Climbing Mera Peak: UK Ambassador Summits Himalayan Mountain

UK Adventurer Jim Hart just completed a massive mountaineering milestone: climbing Mera Peak in Nepal! Jim spent many months training in preparation for this trek, and we were thrilled to follow the adventure as he safely and successfully reached the summit of this iconic Himalayan mountain – with the help of some amazing local Sherpas.  

We’re honored to have Jim on the FlipFuel Ambassador Athlete team. In addition to helping fuel the adventure, we're stoked to shine a spotlight on his incredible climbing (and fundraising) achievements.

We were lucky to catch up with him a bit after his trek. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to reach the summit of one of these famous mountain peaks, here ya go! 

Climbing Mera Peak - Day One: Kathmandu 

On Monday 23rd September ‘24 at 4am, we woke and left our hotel to be the first to fly out of Kathmandu direct to Lukla (internationally famed as being the most dangerous airport in the World).

Arriving at the tiny airport check-in, we passed security and boarded our flight to Lukla with Tara Air. Having flown this route before, I was well aware of how exhilarating (and nerve-wracking) the flight is … especially the landing!

Coming safely to a land in Lukla some 45 minutes later, we went straight to a tea house to meet our Sherpa team and discuss logistics before starting our hike out into the Solo Khumbu region.

We were told later that evening that our flight was one of the only ones to leave the capital due to incoming storms, which were set to last several days … it was clearly well worth the effort to leave our warm beds at 4am!

Climbing Mera Peak - Several Days: 1000m Hikes & Monsoons

The next few days saw us hiking an average of seven hours a day. Most days our elevation was well over 1000m, which is the height of the average UK mountain. We passed through large rhododendron forests, following steep rock paths and stopping frequently to pull off leaches that decided we were an appetising lunch!

Area: Hinku Valley

The forthcoming days followed a very similar pattern, hiking up to 4300m then descending down into the valleys. Sadly though all of this was in pretty biblical weather, which at this point we hoped would just be a few passing showers and not the dreaded storms we had been warned about.

However, it soon became clear that these were no simple showers. In fact, we had been caught in the end of Nepal’s monsoon season in the worst storms to hit the region in over 50 years.

Climbing Mera Peak - Several More Days: Tea House in Khote

We managed to hike to a tea house in a very small village called Khote, but the route to get there was quite a challenge. The paths had turned to rivers and thunder struck the dark grey clouds as the rain poured constantly onto our clothing. which streamed with water.

It was at this point that our morale was really put to the test.

In the tea house, we conversed with a group of Russian climbers who were descending having failed to summit Mera due to the storm conditions. (Three of the group having to withdraw just 200m from the summit.)

The Russians entertainingly sipped shots of vodka while telling us they had been stuck at Khote for several days and were awaiting a heli to Kathmandu but sadly had now missed their international flights. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Russian team. Mother Nature can be so unpredictable.

It was confirmed to us by our Sherpa team that no flights (plane or heli) had landed in Lukla since Monday, stranding most climbing teams in Kathmandu (which in places was now badly flooded).

We went to bed that night in hope of more positive news the next morning.

Climbing Mera Peak - Day 7: Makalu Barun National Park

We woke at first light on Sunday 29th September and finally the rain had passed giving clear views up the valley to Mera Peak. We wished our Russian friends a safe onward journey and started our trek into the Makalu Barun National Park.

The gentle upward hike followed burst river banks. The sun warmed our shoulders, And the vitamin D fix brought a smile to all our faces (which was much needed after the last few days).

I chatted to Dawa Sherpa as we walked and felt in very safe hands as he told me he had summited Everest twice along with many other successful summits on various other 7k and 8k peaks.

Dawa gave me good advice on Himlung Himel (a peak I am considering for 2027), and he joked that with my big legs it should be an easy task … if only I could combine my legs with his ‘Sherpa’ lungs!

Arriving in Thangnak we chilled for the afternoon, looking out over snow-capped high peaks while sipping ginger tea and reflecting on how lucky we were to be there.

Climbing Mera Peak - Day 8: Acclimatising Exercises

The following day saw us having some time acclimatising. This means climbing high to fill our lungs with oxygen before descending back down to sleep at a lower altitude.

