Our September/ October 2011 Lunana Snowman group successfully complete this trek across northern Bhutan

Photo: Mount Jitchu Drake

Photo: loading yaks at Worithang camp

I arrived back to Kathmandu yesterday with our 2011 Lunana Snowman group after being lucky enough to lead this trek for the second time, my first Snowman was in September 2008- click here to read 2008 Snowman trip report.

Our itinerary is the complete Snowman trek starting in Paro and finishing in Bumthang taking twenty eight days and crossing fourteen mountain passes over 4,500m. There is no doubt in my mind this is one of the most beautiful and remote treks in the world.

Overall the trek went very well we were lucky with the weather enjoying settled sunny conditions for most of the time and very little snow on the passes, I will post some of the photos onto TMC blog later on. I will also write a detailed trip report when I get back to Kathmandu after my Mera Peak Expedition starting in a few days time.

Photo: Punakha dzong

Congratulations and well done to all fourteen members of our group who successfully completed this challenging trek across northern Bhutan. Of course none of this would be possible without our wonderful Bhutanese crew who worked very hard and looked after us well throughout this long trek. Kahdinche (Bhutanese thanks) to Dawa (Sirdar), Tashi (guide), Tsering (guide), Tenzing (cook) and helpers Karma, Pema, Dogguy and Nima. Many thanks also to Kinley Tshering and Wangmo based in the office in Thimphu for all their help organising the logistics of this trek.

The Mountain Company is planning to organise Lunana Snowman trek in Bhutan in September/ October 2012 please get in touch soon if you would like to join this group.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Bhutan government cancel planned daily rate increase for 2009

The Bhutanese government has recently decided not to go head with its planned increase in the daily rate for 2009 from US$200 per night to US$250. Furthermore, they have introduced a US$20 per night discount for visits longer than 8 days. The Mountain Company will be reducing all our Bhutan holidays to reflect the new daily rates. Why not take advantage of these discounts to join our epic Lunana Snowman trek in September/ October 2009?

Trip report for Lunana Snowman led by Roland in October '08

The Lunana Snowman group arrived back to Thimphu yesterday afternoon after successfully completing this epic trek across northern Bhutan. The Snowman trek is known as one of the most challenging in the Himalayas crossing over 14 high mountain passes and covering 400km over 28 days of trekking.

Photo: beautiful farmhouse with Mt Jitchu Drake in background

The Mountain Company only organises the complete Lunana Snowman trek from Paro to Bumthang. Some of the shorter versions of the "Snowman" trek start in Punakha and others Lunana via the Nikka Chu valley. My feeling is that if you are going to do the Snowman it is worth doing the complete traverse rather than smaller sections of it. We found the quietest & most remote part of the trek was from Thanza to Bumthang where we only saw two trekkers in 10 days! This is very unusual in the Himalayas these days during the peak season of October.

Photo: archery competition near Laya

Photo: view from Karchung La (entrance to Lunana)

Photo: approach to Gophu La

As you can see from the photos we experienced good weather and excellent conditions on the passes. The timing of this trek is very important in order to increase the chances of successfully completing the journey as well as getting good views along the way! The optimal time to start the trek is at the end of September when the monsoon should be winding down which places the group in Lunana around mid October hopefully before the winter snows block the exit passes.

Photo: Gophu La (exit from Lunana)

The Lunana Snowman is a very special trek passing through a beautiful and unsploilt region of the Himalayas. The area is still heavily forested and this year's group saw the following animals & birds along the trek: Blue sheep, marmots, Himalayan black bear & cub, blood pheasant, lammergeier and birds of prey among others.

The Mountain Company is planning on organising the Lunana Snowman trek for September/ October 2009 so please get in touch if you are interested. For further information on this trek please see our Lunana Snowman trek page.