Trip Overview
Being more remote, Parchamo is less popular than Mera Peak or Island Peak with only a handful of ascents per year. It is not uncommon for there to be just one team on the mountain!
Your Parchamo expedition starts with an exciting flight to Lukla. From there the route in follows the Everest Base Camp trail to Namche Bazaar where you will spend a day acclimatising before heading west to the idyllic Sherpa village of Thame (3,820m). It is possible to reach Parchamo Base Camp (4,780m) in one day from Thame but to allow for further acclimatisation we break the ascent at Thyangbo (4,230m), a small Yak herders village with one basic lodge. The Thame valley is truly stunning, with a wall of 6,500m peaks to the south and another, equally impressive wall of peaks to the north. Off the main tourist route few trekkers venture further than Thyangbo.
Base Camp (4,780m) is situated in a rocky amphitheater with room for several tents; it has a roomy porter shelter and a rudimentary toilet. Some move straight from Base Camp to High Camp (5,665m) but the wisest option is to put in an intermediate camp at 5,130m. The route from Intermediate Camp to High Camp can be tricky with steep scrambling and stone fall, a helmet is recomended. At High Camp stone fall can also be a problem so the tents are tucked in under the wall of Teng Ragi Tau (6,943m).
From High Camp the route climbs steadily up a snow ridge with one or two steeper sections towards the summit. From the summit you are rewarded with breathtaking views...west into the Rolwaling valley, north to Tibet and east to the Khumbu. The summit push over you will retrace your steps to Thame, Namche Bazaar and Lukla for another exciting flight to Kathmandu.
