Three Pass Route

Lots of exageration
- this forum is certainly not 'romantic'
- only a few people die or go missing while trekking in Nepal each year (and yes, in the Alps in Europe, quite a few people die too)
- Yak trax and crampons are recent in Nepal. Maybe 10 years ago noone was using them on the 3 passes, and they still made it
- guided treks don't always follow the acclimatization guidelines, just like independent trekkers
What is true is that many trekkers (and even Everest climbers !)in Nepal those days aren't experienced or trained enough for what they are attempting.

Good that you have posted up very honestly re what you saw and experienced. Hopefully it will start a good, meaningful discussion.

I think a big part of the problem is that the 3HPs has become much more popular in the past 4-5 years, and that at least some people view it as a sort of equivalent but alternative trek to say EBC. The 3HPs trek is not at all equivalent to EBC, as I have posted many times (here and on TA) - the 3HPs is physically much tougher than EBC. In my view EBC is not tough and only requires reasonable fitness, but good acclimatisation.

As you say, the actual high passes and the Khumbu and especially the Ngozumpa glaciers are much, much more dangerous in poor weather than walking from say Lobuche to Gorak Shep. The risks are of a completely different order - in terms of getting lost, slipping/falling and suffering from exhaustion.

Another problem is that on these forums one never meets one's readers, so it is almost impossible to pitch advice in a way that is appropriate to that reader. Some people will not struggle that much with the 3HPs, if they are fit enough, acclimatise properly and know how to "read" any cloud build up etc. Other people will be deficient in one or all of things - this will make a huge difference.

A further problem, and one that has become much more common in the past 2 years or so, is that quite a few people do no "homework" at all - they seem to assume that something like EBC, let alone the 3HPs, is just a glorified walk in a park. Some people are not aware of the critical need to acclimatise, incredible though that may seem. We do see some staggeringly naïve questions being put up, again more so than in the past.

The weather will vary from trek to trek, even within a few days. So people who have had no weather problems, say that route finding is easy, that you don't need so many thermals etc - someone reads this, assumes it will be the same for them, and then gets into dire trouble if the weather turns out differently. This appears to have been a factor in the disaster on Thorung La in Oct 2014, when more than 40 trekkers and staff were killed in a severe snow storm.

AFAIK about 3-4 solo trekkers go missing in Nepal each year - some do not get much coverage in the various media and forums. Most seem to disappear whilst doing normal treks in good weather - I strongly suspect that 2 legged creatures are involved in at least some of this cases (the main guide I trek with thinks the same). I am only aware of 1 person missing on an Everest region high pass (an American in about Dec 2014, from what I heard from others in Dec 2015).

For the 3 times I did the 3HPs (Jan 2010, Dec 2010 - Jan 2011 and Dec 2015 - Jan 2016) I did not carry spikes. However we could not cross Cho La in 2015, as the ice at the top had shifted - I am thinking of carrying some form of spikes on future treks. So older advice is not necessarily wrong, the circumstances may have changed. Possibly Cho La was affected by the 2015 earthquakes - the main guide I trek with, who has crossed this pass more than 70 times, had a lot of difficulty the first time he crossed it after the quakes.

I have done 2 treks solo in Nepal. My view is that I would not do something like the 3HPs solo, but it is up to others to make their own decisions, as long as they are fully aware of the risks. I agree that solo trekkers expecting help from others is effectively passing the risk to them, and possibly ruining their trek, based on a decision they have no say in. In my case I get on really well with my guides, so for me there is a strong social aspect of trekking with them (2 brothers, 1 per trek).

One other thing: some people post up replies about things like the 3HPs, even though they have not crossed any of the Everest region high passes, but often don't make that lack of experience clear.

I agree that conversations like this are useful, it's important to reflect on one's abilities and risk profile to determine whether an activity is worth doing. However, it's completely counterproductive to throw in ridiculous exaggerations. For example: "400 people go missing in Nepal every year trekking"??? Do you have a source for that, or is that just something you made up for hyperbole? While it's possible that some missing persons reports do not get publicity, I frequently follow trekking news, and have never heard of more than a handful of people going missing in a year, outside of major catastrophes such as cyclones and earthquakes - and even then we're talking dozens, not hundreds.

To put things in perspective, the European Alps are far more dangerous from this statistical perspective. As recently as 2012, 300 people died in the Austrian alps, and as many as 8000 injured. Of the deaths, about 90 are attributed to trekkers: http://www.planetski.eu/news/3980

I agree on one comment about Kongma pass. I wouldn't go there alone. It is physical but more than this going down towards lobuche pose risks on the rocky trail down and on the kumbu crossing.

Otherwise I also find much of the op warnings as exaggerated.

As for acclimatization only, I think that EBC is tougher then 3HP (when done with 2 nights at dingboche followed by 2 more at chucking). I've seen more people suffer from a sickness in lobuche and gorakshep when came the EBC route.

I agree that the OP is exaggerating a good deal. For example the west side of the Cho La is certainly rocky, and can be awkward if there is snow/ice, but it is hardly "extremely steep" to anyone with good mountain walking experience.

IMO there has been an increase in inexperienced people contemplating and attempting trips that seem beyond their experience and knowledge. I say this from my experience of answering questions on TT and seeing people struggle in Nepal.

About a year ago an OP started asking questions about the Shipton La - Amphu Lapcha crossing. He obviously had no idea of the ground or any significant experience. Yet he wanted to do it without local help. On the Dhaulagiri trek last October I saw a couple walking on their own struggle with the first day on the glacier. They kept walking into dead ends. When my friends and I offered them help they became quite upset and refused it. Eventually they made it to the glacier camp and we were able to persuade them to join us for the next day. They later turned back below French Pass, having refused to take any acclimatisation days at Base Camp.

IMO Skyline 1 is right about a sense of perspective. However I suspect that if the more difficult Nepalese treks remain fashionable among the inexperienced, problems will increase. In my replies on TT I try to inject a little realism into the OP's plans without, I hope, being too discouraging. Perhaps that will have some effect.

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