and pass through customs inspection. Outside the airport building look for the Explore Himalaya representative among the throng. After transferring to the hotel and getting cleaned up there is a briefing on all aspects of the expedition.

Days 2-3 in Kathmandu

Two free days in Kathmandu for relaxing, packing and preparing. You can leave any gear which you don't need during the expedition at the hotel. We keep your international air ticket at the office in case any changes need to be made while you are climbing. We can arrange a sightseeing tour, if you wish.

4 - Drive to Zhangmu ~2400m or Nyalam ~3750m

Early in the morning we take a private bus along the Friendship Highway to Kodari where we pass through Nepalese customs then cross the Friendship Bridge and climb to Zhangmu, the Chinese border town. Between the Nepalese and Chinese posts is a huge ever-shifting landslide. Sometimes vehicles can traverse this, sometimes porters have to carry everything. The hotels in Zhangmu are miserable but the Chinese food is authentic. The sherpas sleep on the gear in the back of the truck.

Alternatively: our Land Cruisers and truck climb their way up the precipitous mountain "road to hell " as the Chinese literally call it. Although it is rough and menaced by landslides and one hell of a climb, it is also starkly beautiful in the deep gorge. We will try to reach Nyalam but if there are any landslides on the road then we will only make Zhangmu.

5 - Rest day in Nyalam ~3750m

We relax for one day to aid acclimatization. You are welcome to explore the village and to climb west towards Shishapangma South Face Base Camp, a tough but rewarding day trip.

For the rest of the itinerary I will provide more info later.

The expedition begins in Kathmandu where you meet the guide, crew and team members and our Tibet visa is issued. Then we drive up the Friendship Highway to Zhangmu, the Nepal-Tibet border, where our Chinese liaison officers and Chinese transport meet us. The gear goes by truck while we travel by Landcruiser 4WD. We take time to acclimatize at Nyalam (3750m) and at further stops along the way to Mt Kailash.

We cross the main Himalayan range over the Lalung La (pass: 5150m) then leave the main metal road at the top of one pass and descend into a stunning wide valley then bump up a grassy plain on the route to Kailash. This is a stunning 3-4 day drive. We trek around Kailash, the holiest mountain in Asia for Buddhists and Hindus. More info on this later.

After this trek we will be fully acclimatized to the 5000m altitude and we drive to base camp. Here we stay a day or two then probably use yaks to carry our gear to set up advanced base camp (ABC), which we use for all climbing.

We have plenty of time to explore a bit, decide our route then establish camps on the mountain and climb it. Our highest camp on the mountain is likely to be around 7000m.

After the climb we return to base camp and drive back over about 5 days to Kathmandu.