For many, they get a taste of trekking at altitude, and then they seek higher objectives. Naturally, Nepal becomes a focus. Not only are the Himalayas a stunning place to trek and expedition, they host a number of 6000m 'trekking peaks', with the tallest available being Mera Peak. Given the demands of completing such a peak, how do you know when you're not only ready to consider it, but also fit enough to make it actually happen.
In this blog we cover:
What is a 'trekking peak'?
When should you consider taking on a 6000m trekking peak?
What 6000m trekking peaks do we offer in Nepal?
How fit do you need to be to climb a 6000m peak?
What technical skills do you need?
What is a 'trekking peak'?
The exact definition for a trekking peak varies, but the concept of what one is amongst these descriptions is largely the same. A trekking peak is one that requires little mountaineering skills to reach the top. They will often hold a base camp and / or a high camp, require the use of Crampons, and possible an element of being roped up for glacial travel, or using fixed lines.
When should you consider taking on a 6000m trekking peak?
If you're wanting to climb a 6000m trekking peak, you're going to need to give at least 2-3 weeks of time to climb it, and a good chunk of money too - so if you're going to take it on, you probably want to know you've got a chance of success. You'll have a greater understanding of this if you've built up previous experience on peaks of a lower elevation, and treks of a similar length.
Climbing a mountain such as Mount Toubkal in Morocco is a superb starting point. At 4167m it is the tallest peak in North Africa. It only takes a few days to climb, and if you climb it in winter you will bring the experience more inline to tackling a trekking peak (Ground conditions, kit required, weather). What this experience doesn't simulate though is the length of a 6000m expedition. I think completing a trek such as the one to Everest Base Camp is a superb primer as it's longer in duration, plus you get a feel for a country like Nepal. Finally, you get to head to a pretty good altitude of over 5300m at Base camp, or 5545m if you make it up Kallar Pathar!
A Kilimanjaro & Mt Meru expedition would simulate the duration well, and of course with Kili topping out at 5895m, you're so very close to stepping over that 6000m mark anyway.
Going off of our current expedition offering, I would say the best pathway would be:
Trekking Peak (Mera Peak, Lobuche East, Island Peak)
or
Mount Toubkal in Winter
Trekking Peak (Mera Peak, Lobuche East, Island Peak)
(Between the expeditions, I would be looking at gaining further winter walking experience in the UK when the seasons allow)
Each expedition will provide you with loads of experiences, which will ultimately all end up making that expedition up a trekking peak much more enjoyable. One major point will be the familiarity to operating at altitude, and the more you experience it, the better you become at implementing the things that will help ease the process or make you more comfortable with it.
Finally, the more adventure travel experiences you have, the calmer and more open minded you become to what is and isn't within your 'Circle of Influence'.
What 6000m trekking peaks do we offer in Nepal?
We currently offer expeditions up Mera Peak (6476m), Island Peak (6165m) and Lobuche East (6119m). All three mountains have their own character, pros and cons.
Island Peak and Lobuche East are found within the Khumbu Valley, and many people will tag a visit to Everest Base Camp onto their trip to climb one or both peaks.
Mera Peak is one valley over and the whole style of the expedition feels very different. Mera Peak is often a popular choice as it is the tallest of these three trekking peaks, and by many, is regarded as the tallest trekking peak in Nepal.
How fit do you need to be to climb a 6000m peak?
One of the most frequently asked questions, and without a doubt one of the hardest to quantify! Your previous experience on similar expeditions will give you a great indication how you fare, especially once you get into double-figure days of hiking on the trot. Throw in increasing altitudes, and decreased levels of recovery and appetite, and there are a lot of factors in the mix to consider.
But, in the interest of answering the question, you want to be very 'hill' fit. By this, I would expect an individual to be able to undertake pretty much any big hill day in the UK and not be destroyed by it. I'd say this would be an average of 15-20km with 1500m+ of ascent (Think Scottish Munro bagging days, or the bigger Lake District or Welsh Horseshoe walks). There are few days on any of the above trekking peak itineraries with such a demand, but once you layer on all those external factors, the difficulty is certainly increased. What's more, you'd need to know you have the ability to trek day after day, for a couple of weeks. Some of the days on your expedition might be as short as 4 hours, but you're still putting a demand on the body that needs to be recovered from.
If I was training for a trekking peak, I would want to be linking multiple hill days together (3-4) and looking to accrue about 3000-4000m in that time. I would ensure I was doing all of this with a rucksack that was an equal weight to what I'll be wearing for the bulk of the expedition. Overloading your pack (i.e carrying more than you expect to carry) is a superb way of getting more out of your training walks, and it helps to 'normalise' a heavier weight than what you'll need to carry.
Further to big hill walks, I'd be layering on some supplementary resistance training. Whether this is in a gym, or a home workout, I'd recommending doing sessions that bring strength and resilience to the whole body.
If you're already quite active and have a great 'Aerobic Base' and feel you can hike for hours and hours anyway, I would be looking to add some intensity into my sessions. Increasing your V02 Max and Lactate Threshold both have great advantages when hiking at altitude.
What technical skills do you need?
As mentioned in the description of what a trekking peak is, they require little mountaineering skill to summit. However, the more familiar you are with the skills required, the more comfortable you're going to be, and the more you'll enjoy it.
Mera Peak, despite being the tallest, is the most straightforward skills wise. You need to be able to walk in crampons, whilst tied into a rope with 2-3 other people. The rope tying the group together is for safety when travelling across the crevassed glacier. There is a little art to this as you need to all walk at a similar pace to stop the rope from sagging or pulling, but you soon get the hang of it.
Island Peak and Lobuche East don't require group travel on a rope, but they do have 'Fixed Lines' for you to ascend. A fixed line is a rope that is attached to the mountain, and you use an ascender (alternatively known as a Jumar) to clip into that rope. The ascender is useful to pull on to make progress, and it doesn't slip back down the rope. Using an ascender is quite straightforward. To get back down the lines you will be required to abseil using a 'Fig 8' abseil device. Again, once it is attached to the rope, it's quite simple to use.
With both of the above skills, some familiarity beforehand is helpful but not essential. Every expedition builds in a little time for the guides to either teach you or check you have the skills. Furthermore, the guide will always be near you on the mountain to help you if you need extra help.
Both Lobuche East and Island Peak also require the use of crampons.
Lobuche East also holds sections of scrambling as you need to get through a rock band to get from the Base Camp to 'Crampon Point'. Being familiar with moving on rock in big boots is a good quality to take into this trip. This section is also dressed with fixed lines in the required places.
In Summary...
There will of course be people who have successfully climbed a trekking peak without going through the above steps, or even training much I bet, but the above advice is based on you being able to get the most enjoyment out of your experience. The last thing you want to do is throw time and money down the drain, or head into a trip worrying if you've even got a chance of making the summit. There are loads of things that you can't control, but you can control what fitness, skill and experience you take into such a trip.
If you'd like tackle your fitness head on? Get in touch with us at Summit Push Fitness. We have all sorts of options to help get you prepared for your 6000m peak adventure.
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