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