The Mountain Company has been nominated for the Best Escorted Adventure Holiday Company category in the 2016 British Travel Awards

We are delighted to report that The Mountain Company has been nominated for the Best Escorted Adventure Holiday Company category in the prestigious 2016 British Travel Awards (BTAs).

The winners will be determined by the consumer, who has until 30 September to cast their vote, with the successful companies announced at the BTA Gala Awards Dinner, being held in London on 23 November 2016.

The Mountain Company is London based adventure travel company organising remote treks, expeditions and tours to the Himalayan region from Burma, India, Nepal, Bhutan to Pakistan.

British Travel Awards’ chief executive Lorraine Barnes Burton said: “This year there are nearly seven hundred nominations listed against 83 Award categories and competition to win a British Travel Awards will be fierce. In 2015 more than a million votes were cast by the consumer to decide the winners, making the BTAs easily the largest awards programme in the UK. Voting in the 2016 Awards is now open and nominated companies have until 30th September to lobby their happy customers for votes – good luck to The Mountain Company.”

The British Travel Awards are considered the benchmark for excellence when it comes to finding out who really is the best in the travel industry. The British Travel Awards is a proudly independent organisation, verified by leading global business practitioners, Deloitte.

HOW TO VOTE? Please vote for us by September 30th if you think we are the Best Escorted Adventure Holiday Company by clicking here


Roland Hunter
www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Hemis festival in Ladakh (Northern India)

Photo: Hemis Monastery

Hemis Festival in Ladakh in northern India is held every year however every 12 years during Tibetan Year of the Monkey this festival is very auspicious as they celebrate the life of Guru Padamasambhava and Naropa. The birth of Lord Padmasambhava also known Guru Rimpoche is the spiritual leader who introduced Buddhism in the Himalayan Kingdom in early 8th Century.

During this special festival held every twelve year the monks at Hemis monastery unfurl a 12 metre high Thangka and display the holy 6 bones ornament from Naropa. There are dances and plays by masked Lamas representing the good prevailing over evil. The participants of the spellbinding performance are dressed in vibrant costumes and bright masks.

In the court yard of the monastery there is a raised platform with cushioned seats and a finely painted Tibetan table with the ceremonial items such as cups of holy water, rice, tormas made of dough and butter and incense. Musicians play with cymbals, drums, small trumpets and next to them the lamas sit and pray.

Photo: Hemis Monastery

At Hemis Festival 2016 will be a large gathering of Drukpa teachers. Drukpa is a lineage or school of Tibetan Buddhism often called “red-hat-sect”. The Drukpa lineage is prominent in Kham (eastern Tibet), Ladakh and Bhutan. Drukpa in Bhutan has a great significance as it is the dominant school and state religion. Outside the monastery there will be many stalls selling food and handicrafts with many travellers enjoying the festivities.

Please note the date of Hemis Festival in 2016 has been delayed from July 14th to September in order to avoid a clash of dates with the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Ladakh over the summer.

The Mountain Company is organising our classic Ladakh Sky Trail GHT trek in mid August led by Almas Khan, please get in touch if you would like to join this group.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip Report for Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek led by Ade Summers and Chandra Rai in May 2016

Photo: view from Muri La

In May we organised our third Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek along The Great Himalaya Trail. Unfortunately we had to cancel our 2015 trek due to the earthquake in Nepal and it was good to see three of the group from last year re-booked again for 2016. We had twelve trekkers in the group and there was a mix of nationalities with people coming from Australia, UK, USA, New Zealand and Canada.

This trek was led by Ade Summers and Chandra Rai supported by four assistant guides called Hebi, Bhim, Bal Bahadur and we engaged a local guide from Dunai called Narendra. The cook was Ram Pratap Rai with six kitchen helpers. Ade and Chandra have worked together leading our Upper Dolpo group on our two previous treks in 2014 and 2010 so they know this region very well. To find out how Ade and Chandra got along with their 2014 Upper Dolpo trek please take a look at Trip Report for Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek in May 2014.

Our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom itinerary visits a very remote region of Nepal and instead of following the more popular Upper Dolpo Circuit we head further north to an area very close to the Tibet border. Upper Dolpo has been referred to as the last enclave of pure Tibetan culture with the landscape and Buddhist & Bonpo religion of this region more like Tibet in pre Chinese times than of the rest of Nepal.

Photo: crossing Kang La to Shey

Very few foreigners visit Upper Dolpo and this is mainly due to the remoteness and the expense of getting there. To access this region requires complicated logistics to support a trekking party as it is not possible to purchase food in Upper Dolpo apart from a few potatoes so everything has to be brought in from Kathmandu. Also North of Phoksumdo Lake is a restricted area for tourists and this requires a special permit and for this itinerary costs US$810 per person. However for those people who make the effort to visit Upper Dolpo you will see a beautiful place with traditional villages that has not been significantly impacted by the outside world.

At the start of the trek we chartered a Twin Otter plane from Tara Air for the flight from Pokhara to Juphal rather than relying on schedule flights from Nepalganj further to the west. Transiting through Nepalganj is prone to delays due to lack of aircraft and the temperatures are very hot at this time of year. As anyone who has trekked in Nepal will be aware the flights to STOL (short takeoff and landing) airstrips in the hills are prone to delays and cancellation. If there is poor weather and delays then Pokhara is a far more pleasant place to stay with good hotels and restaurants compared to the sticky, humid climate at Nepalganj.

Luckily for our 2016 Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT group their Twin Otter flight from Pokhara operated on time and they landed safely to Juphal on May 9th. After meeting Chandra and the rest of the guides the group walked for a few hours to Dunai where they camped for the first night. For the next three days the trail follows the Suli Gad River flowing down from Phoksumdo Lake. On May 13th the group walked through Ringmo village and onto their campsite on the shores of the stunningly beautiful Phoksumdo Lake. The next day was a rest day where the group enjoyed visited the nearby Bönpo Buddhist monastery and explored the traditional village of Ringmo. 

Photo: Phoksumdo Lake near Ringmo village

On May 15th the group followed the western side of Phoksumdo Lake along a narrow cliff trail, this is the ‘Devil’s trail’ followed by Thinle in Eric Valli’s film “Himalaya”. The narrow path ascends to a ridge with spectacular views over the turquoise lake to Ringmo village and the peaks of Kanjiroba (6,612m), Norbung Kang (6,085) and Jhyarko Dingla (5,892m). There is a gradual descent through stands of birch trees to the northern shore of Phoksumdo Lake to the camp for the night. All foreigners are required to have the restricted area permit as discussed above when they travel north of Phoksumdo Lake.

