Latest news from the Himalaya and Karakoram

Thursday 9 September 2010

Trip Report for Stok Kangri expedition led by Alan Ward in July 2010

Photo: view from summit of Stok Kangri

This year Alan Ward led The Mountain Company’s expedition to Stok Kangri (6,123m) in Ladakh northern India, he was helped by our Ladakhi guide Angchok and also our Nepalese climbing guide Shera. Overall the expedition went well with two members of the group summiting and the rest successfully reaching high up on the mountain.

After flying to Leh at 3,505m the team spent three days acclimatising to this high altitude while spending time to explore Leh and the surrounding area. On their second day they visited Leh Palace then climbed to the hilltop gompa and the ruined fort. Next day the team took jeeps to Khardung La, at 5,359m this pass is known as the highest motorable road in the world. Not only is the view impressive but driving up here is helpful for acclimatisation before starting the trek.

Our Stok Kangri itinerary starts from the village of Chilling located on the Zanskar river before entering the Markha Valley, then after crossing Ganda La at 4,983m we make the approach Stok Kangri Base Camp.

On arrival to Base Camp, Alan was informed by the Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) representative that it was no longer possible to use the High Camp on the mountain. The reason given was that villagers from Stok were unhappy with the rubbish left at this camp and were worried about pollution of their water supply. While I respect their view on this matter the issue is without using High Camp makes climbing Stok Kangri far more difficult and risky in terms of lack of acclimatisation and forcing a very long summit day. Hopefully in the future a solution will be found to satisfy everyone involved, perhaps by more stringent monitoring of expeditions on the mountain?

Luckily after much discussion IMF granted our group approval to use High Camp due to the fact we had a blind climber in our group however as it turned out the pack animals were unable to proceed to the “higher” High Camp due to snow on the trail.

The team set off for the summit at 4am, on leaving camp they headed up to the glacier which was very wet and slushy underfoot. After making progress climbing the mountain three of the group decided to turn back then two carried on with Shera to the summit. Alan thought that this year the conditions were much more challenging compared to his last visit to Stok Kangri. The view of our summiteers Ian and Paul was that Stok Kangri was more difficult than their previous trips to Mera Peak and Aconcagua.

Congratulations to the whole team it was a great effort given the conditions, I think everyone succeeded in making their own personal altitude records on this mountain.

The Mountain Company is organising an expedition to Stok Kangri in July 2011, please get in touch with us if you would like to join this group.

Roland Hunter
www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Monday 30 August 2010

Trip Report for K2 & Gondogoro La led by Roland Hunter in August '10

Photo: K2 seen from Concordia

I arrived back to UK this afternoon after leading The Mountain Company’s K2 & Gondogoro La trek in Pakistan. This year we had a full group of fourteen people and as often with our groups this was an international team with trekkers coming from UK, US, Australia, Greece and Mexico.

The group arrived to Islamabad on August 6th, this was shortly after the heaviest monsoon rains in Pakistan for last 50 years causing widespread flooding throughout the country. In fact shortly before departure we were seriously considering whether to cancel however after researching the current situation and discussions with our contacts in Pakistan we were confident we could operate this trek as planned. As it turned out we made the right decision as we enjoyed good weather with fine views of K2 and other mountains around Concordia, we even had a beautifully clear day on crossing Gondogoro La.

When the group arrived to Islamabad we received reports that Karakoram Highway (KKH) was in poor condition with several landslides and a number of bridges washed away on the Besham to Islamabad section of the road. There is an alternative road for jeeps that passes through Naran and crosses the Babusar Pass although having checked the forecasts we felt it would be too risky to drive so we decided to rely on the flight to Skardu. On August 7th we went to Islamabad airport however by midday this flight was cancelled, luckily on 8th we finally boarded and successfully landed at Skardu airport.

On arrival to Skardu we heard that bad weather from 7th caused a number of landslides in the region and near to Skardu sadly killed 45 people and in Talis village 13 people perished in further landslides.

