Everest Three Passes in November and December: Snow, Spikes and Honest Odds

Every year someone writes to ask whether they can do the Everest Three Passes trek in November or December, usually because November is when their leave starts or because they have heard the trails are quiet. The short answer is that we run the Everest Three Passes trek all year round, depending on how the weather conditions are. Every departure is decided on the current weather and the state of the passes, and the guide makes the call on the day. This page is for the person planning the colder months, so here is what I can source, what I can only estimate, and what I cannot tell you at all, including the odds. I have not found a published rate for how often these passes close, so you will not see a percentage here.

Everything below follows our live 17-day package, which crosses Renjo La (5,360 m) on day 6, Cho La (5,420 m) on day 9 and Kongma La (5,535 m) on day 13. Prices are on the package page and in our Three Passes cost guide, so I only touch money where it changes the decision.

Can you trek the Everest Three Passes in November and December?

Yes, we run the route in both months, as we do all year round, but the two months do not offer the same odds of an easy time, and nobody can promise you a dry pass. In November the days at Namche are still above freezing on average and the monthly precipitation is at its lowest of the four months in the table below. In December the nights get much colder and, at the Namche weather station, the month is wetter than November, which at pass height means snow. Wikipedia's entry for Gorak Shep, which sits on our route, says that from December to February the vast majority of accommodation is closed, the trails are snow-covered and the cold is very intense. Our month-by-month weather guide uses the same source.

Our policy is simple. We can run the Everest Three Passes trek all year round, depending on how the weather conditions are. We do not close the route on a calendar date. Instead we look at the weather and the pass conditions for your departure, and the guide decides on the day. The colder months are harder, with snow, cold nights and shorter days, so they suit trekkers who are fit and have walked at altitude before. If you tell me your dates and your experience, I will tell you honestly what I expect.

What does the weather look like from October to January?

The table uses the Namche Bazaar climate normals (3,450 m), which Wikipedia takes from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. They are long-term averages for a village station, not a forecast, and not a reading from a pass. The last column is my own estimate for about 5,400 m, found by subtracting 6.5 degrees per kilometre of climb from the Namche figure. That rate is the standard atmosphere figure published by the International Civil Aviation Organization. It ignores wind, sun on snow and local cold pockets on a glacier, so the real figure on the day can be several degrees either side.

Month	Namche average high / low	Namche precipitation	My estimate at about 5,400 m, high / low	What it means for the passes
October	12.5 / 1.2 C	57 mm	0 / -12 C	Wetter than November; the month most people choose
November	9.1 / -3.8 C	11 mm	-4 / -17 C	Driest of the four months at Namche; nights about 5 degrees colder than October
December	7.6 / -7.1 C	24 mm	-5 / -20 C	Colder again and wetter than November, so snow on a pass day is the risk to plan for
January	6.9 / -8.5 C	43 mm	-6 / -21 C	Coldest month, with the shortest days; we still run it, and each departure depends on pass conditions

Two readings matter more than the rest. First, November's 11 mm is the lowest of the four months, so a pass day that month is more likely to be clear than in any other part of this table. Second, precipitation roughly doubles from November to December (11 mm to 24 mm), and at the temperatures above it would fall as snow. One heavy fall lying on a pass is enough to change a day, and monthly averages cannot tell you whether it happens in your week.

How cold will the nights actually be?

Colder than the table suggests, because you sleep high. Dzongla (4,830 m) is 1,380 m above Namche, and by the same estimate it is about 9 degrees colder: roughly minus 13 on an average November night and minus 16 in December. Gokyo and Lobuche are within a few degrees of that. These are estimates, not readings, and a clear night can be colder still. The dining room is the only warm room in most lodges, and our package page tells Budget guests to expect cold dining rooms at 4,800 m. On Luxury, our package lists a bed heater and private deluxe rooms. Whichever tier you book, ask about the comfort rating of the sleeping bag you will be given, because sleeping bags and down jackets are free on request on every tier.

What does each day look like, and where do snow and ice matter?

