The Mountain

Imja rises to an elevation of 20,285 feet, and it was first climbed in 1953 by a British team as preparation for climbing Everest. Tenzing Norgay, who, along with Sir Ed Hillary later topped out on the first ascent of Everest, was one of the members who successfully summited. Over the years it has become one of the most popular climbing sites in the world. That doesn’t mean it’s an easy climb, though. Quite the contrary.
To climb Imja, one has the option of starting from a base camp at 5,087 metres (16,690 ft) called Pareshaya Gyab and starting the climb between 2 and 3 am. Another popular option is to ascend to High Camp at around 5,600 metres (18,400 ft) 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.

To summit Imja climbers need to overcome very narrow ridges and extremely steep slopes. It is here that climbing skills and techniques are vital. We will make use of scrambling techniques to make it to the main ice field. The ice field is approximately 200 meters, which in turn will lead us to the headwall, 300ft of 55/60 degree rock and ice, ascended with fixed ropes. This is followed by a narrow and airy summit ridge, with interest provided by 1000ft drops on either side of the knife edge arete.

Once we have summited, we hope to be rewarded by breathtaking views of the Everest Himalya. 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 2,300 m (7,500 ft) above our summit. We'll be higher than the highest mountains of Europe and North America, and yet dwarfed by the Everest group in front of us.

The peak is part of the south ridge of Lhotse Shar and the main land forms a semicircle of cliffs that rise to the north of the summits of Nuptse, Lhotse, Middle Peak and Lhotse Shar. Cho Polu and Makalu lie to the east of the Island Peak. Baruntse, Amphu and the beautiful Ama Dablam lie to the south
Imja Tse  has proven to be unforgiving in the past. Peakware.com includes an Imja Tse summit log that reports, among other things:

• “The two first parties in [a friend’s] travel group were killed in an avalanche…”—Eva Nilsson
• “Turned back due to extreme avalanche danger around 18,000 ft.”—Bretton Adams