Makalu is the 5th highest mountain in the world at 8485m / 27838ft. It was first climbed in 1955 by Lional Terray and Jean Couzy.
The first Australian ascent of Makalu was in 1995 by Mark Auricht and David Hume; the first New Zealand ascent was in 1995 by Rob Hall. (Source: Himalayan Database)
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Project Base8000 expedition: April 2019 (completed).
Base Camp – Nepal – 4,800m / 15,748ft
Advance Base Camp – Nepal – 5,700m / 18,701ft
- we trekked to both base camps – Makalu Base Camp and Advance Base Camp.
- we trekked in alongside the Expedition Base mountaineering expedition to summit Makalu, which was an experience in itself to meet the climbers.
- our planned route followed a circuit – from Tumlingtar in the Makalu region in eastern Nepal to Makalu Advance Base Camp then over the Sherpani Col and Amphu Lapcha pass to the Everest region. However heavy snow conditions on the passes meant that we had to helicopter over them to Dingboche in the Khumbu region so that we could continue the trek
- a shorter trek option would be to go from Tumlingtar to Makalu Base Camp and back again, without traversing the passes. Trekkers don’t typically trek further to Advance Base Camp as this is a more challenging section up a glacier.
- being a more remote area, there were few other trekkers on the trail and not so many teahouses. We camped in some areas.
- how to get there – fly from Kathmandu to Tumlingtar, drive to Num and trek from there. The trek ended in Lukla where we flew back to Kathmandu
- number of days trekking – 22 days with extra days at either end to fly/drive
- best time of year to trek – April for the climbing season, otherwise October.
Read our blogpost on Makalu
You can read the blogpost on our Makalu Advance Base Camp trek here.