Altitude Tip: Climbing high and sleeping low helps reduce the risk of altitude sickness, which increases your chances of a successful summit when the time comes.

The hike took us high above Thangnak with spectacular views of Mera South above us. It shed snow several times with small avalanches as we stared in amazement -- knowing that hopefully in a few days we would be making an attempt at climbing the main Mera Peak.

Climbing Mera Peak - Day 9: Basecamp in Khare

The following day, we woke early to start our hike closer towards our goal with the base for the night being a small village named Khare set high up in the mountains with clear views of Mera Peak.

En-route, we detoured slightly off track to have a look at Thangnak Lake, which until recent times was fed by a glacier. Sadly, it has pretty much receded (a very sad reminder of the damage we are doing to our planet and clear evidence of global warming).

The hike was pretty brutal with thick, fresh snow mixed with some 30+ degree sunshine beating down on us with nowhere to hide. We passed a climber in the opposite direction who I suspect was Dutch, I smiled at him and asked if he was okay; he told me that he had an unsuccessful summit attempt as apparently the snow was impassable higher up the mountain …

At this stage, I hoped (and prayed) for change in the forthcoming days.

Climbing Mera Peak - Day 10: Refuel and Fixing Lines

The tea house (sitting at just below 5000m) was a very welcome sight for some much needed pasta to refuel while kit-checking our high climbing gear and making some master plans for the forthcoming days.

That evening we spoke at length with a group of climbers, including a woman from Australia, a Dutch guy and a Spanish couple too. All of whom managed to summit earlier in the day.

They did say that the conditions were incredibly tough and that the snow was the worst the region had experienced in 8 years.

Wednesday, 2nd October: We spent the day fixing lines on fresh snow and practicing our high mountain techniques with full harnesses, crampons, axes and high altitude boots ahead of a push to high camp the next day.

Climbing Mera Peak - Day 11: Mera Peak High Camp

Thursday, 3rd October will now always be known as one of the hardest days of my life.

We set off at 6am from Khare in heavy cloud, the sun tried desperately for hours to break through but sadly never did! We pushed on in thick pea soup with a visibility in places less than 4ft. The elevation seemed like it was never going to end as we stopped every twenty paces or so to let our lungs recover.

Myself and three others plus a Sherpa named Mingma made a breakaway from the main group and came into Mera Peak High Camp (standing at 5900m) after 5.5 brutal hours in the boots; mentally (and physically) … DRAINED.

High Camp is as basic as a camp gets which is what you would expect at this altitude; although there is hot tea and soup and a permanently pitched tent for you to crash in for a few hours before making a push on to the Mera summit in the very early hours.

Climbing Mera Peak - Day 12: Mera Peak!

With a midnight alarm we exited our tents and via the light from head torch kitted up into full high mountain climbing kit including ropes, harnesses, crampons and ice axes. Teams were selected and we were roped together with one Sherpa in the lead then four following. At 1am we pushed on into the darkness to make our attempt on the mighty Mera Peak. Immediately we were met with vast challenges as the snow fall was so heavy there was no obvious path; so we had to make our own while taking into consideration the various dangers including avalanche risk.

Mingma Sherpa who lead our rope team was quite simply incredible with knowledge and skills second to none, he took everything in his stride and risk assessed every move before continuing upward.

Milestone Moment: Reaching the Summit of Mera Peak

In places the snow was knee deep (I’m 6ft 4”) and that, mixed with a vertical ascent of 900m, made for an incredibly challenging start to the day. The temperature was -20 degrees, but at least it was dry and we had a clear night’s sky.

The sun came up just after 5am and silhouetted the high mountains of the Himalayas in a jaw-dropping show from Mother Nature.

And we pushed on, now with the summit close in front of our eyes.

At 06:37 hrs on Friday 4th October 2024, I officially became part of the 6k club summiting Mera Peak (6476m / 21247ft) in blue bird skies with Mt Everest (the highest place on earth) behind me. This was without doubt the biggest challenge of my life and it was one hell of an adventure to get here!

Ambassador Treks: From Kathmandu to Mera Peak