How do Renjo La & Kongma La compare to Cho La?

[PumoRi]

I'm planning a return to the Khumbu/Gokyo region in March. I was there in March-April 2006 and crossed the Cho La from the Khumbu to Gokyo valleys. It was pretty icy and a bit scary, so this time I will bring YakTrax with me. Can anyone tell me how the Renjo La and Kongma La compare? I'm feeling a bit nervous about my abilities as I am no spring chicken. Thanks!

(I love this site. You guys are so informative and helpful for anyone trekking in Nepal. Much better than Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree site.)

[kegarne]

Cho La is a harder crossing than Kongma La. I have never attempted Renjo la so cannot advise on this one.
In saying that, Kongma La is an amazing pass and well worth the effort. The views of Ama Dablam on the way down to Chukhung are incredible.

[Sharon]

I second that. Kongmal La is a very scenic pass. I haven't done Renjo la either but I suspect the difficulty was more in the lack of tea houses than technical difficulty.

[Oli]

I just crossed Renjo La (from Lugden to Gokyo) and although I havent crossed Cho La or Kongma La to make a direct comaprison I can say that thanks to the recently laid steps on the west side it isnt technically difficult - just a long & sometimes steep climb. The view from the top of fantastic! :eek:

[Sharon]

The more technical passes are lapkas, like Trashi or Amphu I believe.

[kegarne]

I always thought they were Labsta's not Lapka's ??

[KMJ]

I found kongma la from Chukung harder than either Cho la or renjo la, but perhaps this was because it was the first one we did and we were not as well acclimatised.

The cho la from Lobuche has only that last short but very steep section befor ethe snow field but Kongma la felt like we were scrambling up steep rock for hours! On the way over cho la I thought to myself this is not as bad as Kongma la.

Renjo la from Gokyo had two steep sectionsn with flat in between and was not too hard at all. The way down though, when the rock stairs were covered in ice, was very slippery. I remember thinking on the long walk to Thame that it would be very tiring to cross from the Thame side.

So I think it depends on what direction you do each of them and at what point in your trek you do them. Also, at the end of the kongma la we arrived in Lobuche which is not the nicest place, but at the end of cho la, we stayed in Tragnag which had a lovely lodge and great food! Perhaps that has helped me forget the difficulties of the cho la.

They are all worth doing though.

[PumoRi]

Thanks KMJ. Yes, we'll be doing Kongma La from Chukhung, Cho La from Lobuche, and Renjo La from Gokyo. I was acclimatized for the Cho La, it was going down the icy rocks I didn't care for. Kongma La does sound hard because you're not very well acclimatized yet.

Everyone hates Lobuche, but one of my favorite memories is of sitting on the ridge and looking across the valley at Lobuche Peak and PumoRi. I sat there for an hour, completely oblivious to a cold wind, just taking it all in. Absolutely spellbinding! Was there two nights and didn't find it offensive, just a bit primitive.

[kegarne]

Fuck man, I didn't find Lobuche offensive at all...5 star accoms when you are busted from hiking from Gokyo...it was bliss...pasta to go it was amazing !

[Sharon]

It really comes down to your luck of lodges and rooms.

[KMJ]

I agree Sharon that it does depend on the lodge you get. When we did Kongma la, we left Chukkung at 7am and arrived in Lobuche at about 4.30pm (we were slow) so by the time we got there in peak season we were lucky to get a bed at all! PumoRi, you probably have already planned this, but if you are doing kongma la from Chukkung, you might want to spend an extra day in Chukkung and do Chukkung Ri the day before. It is about the same height as Kongma la and good practice.