num_pages: 165
description: Two days east of Lukla was a pleasant yak pasture surrounded by high peaks. When Col. Jim Roberts set out to look for it in 1953 he ended up making the first ascent of Mera Peak and sowing the seeds of Himalayan tourism.Mera Peak has become a popular goal for trekkers and novice mountaineers but few people climb to its true summit and fewer still travel beyond it to find the secret yak pasture that sparked Roberts journey.The yak pasture was the Hongu Valley a hidden sanctuary of grassland lakes and glaciers linking Mera Peak with the Everest region and Island Peak to the north. Fifty years after Roberts Mark Horrell embarked on a trek through Nepals Khumbu region to follow in his footsteps climb the two trekking peaks at either end of the valley and resolve a long-standing mystery about Mera Peaks height.Join Mark on a captivating journey through this enchanting region of high mountains and remote valleys.
language: English
title: Islands in the Snow: A journey to explore Nepal’s trekking peaks
publisher: Mountain Footsteps Press