From Phoksumdo Lake North Camp the group starts the two and half day ascent to the first high pass of the trek called Kang La. This pass is known as the crux of Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT as there is often snow blocking the pass. We organise our Dolpo trek to maximise the chances of crossing this pass by selecting the optimal time of year when the snowline is receding as the temperatures warm up in mid-May. However the key to crossing this pass is to use only porters rather than ponies or yaks that will stuck in the deep snow. It is for this reason we send porters from Kathmandu with this group rather than rely on local animal transport. This year there was some snow on the slopes to Kang La however the guides did a good job breaking trail the day before the group's crossing. On May 17th the whole group and crew successfully crossed Kang La over to Shey Gompa.

On May 18th the group had a well-deserved rest day at Shey as they still had two spare days in hand within our itinerary as so far had experienced no delays along the way. On the rest day I heard most people went for a walk down the valley from Shey for an hour to an old monastery and had salt butter tea with the caretaker.

On May 19th the group took the trail ascending Saldang La and the view from this pass was spectacular to the north into Tibet, east to Mustang and west to Crystal Mountain and Kanjiroba. It is on today’s walk one enters typical Upper Dolpo landscape resembling the arid Tibetan plateau with folded rock strata in hues of yellow, orange and purple. 

Photo: crossing Sangda La in Upper Dolpo

Throughout this expedition we received weather forecasts from Michael Fagin at everestweather.com and we send these onto Ade by text to his satellite phone. Having professional weather forecasts is essential for safety in crossing high passes and for decision making in the field. Michael’s forecast on May 14th informed us of a tropical disturbance located in the Bay of Bengal and this was later named as Cyclone Roanu. Michael gave us frequent updates as he tracked the path of this cyclone and luckily there was no direct impact to the Himalaya. There was heavy precipitation in the east of Nepal and also in Everest region (where several of Everest Base Camp groups experienced heavy rain) however our Upper Dolpo group were located north of the clouds so got off lightly with only several cloudy days. For the rest of the trek this group had excellent weather with clear and sunny conditions.

Photo: aerial photo of Cyclone Roanu

We used a GPS spot tracker for this group and for each night on trek Ade checked in sending a gps signal to us so we could track this group's progress. Click here to see the way points overlaid onto a map for Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT

As you can see from the map above our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom group GHT made good progress and successfully completed the full traverse from Juphal to Jomsom crossing. This itinerary travels through some of the most remote and rarely trekked areas of Nepal as they head north into Upper Dolpo on border with Tibet then start the traverse eastwards crossing five high passes over 5,000m along the Great Himalaya Trail to Jomsom. Congratulations and well done to this group!

One of the highlights of this trek was the exciting news that the group saw two snow leopards along the way. The first one was seen by Ken near Mischagaon village and the second one was seen by most of the group on way from Tinje to Rapka. I gather there was some debate whether it was a wolf or snow leopard however most of the guides were pretty sure it was the elusive snow leopard. From feedback received from the group the other highpoint of the trek was the visit to a gompa/ monastery for the celebrations and pujas for Buddha Jayanti known as Buddha's birthday.

Photo: snow leopard

The one change to the trek since 2014 is the construction of a jeep track to Sandga village so on last day of the trek to Kagbeni one follows the road. However there was no traffic apart from one or two motorbikes and one can cut a few corners off to save time. We have not heard any negative feedback from the group about this as it is more like walking on a wide trail however one wonders when the road will reach into Upper Dolpo?

The group flew out of Jomsom as planned on June 3rd and after a change in planes in Pokhara arrived to Kathmandu in afternoon to check into Hotel Tibet. One of the risks of organising a trek at this time of year is the chance of more clouds as monsoon advances north across India causing delays to internal flights in Nepal. However this group was fortunate for both flights into Juphal and out of Jomsom and if the flight from Jomsom is cancelled the Plan B is to drive to Pokhara although this is a long and bumpy road where we have to rely on local vehicles. This is the reason we include two nights in Kathmandu at the end of the trip to allow some buffer time to allow for this drive if Jomsom flight is cancelled.

Thanks very much to Ade and Chandra for leading this trek, to the Sherpas guides, Ram the cook, his kitchen helpers and of course the porters for all of their hard work. It is a tradition to thank the local crew on last night of the trek and to hand out tips, I heard this group were generous also purchasing a special meal for the porters too.

The Mountain Company is planning to organise our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek in May/ June 2017, we already have enough people to guarantee to run this departure so we expect this group to fill quite soon. As mentioned above we had a full group in 2016 and the numbers are limited to twelve people due to the capacity on the private charter flight to Juphal.

Please get in touch with us soon if you like to join our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek in May/ June 2017.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Kanchenjunga Circuit trek led by Ade Summers and Jhire Rai in April 2016

Photo: trail to Pangpema

In April, we organised our Kanchenjunga Circuit trek in eastern Nepal and this trek was led by Ade Summers (UK) and Jhire Rai (Nepal). Ade has led this trek three times before and Jhire has done this trek many times. Our assistant guide was Raj who comes from Taplejung and this works well for organisation to have a local in the leadership team. The cook was Sangram who has also completed this trek many times before.

For our April 2016 Kanchenjunga Circuit group there were five trekkers coming from New Zealand and USA. The first day of the trip was April 12th and next morning Ade gave his trek briefing and I also attended. On April 14th the group flew to Bhadrapur in east of Nepal and in afternoon drove up to Ilam for the night. This group stuck to the itinerary walking up as planned to Pangpema at Kanchenjunga northside Base Camp on April 25th and then returned to Ghunsa on the next day. The group decided not to have a rest day at Gunsa and on 26th head up to High Camp before Mirgin La. They successfully crossed over Mirgin La on April 27th arriving to Tseram village in late afternoon.

On April 28th the group walked up to Oktang for the impressive viewpoint of the south west face of Kanchenjunga and descending to camp at Ramche. From here there is a long walk out and on May 5th arrived to Suketar (near Taplejung). They drove back down through Ilam down to the plains to stay the night at a hotel in Birtamod before flying back to Kathmandu on May 7th.

On their return I met up with the group at Hotel Tibet for debrief on the trek and to hear their feedback. Overall the feedback received has been positive as this group had good weather throughout the trip and they successfully completed the trek by crossing Mirgin La.

