Hindu festival of Holi celebrated in Nepal and India

Photo: enjoying Holi festival on Annapurna Circuit trek

The annual Hindu festival of Holi will be celebrate in Nepal and Northern India on March 8^th 2012. Holi is also known as festival of colours and is celebrated by people throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other. Be careful to wear old clothes tomorrow especially if you are walking around Thamel in Kathmandu as well aimed water bombs are likely fall from the roof tops!

Hindus celebrate Holi as the end of winter and to welcome the new colours arriving at the start of Spring season. Holi is a Hindu festival linked to their religion and mythology however is celebrated throughout Nepal as a national festival with many people entering festivities regardless of their religion.

Happy Holi!

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

The Mountain Company's Western led treks in 2012

Photo: view from Kesha La on Lunana Snowman trek in Bhutan

So far in 2012 we have had a busy few months organising and marketing our western led treks, for your information I have listed below our trips that are now guaranteed and currently have availability:

April: Dhaulagiri Circuit in Nepal (leader: Jill Lawson)

April/ May: Upper Dolpo to Jomsom in Nepal (leader: Gary Pfisterer)

August: K2 & Gondogoro La in Pakistan ((leader: Chris Horobin)

September/ October: Lunana Snowman in Bhutan (leader: Almas Khan)

October: Dhaulagiri Circuit in Nepal (leader: Paul Burditt)
November: Mera Peak Expedition in Nepal (leader: Roland Hunter)

November/ December: Everest Base Camp in Nepal (leader: Georgina Hobbs)

November/ December: Everest Base camp with Love Hope Strength Foundation (leaders: Adrian Summers and Andrew Peacock)

We have received significant interest in the following treks and require a few more people in order to confirm these departures:

August: Nubra and Shyok Valley in Ladakh, India (leader: Alan Ward)

October: Lemosho Route on Kilimanjaro (Alan Ward)

November: Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal (Alan Ward)

Please get in touch soon if you would like to join any of these trips, or give us a call if you would like to discuss them in more detail.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

The Mountain Company joins GHT Alliance

I am glad to announce that The Mountain Company has recently joined the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) Alliance as an accredited trek operator. GHT Alliance is a group of organisations and individuals who voluntarily adopt their Codes of Conduct, one Code has been developed for visitors and another for operators organising treks in the Himalaya. For more information on Codes of Conduct please take a look at Great Himalaya Trail website.

GHT is a trekking route that crosses Himalaya from Burma to Pakistan taking the highest feasible route along the spine of this mountain range, the trail involves very challenging trekking as well as several mountaineering sections over technical passes (eg Sherpani Col near Makalu in Nepal).

GHT Alliance has been set up by several people who have spent a lot of time exploring the Himalaya and believe it is important to give something back. The organisers of GHT Alliance work on a voluntary basis and over heads for GHT Alliance at a very low level.

The main objective of GHT Alliance is to promote local, sustainable and responsible tourism to remote areas of Himalaya that in the past may not have benefitted from trekkers. GHT Alliance is a transnational project covering Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan and the hope is that this project will enhance sharing of skills and experience between the existing trekking industry in these countries.

GHT Alliance supports two GHT-related development goals: first, to promote vocational training programs, especially for porters and kitchen crew and second to initiate livelihood programs for villages along the trekking routes. GHT Alliance do not plan projects, rather registered NGOs apply for funding through GHT Alliance partners and then match them up.

Now that The Mountain Company is an accredited GHT Alliance trek operator we have agreed to adhere to Operator Code of Practice and also to encourage our clients who have signed up for one of our GHT labelled trek to donate £80 (US$120) to GHT Alliance.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Open Charity Challenge to Everest Base Camp (Nepal) led by Alan Ward in November/ December 2011

Photo: TMC group at Everest Base Camp in December 2011

On November 29^th our Open Charity Challenge group trekking to Everest Base Camp arrived to Kathmandu. Alan Ward was the western leader for this team of fifteen which also included four visually impaired (“VI”) people with one person having no sight.

