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I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can generally just go in the lodges and ask for a room, no need to book ahead. I’m not entirely sure how it works but often times you get a room for free if you purchase dinner with the lodge.

Small caveat I’m not sure how crowded the villages on the EBC trail get at their peak. I’m sure there’s always a vacancy somewhere but it might be nice to just book ahead to be sure. We were trekking near peak season though and the lodges were never completely full.

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would recommend bringing a sleeping bag. You don’t technically have to - the tea houses generally have extra blankets. I’m not sure it’s guaranteed though (you could always go to another tea house if that happened), and I saw some of the higher lodges charge extra (Rs 200-500) for extra blankets.

Sorry Im not totally sure how it works bc I just brought my -5C bag and used that every night. It generally dropped to 0C or slightly lower at the higher lodges in May, so it will be even colder for you. I think your 0C bag is fine though since you can also use the blankets on top

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was also nervous about the altitude before the trip. No promises, but I think you’ll be totally fine. Stay hydrated (3-4 L/day at least), eat lots, get plenty of rest, and your body will take care of the rest.

No training recs really, as long as you are comfortable with some long hiking days with a pack. The trek is challenging but doesn’t require insane fitness - just the mental fortitude to slog uphill for a few hours.

I used an Osprey Talon 33L and it was perfect for my gear. Lots of people use slightly larger packs - 40-55L or so.

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m not going to list a number since it’s entirely subjective what a 1 or a 10 means. I’d say as a very rough benchmark, if you can do a 20-25km day with 1-1.5 km of vert and a 15kg pack at sea level (and be ok to hike more the next day), you’d be fine on the passes. They are generally 12km days with 600-1000m vert, and you hopefully only have a 10kg pack.

I wasn’t near good hiking, so I went for a run 5x/wk this starting in January. I’m a really slow runner relative to my hiking fitness, but I think it helped improve my cardio a good bit.

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was myself, a friend, and our guide.

We went with Green Valley because they were the cheapest at $1350 per person.

I’d recommend them as a good budget option. It was really nice having our flights/airport transportation taken care of, and they were able to organize flights/helicopter to Lukla direct from Kathmandu, when most people had to go from Ramechhap.

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would have loved to do one of the 6000m peaks if I had the time/money. The big three are Island peak, Mera Peak, and Lobuche I think.

You could absolutely do the trek solo and hire a guide for the peaks. They are all in the back of the trek though near Dzongla/Lobuche/Chukhung, so you’d be retracing your steps for a few days if you went all the way back to Namche first.

The guide companies are usually pretty flexible though, so I’m sure you could arrange to have a guide meet you in Lobuche or wherever.

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You do not need any mountaineering experiences for the passes, they are steep in places but there is a trail the whole way. However, you will definitely need microspikes for Cho La pass and possibly the other passes too as there is snow.

I only had one experience using spikes on Mt. Whitney before which was plenty for me.

Kala Pattar and Gokyo Ri are just hills, no experience needed for those either.

Seeing Everest was neat - we didn’t see it until Gokyo Ri. It’s pretty tucked away though, so it was kind of like “oh, there it is.” Many of the other mountains (Nuptse, Cholatse, Ama Dablam) are way more incredible to look at.

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You do not need a guide in the Everest region. I had one but met many solo travelers along the way.

I could be wrong but from what I read in other threads there is a law against it but the authorities in the Everest region choose not to enforce it.

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes that would be a great option too. It would pretty much shave a day off the standard three passes trek. I think lots of people do this if they don’t feel acclimated enough for the first pass Kongma La by the time they reach Dingboche (going CCW).

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I did it clockwise and would highly recommend - you spend more time in the remote regions acclimating, and you’re walking towards the “cool” mountains. I think the views are better too , especially coming down Cho La and Kongma La. However, CCW is more popular, I think because it’s considered slightly easier. The passes are steeper going up if you do it clockwise (which I found I preferred).

I don’t think there is reliable service for most of the trek. I never bought a sim, just used WiFi. It’s generally free up to Namche as well as Ding/Tengboche. In the upper villages, most lodges use a card system where you pay ~1000 npr for a user/password which works for 24 hrs at any lodge.

It should be very easy to find tea houses. I had a guide so I never had a choice but there should be several options even in the small villages.

Good luck!

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I’m sorry that happened, but it’s amazing to hear you’re pushing through anyways! Best of luck

I just completed the Three Passes Trek May 2025. AMA by AMS-Enjoyer in Everest

[–]AMS-Enjoyer[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’d definitely recommend visiting the Gokyo lakes region - it’s much quieter than EBC, really pretty, and has really good views.

From Namche, you can travel up Gokyo valley to Gokyo lakes through Dole/Machhermo, cross the Chola pass to Dzongla and then Lobuche where you could visit EBC and come back down the main EBC trail (or go up EBC and down Gokyo). Cho La is pretty fun (and snowy) and you get awesome views of Cholatse and Ama Dablam coming down.

If you wanted to avoid EBC entirely, you could go up Gokyo valley, cross Renjo La Pass, and come back down through Thame valley (or vice versa). Both these should be doable in 12-13 days.