As with all of TMC western led treks we track their progress while in the field through SPOT gps check ins, you can see the map of this trek on SPOT Adventure website

Throughout the course of Kanchenjunga Circuit trek we received bespoke weather forecasts from Michael Fagin at www.everestweather.com and this information is sent through to Ade on his satellite phone. Having professional weather forecasts is essential for safety in crossing high passes and for decision making in the field.

Thanks very much to Ade, Jhire, Raj and Sangram and the rest of the team for their hard work on this trek.

The Mountain Company is promoting Kanchenjunga Circuit trek for November 2016 and April 2017. Our November departure is nearly guaranteed to run so please get in touch soon if you like to join this group.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Dhaulagiri Circuit led by Almas Khan and Domi Sherpa in April 2016

Photo: Mount Dhaulagiri seen from French Pass

In April we organised our 12th group trek around Dhaulagiri Circuit and this was also our 2nd expedition to climb Dhampus Peak. On their return to Kathmandu I caught up with most of the group for a debrief at KToo steakhouse in Kathmandu for their feedback on the trip.

We had six people in this group and out of these one person decided to pay for the extra cost to climb Dhampus Peak. This surcharge covers the permit fee US$250 and per permit rules the costs to provide equipment to the climbing guide of US$350 and insurance fees for helicopter rescue. Therefore the cost of this surcharge depends on the number of people opting for Dhampus Peak and with a larger group the cost per person will decrease i.e in Autumn season for six people this works out at US$595 per person.

The group arrived to Kathmandu on April 17th and as usual with our teams there was a mix of nationalities with people coming from UK, Australia, India, USA and Germany. The leaders for our Dhaulagiri Circuit with Dhampus trip were Almas Khan (Australia) and Domi Sherpa (Nepal). The Sherpa guide supporting the group was Sonam and the cook was Saila Tamang.

After the pre-trip briefing given by Almas and Domi on April 17th the group flew to Pokhara on 18th and took the bus to Beni then after lunch walked to their first camp at Tatopani. The weather in Nepal this Spring has been been dry with virtually no rain however there was an afternoon rain storm on evening of first day trekking. This precipitation cleared the air as the views at lower level had been obscured for several weeks by haze caused by forest fires throughout Nepal. I gather the group were lucky to get good views of the Himalayas including Mt Dhaulagiri over next two days as they walked through the villages. As ever the days lower down on Dhaulagiri Circuit are always hot and humid as first night camp at Tatopani is only at an altitude of 870 metres.

After Boghara village on Day 5 the trail enters sub-tropical forest and then on Day 8 rises out of tree line to reach Italian Base Camp. We have carefully designed our Dhaulagiri Circuit for acclimatisation and our groups have two nights at Italian Base Camp at 3,660m followed by two nights at Glacier Camp at 4,200m then a further two nights at Dhaulagiri Base Camp at 4,700m. Only with this ascent profile will you have enough time for your body to adapt to the high altitude for safe crossing of the high passes and for sleeping in Hidden Valley at 5,050m.

As reported in Trip Report for Dhaulagiri Circuit in October 2015 there was a change in the trail from Italian Base Camp to Glacier Camp as previously one approached the glacier on left side of Chonbarden gorge however the glacier has melted back and now there is no longer a gentle ramp to access the glacier. In October our group had to cross the glacial river however luckily for our April’s group were able to cross on a snow bridge.

As with all of TMC western led treks we track their progress while in the field through SPOT gps check ins, you can see the map of this trek in SPOT Adventure website

Throughout this expedition we received weather forecasts from Michael Fagin at everestweather.com and we sent these onto Almas by text to his satellite phone. Overall the weather for this trek was good with sunny and stable conditions and had sunny day on crossing French Pass and Dhampus Pass. Having professional weather forecasts is essential for safety in crossing high passes and for decision making in the field.

On May 1st most of the group went for exploration walks around Hidden Valley following the ridge walk as described in my blog article “Photos of day walk in Hidden Valley on Dhaulagiri Circuit trek”. The feedback from the group was enjoyed this day and is a good alternative to climbing Dhampus Peak in order to save money on paying for peak fees and other costs as explained above. The views are wonderful views over to Annapurnas and Nilgiri to the east and over to Dolpo to the west and also to Mount Dhaulagiri.

One member of the group plus Almas and Domi left the camp in Hidden Valley early in the morning to ascend to Dhampus pass. In the end they reached nearly 6,000m however was turned around as was not moving fast enough and was running out of time to get back to Hidden Valley before dark. It is worth bearing in mind if considering the climb of Dhampus Peak that the ascent is 1,000m from
camp in Hidden Valley. This is a big day at altitude!

I have copied one members feedback from AITO.com website below:

"I trekked around Dhaulagiri, crossing the French (5,380m) and Dhampus (5,250m) passes, with an attempt on Dhampus peak (6,030 m) where I got to 5,800 m on the summit ridge. The trek was excellent and we were very lucky to have near perfect weather. The trek was very well organized, with the group well prepared for the inclement weather and trail conditions frequently experience on this route. This was a very well organized trek, with excellent leadership by Almas Khan, and sirdar Domi Sherpa. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would have no hesitation in choosing The Mountain Company organized future trek." 

Congratulations to the group for completing Dhaulagiri Circuit! I would like thank Almas, Domi, Sonam and Saila plus the rest of the team for their help and hard work in making this trip work so well.

The Mountain Company organise our Dhaulagiri Circuit trek and Dhampus Peak expedition twice a year in April and October, please get in touch if you like to join one of these departures. By the way our Dhaulagiri Circuit group in October 2016 is already guaranteed to run and the group is filling.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Punakha Drubchen and Tsechu festivals in Bhutan during February 2016

Photo: Punakha dzong in Bhutan

Punakha’s Drubchen and Tsechu festivals are the fourth most popular festivals in Bhutan behind Paro Tsechu, Thimphu Tsechu and Jambay Lhakang in Bumthang. The 2016 dates for Punakha Drubchen is February 13th to 16th and for Punakha Tsechu is February 17th to 19th.

Photo: Cham dance at Tsechue

Punakha Drubchen festival is dedicated to the legendary figures of Yeshe Gonpo and Palden Lhamo known as the two main protective deities of Drukpas or Bhutanese people. This is a unique festival as it features a recreation of the scene from the 17th century battle with Tibetan army. The ‘pazaps’ or local militia men, dress in traditional battle gear and re-enact the ancient battle scene. On the second day of the festival on February 14th a thongdrol is unfurled. A thongdrol is a large thanka and this one is made of applique on silk brocade taking fifty-one artists two years to finish.