One of the VIs, David, had already joined two of our treks both led by Alan, in 2007 he trekked to Upper Mustang in Nepal and in 2010 attempted to climb Stok Kangri in Ladakh. David got in touch with us at end of last year with the idea of planning a trek to Everest Base Camp to coincide with his 60^th birthday. Of course we were delighted to be able to help him and he also recruited several friends from his walking group Milton Mountaineers and Vitalise Holidays.

In September Alan organised a training weekend for this group in Brecons, this worked well so that the team could get to know each other. From feedback received I gather everyone found Alan’s various presentations and discussions over the course of the weekend very helpful and aided their preparations for the trek to Everest Base Camp.

Based on our experience with organising David’s previous treks in the Himalayas we realised that each VI would require a sighted helper from UK as well as one Sherpa guide to escort them at all times along the trail. After discussing this set-up on their return I understand worked well with Sherpa guides taking the lead during the day due to their knowledge of the route while also being supported by UK helpers. Then on arrival to lodge in the afternoon UK helper would take over showing VIs around the lodge such as dining room, bedroom and washing facilities.

I enjoyed meeting this group on their return to Kathmandu and hearing about how the trek went for them. They experienced good weather with sun every day and also everyone acclimatised well to the altitude (as a result of our tried and tested 14 day trek itinerary!). The feedback I received was they enjoyed staying at the lodges we had carefully selected for them and I gather Zamling in Namche and Mother Earth were their favourites.

Great news that all VIs and helpers plus the rest of the group (apart from one) made it all the way to Everest Base Camp and/ or Kalapatar. This is a fantastic achievement for everyone in the group and is truly inspirational. When they got back in Kathmandu there was a lot of interest by Nepalese media and VIs had interviews with Kantipur TV,several radio stations and also articles/ photos in several newspapers including Republica (see photo below).

Photo: VIs in Kathmandu published in Republica

This is a photo of David, Jimmy, Leigh and Terry in Kathmandu a few days ago after successfully completing Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal, it is a really special achievement for them as they are all visually impaired with one person having no sight. I would like thank Alan Ward their western leader and UK helpers (Diana, Rob, Meg and Emma) as well as the rest of the group who supported VIs throughout their trek. A huge thanks to our Nepalese sirdar, Buddhi Rai, plus the Sherpas (Tenzing, Purna, Mangal, Prem, Kulungman and Uttar) as well as the porters who did a superb job making it possible for everyone to achieve their objective of walking to Everest Base Camp.

Thanks also to Rohan Designs Limited who kindly donated over 20kg of clothing for KEEP’s porters lending bank, Alan brought this gear out with him and shortly after arriving to Nepal visited their office in Kathmandu to hand these items over to them.

The Mountain Company is organising two Open Charity Challenge treks in Nepal for 2012, we have a western led Everest Base Camp group in November and Alan is coming back again to lead our Annapurna Base Camp trek also in November. Please get in touch with us soon if you would like to join one of these groups.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Photos and trip report for Kanchenjunga Circuit led by Jhire Rai in November 2011

We had five members signed up for Kanchenjunga Circuit trek in November 2011. As our minimum group size for a western led trek is six people we decided to ran this group with Jhire Rai as Nepalese Sirdar.

For two members of this group, Neil and Roger, this was their third trek with The Mountain Company as they had also trekked Manaslu Circuit in October 2007 and again with Jhire on Dhaulagiri Circuit in October 2009. We are very grateful to get repeat bookings from people and really appreciate their loyalty in coming back for another trek, at least it shows we are doing something right! I would like to thank Neil very much for allowing us to use his beautiful photos of his trek around Kanchenjunga on TMC blog and website.

