Ditto on the Rainy River jacket and pants. I think for Nepal, it might be your best bet at about $70-80 per piece. It's a nice safe middle ground: not too light, not too heavy, not too expensive, not too fragile, not too sweaty.

The only downside I can think off over the $300 parka is no pit zips. And go for the long version unless you have really short arms.

Dry Ducks would be fine for moderate hiking in Alaska in the summer, but it is a bit fragile, and above timberline in Nepal, it might not be that easy to get a replacement if it rips and being in a sleet storm at 10000ft and hours from the nearest house or camp site without a waterproof jacket sucks.

If a jacket is worth $300 is completely in the eye of the beholder. I went through quite a few of more expensive ones (which you can often sell on eBay close to the original price if you shop carefully), and the Rainy River was the one I kept the longest and abused the most.

Obviously, the fact that I replaced it with a $280 REI Shuksan pretty much contradicts what I just wrote.