In 2005 another festival known as Punakha Tshechu was introduced by the 70th Je Khenpo Trulku Jigme Choedra and the then Home Minister His Excellency Lyonpo Jigme Yoedzer Thinley. The colourful religious dances of the Punakha tsechu festival commemorate Guru Rinpoche responsible for bringing Buddhism to Bhutan. Many of the dances were first started by Shabdrung, a Tibetan Buddhist lama, who unified Bhutan in 1634. The dances are performed by monks as well as lay people and will bring blessings to the onlookers as well as instructing them about the Buddhist Dharma.

Please get in touch with us if you like to visit Bhutan during one of their Tsechu festivals, for more information take a look at our Cultural Tours of Bhutan.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Happy Lhosar! Buddhist New Year and year of Male Fire Monkey starts on February 9th, 2016

Tomorrow is the Buddhist New Year known as Lhosar (“Lho” meaning year and “Sar” meaning new). Lhosar 2016 starts the year of the Male Fire Monkey and this festival is celebrated in Buddhist communities around the world.

The celebration of Lhosar can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist Bön period where every winter people offered large quantities of incense to appease the local spirits, deities and protectors .

Photo: 2016 is the year of the Male Fire Monkey

In Kathmandu the monasteries around the city such as the important Boudhanath stupa will be thronged during this festival. The monks will partake in auspicious dances accompanied by horns and cymbals. The people will come to the monasteries in their traditional dress and during the day there will be singing and dancing.

Happy Lhosar and New Year to all of the readers of this blog and best wishes for the year of the Male Fire Monkey.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Kanchenjunga Circuit trek led by Almas Khan and Jhire Rai in November 2015

Photo: Mt Kanchenjunga northside

In November, we organised our Kanchenjunga Circuit trek in eastern Nepal. This trek was led by Almas Khan and Jhire Rai. Almas has led this trek once before at the same time last year and Jhire has done this trek so many times I have lost count! The cook was Sangram and the Sherpas were Raj and Heavy.

Almas has had a busy year in 2015 leading four treks for The Mountain Company; in April he led a group on Dhaulagiri Circuit (during earthquake); in August/ September he was on Ladakh Sky Trail; in September/ October to Bhutan for his sixth Lunana Snowman trek and then back to Nepal for Kanchenjunga Circuit. We are lucky to work with capable and experienced group leaders like Almas, what a great year he has had!

For our November 2015 Kanchenjunga Circuit there were eight trekkers coming from UK, Canada, Australia and USA. The group arrived to Kathmandu on November 3rd and next morning Almas gave his trek briefing and I also attended. After the briefing people had time to walk into Thamel to purchase items from the trekking stores in Thamel and have lunch at one of the many eateries in town.

On November 5th the group flew to Bhadrapur in east of Nepal and in afternoon drove up to Ilam for the night. Ilam is the main centre for tea growing and over on the Indian side of the border are the famous tea plantations around Darjeeling.

Photo: camp at Lhonak

Throughout the course of Kanchenjunga Circuit trek we received bespoke weather forecasts from Michael Fagin at everestweather.com and this information is sent through to Almas on his satellite phone. Having professional weather forecasts is essential for safety in crossing high passes and for decision making in the field.

With our past Kanchenjunga Circuit treks the weather has been settled and sunny in the dry post monsoon season. We always carefully select the dates to maximise the chance of successfully completing the trip and November has been consistently a good time of year to trek in this region. Almas reports back the following about the weather for Kanchenjunga Circuit November 2015:

“The weather conditions on the trek were very good. It did not rain at all while we were walking. Only cloudy afternoon was the day we walked to Ghunsa from Phole village. We had very clear days above 4,200m although the skies were hazy up to 2500m.The day we walked to Kanchenjunga North Base Camp (Pangpema) it got very windy with sand blasting and head winds on the way back. Apart from that was great, the day over the passes from high camp to Tsheram was still and clear. It was cold on the trek but not more than anticipated (as mentioned on trip notes). At Ramche the temperatures went down close to -8 inside the tent that was the coldest night of the trek.”

This group stuck to the itinerary walking up as planned to Pangpema at Kanchenjunga northside Base Camp on November 16th and then returned to Ghunsa on the next day. Almas decided to keep the group moving and not have a rest day at Ghunsa instead head up to High Camp before Mirgin La. This was a sensible plan as the weather forecasts were fine and sunny so everyone had wonderful views as crossed over Mirgin La on November 18th arriving to Tseram village around 4pm in the afternoon.

On November 20th the group walked up to Oktang for the viewpoint of the south west face of Kanchenjunga and descending to camp at Ramche. From here there is a long walk out and on November 26th this group arrived to Suketar (near Taplejung).

For all of our treks and expeditions in Nepal we use Mountain Hardwear Trango 3.1 tents owned by The Mountain Company. These are three person domed tents where there is plenty of space for two people sharing a tent plus gear. More importantly these tents are incredibly strong and are designed for use on expeditions to the highest mountains. I have used Trango 3.1s on expeditions to Everest, Makalu, Broad Peak and Kanchenjunga. As long as these tents are well anchored they will survive almost any storm.

On November 27th they drove back down through Ilam down to the plains to stay the night at a hotel in Birtamod before flying back to Kathmandu on 28th. On their return Helen and I met up with most of the group in Thamel for an enjoyable meal to hear about the trek and their feedback.

We used SPOT gps tracker for this group, for each night on trek Almas checked in sending a gps signal to us so we could track this group's progress: click here to see the way points overlaid onto a map for Kanchenjunga Circuit

Thanks very much to Almas, Jhire and the rest of the team for their hard work in leading this trek and to the Sherpas, Raj and Heavy, and the cook, Sangram.

The Mountain Company is promoting two Kanchenjunga Circuit treks for 2016 and our departure in April is already guaranteed to run. There is already some interest in our departure in November so I am confident this will run as planned.

Please get in touch with us soon if you like to join our Kanchenjunga Circuit trek in April or November 2016.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Mera Peak Expedition in Nepal led by Dom Rudd and Domi Sherpa in November 2015

Photo: summit day on Mera Peak

Our Mera Peak Expedition in November 2015 was led by Dom Rudd and our Nepali Sirdar Domi Sherpa. The climbing Sherpas were Sonam and Lakpa. Tenzing joined as a trekking guide and our cook was Parbat Rai.