The group arrived to Kathmandu on November 2nd and on 3rd flew to Bhadrapur in east Nepal. Normally for Kanchenjunga Circuit one flies to Biratnagar and then onto Suketar however this year the mountain airstrip at Suketar is being reconstructed so instead the group had to fly to Bhadrapur then had a long bus ride to Taplejung (near Suketar). I gather Suketar airstrip should be open by Spring 2012 trekking season.

This November the weather was rather unsettled in Nepal as my group had experienced on Mera Peak, I gather our Kanchenjunga Circuit group had some days with rain in the afternoon for first week. Higher up above Ghunsa the mornings were clear and fine then by afternoon some clouds would bubble up. However overall the conditions were pretty good and this group were lucky to get superb views of both north and south face of Mount Kanchenjunga.

I met our Kanchenjunga Circuit group on their return to Kathmandu after the trek at end of November, we went for a meal together at K Too steakhouse to hear more about how the trek went for them. The feedback I received was overall they had a very good trek and enjoyed the wide variety of landscape and seeing the culture of the villages they passed along the way. Compared to Neil and Roger's two previous treks with us (Manaslu Circuit and Dhaulagiri Circuit) they found Kanchenjunga Circuit physically more demanding with longer walking days and also thought that the trail was rougher in places. In fact some of the paths had been damaged by the earthquake that hit this area in mid September however these were passable with some extra care and attention!

I have uploaded several of Neil's photographs below to give you an idea of the landscape and scenery of Kanchenjunga Circuit trek.

Photo: terraced fields near Chirwa

Photo: Local woman at water tap

Photo: Jhire Rai (Sirdar) with school children

Photo: Lhonak camp

Photo: walking near Lhonak

Photo: glacier near Pangpema

Photo; north face of Mount Kanchenjunga

Photo: TMC group at Oktang

Photo: south face of Mount Kanchenjunga

Photo: Ramche camp with Mount Jannu left

Photo: farmhouses near Yamphudin village

Photo: farmhouse

Photo: looking south to middle hills

I would like to thank the trek crew for looking after everyone so well on our Kanchenjunga Circuit trek especially thanks to Sirdar Jhire Rai and Sherpa guide Prem as well as Sangram their cook.

The Mountain Company is planning to organise Kanchenjunga Circuit trek in November 2012 and 2013 so please get in touch with us if you are interested in joining one of these groups.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for Dhaulagiri Circuit (Nepal) led by Dom Rudd in October 2011

Our Dhaulagiri Circuit in October 2011 was the fifth time The Mountain Company had organised this trek, I led our first one in May 2008 then Gary Pfisterer led in October 2009, myself again in October 2010 and followed by Lee Farmer in April 2011. This time the leader for our Dhaulagiri Circuit group was Dom Rudd (International Mountain Leader) for more information on his background and experience.

The advantage of having organised this trek several times before is that we have developed cumulative experience and knowledge that our new leaders can tap into. They will have access to all previous trip reports sent to us by each leader after completion of the trek as well as the detailed Trek Leader’s notes written by us with information for each day such as timings, points of interest and any risks to be aware of along the way. 

The group arrived to Kathmandu on October 8^th, from our experience running this trek it is best to start after the first week of October to allow time for monsoon to wind down as Myagdi Valley is particularly wet place due to its north-south orientation. Clouds travel up from the south on plains of India and then at end of valley are blocked and forced to rise by Dhaulagiri resulting in high levels of precipitation. This timing worked well as on this trek there was very little rain during this trek as they approached Italian Base Camp.

Photo: Mount Dhaulagiri 7th highest in world at 8,167m

Our acclimatisation schedule for Dhaulagiri Circuit is conservative with two nights at Italian Base Camp at 3,660m, two nights at Glacier Camp at 4,200m and two nights at Dhaulagiri Base Camp at 4,700m. This itinerary worked well for the group and felt well acclimatised to safely cross French Pass into Hidden Valley. Some snow fell at Dhaulagiri Base Camp during evening of October 20^th however the day for walking to Hidden Valley on 22^nd dawned clear, crisp and cold. Dom was up early this morning to check the weather and conditions and made the decision to proceed as planned.

