Mera Peak Climb via Zatra La Pass in February

Zatra La still usually carries snow in February, generally a little less than midwinter after weeks without fresh accumulation, but the 1,600m climb from Chutang remains the hardest single day before Base Camp. The Sabai Tsho glacier lake above Thangnak, the acclimatization hike on day seven, is usually frozen solid enough by February that some groups walk a stretch of it rather than around it, one of the odder small pleasures of a winter departure.

The glacier above Khare holds its winter character through most of the month: firm, fast underfoot, and reliably bridged where it matters. High Camp at 5,780m is the coldest place most climbers will ever sleep, and February does nothing to soften that; the tent site on its rocky shelf gets no shelter from wind coming off Everest and Makalu to the north.

Numbers stay about as low as January for most of the month, with a modest uptick in the final week as the first spring-minded climbers start scouting dates. Every teahouse on the route from Kothe to Khare keeps running, though menus stay simplified and only the dining room sees real heat. You will most likely be the only climbing group at Base Camp and High Camp on any given night.

Flights still run direct from Kathmandu through most of February rather than the Ramechhap shuttle spring traffic requires, and seats are easy to find outside the rare backlog after a windy spell. The main risk remains cold-morning fog at both airports rather than any shortage of capacity. One buffer day each way is the sensible minimum, and the day 12 spare day at Khare does the same job for the mountain that the flight buffer does for Lukla.