Blog for www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Tuesday, 25 August 2009

Ninth edition of Lonely Planet's Trekking in Nepal Himalaya

The latest edition (ninth edition August 2009) of the Lonely Planet's Trekking in Nepal Himalaya has now been released. The classic guidebook has been updated for new treks and also for changes to existing itineraries resulting from road construction in the hills of Nepal.

At The Mountain Company we are delighted to be included under UK Travel Operators on page 26 for the first time. We are also listed in the excellent TrailBlazer guidebooks to the Everest and Annapurna regions.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

WWF Report reveals that 353 new species discovered in the Eastern Himalayas

A World Wildlife Report published today reveals that more than 353 new species have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas between 1998 and 2008. The Eastern Himalayas region includes Bhutan, northeast India, Myanmar, Nepal and southern parts of the Tibet Autonomous Region (China).

However, the report also highlighted the fact that only 25% of the original habitats remain intact due to population growth and rapidly increasing demands for commodities by global and regional markets.

Wednesday, 5 August 2009

Climbers turn back on K2 summit day

All climbers have turned back on a recent summit attempt on K2. Deep snow above the Bottleneck slowed them down when late in the day the decision was made to descend back to High Camp.

The climbers are on their way descending back to Base Camp except the Kazakhs, Maxut Zhunmayev and Vassiliy Pivtsov, who with characteristic determination have stayed in Camp Four preparing for a possible new attempt today. I wish the best of luck to Maxut and Vassiliy!

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Thursday, 30 July 2009

K2 Summit push coming soon...

Photo: K2 seen from Concordia

Today a meeting was held at K2 Base Camp with the remaining climbers to plan a coordinated summit attempt on K2 taking advantage of the good weather forecast for early next week. For more information I suggest taking a look at Jake Meyer's Blog

If you are interested in seeing K2 and the other beautiful mountains of Pakistan then consider coming with The Mountain Company to K2 Base Camp in August 2010, for more information on K2 & Gondogoro La trek

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Monday, 27 July 2009

Congratulations to Veikka Gustafsson

Congratulations to Veikka Gustafsson of Finland who has now climbed all fourteen of the world’s highest peaks over 8,000m without supplementary oxygen. Veikka’s last peak was Gasherbrum 1 in Pakistan summitted on July 25th 2009.

Ghurkas welcome Joanna Lumley to Nepal

Actress Joanna Lumley arrived to Kathmandu yesterday on her first visit to Nepal after her recent campaign demanding UK settlement rights for Gurkha soldiers. Her father, a Gurkha officer in 6^th Ghurka Rifles regiment, was saved by a Ghurka soldier during the 2^nd World War.

On her arrival to Kathmandu airport Joanna was mobbed by many Ghurka veterans and press. She will meet the President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Ram Baran Yadav followed by visiting the towns of Jhapa and Dharan to meet Ghurka veterans.

Tuesday, 21 July 2009

Photos of Sherpani Pass linking Makalu BC with the Khumbu

After my recent expedition to climb Mt Makalu I was hoping to walk out over the Sherpani Pass and into the Khumbu, however after my late summit I ran out of time so had go back the same way we trekked in over the Shipton La and back to the airstrip at Tumlingtar.

For a number of years it has been an ambition of mine to walk from Makalu Base Camp over the Sherpani Pass, West Col and Amphu Laptsa and into the Khumbu near Everest Base Camp. In my mind this is one of the most impressive and challenging treks in the Himalayas.

This is a truly adventurous expedition passing through a remote and wild region of the Himalayas. The altitude of the Sherpani Pass is at 6,135m so it is very important to spend time around Makalu BC in order to sufficiently acclimatise. Clearly there are logistical challenges in supplying an expedition to this area so it is important to have a strong Sherpa team to undertake this journey.

The Mountain Company is planning on organising the Makalu Base Camp to Khumbu via Sherpani Pass in April 2011, for further information take a look at our website. Please get in touch if you are interested in joining Roland on this expedition.

Take a look at the superb photos of Sherpani Pass and Baruntse Base Camp below, I would like to thank José Mª López "Ramoni" for very kindly sending these photos. He was also on an expedition to Makalu earlier this year and afterwards walked out over the Sherpani Pass and climbed Baruntse on his way home.