There was fresh snow on the trail slowing progress although the weather was good with bright sunshine and the view from the approach to French Pass back to Dhaulagiri was spectacular. Just after crossing French Pass the cloud rolled in and wind picked up causing snow to drift across the path filling footprints with soft windblown snow. The first group arrived to camp in Hidden Valley at 4pm and second group only 40 minutes behind, everyone was glad to see that camp was set up with all tents erected and a cup of tea served shortly after their arrival!

Photo: Dhaulagiri Base Camp

Our Dhaulagiri Circuit itinerary has two nights in Hidden Valley whereas most other operators only have one night here as they are not properly acclimatised so need to get down in altitude as soon as possible. Feedback from most people in our groups is that they like having a spare day in Hidden Valley as is one of the highlights of this trek. This is not only so that they can they have a well-deserved lie in after a long day crossing French Pass and wait for the sun to warm up before having breakfast but also give them a chance to explore and enjoy this beautiful valley. Some of the group attended an ecole de glace organised by Dom showing them the basic techniques for using crampons and ice axe for self arrest.

Everyone enjoyed their rest day in Hidden Valley and felt rested for the final leg of the trek crossing Dhampus Pass and descending into Kali Gandaki Valley. On October 24^th the group left camp at 7.40am on a very cold morning, it took the group two hours to reach the summit of Dhampus walking on snow in good condition with no ice. There was very little snow coming down from the pass and then everyone made good progress on the snowy traverse taking four hours before making the descent to Yak Kharka and down to Alu Bari camp. This year crampons were not required for this day’s walk from Hidden Valley however it is essential to bring in day pack as sometimes there are sections of ice. In fact the traverse tends to be icier in May as our groups have always needed to use crampons at this time of year whereas in October it is usually fine without crampons. This group made good time with last members arrived to Alu Bari at 3.15pm.

On the next day the walk down to Marpha village was spectacular and on arrival the group visited the monastery and after a glass of apple juice continued to Jomsom. After handing out tips to the crew the group had a special dinner of fresh chicken, roasted potatoes and a tasty cake cooked by Saila to celebrate the end of the trek. The next day the flight to Pokhara flew on schedule at 9.15am with spectacular views over to Dhaulagiri and down the Kali Gandaki gorge, then on arrival to Pokhara the group flew back to Kathmandu.

Photo: Chonbarden gorge

The group had a final dinner at Kilroy’s restaurant in Kathmandu and by chance I was around as just got back from my Lunana Snowman trek in Bhutan so I came along too, it was great to meet everyone and hear how the trek went and get feedback from the group.

I would like to thank Dom for doing a superb job leading this group. The local crew worked hard throughout this challenging trek so thanks to Lhakpa Rita Sherpa (Sirdar), Saila Tamang (cook) and Sherpas: Prem, Sangram and Sonam as well as of course all of the porters.

The Mountain Company is organising two Dhaulagiri Circuit treks in 2012, the first one in April will be led by Jill Lawson and second trek will be in October. Please get in touch with us soon if you would like to join one of these groups.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Photos and trip report for recce trek to Mardi Himal Ridge (Nepal)

In December I went for a short trek along Mardi Himal ridge as I heard that recently new lodges had been built now making it possible to do this as a teahouse trek rather than camping. I started walking from Phedi a short taxi ride from Pokhara and then walked up to Dhampus following the standard Annapurna Sanctuary trail up to Pitam Deurali where one turns off this main trail to Mardi Himal.

Photo: Mardi Himal map from ACAP

Photo: Dhampus village with Mount Machhapuchhre behind

Photo: sign for Forest Camp (Kokar)

Photo: trail in forest

From Pitam Deurali the trail continues through forest and is very quiet compared to the busier trail from Phedi in fact I only saw one other trekker during the whole of my time on Mardi Himal. At Forest Camp (2,600m) there are three small lodges I stayed in one near the camping ground. The rooms are quite basic and there is no dining room so I had my meals in kitchen, so in some ways this is more like a homestay and very enjoyable to get to know this friendly family from Siding village.

