Imja Tse

Imja Tse, better known as Island Peak, is a mountain in Sagarmatha National Park of the Himalayas of eastern Nepal. The peak was named Island Peak in 1951 by Eric Shipton's party since it appears as an island in a sea of ice when viewed from Dingboche. The peak was later renamed in 1983 to Imja Tse but Island Peak remains the popular choice. The peak is actually an extension of the ridge coming down off the south end of Lhotse Shar.Imja Tse was first climbed in 1953 as part of a training exercise by a British expedition that went on to summit Mount Everest which included Charles Evans, Alf Gregory, Charles Wylie and Tenzing Norgay, with seven Sherpas.Imja Tse is a popular mountaineering objective for climbers in Nepal, with its standard climbing route having the difficulty rating of Alpine PD+. The peak is typically climbed in a round trip from Kathmandu in 20 days.Climbing routeTo climb Island Peak, one has the option of starting from a base camp at 5087m called Pareshaya Gyab and starting the climb between 2 and 3 am. Another popular option is to ascend to High Camp at around 5600m to reduce the amount of effort and time needed for summit day. However, adequate water supply and concerns about sleeping at a higher altitude may dictate starting from base camp. Base camp to high camp is basically a hike but just above high camp, some rocky steps require moderate scrambling and up through a broad open gully. At the top of the gully, glacier travel begins and proceeds up to a steep snow and ice slope. From here, fixed ropes may be set up by the guides for the strenuous ascent of nearly 100m to the summit ridge. The climb to the summit is somewhat difficult due to steep climbing. On top, while Mount Everest is a mere ten kilometres away to the north, the view will be blocked by the massive wall of Lhotse, towering 2300m above the summit.