The group stayed at K2 Motel in Skardu, this is located in a safe area however we could clearly see that the Indus river was flowing at a far higher level compared to my last visit in 2008. The next day we planned to drive to Askole however we heard the road was blocked in a number of places so instead we took a rest day in Skardu and sent some of our porters ahead to help repair these broken sections of road. We spent an enjoyable morning at Sadpara Lake before driving back to Skardu in the afternoon.

The next day we left early in jeeps for the drive to Askole however shortly after Shigar village we encountered a new block on the road where overnight a mudslide had destroyed the road. Everyone in our team as well as several other trekking groups helped by collecting rocks to build the road through the mud slide area. After several hours the jeeps were able to clear the block (with some impressive driving!) and then the group crossed over the river. Further along the road there was one further landslide where we had to swap jeeps then continued our drive to Thongol where we camped for the night.

The next morning we started the trek and after an hour we arrived to Askole, this is the last village on the trek until Hushe on the other side of Gondogoro La. The weather was sunny and very hot so everyone was hopeful the monsoon rains were retreating back south again. We experienced mixed cloud and sun for the next few days and in fact this made the walking very pleasant as otherwise can be very hot at this altitude.

The trek progressed as planned and after our rest day at Urdukas the weather starting to improve further and we enjoyed a memorable lunch at Goro 1 as the clouds dissipated over Masherbrum and by the evening we had clear views of this impressive mountain. We were very lucky as we had clear weather for the next six days while at Concordia and also for the crossing of the Gondogoro La.

After arrival to Concordia on 19th we discussed the options for the next day, five people decided to make the long walk to K2 Base Camp and Gilkey memorial while the others opted for the shorter walk to Broad Base Camp. As ever it was an emotional visit to Gilkey especially seeing the new memorial and a broken ski from Fredrik Ericsson who died earlier this summer.

On 21st the group enjoyed a rest day at Concordia and were blessed with perfect weather and incredibly views of K2 visible from the mess tent. On that day myself and our local Pakistan guide Monin from Shimshall village walked up to Ali Camp, then early the next morning we climbed up Gondogoro La to check the condition before the group arrived the next day. We decided to fix an extra 200m of fixed rope on the ascent of the pass to secure the section crossing a crevasse half way up the snow slope. As in 2008 we decided to donate this rope to Hushe Rescue Team.

Shortly after Monin and I got back to Ali Camp the group arrived after their walk up from Concordia, everyone enjoyed this trek as is one of the best days with superb views back to K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum group as well as Mustagh Tower. On approach to Ali Camp the glacial ice underfoot is easy to walk on with few rocks and Vigne Peaks high above look impressive with their ice and snow flutings

We decided to leave Ali Camp at 1am in order to ensure we had enough time to cross the pass and descend the other side. It was a beautiful morning with starry skies and nearly full moon illuminating the peaks around. The group made good progress to the base of the pass and by 7am everyone had summited Gondogoro La at 5,550m. As ever the descent is more challenging than ascent and we made steady progress however the unseasonal snow from week before started to melt releasing some rockfall, it was a good thing everyone had helmets for this descent! The recent snow made the rapel down the ropes easier than previous years however on reaching the bottom of the ropes the trail was less established than in 2008.

At The Mountain Company we believe strongly in looking after our porters, we are the only trekking company operating on the Baltoro that provides waterproof jackets and trousers plus walking shoes to our porters. We follow International Porter Protection Group five guidelines in Pakistan. We do not think it is appropriate for porters to cross Gondogoro La in plastic shoes and cotton shalwar kameez!

Our wonderful cooks and kitchen crew crossed Gondogoro La arrived to our campsite at Khuspang early and then kindly sent up a cooked lunch for us at High Camp, this food was very welcome and gave everyone renewed energy in order to carry on down to Khuspang. The next day we opted to continue our trek down to Shaisho rather than take a rest day. We heard that the bridge below Shaisho had been washed out by the recent rains and instead an enterprising ex High Altitude Porter had rigged a “jhola” or bucket bridge, after carefully inspecting the anchors and the set up we felt confident the group could cross safely and everyone in the group seemed to enjoy this experience of crossing the raging river below!