In this group we had seven climbers coming from UK, Germany and Canada. The first day of the trip was October 31st and everyone met up on morning of November 1st for Dom’s trip briefing. I also enjoyed meeting the group and attending the briefing. On the afternoon most of the group spent time in Thamel buying last minute items and also picking up rental gear for the trip as well as taking some time to explore some of the good restaurants and coffee shops.

On morning of 2nd the group took the flight into Lukla and after lunch started the walk to Puiyan where they stayed the first night of the trek. For the first few days of the trip there was low level cloud however there was no precipitation so the group did not get wet while walking. The six day trek into Kothe went well and by the time the group got to Chunbu Kharka the weather cleared up and experienced mainly sunny weather with wonderful views for the rest of the expedition.

On November 9th the group arrived as planned to Tagnag at an altitude of 4,360m. We include two nights at this cluster of lodges for acclimatisation and also include rope training in the morning and then followed by an acclimatisation walk in the afternoon. Domi and Sonam set up a fixed rope on grass slopes behind Tagnag and the group got all of their own climbing gear set up then had a demonstration and practice session on ascending and descending a fixed rope. These mountaineering skills are required for the steep final summit slopes on Mera Peak where fixed rope is placed by the Sherpas to protect this section of the climb.

On November 10th the group moved up to Khare (Base Camp) and on the next day they walked up to the glacier for further mountaineering training. The feedback from the group after the trip was this was a tough and tiring day to walk up to glacier especially this year as snowline was so high. In previous years we were able to do this training lower down near the disused tea shop however this year the snow line was high so it was a long walk from Khare. With future trips we will take this into account as it should be possible to do mountaineering training on the day moving up to Mera La. Also many members of our Mera Peak groups already have these skills and an acclimatisation walk from Khare might well work better for them before the climb.

Throughout this expedition we received weather forecasts from Michael Fagin at everestweather.com and we sent these onto Dom by text to his satellite phone and during our regular phone conversations. As mentioned earlier the weather was fine and sunny from Chunbu Kharka however on the forecast before their summit attempt we received a strong wind warning. I have copied an extract of Michael’s forecast weather below:

"The jet stream and strong winds in the upper levels will be near our region through Wednesday. Some of these strong winds will mix down to our summit level and bring some strong winds at times from Saturday through Tuesday. Then on Wednesday we start to have a decrease in winds. A tropical depression will be forming in the Bay of Bengal by Tuesday and Wednesday but not expecting any issues for our region."

It is essential for the group’s safety to have professional weather forecasts during an expedition to Mera Peak. It is also helpful for the leaders, Dom and Domi, to receive this information as can use to plan the timing of summit day. The forecasts were for stronger winds on November 16th compared to 15th so in their position it was not worth delaying their summit attempt by one day.

For all of our treks and expeditions in Nepal we use Mountain Hardwear Trango 3.1 tents owned by The Mountain Company. These are three person domed tents where there is plenty of space for two people sharing a tent plus gear. More importantly these tents are incredibly strong and are designed for use on expeditions to the highest mountains. I have used Trango 3.1s on expeditions to Everest, Makalu, Broad Peak and Kanchenjunga. As long as these tents are well anchored they will survive almost any storm.

Five members of the group set out from High Camp at 3am on November 15th and continued until about 6,000m when the decision was made to turn back due to high winds. Everyone in the group understood and supported this call as it was clearly too windy to proceed safely. After getting back to High Camp they continued down to Khare later that day.

This group had a day in hand as they had not used up their spare summit day so the decision was made to stay one extra night at Khare. I gather everyone had a good walk up the moraine ridge above Khare with wonderful views on a sunny day. However the winds were blasting the summit of Mera Peak with white plume visible certainly not a viable summit day!

From Khare the group descended to Kote for the night and then ascended up to Thuli Kharka. The next day crossed Zatra La pass where there was some snow at the top so fixed ropes were placed for the top sections. From speaking to the group, the feedback received was everyone really enjoyed the days walking back from Khare to Lukla and I gather were some of the highlights of the trip. This group had a positive attitude to this expedition and refreshingly were not only summit focused.

We used SPOT gps tracker for this group, for each night on trek Dom checked in sending a gps signal to us so we could track this group's progress: click here to see the way points overlaid onto a map for Mera Peak Expedition

I would like to thank Dom and Domi for their leadership of this group and Sonam, Lhakpa and Tenzing and the rest of the Nepalese crew who as ever worked exceptionally hard throughout this expedition.

Our next expedition to Mera Peak will be in April 2016 and Dom has confirmed would like to lead our November 2016 departure. Please get in touch soon if you would like to join one of these groups

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Naar to Upper Mustang GHT trek led by Tom Lawson and Gopal Tamang in October/ November 2015

Photo: Naar village

In late October, we organised our Naar to Upper Mustang trek along The Great Himalaya Trail. This trek was led by Tom Lawson and Gopal Tamang. Over the years Tom and his wife Jill have both led several treks for The Mountain Company starting with Dhaulagiri Circuit in April 2012 and again in October 2014 then Kanchenjunga Circuit in November 2014. Jill has led our Ama Dablam Base Camp trek too in October 2014.

This year for Naar to Mustang there were six trekkers in the group and in fact all of them had been on trips in previous years with The Mountain Company. We appreciate everyone’s support coming back for multiple treks with us especially this Autumn as Nepal is still recovering from the earthquake in Spring. As usual with our bookings there was a mix of nationalities with people coming from Australia, UK and Canada.

Photo: trail to Yak Kharka above Naar village

The group arrived in Kathmandu on October 30th and next morning Tom gave his trek briefing to the group and I also attended. On November 1st the group drove to Bhulebule to start the trek. The weather was cloudy with some precipitation as the group ascended Marsyangdi valley following a quieter trail opposite the Annapurna Circuit jeep track. Over the last few years trails have been improved away from the road so Tom made sure the group took advantage of these whenever possible. Many trekking groups now take jeeps all the way to Dharapani, however the feedback from this group was they were happy to walk from Bhulebule as the trails away from the road are scenic and varied and are much better than a long, dusty and bumpy jeep ride. 

