Khumbu in March / April - clear skies or mist like Annapurnas?

[gnik]

I enjoyed a great ABC trek in Oct with clear skies & fantastic mountain views. But I had friends who trekked the Annapurnas in March / April who commented that, for them, the mountains were often clouded in the seasonal mist that builds up before the monsoon.

Is this also an issue in March / April in the Khumbu region (e.g. Gokyo trek) or is visibility generally better due to higher altitude?

[Escher]

The haze starts to increase in April and I have found it the same in the Annapurnas and the Khumbu. I've trekked quite a few times in March and found it much less hazy than April. A typical pattern is for it start to clouding over lunchtime/early afternoon with very clear mornings. The afternoon cloud can lead to wonderful inversions up high. So I would say March is fine, April getting a little hazy and increasing through the month, May much more so. I much prefer Spring to October trekking not least because it is quieter and possibly snowier than the peak October/November trekking season.

[gnik]

The haze starts to increase in April and I have found it the same in the Annapurnas and the Khumbu. I've trekked quite a few times in March and found it much less hazy than April. A typical pattern is for it start to clouding over lunchtime/early afternoon with very clear mornings. The afternoon cloud can lead to wonderful inversions up high. So I would say March is fine, April getting a little hazy and increasing through the month, May much more so. I much prefer Spring to October trekking not least because it is quieter and possibly snowier than the peak October/November trekking season.

Thanks for the reply. Interesting that you prefer Spring to Autumn. I guess mid-March would be your optimum time then, balancing weather / visibility / crowds.

I read somewhere that the haze isn't really an issue >4000m. I suspect my friends who commented on a lack of mountain views (& for me this is one one the main appeals of trekking) were at a lower altitude than this.

[Escher]

Most people doing the AC will start from Besisahar's altitude and hence start from 1000m-ish and mountain views are hard to come by until you get into the Manang valley and over 3000m, it's pot luck whether you'll get anything before that. I've found this in October and March on the AC. Whereas most people going to the Khumbu start at Lukla and therefore go into clearer air to start with whereas starting lower down from Jiri you'll get the same haze/cloud. Really you can only talk about general trends. You went in October and had lovely clear weather. When I've been in October I didn't. In January/February/March I've had both at different times on different treks. I think all that can be relied upon is haze increasing late March, into April and up to the monsoon. Likely to be clearer in late November, early December but much else is hard to say. One persons experience on one trek and one time of year is just that - one experience. That said during all the times I've been I've had 75% at the very least gorgeous weather. All I would do is have enough extra time so that if I get to Gokyo and it is cloudy as can happen anytime then I can hang on for a few days to wait for it to clear. I've been there when people have turned up in cloud and then left the next morning having seen nothing. What a waste! We waited and that evening had the most amazing cloud inversion I've ever seen and then a week of crystal clear weather. Have a look at my photos and you can see how clear it is in March/April for yourself http://www.flickr.com/photos/escher1/collections/72157594587689365/, the last trip in 2008 was Feb/March.

Basically I wouldn't worry about it!

[Spaceman347]

March 2007 for me and the weather was fine. I had some overnight rain in Namche and blue sky for the rest of the trip.