From 14 October to 14 November 2019, I led a team to climb Mt Himlung in the Nepal Himalaya.

Mt. Himlung lies north of the Annapurna Range in Nepal, in the spectacular Nar Phu region that borders Tibet. A beautiful and remote mountain, it reaches to 7126m, making it a true expedition peak and requiring multiple camps to complete the ascent. It was only recently opened for climbing by the Nepal Authorities so is relatively untouched.

While the altitude presents its own challenges, the climbing is not technical, establishing it as a perfect training peak for 8000 metre mountains, including Mt Everest. Additionally, the relatively short access trek to basecamp allows teams to have maximum time on the mountain, developing climbing skills and acclimatising appropriately before the push to the summit. The climb, conducted over two weeks, presents stunning Himalayan vistas of Api Hima, Kappa Chuli Peak, Nandadevi, and many other major Himalayan peaks.

During the trek to basecamp we passed through remote, rarely visited villages in the wild Himalaya and passed through two fascinating Tibetan villages of Nar and Phu. Our base camp was set at 4900m in the grassy pastures up valley from Phu village.

We spent a couple of weeks acclimatising on the mountain but biding our time for good weather while other teams made their attemps on the summit, some successful, some not.  When the time was right for us, we made our own summit push.  In the absence of the departed expeditions, we had the mountain to ourselves.  A cold morning led to a colder climb but the team was successful and reached the summit in the mid morning.  After a safe return to basecamp we enjoyed a relaxing trek back out to civilistation and onwards to home.