Photo: valley above Naar village following Lapsa Khola

On November 6th the fourth day of the trek this itinerary heads north up the deep gorge of the Naar Phu Khola (river) and away from the more popular Annapurna Circuit. After one night at Dharmasala camp in the pine and bamboo forests at an altitude of 3,250m they walked up to Naar village at 4,100m where they spent two nights for acclimatisation. During this day the weather cleared and was sunny for rest of the trip. On the spare day Tom and Gopal organised a day walk up in the valley leading to Kang La pass and the group got impressive views of Kangaru Peak and blue sheep. 

Photo: climbing up to Kang La pass

Photo: summit of Kang La pass

Photo: descending Kang La pass

On November 8th the group left Naar village to start the approach to Teri La pass by following the Lapse Khola (river) valley, staying the first night at a Yak Kharka camp at an altitude of 4,400m. This section of the trail is narrow and steep but everyone made good progress to camp.

On November 9th they continued to a higher camp in the Lapse Khola valley at an altitude of 4,600m, planning the next day to walk up to High Camp below the Teri La pass at an altitude of 4,900m. The trail ascends on northerly facing slopes and soft snow from storms a couple of weeks earlier made the trail difficult for group and crew. There was about 10cm of unconsolidated snow on scree slopes and Tom and Gopal decided it was too risky to continue. It was not possible to protect this section of the trail with fixed rope and the decision was made to turn back from crossing Teri La pass. At the highest point reached, Himalayan Griffon were seen circling in the valley and a trail of fresh snow leopard prints were spotted in the snow. 

Photo: Braga village and back onto Annapurna Circuit

On returning to camp Tom and Gopal discussed the options and explained these to the group; everyone was happy to divert the trek to cross the Kang La pass over to Manang and then continue to Tilicho Lake and cross Mesokantha La over to Jomsom in the Kali Gandaki valley.

On November 13th they had a sunny and clear day for crossing Kang La and walked down to the Ngawal village. On the next day they walked along the spectacular high trail then down into Braga village with wonderful views of the Annapurnas before going on to Manang village. 

On November 15th they walked through Khangsar village before camping for the night at Tilicho Base Camp. During the course of the trek we received weather forecasts from everestweather.com and we sent these through to Tom on his satellite phone. For 15th and 16th we received forecasts with warnings of strong winds for Annapurna and also affecting our group on Mera Peak as well.

The next day they ascended along the spectacular trail to Tilicho Lake and camped near the lake. Tom made sure our Mountain Hardwear Trango 3.1 tents were well anchored in the event of a windy night but the forecasts for winds to drop proved accurate and it was a calm night, although the temperature dropped to near minus 20 degrees Celsius during the night. 

Photo: Tilicho lake at 4,900m

On November 17th Tom and the group crossed the Mesokantha La and everyone safely arrived to another Yak Kharka camp above the Kali Gandaki valley. I heard from Tom this pass is very steep on descent and fixed rope was used as a handrail for group and crew. 

Photo: summit of Mesokantha La

We used SPOT gps tracker for this group, for each night on trek Tom checked in sending a gps signal to us so we could track this group's progress: click here to see the way points overlaid onto a map for Naar to Mustang GHT

Photo: our amazing trek crew with Susan

The group flew back to Kathmandu on November 20th after a possible record-breaking 15 minute transfer in Pokhara. On their return I met up with Tom and some of the group in Thamel for an enjoyable meal to hear about the trek and their feedback. The group were happy with their trek and really enjoyed crossing Kang La and Mesokantha La passes on beautiful sunny days.

Thanks very much to Tom and Gopal for their hard work in leading this trek and to the Sherpas, Lal and Khumbu, and the cook, Ram.

The Mountain Company plans to organise our next Naar to Upper Mustang GHT trek in late September 2016 as I think the conditions on Teri La should be less snowy at this time of year. For most treks it is possible to cross high passes in November however given the steep trail on rocky scree up to High Camp it would better to attempt this trek when temperatures are warmer and snowline higher. Please get in touch with us soon if you like to join our Naar to Upper Mustang GHT trek in September/ October 2016.

Trek on!

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Lunana Snowman led by Almas Khan in September/ October 2015

Photo: view from Karchung La

This is the seventh time The Mountain Company has organised the Complete Lunana Snowman trek in Bhutan starting in Paro and finishing in Bumthang. After another successful Snowman in September/ October 2015, The Mountain Company has 100% track record of organising this challenging trek.

This year we had eleven trekkers signed up for the full Snowman and like in previous years this group was an international mix with people coming from New Zealand, USA, Australia, South Africa, Canada and UK. Our 2015 Snowman group was led by TMC regular guide, Almas Khan. Almas has completed Snowman trek six times including both Bumthang and Nikka Chu exit trails from Lunana. For our 2015 Snowman we had our regular Bhutanese trek crew on board again with Dawa as the Sirdar; Tashi & Pema as guides and Tenzing as the cook. Also Airya was a new guide that joined our Snowman group for the first time this year.

Photo: view from Gophu La

For the first five days of Snowman it rained at night with heavy rains below 3,000m but luckily it did not rain during the day while walking. Once over Nyele La, the weather conditions stayed stable until they reached Thanza in Lunana then after that it snowed in the afternoon for next four days. The group pitched tents on snow at Danje, Tshorim lake and Tarina three days in a row and there was about 10 cms of snow at Tshorim lake at our highest camp. Luckily this Autumn there were no cyclones from Bay of Bengal impacting the Himalaya unlike 2014 with Cyclone Hudhud and in 2013 with Cyclone Phailin.

Throughout the course of Snowman trek we received bespoke weather forecasts from Michael Fagin at everestweather.com and this information is sent through to Almas on his satellite phone. Having professional weather forecasts is essential for safety in crossing high passes and for decision making in the field.

Overall the trail conditions were good for Snowman 2015 and not as muddy as previous years. For the last 50m on the climb to Saga La pass the trail was abit slippery but there was no snow on other side of the pass while descending. For our Snowman trek we include micro crampons on the kit list (Yak Tracks or Kahtoolas) and some of the group used these for the ascent of Saga La. Almas reported that the lowest temperature of the trek was -5.2 Celsius inside his tent in early hours before sunrise at the Tshorim lake.