These are the pass days and their neighbours, read from our live itinerary. The gains are my own arithmetic from the altitudes in the itinerary.

Day	Section	High point	Time on the trail	Climb, then descent
5	Thame to Lungden	4,500 m	6 hours	Last night before the first pass
6	Lungden over Renjo La to Gokyo	5,360 m	8 hours	About 860 m up, 570 m down to Gokyo (4,790 m)
7	Gokyo Ri sunrise, rest day	5,357 m	1 to 2 hours	Short and early
8	Gokyo to Thangnak	4,700 m	5 hours	Gentle, a chance to judge the weather
9	Thangnak over Cho La to Dzongla	5,420 m	6 hours	About 720 m up, 590 m down to Dzongla (4,830 m)
11	Lobuche to Everest Base Camp via Gorak Shep	5,364 m	6 to 8 hours	Long day at altitude; Gorak Shep lodges may be shut in December
12	Kala Patthar sunrise, return to Lobuche	5,545 m	3 hours	Pre-dawn, the coldest hour of the trek
13	Lobuche over Kongma La to Chhukung	5,535 m	6 to 8 hours	About 595 m up, 805 m down to Chhukung (4,730 m)

Cho La is the day snow matters most, and our Cho La guide describes ice and compact snow on the glacier section below the top. Wikipedia's entry for the pass says it can be physically demanding and may need crampons on the glacier, and that the edge of the glacier is unstable. Kongma La is covered in our Kongma La guide and Renjo La in our Renjo La guide. All three crossings start before dawn, in the coldest hours of the day.

What are the honest odds of crossing all three passes?

I do not know, and neither does anyone else who is giving you a number. I have not found a published count of pass closures by month, and I will not borrow a percentage I cannot source. So here are the things I can say with a source or a reason, in plain words.

November is often settled and clear in the first half, and the long-term record at Namche shows it as the driest of the four months. A snowfall can still come, and when it does it tends to turn a straightforward pass into a slow one. December usually offers dry days too, but the margin for error is thinner, because there is more cold, more chance of snow lying on the pass and fewer open lodges to fall back on. If you are asking whether you will complete all three, the honest answer is that it depends on that week, and I would sooner say so now than after you have flown. That is why we decide each departure on current conditions rather than on the calendar.

What I can do is shape the plan around the uncertainty. The itinerary has a rest day in Namche on day 3 and another at Gokyo on day 7, and a spare day at the end of the trip is the cheapest protection you can buy against a weather hold in either direction.

Who decides whether we cross, and what happens if a pass is shut?

Your guide decides, on the morning of each pass, and the decision is not up for negotiation. We always trek with a licensed guide. Our cost guide says the guide has the final say on safety over the itinerary, and that if a pass is not safe we change the route before we push into it. In practice that can mean waiting a day or changing the route. It is the right call, and it is also the one people resent when they have trained for months.

If a pass is unsafe, we do not push on. The guide can skip that pass and take you to the same places by the valley trails instead, so you still see Gokyo and Everest Base Camp without the crossing. Which alternative fits depends on where you are on the loop and what the weather is doing, and the guide chooses it on the day. We will not promise in advance that all three passes will be crossed. Any extra nights that result are on your account, as the cost guide states below.

The money side is stated plainly in our cost guide: extra nights and any helicopter you choose to take because of weather, snow, flight changes or a closed pass are on your account, not ours. On Standard and Budget the Lukla flights are fixed-wing; on Luxury the helicopter is included both ways. If you are on a lower tier and want a helicopter seat out, the shared-seat sell prices we publish in our domestic flights guide are US$640 from Kathmandu to Lukla and US$710 from Lukla to Kathmandu, which is US$1,350 for both legs, subject to availability and weather. Insurance that covers helicopter evacuation is not optional on this route, and you should buy it in your home country.

Does the direction of the circuit matter?

