The 3 pass circuit in the Everest Region

Thanks Riaan!

Many people told us that Renjo La was the easiest of the 3 passes, but we did find it a bit tougher than Cho La. The path is very good, but it has some steep sections and is a bigger climb overall. The views are fantastic as you get that same Gokyo Ri view of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Makalu, etc with the Gokyo Lake for some colour too We didn't end up going down the valley on the other side as my wife had been struggling with a bad chest infection, so we headed down the Gokyo Valley instead - also a gorgeous route high above the valley floor!

It was all pretty frozen up when we went over Cho La. I don't recall seeing a lake at all... What time of year were you there?

Last week of September and into the first two weeks of October. My overall impression was that it was warm. Sure, the higher areas was cooler, especially when the clouds rolled in and the wind started blowing. Temperatures were pretty much the same as in the berg during winter. I was hoping it would be a bit colder

Stijn wrote:

AndrewP wrote: After lunch and of course more tea, I gunned up the 580m vertical climb to Gokyo Ri. I took only 51 minutes and was pretty psyched with my time.

P.S. Andrew - you'll have to go back now 39m13s is the new time to beat! www.strava.com/activities/2868580295/segments/71279845348

Well done, that will take some beating. Great challenge. I will sign up to it. Maybe not Gokyo Ri, but at least a similar sized hill at altutude  

Great photos of the region. I was there for the same 3 passes trek in September this year and it truly was breathtaking. Anybody who loves trekking in the mountains should put this hike on their bucket list.
I specially like your photos of Cho La - weather seemed great. We had to climb up that pass in a snowstorm which made it quite interesting.

I eventually found the picture of us at the top of Cho La pass. As you can see immediately below us, there was quite a large pool of water. We had to descend with a rope down towards the glacier as the section immediately above the pool of water was very steep and sandy. It would have been pretty cold if we fell into the water here.

This was about the only ice we found anywhere on the route. On the approach to Cho La pass (coming from Gokyo Ri), you can see in the pic below that there was no snow or ice at around 5000m ASL. We found Cho La to be pretty much like a rough Berg gully, with loose rocks everywhere. The saddle in the middle of the pic is the top of the pass.

Thanks Riaan
Great images, and great trip.  I am busy reading a number of historical books on the climbing over there.  Ama Dablam is a really beautiful mountain.  Would love to have a few weeks of just shooting some of the peaks in amazing light.

I agree with @Serious Tribe, Ama Dablam is beautiful to photograph. It was my favourite along with Pumori higher up the range. Really beautiful in early morning light.

I completed the 3 Passes Circuit in November 2022 over 12 days. What an amazing hike! I did a few side-quests along the way, including Ama Dablam Basecamp, Nangkartshang, Chukhung Ri, Kala Patthar and Gokyo Ri. Best view on the trek was unquestionably between Labuche and Dzongla:
 

My full writeup is very long, but if anyone wants to read it, here it is - broken up into 6 parts:
jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2023/01/08/everest-basecamp-part-1-getting-to-namche/
jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2023/01/14/everest-basecamp-part-2-ama-dablam-basecamp/
jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2023/01/22/everest-basecamp-part-3-nangkartshang-and-chuckhung-ri/
jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2023/01/30/everest-basecamp-part-4-kongma-la-and-ebc/
jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2023/02/05/everest-basecamp-part-5-cho-la-pass-and-gokyo/
jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2023/02/11/everest-basecamp-part-6-gokyo-to-lukla/