safety of trekking peaks?

[jules21]

hello everyone.

me and my partner are planning a trek in nepal next year (i like to plan ahead).

i am busily reading through trekking books and guides (it's therapeutic) and am weighing up options. one that caught my imagination was climbing a peak, such as Imjatse.

Jamie McGuinness' Trekking in the Everest Region implies that, with the help of a professional guide, it's not that dangerous. i'm not an experienced mountaineer, however i'm in good shape. my partner (girlfriend) is in pretty reasonable shape, adventurous to a point, but would not be up for climbing ice walls or other such life-endangering feats of daring.

so is it reasonably safe? or should we just stick to the Annapurna Circuit?

[kegarne]

I would say that some of the trekking peaks are reasonably safe...like Island Peak or Mera as trekking peaks go. I have climbed Mera and found it to be a hard snow slog at high altitude. There was no real objective danger other than a few obvious crevasses but the main problem may be the altitude.

As far as climbing goes there is no technical mountaineering involved at all.

[jules21]

thanks for that.

i've long been interested in mountaineering and high altitudes. i've read a fair bit about people like Lincoln Hall and AMS. it seems that the dangers and symptoms of AMS are fairly clear and that the majority of victims are those who voluntarily take risks and ignore symptoms. in that respect, i'm cautious but not overly concerned and would follow the recommended precautions, i.e. acclimatisation.

[Petrus]

Mera Peak is just a high altitude snow walk, on Imja Tse something resembling climbing is required (ice ax & fixed ropes on the steepest sections). But even that is far from hanging from vertical icicles. Thus it is perfectly possible for anybody resonably fit and acclimatized to attempt these peaks. Ijma Tse is faster/cheaper, as it is just a day's walk trom the main EBC trail. Mera requires a week long approach march & 3 day return. It would be very wise to first trek to EBC/Gokyo and go to Mera (or Imja) after that with solid acclimatization under your belt.

[kegarne]

It sounds like you have the right attitude.

The single most important thing in acclimatising is hydration. Keep your water up and try and 'climb high and sleep low'.

Another thing I would recommend is hiking in from the middle hills. For example if you were gonna try Imja Tse I would suggest starting from Jiri. The long,steep hills( up and down) on the way in to the mountain strengthen your lungs and legs immeasurably, way more than anything you could do in your preparation at home.