For this year’s Snowman we made one change in the itinerary compared to 2014 by including three nights before trekking up to Chomolhari Base Camp at 4,080m. Unfortunately the standard itinerary used by most other trekking companies has only two nights before Chomolhari Base Camp and with this rapid ascent there is a risk of people getting altitude sickness. The ascent from Paro to Shana is an increase of 510m; to Soi ThangThangka is an increase in 720m and next day up to Chomolhari Base Camp is a further increase of 570m. This ascent profile breaches altitude guidelines. I have copied below an extract from UIAA MedCom Statement #2 Field managament of AMS, HAPE and HACE below:

"Above 2,500 to 3,000m the next night should not be planned more than 300 to 500m higher than the previous one. Have two nights at the same altitude for every 2 to 4 days of ascent. On this day you may climb higher but return to sleep".

At The Mountain Company we do everything we can do to increase the chances of our groups safely completing their trek. We have reviewed all of our itineraries to ensure adequate time is included for natural acclimatisation to the high altitude. We never yield to the commercial pressures of reducing the number of days to lower the trip cost and to make our treks more marketable.

Photo: Mt Jitchu Drake

Our Snowman 2015 group made good progress and did not lose any days due to bad weather or other delays along the way. As usual Almas decided to have only one night at Thanza and to keep moving in case a spare buffer day was required later on. In the end they arrived to the hot springs at Dur Tsachu one day early so they had two nights to relax in the wonderful hot tubs.

At the hot springs the group were very lucky as they saw a wild Thakin crossing the river near Dur Taschu camp. The Thakin is the national animal of Bhutan and is rarely seen in the wild. For more information on Takin please take a look at Wikipedia

We used SPOT gps tracker for this group and each night Almas checked in sending a gps signal to us so we could track this group's progress. Click here to see the way points overlaid onto a map for Lunana Snowman

Most of the feedback for Snowman 2015 has been positive and I have copied Neil’s comments below:

"This is now the 4th time I have trekked with The Mountain Company which I think helps to emphasise that I hold them in high regard. The treks are all extremely well planned, led by highly experienced leaders and supported by excellent guides, catering staff etc. As well as providing a wonderful trekking experience, the safety and well-being of clients and staff are always a high priority.

In summary an outstanding trek in a beautiful remote part of the world. I know that trekking in Bhutan is more expensive than some areas but this trek led by Almas Khan was exceptional, with stunning scenery, walking in some of the most remote areas of the Himalayas and enjoying so much of the local culture. Crossing so many passes between Drugyel Dzong all the way through to Bumthang provides so many moments as new vistas open up as you reach each pass, beautiful forests and the opportunity to see so much wildlife including blue sheep.”

For more testimonials on Snowman and our other trips please take a look at AITO review section of their website

Thanks to Almas, Tashi, Pema, Airya, Dawa and rest of the crew for all of their hard work, great job!

Modified Snowman itinerary for 2016

We had a further think about how to improve our Snowman itinerary to help acclimatisation before the ascent to Chomolhari Base Camp at 4.080m. I think it is such a shame to see other Snowman groups where members get altitude sickness at Chomolhari BC and have to turn back especially considering the cost of Snowman trek. Most other trekking operators ascend to Chomolhari Base Camp too rapidly. The “standard” ascent profile of two nights in Paro then one night in Shana followed by Soi Tangtanka then up to Chomolhari Base Camp at 4,080m is unsafe and breaks guidelines for gradual acclimatisation. In the past our groups had two nights at Soi Tangtanka at 3,510m whereas this was frankly a little boring as there were not many options for day walks from this camp.

For our Snowman 2016 we have come up with a modified itinerary heading to the less visited Haa valley before the trek. After the group's arrival to Paro we have one night at Olathang hotel (given
availability) and then next day the group will walk up Tiger's Nest and then in afternoon drive over Chele La (3,780m) to Haa Valley. After two nights at Haa valley we drive back over Chele La and then drive on through Paro to Shana for the first night's camp of the trek.

In Haa valley there are some beautiful day walks and as this valley is at 2,712m this is 500m higher than Paro so is very effective for acclimatisation. On the way back over Chele La the group will go for a walk up the ridge to nearly 4,000m and again great for helping your body adapt to the high altitude.

We believe our modified 2016 Snowman trek should add alot in terms of interest and also increase our groups chances of safely completing the Snowman trek. We have now launched the dates and prices for Lunana Snowman 2016 on TMC website so please get in touch soon if you would like to join this group. Almas Khan has confirmed his leadership for next year’s Snowman and this will be his seventh time on Snowman! We have already received several deposits for Snowman 2016 so I am confident this trek will be guaranteed soon.

*Breaking news*....Almas will also be heading back to Bhutan in April 2016 to lead our Rodung La with Sakten and Merak. This trek is an extension of the Lunana Snowman trek by starting in Bumthang and continuing east to Trashi Yangtse along The Great Himalaya Trail ("GHT").

Trek on!

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Dhaulagiri Circuit led by Allan Gibbs and Domi Sherpa in October 2015

Photo: summit shot on Dhampus Peak of Domi, Sona and team (credit: Allan Gibbs)

Our Dhaulagiri Circuit group arrived back to Kathmandu on October 21st and are flying home today. On their return I caught up for a debrief with the leaders, Allan Gibbs and Domi Sherpa, and then met the group at KToo steakhouse in Kathmandu for their feedback on the trip.

The Mountain Company has organised Dhaulagiri Circuit ten times since I went on our first recce trek back in May 2008. However for October 2015 we made a significant change to the itinerary as we included the option to climb Dhampus Peak (6,060m) from Hidden Valley. This addition makes a superb trip even better as not only does the group get the chance to complete one of the most challenging treks in Nepal crossing two high passes over 5,000m but also includes climbing a peak over 6,000m! We had eight people in this group and five people paid the supplement to cover the permit fees for Dhampus Peak.

The group arrived to Kathmandu on October 4th and as usual with our teams there was a mix of nationalities with people coming from UK, Ireland, Canada and Germany. The leaders for our Dhaulagiri Circuit with Dhampus trip were Allan Gibbs (UK) and Domi Sherpa (Nepal). The Sherpa guides supporting the group were Sonam and Tenzing and the cook was Parbat.

On 5th the group flew to Pokhara and took the bus to Beni then after lunch walked to their first camp at Tatopani. For the next three days the trail passes through attractive traditional villages (luckily no earthquake damage here) with views of Dhaulagiri and surrounding mountains to the north. These first few days of Dhaulagiri Circuit are always very hot and humid as Tatopani is at an altitude of only 870 metres.

