Mera Peak

I have been planning different variations of a year long, trip around the world for the better part of a decade now. Whenever I found myself unhappy with work or frustrated with my life, I would fantasize about leaving it all behind to explore the world.

I have a notebook filled with possible round-the-world (RTW) itineraries. Sometimes I fancied going east to west, other times west to east. Some itineraries included Australia and New Zealand, while others substituted Russia, Mongolia and China via the Trans-Siberian railway. And each year, my itineraries would change a little as I discovered new destinations (Croatia, Slovenia) and removed politically unstable ones (Egypt, Tunisia). But no matter which variables I played around with, one thing was always a constant in my plans: a month in Nepal to climb Mera Peak.

Mera Peak from the glacier below Mera La

How cool is it that it is possible to climb a 6000+ m Himalayan peak without any prior mountaineering experience? When Nick and I sat down to plan our RTW route, this was an absolute must-do for me. So you can imagine my excitement when, after 15 days of steep climbs and seemingly never-ending descents, two river crossings, days spent hiking through the clouds and evenings spent shivering with a mug of hot chocolate, we arrived at Mera Peak High Camp (5800m). From the precarious little ledges where our tents were pitched, the summit appeared close enough to reach out and touch!