Looking around for 6000m peaks, if you get greedy and just for fun look out for a 7, you find the Baruntse. It's located in the same absolutely fantastic area as the other Nepal options I have listed, meaning stunning views on magical mountains like the Everest, the Makalu "etc..."The mountain has three main ridges leading to the top, which means depending from which angle you look at it it might look like 3 different mountins. On the picture above I believe the ascent route goes to the col on the right hand side, and follows the ride to the top.
As my uncle puts it: the Mera Peak is like a Mont Blanc without technical difficulties, but 1700m higher. The Baruntse, besides being another 700m higher than Mera, seems to present a couple of rocky steps, and the slopes toward the summits can get pretty steep. A bit like the North Face of the Tour Ronde, which I climbed (with my guide leading) last October, except it's located 3000m higher in altitude, so you have about half the oxygen! Better prepare the calves for a rough time!
If I knew I could do this, it would be a no-brainer and I would book tomorrow. This is the point: do I have what it takes to conquer the Baruntse? Some websites say it's the next step for someone who climbed a 6000m peak before. I don't think my Kilimanjaro counts... I can train hard enough, I can buy loads of gear if needed, I can pay for an expensive expedition, I can pray for the weather, I might get enough holiday time, the november weather should be stable enough. What could go wrong? At this stage I don't want to focus on the possibilities for this idea to become a disaster.
Would I rather make it to a 6500m peak or reach even higher altitudes but miss the summit on the Baruntse... Big, big question! I must say there is no guarantee either that I would summit a 6500m peak. Maybe I could even make it to one of the 14 summits above 8000m, but the risk of not succeeding and the risk of undergoing big trouble rises with the altitude of the attempted summit. Where is the right limit for me this time around? Will I ever be able to get back to such height in the future to try and raise the game again, or do I have to see this as the one chance to reach the summit of my life, therefore having to make it as high as possible?
+ Once again, it's NEPAL!! I want to go to Nepal!
+ 7129m is a massive achievement. Apart from my alpine guides in Chamonix, there is nobody I know personally who reached such altitude.
+ Some expedition organisers say you can learn what you need to know about climbing during the trip, you just have to be stupidly fit. I wouldn't believe this, but it could mean my limited alpine experience should suffice technically speaking.
+ Expeditions tend to tick off the Mera Peak first, so even if you don't conquer the Baruntse, you have hopefully topped a mountain in Nepal!
+ An introduction to Himalayas style ascent: Base camp, camp 1, camp 2, and acclimatisation trips to the higher camps.
+/- It's a tough thing to haul yourself to 7129m. Even in perfect conditions, the summit day is a big, big ask on your body. The reward is as big as the effort.
- Expeditions require over a month, in the region of 34 days, which I have low chances to get from work
The summit brief from Camp2Camp: http://www.summitpost.org/baruntse/153293
Adventure Peaks expedition: http://www.adventurepeaks.com/expeditions/baruntse.htm
Summit Climb expedition: http://www.summitclimb.com/new/default.asp?vid=663<itle=Baruntse
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