The ascent of Kala Patthar begins at Gorakshep (), the original base camp for Mt. Everest. After a brief dip to an ancient lake bed (which now contains a small lake and a helipad), the ascent makes its way up a series of steep switchbacks before levelling off somewhat as it traverses to the eastern side of the mountain. The trail then becomes steep once again until it reaches the wind-swept summit ridge. From there, a five- to ten-minute scramble over boulders takes one to the top, which is marked with prayer flags. There is also a geocaching trackable named Kala Pattar Yeti attached near the summit. Its trackable code is GS9EBG. The full ascent usually takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. If the attempt is made starting from Lobuche, an additional two to three hours (one way) is required.