After Boghara village on Day 5 the trail enters sub-tropical forest and as usual during this section of the trek there was some afternoon rain after the group had arrived to camp. The group reached Italian Base Camp as planned on October 11th and after an acclimatising day on 12th they walked up to Glacier camp on 13th. There was a change in the trail as previously one approached the glacier on left side of Chonbarden gorge however the glacier has melted back and now there is no longer a gentle ramp to access the glacier. Therefore the new trail crosses the river below the glacier to access the right hand side of the glacier. Domi and Sonam rigged a Tyrolean traverse over the river and the lighter members of the group were hauled across whereas the heavier members (no names!) crossed the river on foot.

Throughout this expedition we received weather forecasts from Michael Fagin at everestweather.com and we sent these onto Allan by text to his satellite phone as well as discussed during our regular phone conversations. Overall the weather for this trek was excellent with sunny and stable conditions apart from one cloudy day walking up to Dhaulagiri Base Camp. This group was very lucky as had superb sunny day on crossing French Pass into Hidden Valley. This period of fine weather carried on until the end of the trip so the conditions for climbing Dhampus Peak and crossing Dhampus were very favourable- see photos below.

On October 18th three members of the group plus Allan left the camp in Hidden Valley at 5am to ascend to Dhampus pass, from there they started up lower scree slopes of Dhampus Peak. Above here the route joins the ridge and this is followed to the summit. I gather this year there was no snow on the pass and only a small amount towards the top of Dhampus.

Photo: summit ridge on Dhampus Peak (credit: Allan Gibbs) 

Photo: view from summit of Dhampus Peak (credit: Allan Gibbs)

It was a clear day with wonderful views from the summit of Dhampus Peak over to Annapurnas and Nilgiri to the east and over to Dolpo to the west. The climbers took a different way down from the top descending on Kali Gandaki side of the mountain and meeting the rest of the group at a camp over from Dhampus pass. The next day everyone descended all of the way down to Marpha instead of staying at Alu Bari camp, I think the draw of apple juice, apple pie (and apple schnaps?) was too tempting for everyone. Marpha is a traditional village and everyone enjoyed their time exploring the next morning before walking onto Jomsom.

As with all of TMC western led treks we track their progress while in the field through SPOT gps check ins, you can see the map of this trek on SPOT Adventure website

After arriving to Jomsom that evening the group had a good party thanking the local crew and handing out their tips. On the next morning most of the group flew out from Jomsom back to Kathmandu via Pokhara however three of the group hired mountain bikes to cycle down the Kali Gandaki valley to Pokhara. I look forward to hearing how their cycling trip went on their return to Kathmandu in a few days time.

Congratulations to the group for completing Dhaulagiri Circuit and well done to the climbers who summited Dhampus Peak! As mentioned this is the first summit of Dhampus Peak by a TMC group and hopefully not the last. I would like thank Allan, Domi, Sonam, Tenzing and Parbat plus the rest of the team for their help and hard work in making this trip work so well. Great job!

Photo: Sona and Allan Gibbs on summit of Dhampus Peak (credit Allan Gibbs)

The Mountain Company organise our Dhaulagiri Circuit trek and Dhampus Peak expedition twice a year in April and October, please get in touch if you like to join one of these departures. By the way our Dhaulagiri Circuit group in October 2016 is already guaranteed to run.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.,uk

Trip report for Ladakh Sky Trail GHT led by Almas Khan in August/ September 2015

Photo: start of trek at Lamayuru

Our Ladakh Sky Trail GHT group arrived to Leh on August 19th and on 21st drove to Lamayuru (3,500m) and 22nd they started the trek. This year we had eight people in the group and as usual we had an international mix with people coming from UK, Ireland, South Africa and Germany.

As explained in Trip Report for 2014 Ladakh Sky Trail GHT, Almas Khan created this unique itinerary from years of leading groups in Ladakh. This is his dream trek travelling through the best of the three areas of this region: Ladakh, Zanskar and Changthang/ Rupshu. For most of Ladakh Sky Trail GHT we follow rarely trekked trails and this is only possible due to the local knowledge of Almas and the local Ladakhi guide Tsering Samphel.

As for all or our treks in the Himalayas we received bespoke weather forecast from Michael Fagin at everestweather.com and as I was following these updates in London I was relieved to see the weather was settled and stable. Early in August there was heavy rain in Ladakh causing flash flooding that resulted in damage on trails and bridges on Markha Valley. See BBC article "British trekkers rescued amid flash flooding". This type of heavy precipitation is always a risk in Ladakh however this region is usually dry during the monsoon rains of July and August due to rain shadow effect of Himalayan peaks to the south. However every few years a strong pulse of monsoon pushes over these mountains causing heavy rain in Ladakh, as there is little vegetation to absorb the rainfall there is rapid flow of water off the mountains causing river levels to rise fast.

Fortunately the weather was good for our Ladakh Sky Trail GHT trek and I gather from Almas overall better than last year. There was a little light rain in the afternoon on the first three days then for the rest of the trek they had sunny days. As a result of clear skies at night the temperatures at night were a bit colder compared to last year with the minimum temperature experienced about -6 Celsius. There was more snow on the mountains above 5,800 meters but importantly for this trek the condition of the river crossings was good.

As mentioned in last year’s Trip Report we have carefully selected the time of year to run this trek, by starting in late August into September much of the snow in the mountains has already melted over the summer so river levels should be lower at this time of year.

There are three days of Ladakh Sky Trail where the group walked through deep gorges, this section of the trail involves many river crossings (around 120!). The feedback received from this group was that Teva sandals did not offer enough protection to their feet from rocks as most people were their sandals throughout the days for this section through the gorge. Therefore we have updated our kit list to include fully enclosed sandals to protect your feet rather than Teva type open sandals.

As the weather and conditions were favourable the group made good progress and followed the itinerary as planned. The whole group arrived to end of the trek at the stunningly beautiful Tsomoriri lake at 4,400m on September 11th and then on 12th drove back to Leh. As with all of TMC western led treks we track their progress while in the field through SPOT gps check ins, you can see the map of this trek on SPOT Adventure website

Photo: Tsomoriri lake at end of the trek!

I would like to thank Almas, Tsering Samphel and the hardworking Ladakhi team for doing a great job organising and leading another successful Ladakh Sky Trail GHT. Almas will be back in Ladakh again next summer leading our 2016 Ladakh Sky Trail and we have already requested for the same local Ladakhi crew to join our group. Please get in touch soon if you are interested in joining our Ladakh Sky Trail GHT or if you have any questions on this trek.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk