Nepal Treks with International Mountain Guides
The Everest Base Camp Trek is a classic adventure! IMG offers treks through the Khumbu Valley of Nepal to the Everest South Side Base Camp as well as through Tibet to Everest North Side Base Camp. Dozens of companies offer Everest Treks, but we believe our experience, safety precautions, and solid record of trekking and climbing in the Himalayas make IMG your best choice for trekking Nepal and Tibet.
IMG also offers the opportunity to combine your Nepal trek with a climb of Lobuche Peak (20,075') or the unique chance to climb to the Western Cwm of Everest through the Khumbu Icefall and beyond. Please read on to find out what makes the International Mountain Guides Everest Base Camp Trek different from all the rest.
Classic Nepal Everest Base Camp Trek
The trek to Everest BC is one of the world's classic human powered adventures! We have three trekking departures to Base Camp; each trek accompanies the IMG climbing team and sees all the famous sights on the way up and down the Khumbu Valley. Our itinerary includes staying in lodges between Lukla and Pheriche, then in our custom Lobuche Peak base camp (for fantastic acclimatization hiking) for several nights prior to moving on up to Everest BC at the beginning of the expedition. Rub shoulders with the climbers and see what a real expedition is like. Climb Kala Pattar, hike up to the base of the Khumbu Icefall and get some photos, then join in with the expedition puja ceremony at Base Camp. You stay overnight at Everest Base Camp as a guest of the expedition; only trekkers associated with expeditions are allowed to stay at EBC. Then, trek back out to Lukla with our crack guide team for the flight to Kathmandu.
We have a limited number of positions available on these Classic EBC Treks, accompanying each of our three climbing teams.
Gokyo Extension to EBC Trek
For trekkers wishing to extend their trek, we have the Gokyo Extension Option with Trek Team 2 which adds 6 days of trekking. You'll cross two more high passes (Cho La and Renjo La @ 5300+m) and visit the famous Gokyo Valley. What a classic! From the summit of Gokyo Ri you see Cho Oyu (8153m), Gyangchung Kang (7922m), Lhotse (8501m), Makalu (8475 m), Cholatse (6440m), Taweche (6542m), Kantega (6685m), Thamserku (6808m), Lobuche (6145m) and Mt. Everest (8848m).
Sherpa Trek with Local Guides to Everest BC
Our Nepalese led Everest trek offers top notch support and logistics. This group also stays at IMG Base Camp, near the end of the expedition, normally about the time of the summit bids. This is an exciting time to be there! After the Base Camp overnights, trek back out to Lukla with our local guide team for the flight to Kathmandu. With a slightly accelerated itinerary, you can do this trip in 3 weeks of vacation time!
Lobuche Peak Summit Climb
If you would like to visit Everest Base Camp with our Teams 1, 2 or 3 and stay longer and go higher, bring your crampons and ice axe and add a climb of Lobuche Peak (to over 20,000 feet — we stop at the false summit — the last pitch to the real summit is difficult technical climbing).
After spending several nights at Everest BC for acclimatization, our Lobuche climbers and members of the Guide Team will drop one day back down the valley to climb this beautiful peak, with world class views of Everest from the summit. From the beautiful IMG Lobuche Base Camp tucked up a side valley from the EBC trek route, the route climbs to a high camp which leads to the summit ridge. The steeper parts of the climb to the ridge are normally fixed with about 500 meters of rope.
Lobuche Peak is a perfect objective if you are fit and have Mt. Rainier type skills (ice axe, crampons, and roped glacier travel). We will review use of fixed ropes for climbers who have not done this before. Afterward, trek back out to Lukla with our crack Nepalese Guide Team for the flight to Kathmandu.
Please see the Lobuche Expedition Pages for more info specifically on Lobuche Peak.
Note on Dates
Dates are listed starting with the arrival day to Kathmandu to the arrival day back to Kathmandu from Lukla at the end of the trip.
The ending dates for the EBC Classic Trek, Sherpa Trek, and Lobuche Climb are FIXED, but you should add one contingency day in Kathmandu at the end, before flying home, in case of Lukla flight delay.
Expedition Organization and Leadership
International Mountain Guides (IMG)
IMG is the oldest and most respected high-altitude climbing service in the world and its Himalayan mountaineering programs are organized and directed by Eric Simonson. Their teams include a group of professionals who are the best in the business. Since 1990, we have conducted over 60 Himalayan 8000 meter expeditions, and over 800 IMG team members have summited the world's classic 8,000-meter peaks, including Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma.
IMG's Philosophy
IMG leads the way! Our goal is to minimize risk while helping as many members as possible reach their goal, and we invest in the logistics and manpower to make this possible. We will not sit back and let other teams do the work. Our IMG Staff is part of the rope fixing efforts preparing the route for future summit bids. We value our reputation as one of the premiere international climbing companies. If you would like to join a world-class team in Nepal, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your goals and qualifications for membership in the IMG Nepal trek team!
Ang Jangbu Sherpa and the Nepalese Team
A veteran of dozens of expeditions and an Everest summiter, Ang Jangbu has worked on every IMG Himalayan program since 1991 and is an immensely popular leader. Ang Jangbu Sherpa and his staff put together one of the very best Guide teams for IMG. We are proud to have a group of Local Guides working for us who are among the best paid, best led, best equipped, and best trained in the business.
References
Joining a high-altitude trek or expedition is a serious decision. You should be completely confident in the organization and leadership before you make that decision. Many of you have climbed with us before, and because your experience with us was good, you're considering another climb with us. For those of you who haven't climbed with us before, we strongly encourage you to interview us thoroughly and also talk to our past clients. When you're ready to make the decision, we'll be happy to provide you with a complete list of references.
Please also browse comments online from our trekkers and climbers.