There couldn’t have been a better trek to cap off a year of adventure. The Three Passes Trek in the Himalaya’s Everest region takes about two-three weeks to complete (first week spent acclimatizing with short hike days) and is a loop which includes 6 peaks or passes of ~18,000ft (you start at 9,000).
It’s a truly spectacular hike. I thought I knew big mountains until I stood in a 15,000ft valley looking up at a 29,000ft peak. Utterly majestic and the barren, frozen, wind swept landscape just amplifies the experience.
I don’t know what tips to give other than dress in layers and take your time acclimatizing – HAPE/HACE is no joke. Be especially cautious if you are hiking solo, as I did.
To Sherpa or not to Sherpa: I struggled with this one. On one hand, the local economy is almost entirely dependent on hikers and climbers. On the other hand, if you hire a Sherpa guide you are responsible to outfit them, feed them and they decide how far you go each day. That and the route finding is not too difficult, save the glacier crossings which are a maze of shifting ice and can be tricky. In the end, I decided against it. I did stay in the little villages, bought all my food there and made a donation to the earthquake relief fund….
Bottom line: EPIC EPIC EPIC hike and I highly recommend it.
The Ragamuffin Billy Goat 