It might, and I will tell you what I know and do not. Our trek runs Renjo La first (day 6), then Cho La (day 9), then Kongma La (day 13), so the lowest pass of the three comes first and the highest comes last. I have no source that says one direction is safer in snow, and I will not invent one. What I can say is that the order puts a rest day in Namche and a rest day in Gokyo ahead of the second and third pass, and that your first pass arrives only after four nights at 3,440 m or higher.

Some accounts, including older pages of ours, describe the loop starting with Kongma La. This page follows the live package order. Whichever way round you go, a late snowfall arrives while you are already committed to the loop.

What changes with flights and lodges in November and December?

The Lukla flight is where the weather bites first. Lukla sits at 2,860 m, and Wikipedia's entry on Tenzing-Hillary Airport notes the runway has no go-around procedure, so a missed landing is not an option. Our Manthali guide gives our working dates for the Ramechhap season, roughly 25 September to 30 November. In those weeks your pick-up is between midnight and 2 am and the flight leaves from Manthali. In December some flights go from Kathmandu again, but I would never tell you to count on it months ahead.

Lodges are the second problem. I have no published list of which lodges stay open at Lungden, Thangnak, Gokyo and Dzongla in December, and I will not guess. Ask me before you book, and I will tell you what I know for your dates. In early November, Tihar (7 to 11 November in 2026, with the government holiday from 8 to 12 November) will change Kathmandu, though it barely touches the trail. Our Tihar guide covers the dates.

Who should do the Three Passes in the colder months?

The route is demanding in any month: three crossings above 5,300 m in 17 days. In November and December the snow, the cold and the short daylight make it harder again, so I would want you to be a confident, fit walker who has already done multi-day trekking at altitude, who is comfortable with early starts in freezing temperatures, and who is happy to accept the guide's decision if a pass is not safe. If you have not trekked at altitude before, tell me. I may suggest a shorter trek first, or autumn dates when conditions are usually kinder, but that advice is about you and not a closed season. Every pass day is decided on the day.

What should you pack, and what should you ask before you book?

Pack for cold nights first and cold days second. A down jacket, a warm sleeping bag liner, insulated gloves with a thin pair underneath, a hat that covers your ears, sunglasses with side cover and trekking poles. For Cho La in particular, microspikes or crampons are the item to ask about. Ask us when you enquire which traction your guide will carry for your dates and what you should bring yourself. If you are new to altitude, read our altitude sickness guide first: the general guideline is to raise your sleeping altitude by no more than about 300 m a day, and descending is the only reliable treatment for severe altitude illness.

Ask these before you book:

• Which lodges will be open on my dates, and where do I sleep each night?
• What traction will the guide carry, and what should I bring myself?
• What is the comfort rating of the sleeping bag?
• What is the alternative route if a pass is shut on my dates, and what would it cost me?

What does it cost, and what is the booking rule?

The live prices for one traveller are US$1,649 on Budget, US$2,659 on Standard and US$4,719 on Luxury, with lower per-person prices for groups. Permits are included on every tier, and Kathmandu hotels are not. The deposit is 10 per cent. If you cancel, the deposit is not refunded, but you can reschedule for free to any date within a year with at least 72 hours' notice. If we cannot run the trip ourselves, we refund what you paid, less taxes, bank and card charges and any money already spent on permits or flights. Rescheduling is the real protection here: if your dates look poor, you can move them.

The short version

We run the Everest Three Passes trek all year round, depending on how the weather conditions are, and each departure is decided on current weather and pass conditions, with the guide's call on the day and an alternative route if a pass is unsafe. November is the driest of the four months at Namche, and December is colder with more risk of snow, and Gorak Shep lodges are mostly shut from December to February. There is no published rate for pass closures, so I do not give one. The Namche record shows November as the driest of the four months, and my estimate puts pass-height nights at about minus 17 in November and minus 20 in December. If you want to talk it through for your dates, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300. The route is on our Everest Three Passes trek page, with the day-by-day detail in our Three Passes trek guide. For a gentler November walk, read our Everest Base Camp in November guide.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation family guide. TAAN Member #1586. Last checked 4 October 2026.