Peaks and Passes of Nepal - Mera to the Rolwaling
The following checklist should help you with your packing. Your personal mountaineering equipment (boots, axe, crampons etc) will be carried separately. On arrival at Lukla you will hand these items of equipment to your trek leader who will pack them in communal bags until you reach base camp. For all flights to STOL airstrips in Nepal, the maximum allowance for hold baggage (including your personal mountaineering equipment) AND hand baggage combined, is 15 kg. It is essential you keep the weight of your baggage within this limit. Paying for transportation of excess baggage is not normally an option on these flights. You may be asked by your trip leader to wear your mountaineering boots and clothing on the flight and carry any allowable heavier items on your person. It is possible to leave clothes or other items not required on trek at the group hotel.
You must bring the following:
Hiking boots
Mountaineering boots - see ‘Mountaineering Equipment’
Snow gaiters
Socks
Trekking trousers / pants
Windproof and waterproof overtrousers / rain-pants
Underwear
Long johns (thermal underwear)
Fleece trousers
Shorts
Thermal baselayer shirts (2 short sleeve, 2 long sleeve)
T-shirts or similar
Fleece jacket or warm jumper/sweater
Windproof and waterproof jacket with hood
Warm jacket (down)*
Sunhat
Warm hat and thermal balaclava
Eyewear - Sunglasses
Thermal gloves or mittens
Warm and waterproof over-gloves or mittens
Daypack minimum 40 litres / 2500 cu in
Headtorch/Headlamp with spare bulb and batteries
Sun protection (including total bloc for lips, nose etc.)
Water bottles 1 Litre (1 quart) x2
Selection of dry bags (to keep trek bag contents dry)
5 season sleeping bag*
Sleeping bag liner
Thermarest or similar sleeping mat*
Washbag and toiletries
Antibacterial handwash
Towel
Small padlock (to lock trek bag)
Basic First Aid Kit including: A broad spectrum antibiotic, antiseptic cream, throat lozenges, diarrhoea treatment (Imodium), altitude (Diamox), painkillers, plasters (band-aids) and blister treatment, insect repellent, and re-hydration salts (Dioralite). Glucose tablets and multi-vitamin tablets are also a good idea.
Mountaineering Equipment
Mountaineering double boots - see below
Ice axe *
Crampons (preferably with ‘step-in’ bindings)*
Mountaineering or climbing harness*
Karabiners (4 x screwgate)*
Descender (rappelling device) *
Climbing helmet*
Sling (120cm. / 3ft.)*
Prussik loops X 2 (5m. / 16ft. of 6mm cord makes 2)*
The following items are optional:
Travel clothes
Trekking poles
Trainers / sneakers or similar for camp use
Spare laces
Pee bottle
Swimwear (for the hotel pool in Kathmandu)
Insect repellant
Camera, film, batteries
Penknife (remember to pack all sharp objects in hold baggage)
Notes
The Nepalese are still traditional and conservative in the way they dress. Therefore to avoid embarrassment on both sides we recommend that you respect this and do not wear revealing clothing or sleeveless tops while visiting Nepal. Shorts are acceptable, but they should reach to just above the knee and be modest and for women it is preferable to wear trousers or a long skirt.
Equipment hire: Items marked * can be hired / rented through KE Adventure Travel. Please make all requests at least 6 weeks prior to the trip departure date. All equipment is issued in Kathmandu. Please remember to allow room in your trek bag for these items (note that on trek your mountaineering equipment and plastic boots will be carried separately in communal equipment bags).
Mountaineering boots required for this trip: Climbing at altitudes of up to 6500 metres, the temperatures can be very cold (as low as minus 30 degrees centigrade). Standard leather mountaineering boots are really not suitable for these cold, high altitude conditions. Plastic boots with insulated inners (eg. Scarpa Vega HA, Scarpa Omega IT) and also the new generation of synthetic double boots (eg. La Sportiva Spantik, Boreal G1 light), are the best to keep your feet warm at altitude in these extremely low temperatures. Also, you can sleep in the removable inner boots to ensure warm toes in the morning! These boots are also designed to take step-in crampons, quickly and efficiently. This combination of plastic or double synthetic boots and step-in crampons is by far the most sensible option when considering a trekking peak climb. You must make sure that you are suitably equipped for these extremely low temperatures.
PHD Gear Advisor
PHD specialise in cold weather equipment, from the world’s lightest right up to the most protective for Everest or the Poles. It’s a large range. So to help you choose what you need to keep you warm, PHD have listed the gear that is appropriate for this expedition.
>> Go to the PHD Gear Advisor for Mera Peak and the Amphu Labsta
