Guided expeditions
to the highest
places on earth
Small teams, the best Sherpa partners in the Himalaya and the patience to wait for the right day.
Vardane
27°43′ N · 85°19′ E
A varde is the cairn that marks a route across the mountains. For twenty-two years we have tried to be that for our climbers: the thing you look for when the cloud comes down, and the reason you get home.
We run fewer expeditions than most, with smaller teams and more people looking after each climber. Every Sherpa partner is paid all year, insured in full and climbs with the same client from the first rotation to the summit.
We carry more oxygen than we need, keep a doctor at base camp and turn round when the mountain says so. It is not the fastest way to the top. It is the way we would want to be guided.
Expeditions
Eight mountains,
one standard
From your first glacier to the summit of Everest. Every expedition is led by our own guides, never subcontracted.
All expeditions
Summit night on Everest
Nine hours
to the top
of the world
Every summit push starts the same way: in the dark, on oxygen, with your Sherpa partner one step ahead. This is how the night goes.
7,950 m
Local time
21:30
21:307,950 m
Leaving the South Col
Boots on in the tent, oxygen at three litres a minute, a last check from Pemba on the radio. The wind has dropped. We go.
00:408,150 m
Into the triangle face
A long line of headlamps above and below. Slow, steady steps on the fixed rope; one breath, one step.
02:308,400 m
The Balcony
A small platform on the ridge and the first change of oxygen bottle. Ingrid checks every climber here: fingers, eyes, words. This is the turnaround point if anything is wrong.
04:508,750 m
South Summit
The sky turns from black to deep blue over Tibet. The summit is in sight, along a ridge with Nepal on one side and nothing on the other.
05:408,790 m
The Hillary Step
A short scramble of rock and snow, the last hard moves. Clip, step, breathe.
06:108,849 m
Summit
The highest point on earth at first light, with the shadow of the mountain laid out across the clouds. Twenty minutes, then down: the summit is only halfway.
The route
Lukla to
the summit
Eleven stops from the airstrip to the top, and the same eleven back. Tap a stop to see where you'll sleep.
01 · Day 42,860 m
Lukla
The flight from Kathmandu lands on a short strip on the side of the valley. The trek starts here.
02 · Day 63,440 m
Namche Bazaar
The Sherpa capital, and two nights to let the body adjust.
03 · Day 83,867 m
Tengboche
The monastery, and the first view of Everest above the Lhotse wall.
04 · Day 94,410 m
Dingboche
Stone walls and potato fields under Ama Dablam.
05 · Day 114,940 m
Lobuche
The last lodge before base camp.
06 · Day 125,364 m
Base camp
Home for six weeks, on the Khumbu Glacier.
07 · Day 186,065 m
Camp I
At the top of the Icefall, at the mouth of the Western Cwm.
08 · Day 196,400 m
Camp II
Advanced base camp, with a cook tent and a view of the Lhotse Face.
09 · Day 357,162 m
Camp III
Ledges cut into the Lhotse Face. Oxygen from here up.
10 · Day 557,950 m
South Col
A windswept saddle between Everest and Lhotse; the last camp.
11 · Day 568,849 m
Summit
The highest point on earth.
Above everything
Sixty days on Everest, six weeks on Manaslu, three on Denali. Long enough to forget the city, and to come back changed.
Ways to climb
Start where
you are
Not ready for an 8,000 m peak? Nobody is at first. These are the steps our climbers take on the way.
6 daysFirst steps
Skills on ice
Crampons, axe, rope work and crevasse rescue on the glaciers above Chamonix.
10 daysNo experience
Kilimanjaro
Your first summit above 5,000 m, on the longest and quietest route.
7 daysAlpine
The Matterhorn
One guide, one climber, the most famous ridge in the Alps.
21 daysHigh altitude
Aconcagua
The school of high altitude: cold, wind and a summit of 6,961 m.
28 daysTechnical
Ama Dablam
The step before an eight-thousander, and a great climb in its own right.
Your datesAny level
Private expeditions
Any expedition for one climber or your own team, planned around you.
Since 2004
Twenty-two seasons
above the clouds
- Summits of 8,000 m peaks
- 412
- Everest summit rate since 2015
- 94%
- Sherpa to climber above base camp
- 1:1
- Climbers at most on any team
- 6
Departures
Next to leave
Places are held for 14 days while you talk to a guide. A deposit of 20% confirms them.
All departures4 Dec – 17 Dec 2026
VinsonAntarctica · 4,892 m14 days
From $56,000
Full
27 Dec 2026 – 16 Jan 2027
AconcaguaAndes · 6,961 m21 days
From $8,900
1 left
15 Jan – 24 Jan 2027
KilimanjaroAfrica · 5,895 m10 days
From $5,600
Open
17 Jan – 6 Feb 2027
AconcaguaAndes · 6,961 m21 days
From $8,900
Open
12 Feb – 21 Feb 2027
KilimanjaroAfrica · 5,895 m10 days
From $5,600
4 left
28 Mar – 30 May 2027
EverestHimalaya · 8,849 m60 days
From $74,500Led by Ingrid Halvorsen
2 left
The guides
People you
would follow
anywhere
01 · Head of expeditions
9 × 8,000 m
Ingrid Halvorsen
IFMGA mountain guide · Wilderness medic
Grew up skiing the fjords of western Norway and has led our Everest team since 2016. She has turned more teams round than anyone here, and is proud of every one.
02 · Sirdar, Himalaya
14 × Everest
Pemba Dorje
Nepal National Mountain Guide · Rescue lead
Leads our Sherpa team on every Himalayan expedition. Fixes the ropes, reads the snow and decides, with Ingrid, when a team goes up.
03 · Guide and training coach
Denali × 11
Mara Lindqvist
IFMGA mountain guide · Sports scientist
Writes every climber's training plan and checks in each month. On the mountain she guides Denali, Aconcagua and our Alpine courses.
04 · Guide, Andes and Antarctica
Aconcagua × 38
Lucas Ferreyra
IFMGA mountain guide
Born in Mendoza, has spent more nights on Aconcagua than in most cities. Leads our traverse and our Vinson team.
05 · Expedition doctor
Base camp × 17 seasons
Dr. Tomas Reiner
Diploma in mountain medicine
Runs our medical tent on every 8,000 m expedition, checks every climber twice a day and has the final word on who climbs.
06 · Guide, ice and Alps
Matterhorn × 64
Anna Kowal
IFMGA mountain guide
Teaches our ice and glacier courses and guides the Matterhorn every summer, one climber at a time.
Climbers' words
01 / 04
“I turned round at the Balcony on my first attempt and summited with Vardane two years later. Both decisions were made with me, not for me.”
“Pemba didn't just get me up Ama Dablam. He taught me how to climb at altitude, and I've used every word of it since.”
“The quietest, best-run base camp on the mountain. You notice the difference on day one and you're grateful for it on day fifty.”
“Three weeks on Denali with a sled behind me. Hardest thing I have ever done, and I'd do it again tomorrow with the same guides.”
As written about in
Altitude
“The most quietly professional team on the mountain.”
Summit Review
“Small teams, big oxygen margins and nobody in a hurry.”
The Cold List
“If you're going to climb an eight-thousander, climb it with these people.”
North & High
“A base camp that feels like home, and guides who turn round.”