Photo: lodges at Forest Camp

Photo: Mardi Himal ridge

Photo: sign for Low Camp (Humal)

Photo: Danphe pheasant in cloud

From Forest Camp to Low Camp the trail continues through the forest and at Low Camp there are two basic lodges one with a basic dining room with open fire. The view from Low Camp is superb with Mount Machhapuchhre visible up the valley. An hour or so above Low Camp along trail to High Camp one breaks out above tree line and towards the west there is a good view to Annapurna South and Hiunchuli. The trail continues along the Mardi Himal ridge mainly on grass with some isolated rhododendron bushes along the way. Look out for colourful Danphe pheasant on this section of the trek.

Photo: lodge at High Camp

The lodge at High Camp is larger than lodges at Low Camp and Forest Camp, this one has eight rooms and a separate dining room with heater. The view from the lodge is superb to Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre (Fishtail). My plan for next day was to get up early for sunrise view of the mountains then walk up the ridge towards Mardi Himal.

Photo: dining room with heater at High Camp

The following morning was cold and clear with a heavy frost on the ground and after a quick breakfast I started walking up the ridge. There is a reasonably well established trail through the grass with a few steeper sections however overall not too challenging. Look out for the dzos (yak/ cow crossbreds) grazing up here as well as many more Danphe pheasant. In the summer the sheep and goats from lower villages are brought up to graze I passed a number of herders huts along the way however at this time of year unused as too cold.

Photo: view of Mount Machhapuchhre

Photo: view of Annapurna South and Hiunchuli

Photo: Mardi Himal ridge

Photo: Mount Machhapuchhre

After three hours I reached Upper View point at 4,200m this is where one can look into the Annapurna Sanctuary unfortunately at this stage the clouds rolled in so I decided not to proceed any further to Mardi Himal Base Camp as it was getting quite cold. From speaking to the lodge owner at High Camp he told me Base Camp was a further hour or so along the ridge from Upper View point therefore it should be possible to do this in a day trip however a long day and no doubt you would feel the effects of altitude at Mardi Himal Base Camp at 4,400m.

Photo: Upper view point at 4,200m

Photo: view into Annapurna Sanctuary

On the way back down I decided to go take the trail down to Siding Village rather than follow Mardi Himal ridge back to Pitam Deurali, this is a better option for a circuit trek and so that you can see these traditional villages in Mardi Himal valley. The owner of lodge at Low Camp has a homestay in Siding so I stayed there for the night. This was very enjoyable as the couple speak good English and interesting to see village life and talk with the family. The owners have a buffalo behind their house so at breakfast I had fresh milk which was very tasty!

Photo: homestay in Siding village

Photo: buffalo at homestay

From Siding I walked out to the road head at Lumre, on the way from Siding I passed the villages of Kalimati and Ghalel. I gather Kalimati is mainly a Brahmin village with Ghalel and Siding mixed Brahmin and Gurung. From Lumre there is a shared jeep departing ever hour or so however this is a very crowded so better to organise a jeep from Pokhara in advance.

Photo: children walking to school from Kalimati village

Photo: farmhouse near Kalimati village

Overall I enjoyed this trek and in some ways this is similar to Kopra Ridge, both of these treks would be a good choice if you are looking for a short trip away from the busy trails of Annapurna Sanctuary however still getting superb mountain views. Mardi Himal trek has a good variety of scenery from forest lower down on the ridge to grassy slopes higher up with views of the big mountains followed by visiting several traditional villages on the walk out.

The Mountain Company plans to start organising treks on Mardi Himal Ridge from Spring 2012, shortly we will have a trek webpage set up for Mardi Himal with Trip Dossier on our website however in the meantime please get in touch if you are interested in joining this trek.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk