Overview
Lhotse is 8,516 metres, the fourth-highest mountain on earth, and it shares Everest's route as far as camp three. Where Everest turns left for the Geneva Spur, Lhotse goes right and up into the couloir that splits its west face.
Same mountain, different day
Everything to 7,200 m is Everest: the same Khumbu Icefall, the same Western Cwm, the same blue-ice Lhotse Face, the same base camp and fixed lines. The workload and the objective risk are identical.
Summit day is not. The Lhotse Couloir is a narrow gully of snow and ice that steepens toward a rock step near the top — a real scramble at 8,500 metres, with no room to overtake and everything above you funnelling down.
Why it costs half
Only the royalty differs: USD 1,800 against Everest's USD 15,000. The oxygen, Sherpas, camps and two months of logistics cost the same, so the total lands at roughly half rather than a fraction.
What it costs
USD 25,000 to 55,000, spring only. Autumn is permitted at half royalty and effectively never climbed — without the spring Icefall route and fixed lines there is no infrastructure to climb on.
Day by day
The 60 days itinerary
Distances, walking times, altitudes and accommodation for every stage — stored as structured data, not written into the prose.
- Day 1
Kathmandu — briefing and load-out
Ministry briefing, gear check, packing
- Altitude
- 1,400 m → 1,400 m
- Sleep
- Hotel, Kathmandu
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
- Day 2
The Khumbu approach to base camp
Lukla (2,860 m) → Namche → Dingboche → Base Camp (5,364 m)
- Walking
- 9–10 days with acclimatisation
- Altitude
- 2,860 m → 5,364 m
- Elevation
- +2504 m
- Sleep
- Lodges, then tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 3
Base camp — puja and Icefall training
Base camp (5,364 m)
- Altitude
- 5,364 m → 5,364 m
- Sleep
- Tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 4
First rotation — camp one
Base camp (5,364 m) → camp one (6,065 m) → base camp
- Altitude
- 5,364 m → 5,364 m
- Elevation
- +700 m / −700 m
- Sleep
- Tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 5
Second rotation — camp two in the Western Cwm
Base camp → camp one → camp two (6,400 m) → base camp
- Walking
- 4–5 days
- Altitude
- 5,364 m → 5,364 m
- Elevation
- +1036 m / −1036 m
- Sleep
- Tented camps
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 6
Third rotation — the Lhotse Face to camp three
Base camp → camp two → camp three (7,200 m) → base camp
- Walking
- 5–6 days
- Altitude
- 5,364 m → 5,364 m
- Elevation
- +1836 m / −1836 m
- Sleep
- Tented camps
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Identical to Everest to this point — the same Icefall, the same Cwm, the same blue-ice face. Lhotse and Everest teams share base camp, the fixed lines and the Icefall Doctors' route.
- Day 7
Base camp — rest and the wait for a window
Base camp (5,364 m), often a week or more
- Altitude
- 5,364 m → 5,364 m
- Sleep
- Tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 8
Summit push — base camp to camp three
Base camp (5,364 m) → camp two → camp three (7,200 m)
- Walking
- 3 days
- Altitude
- 5,364 m → 7,200 m
- Elevation
- +1836 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp three
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 9
Camp three to camp four
Camp three (7,200 m) → Lhotse camp four (7,800 m)
- Walking
- 4–5 hours
- Altitude
- 7,200 m → 7,800 m
- Elevation
- +600 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp four
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Where Everest turns left for the Geneva Spur and the South Col, Lhotse goes right and up, to a camp perched on the face below the couloir.
- Day 10
Summit day — the Lhotse Couloir
Camp four (7,800 m) → Lhotse Couloir → Lhotse (8,516 m) → camp four
- Walking
- 12–16 hours
- Altitude
- 7,800 m → 7,800 m
- Elevation
- +716 m / −716 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp four
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
A long narrow gully of snow and ice, steepening towards the top, with a rock step near the summit and no room to pass. The final metres are a genuine scramble on exposed rock at 8,500 m — technically harder than anything on Everest's south side.
- The couloir
- Everest's south-west face across the cwm
- Day 11
Descent to base camp
Camp four (7,800 m) → camp two → base camp (5,364 m)
- Walking
- 2 days
- Altitude
- 7,800 m → 5,364 m
- Elevation
- −2436 m
- Sleep
- Tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 12
Base camp out, and reserve days
Base camp (5,364 m) → Lukla (2,860 m) → Kathmandu
- Walking
- 3 days on foot, or a helicopter
- Altitude
- 5,364 m → 1,400 m
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Route map
Where the trail goes
Route line, start and end points, and every overnight stop. Locations are shared entities — the same record powers the destination and itinerary pages.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lhotse easier than Everest?
Why is it so much cheaper?
Can you climb both in one season?
What is the hardest part?
When should you go?
About the author
Tom Eriksen
Gear editor & photographer
Tom tests trekking equipment the only way that produces honest answers: by carrying it for weeks at a time above 4,000 metres. He shoots most of the photography on this site and writes the gear reviews, comparison tables and packing lists.
Writes about: Trekking gear · Photography · Packing and weight
