Weather and Climate of Minya Konka in Winter: December, January and February

Winter is the coldest season in Minya Konka. By Hailuogou Base (1600m) during daytime it gets to around 10C or above and during night time it gets to around 0C or above. By Kangding (2500m) during day time temperature gets to around 5C or above and during night time it gets to around -5 or lower. By Tsemed (3400) it gets to around 0C or higher during daytime and -10C or lower during night time. By anywhere at above 4000m it gets to around between 0 and -5C during day time and around -10C or lower during night time. By end of Feb the temperature will start to rise.

Mid December by Yajiageng above Kangding

Minya Konka BC in Late December

Early January above Kangding

East Minya Konka in Moxi in late February

Lodge-based Trip

It is still a good season to travel to Minya Konka to its east to Hailuogou, Yanzigou when the temperature is above 0C even in winter during night time. If cold condition is not an issue for you then traveling to its west by around 3800m will still be doable since you will be lodging for overnight. Days will be shorter that at some locations sun gets to you by after 9am or even 10am, before that it is very cold. But the weather is usually clear and sunny without any cloud during day time. It may not be a perfect season for photography people since it can get dusty.

Camping Treks

By places above 3000m everything will be frozen. Temperature drops below -10C (or even -15C) for most of the locations above 3500m in Minya Konka. It is super dry season in winter in Minya Konka. You will need to prepare extra warm gear for winter treks. At extreme conditions we have recorded -22C by around 4500m in late Dec. It actually affects a lot when the days are shorter in the mountain in winter that a usually standard schedule may fall behind since the time that you get light is shorter therefore less you can do in shorter time. You may also need to melt snow or ice for water for cooking. It feels windier in winter.

There is one important fact that in winter we usually expect the weather to be very clear and dry. However, if you are unlucky, you may encounter snowing days. We estimate this kind of weather to be around 10% chance. It is going to be extremely cold in such day especially when you need to be walking in the cold conditions. And even if it's just a cloudy day that you don't see any sunlight it will still be very cold in the day time that you feel like just staying indoors rather than going out.

Note from 2020 Minya Konka has applied strict fire restrictions that camping is regulated. By its north no camping/hiking is allowed from second week of October to the next June. By its west and south the restriction says no entry from Jan to April but the other months are good to go.

Driving on the road can be an issue if there is recent snow that will make the road icy and dangerous to drive. This could be a challenge especially when the road is winding even for local drivers and good cars.

From 1st to 3rd of Jan is usually the New Year's Holiday in China that often people drive out to have holiday and some will go to Minya Konka. Besides this holiday and the lunar new year either in Jan or Feb, the rest of the winter is very quiet season to travel to Minya Konka that you may not see other travelers. It may save you money when traveling in this season from the lower season tickets and more empty hotels. There could be fewer hotels available so recommended to book hotels in advance if possible. Trekking trip that involves porter will also need to plan ahead since local people have a very long new year holiday that they tend to spend with families.

December: Good

January: Okay

February: Okay