Trail conditions in October
October is when the day table runs closest to its printed hours. From Sekathum at 1,575m to Ghunsa at 3,415m the route gains 1,840m over three walking days, and with the wet trail of the monsoon behind you the five and six hour days are about walking and not wading. The rest day at Ghunsa is where the altitude starts to settle, and in October it is usually a sunny one.
The northern leg is the main event. The Pangpema day reaches 5,143m, the north base camp, in about seven hours with the return, and October is the month in which the view at the end of it is most likely to be there. The tour notes call Kanchenjunga the third-highest mountain on Earth at 8,586m, behind only Everest and K2. By the second night at Lhonak the body has had its time at altitude, and the cold, though real, is dry.
The southern leg is equally well timed. The crossing of day 14 to Tseram is at its most predictable in October, and the climb on day 15 from Ramche at 4,580m to Oktang at 4,740m puts you at the south base camp, 403m below Pangpema, with the Yalung Glacier ahead. The tour notes place Jannu at 7,711m to the west and the south face of Kanchenjunga overhead. The exit through Tortong, Yamphudin and Khebang returns you to Limbu and Rai villages and their millet terraces.