The next day we walked to Hushe village and then after handing out tips to our fantastic crew we drove to Skardu. The next morning on 26th we tried to fly to Skardu although this flight was cancelled luckily on next day we fly back to Islamabad.

Overall we had a great trip with perfect weather at Concordia and for crossing Gondogoro La, as ever Pakistan is a true adventure destination and one needs to be flexible and be prepared for the unexpected! We certainly had our fair share of good luck on this trek and were fortunate weather improved when needed higher up. As ever I would like to thanks our superb Pakistan trek crew for looking after us so well, in particular our local guides Ghulam Hassan and Momin Shah as well as our cook Syed Jhan.

The Mountain Company plans to run our K2 & Gondogoro La trek again in August 2011 so please get in touch soon if you would like to join this group. We also plan to operate our Snow Lake Biafo Hispar trek in July 2011.

Roland Hunter
www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Monday 21 June 2010

Portable Altitude Chamber (PAC)

Photo: The Mountain Company's PAC bag

The Mountain Company took delivery of our second Portable Altitude Chamber ("PAC") last week. We have one PAC permanently based in Kathmandu for our Nepal treks and our second PAC will be stored in our London office for use on our western led treks in Pakistan, Ladakh and Kilimanjaro. We send a PAC bag on all of our western led treks in Nepal and the following treks in other countries: K2 & Gondogoro La, Snow Lake and Hispar La and Stok Kangri expedition.

So what is a PAC and what is it used for?
This equipment is used to treat altitude illnesses called Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). PAC works by increasing the pressure in the chamber using a foot pump, at high altitude the increased pressure simulates a descent in altitude by increasing the amount of oxygen to the victim.
If someone has HAPE or HACE the only treatment is immediate and rapid descent to a lower altitude however this is not always possible to do. PAC can be used to improves the person's condition before descending to safe altitude or to stabilise while waiting for helicopter evacuation. If a person has AMS the PAC can be used to abolish symptoms prior to further ascent.
Photo: contents of PAC bag

We encourage anyone planning to trek at high altitude to read as much as possible about acclimatisation and high altitude illnesses before departure.

Roland Hunter

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Trip Report for Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in May 2010

Photo: Bon Po Gompa overlooking Phoksumdo Lake

Our May 2010 Dolpo recce group arrived back to Kathmandu last week after a superb trek. The Upper Dolpo to Jomsom itinerary visits a remote region of Nepal, instead of following the more popular Dolpo Circuit we headed further north to an area very close to the Tibet border and then walked out on the challenging trail to Jomsom thereby completing one section of The Great Himalaya Trail (“GHT”).

Upper Dolpo is a culturally Tibetan region in West Nepal and during the course of the trek we visited many Buddhist and Bon Po (shamanistic pre Buddhist) monasteries. Up until 1996 foreigners were not allowed access to this region so the culture has largely been unchanged and unaffected by tourism. Of particular interest is Shey Gompa, this is revered as one of most important in Upper Dolpo where twice a year many pilgrims make a kora (or circuit) of Crystal Mountain this is known as a younger brother of Mount Kailash in Tibet.

Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek is arguably one of the best treks in Nepal” and “better than Lunana Snowman trek in Bhutan!” These were several comments heard while our group discussed the trek on our return Kathmandu last week (and between them this group had done a lot of trekking in the Himalaya).

If this is one of the best treks in the Himalaya then it is worth asking the question, why did we see so few people on the trail? We only met a handful of trekkers during our 3 weeks trip. It is likely that others have been deterred by lack of maps and guidebooks as well as logistical challenges and of course the extra cost to obtain the Restricted Area Permit.

While in Kathmandu I got all of the maps for Upper Dolpo however found they were all out of date and inaccurate. There are no current itineraries with reliable trail descriptions available and even the basic description in the new edition of Lonely Planet “Trekking in Nepal Himalaya” describes the old, disused trail for several sections. During our recce trek we figured out the itinerary from daily discussions with our trek crew, therefore it is essential that the Sirdar and/or cook has visited this region on a previous occasion.

