Location

Baruntse is situated in Nepal between Everest and Makalu. Baruntse, a substantial and symetrical snow peak, has four ridges and four summits. It is bounded on the east by the Barun Glacier flowing north-south from Cho, to the north-west by the Imja glacier and the Hunku glacier forms the south-east boundary. The three main ridges of Baruntse are situated between these glaciers and form an upturned 'Y'running from Cho Polu (6695m) in the north past the Humni La, on to the north summit where it divides. Other well known mountains in this area are Makalu, Lhotse, Chamlang, Everest and the trekking peak Mera Peak

To reach the base of the mountain, several approaches are possible. One can trek from Lukla over the Mera-La to base camp or one can trek from Tumlingtar via Makalu base camp. The latter approach is more demanding, because 2 high passes have to be conquered, the East Col (or Sherpani Col) and West Col (both around 6100 m). The West Col is also the location of camp 1 and the start of the South-East Ridge to the summit.

On the picture above you can find the Baruntse summit in the shade just below that cloud in the center. The very wide col on the right hand side is the West Col (6100 m). The photo is taken from Baruntse base camp, facing east.

For your convenience I also included Google Earth, to give you an idea of where Baruntse is. The application may ask you to install the Google Earth plug-in.

If you click on one of the red arrows (preferrably starting with the one on Tumlingtar at the bottom) Google Earth will 'fly' to that location. This way you will get an idea of our trekking toward Baruntse. Enjoy!

You can also download the KML file with this itinerary and load it in Google Earth. After loading this file in Google Earth you have to click the 'PLAY' button, which will start the tour.

Team

Age today: Profession: ICT specialist Otto attempted Aconcagua and summitted Mera Peak (6476 m), Elbrus East Peak (5621 m) and Kilimanjaro (5895 m) as well as some peaks in the Alps. He is also a rock climber, ice climber and snowshoeer. In 2008 he successfully climbed Mount Rainier (4392 m).	Age today: Profession: food scientist Marja attempted Aconcagua and Mera Peak and summitted Elbrus East Peak (5621 m). She is also a rock climber, ice climber and snowshoeer. In 2008 she successfully climbed Mount Rainier (4392 m).	Age today: Profession: customs officer Antonio succesfully climbed Aconcagua (6962 m) and Dufourspitze (4634 m) as well as some other Alpine peaks. In 2009 he attempted a winter climb of Mont Blanc. He is also an enthusiastic rock climber.	Age today: Profession: climbing guide Ngima has been on the summits of Cho Oyu (8201 m) and Ama Dablam (6812 m) as well as many trekking peaks (6000+) in Nepal. In 2000 he reached an altitude of 8600 m on Mount Everest. He also climbed in Thailand and the Alps in Europe. Ngima runs a trekking and mountaineering agency in Kathmandu.