Footwear for trekking in Nepal

How much experience do you have hiking in rocky mountainous terrain? Most people on here hike in very rough terrain in light trail running shoes. Unless you need to use crampons I would go with some light goretex mids. Find something that fits and feels like a comfortable trail shoe, but with a high top. Those will keep your feet warm. When you get into stiff protective boots you just kill your flexibility and proprioception which makes things more dangerous in my opinion. You don't want anything that restricts ankle movement too much. I would figure out exactly how cold it could be and how much snow you would encounter before you look into insulated footwear.

I went for option 5: light-weight low-cut non-GTX joggers. With thick wool socks of course. Cheers

Alex, Sounds like you might be doing something similar to what I did a few years back. Here a link to my trip reports and gearlists, Nepal will be the one at the very bottom of the page. http://www.suluk46.com/adventure.html I wore midheights back then which worked great but would opt for trailrunners if I were to do it again. The trail is clear and well worn. Its the altitude that will get you! Good luck, basecamp is very cool, but the Gokyo Lakes and Chola Pass were my highlights. Im jealous that you are going!

Many thanks for everyone who responded. I hugely appreciate all the feedback and advice. Ultimately, I decided to go with option 4 – La Sportiva Core High GTX. Reasoning behind the decision: – Since I will be hiking during the day, and November/December in Nepal are dry and sunny, only a small portion of my hiking will be at very cold temperatures. – I will not be making long stops in the open and standing around, so while moving I will be able to keep my core and extremities temperatures elevated. – Shoes with good breathability will prevent sweat build-up, and will dry out quickly in case the boots get wet. – I will bring several progressively thicker socks for layering and to increase the overall thermal capacity. Only time will tell how successful this approach will be. Thanks again!

Goretex shoes won't prevent sweat build up or dry quickly.

I've visited the area twice. Of all your options, n° 4 is indeed your best bet (although I would recommend the fifth option proposed by Roger, in combination with Gore Tex socks (just in case a rare cyclone hits Nepal & you by surprise)). All other options are overkill. PS: during the day, temperatures will most often be pleasant (except mornings). The cold will come after sunset (read: bring ample insulation for the long evenings in your teahouse – I've seen a couple of UL hikers in the region who were a bit too optimistic on that front). Wim edit: typo

Option 5 and listen to your body. If you feel sick, don't ignore it.I saw what it did to people who did ignore it and it wasn't pretty.