Organising the logistics for this trek are challenging, the Upper Dolpo region is very remote so all groups have to be self reliant in terms of provisions, medical supplies and communications, we used a Thuraya satellite phone that worked well throughout. All food should be brought in with the trekking group as it is not possible to purchase locally in the villages. Our porters and kitchen staff walked in with our supplies for 9 days from the road head near Surkhet to Juphal.

There is no doubt that the difficulties and challenges of trekking in Upper Dolpo are more than worth the effort. We enjoyed seeing a wide variety of landscapes from pine forests in the Suli Gad valley to the stunningly intense blue colour of Phoksumdo Lake. As the trail travels further north the climate becomes dryer as a result of the great Himalayan rain shadow effect. Upper Dolpo is mainly comprised of a high, arid plateau cut by deep gorges in a variety of colours of ochre, sable and tan covered with sporadic vegetation.

Our group saw a lot of wildlife during our trek in Upper Dolpo: many herds of blue sheep, marmots, eagles, lammergeyer, langur monkeys and large variety of birds. We were very close to seeing the ever elusive snow leopard...we passed a trek group coming the other way in a very remote valley in Upper Dolpo who had seen one an hour earlier (this was the only group we saw for 2 weeks), although of course no sight when we got there! We also met a yak herder who had one of his baby yaks snatched by a snow leopard. It is great to know that Snow Leopards are still around, one day, one day...

In terms of time of year my view is that the best time to do this trek is during the month of May, this gives one the best chance of crossing the high passes out to Jomsom. September is probably more popular with trekking groups however often the passes are icey making travel impossible for the pack animals. This year we started the trek from Juphal on April 28th and finished in Jomsom on May 19th. We experienced dry conditions over all passes apart from a few residual winter snow patches on Kang La to Shey however our mules still managed to cross this pass with their loads.

The Mountain Company is planning on organising another Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in May 2011, this group will be led by Gary Pfisterer for further information please see our website please get in touch with us soon if you are interested in joining the group.

Roland Hunter
www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Monday 24 May 2010

Upper Dolpo to Jomsom photos: Part One

Photo: STOL airstrip at Juphal
Photo: Ringmo village
Photo: Ringmo Gompa (Bon Po)
Photo: Phoksumdo Lake
Photo: Phoksumdo Lake
Photo: "Daredevil's trail" around Phoksumdo Lake
Photo: Walking to Chunemba
Photo: Looking down valley to Lar Tsa Camp
Photo: Trail to Snowfields
Photo: View from Kang La
Photo: Mules crossing Kang La
Photo: Village boys
Photo: Shey Gompa and Crystal Mountain
Photo: Descending Saldang La
Photo: Mani wall
Photo: Walking to Chharka La

The Mountain Company is organising our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in May 2011, please take a look here for further information.

Roland Hunter
www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Upper Dolpo to Jomsom photos: Part Two

Photo: Namgung gompa
Photo: below Karang village
Photo: Tora Sumna Camp
Photo: near Yangur village
Photo: gorge after Yangur village
Photo: View from Muri La
Photo: Ladies from Tinje village
Photo: ploughing with Yaks
Photo: Lady from Tinje village
Photo: House from Tinje village
Photo: approaching Charka La
Photo: Mount Dhaulagiri from Charka La
Photo: girls from Charka village
Photo: Dagarjun village with Tilicho Peak behind

The Mountain Company is organising our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in May 2011, please take a look here for further information

Roland Hunter
www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Friday 23 April 2010

Summits of Island Peak!

Photo: climbing to summit of Island Peak

Well done to our Island Peak expedition: Sophie, Garnet and Jo all summited Island Peak on April 18th. Thanks to their climbing Sherpa, Nurbu, who led this trip. The Mountain Company has now organised successful expeditions to Island Peak every Spring for the last four years.
If you are interested in joining one of our expeditions please get in touch with us

Roland Hunter
www.themountaincompany.co.uk

The Mountain Company