So after I heard I might suffer disappointment and even boredom by attempting the Mera Peak, I am on the hunt again for 6000m peaks to climb in October/November. I'm pretty sure I want to go to Nepal, and I could probably attempt a 7000m peak, but such expeditions cost a LOT of money, take a bit longer than I can afford off-work, and the acclimatisation challenge makes any technical difficulty a gamble in the short time most expeditions give you to attempt the climb. So not the safest bet, although in the future if I had money and time I would definitely try one of these.
More "affordable" are the mountains classed as "trekking peaks" in Nepal, a good part of them above 6000m. Now it's really difficult to gauge the technical difficulty of each of them, and their levels of objective dangers. Once you get out of "everybody's mountain", the most climbed peaks in the region, it's really difficult to find the right one for you. Just like it's difficult to find the right expedition provider.
A couple of people have told me I should consider South America, which offers a number of 6000m mountains with slightly technical climbing. For some reason I want to go to Nepal, but now I'm looking at mountains "from which you don't even see the Everest", one of the most fascinating features of the area. Although you're never far away from an 8000m peak, the advantage of the Mera Peak is that you're right next to the Everest&Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu etc...
Pictures and websites all look very black and white, a mix of snow, ice and rock. Maybe it's because I keep researching when I get back from work, spending a few more hours in front of a computer screen in fading daylight, that it all looks pretty grim. It's when I'm in the mountains that I actually feel the thrill, and I know it's what I enjoy most. Over-organising and over-thinking is starting to get me!
Should I stop those projects and save the money to try the crazy routes I dream of in the alps, the Aiguille Verte, the Kuffner, the Innominata, why not even the Jorasses? If I'm going to follow a guide anyway, it might as well be the one I know and I'm happy giving money to! For trekking and climbing in Nepal you can find never ending lists of mountains, you just look at numbers and grading to make your mind up. I like the size of the Mont Blanc range, it's big enough to offer almost endless opportunities (for someone who doesn't work there), but it's got a kind of cosy atmosphere. You're always in sight of the Mont Blanc, and although I only wish to be alone on my mountain, I like to have around me some peaks I've been to. Going to Nepal or South America feels a bit like climbing somebody else's mountain...
Right now I'm looking at the Naya Kanga (5844m), the Hiunchuli Peak (6441m), and some expeditions doing a combo of "trekking peaks", like: Yala Peak and Kangja La, Yanapaccha and Chopakalki, or even a 29 days marathon up Gokyo Ri/ Kalar Patar/ Pokalde/ Lobuje East/ Island Peak.
And all this time I spend looking stuff up is some time I don't spend training or sleeping, both much needed for the success of my mountain week-ends, which in turn are part of the training for the big mountain climbing... Any clues, anyone?
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