Trip report for Ladakh Sky Trail GHT in August/ September 2014 led by Almas Khan

Photo: camp at Zangla Sumdo  

In late August 2014, Almas Khan led our first Ladakh SkyTrail GHT with a group of eight trekkers signed up. We set up this itinerary from many discussions with Almas who wanted to organise a trek visiting his favourite places in Ladakh. Over the years Almas has led many trekking groups in Ladakh and for a long time he has been planning to link together a trek to visit as many of these remote and less trekked trails.

Our Ladakh Sky Trail is a unique trek designed by us to help you experience the best of the three areas of this region: Ladakh, Zanskar and Changthang/ Rupshu. Please see the Testimonials copied below for feedback received from our 2014 group on how much they enjoyed exploring Ladakh on this epic traverse. Ladakh Sky Trail starts from Lamarayu monastery and crosses six mountain passes over 5,000m then 21 days later the journey finishes at Tso Moriri lake located on the Changthang plateau at 4,500m.

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 Ladakh Sky Trail

Photo: on way to Lingshed

Photo: looking back to Hanimul La

Overall our inaugural Ladakh Sky Trail trek went well and the group successfully arrived to Tso Moriri lake on September 12th. Well done and congratulations to the group for completing this traverse of Ladakh! We have recently updated our Trip Dossier for Ladakh Sky Trail in 2015 with some small changes and tweaks based on our experience from 2014. 

One of the issues of organising any trek in Ladakh is acclimatisation as Leh the starting point of the trip is at 3,500m. It is for that reason we include two nights in Leh and one night in Lamayuru (also at 3,500m) before starting the trek. In fact several of the group decided to arrive to Leh early and we helped booked extra nights at the group hotel, this is certainly a good idea to help give more time for acclimatisation to the high altitude. We have designed the itinerary to help your acclimatisation, for example on Day 4 you walk over the Prinkiti La (3,700m) and also we spend two nights at Snigge La Base Camp before the long day on Day 7 crossing the three passes of Snigge La (5,100m), Kyupa La (4,360m) and Neruka La (4,280m).

Photo: Zangla

Photo: on way to Zangla Sumdo

Some of the most dramatic section of Ladakh Sky Trail is from Day 12 as the next four days you are walking in beautiful gorges however please be aware that this also involves many river crossings. I gather from Almas there are 120 river crossings from Zangla to Kumra Sumdo, therefore please make sure you bring sandals and walking poles! Most of the river crossings were not too deep with most around shin or knee height although on the way to Kumra Sumdo there were some deeper river crossings at waist level.

It is worth pointing out 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.

Photo: view from Chubchak camp

Photo: view from Gyama camp

As parts of Ladakh Sky Trail are rarely walked by other trekking groups sometimes there is no established path in places and it is common to cross landslides and rough scree slopes along the way. On this difficult terrain it is often necessary for the crew to unload the horses and then reload further along. On Day 13 trekking to Chubchak, the horses had to be unloaded as the gorge on the other side of Cha Cha la gets so narrow in places that horses cannot go through with bags on. Also on Day 16 Trek to Rabrung La Base (4,405m) there were a couple of landslide patches and all of the staff assisted with unloading, loading and carrying of bags. In fact Almas reckoned they were quite lucky as last year’s trail survived because of less snowfall during the winter, if not then this could take much more time.

Photo: Tshokar salt lake

Photo: Tso Moriri lake

Our 2014 group saw pugmarks from a snow leopard so they were all excited to see the presence of this elusive cat. They also saw other wildlife such as skyangs (wild asses) near Tsho Kaar lake.

Please see testimonials from our 2014 group below:

“I honestly felt that this trip was excellent. The best thing was that we were able to walk through and experience Ladakh, Zanskar and Changthang in one trip. Almas is an outstanding leader. The food was exellent, both on trek and in the hotels. Our cook on trek (Angdu) is a real asset. Hotels were very pleasant and I appreciated that the two-man tents had two entrances and were robust. A small but experienced company like The Mountain Company will always be my first choice.” Majid Al-Khalil (UK)

“First of all, we would like to thank Almas and the rest of the staffs for making this a great holiday. Almas leadership skill, intimate knowledge and passion for this region and his mission to help and support every team member made this a successful trek. Under his leadership the group (staffs and trekkers and horses) were well guided and looked after and had a great time.

The trek certainly lived up to the geological wonderland description in the trip note, every day we were treated with amazing landscape, views from surreal and massive rock formations, huge river gorges, vast plains and the serene salt lake and blue lakes. The TMC itinerary is also unique in that it covers Ladakh, Zanskar, Rupshu Region and both the Tsomoriri Lake and Tsokhar Lake, and the Monasteries in the regions. This trek has it all -  remote and wild landscape, long and steep climb up the Passes and long and zig zag descent, days of river crossings, seeing snow leopard footprints, blue sheep, Kiang, and visiting ancient monasteries, remote villages and Sheppard villages.” Cindy and Robert (Australia)

I would like to thank Almas for doing a great job in helping set up Ladakh Sky Trail and for leading this group in the field. We had a hard working and cheerful Ladakhi team helping Almas, so thanks to local guide Tsering Samphel, the wonderful cook Angdu and the rest of trek crew.

Almas has confirmed will be leading this trek again in 2015 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 SkyTrail GHT or if you have any questions on this trek.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

The Mountain Company statement on Cyclone Hudhud and its impact on trekking in the Himalaya (October 2014)

Photo: satellite image of Cyclone Hudhud hitting the Himalaya on October 14th

As has now been widely reported in the media Tropical Cyclone Hudhud moved north through India and into the Himalaya on October 14th causing large amounts of snowfall and very high winds. This sadly resulted in at least 39 trekkers dying from avalanches and cold exposure in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. For more information please take a look at Wikipedia page 2014 Nepal Snowstorm disaster 

Cyclone Hudhud made landfall in Andhra Pradesh (India) in the early hours of October 12th. Luckily on October 11th our support team at The Mountain Company heard about the cyclone being reported in Indian news and then started seriously tracking the cyclone and checking detailed weather forecasts. It became apparent on October 12th Cyclone Hudhud was heading towards the Himalaya and would cause severe weather.

Photo: satellite image of Cyclone Hudhud making landfall in India on October 12th

During this period I was trekking in the Makalu region of Nepal and received this disturbing information from our team by satellite phone. On October 12th I was informed that Cyclone Hudhud was likely to result in large amounts of snow with the following snowfall amounts predicted in Nepal: Manaslu region up to 128cm snow, Annapurna region up to 125cm and Dhaulagiri region up to 109cm. These areas are in the central part of Nepal and include the most popular treks in Nepal.

As The Mountain Company had groups trekking on the Annapurna Circuit, Manaslu Circuit and Dhaulagiri Circuit during this period, we started the process of informing our groups of the approaching cyclone. For our more remote trekking groups where there is no local cell/ mobile phone communications, we send a satellite phone (Thuraya system) so I got in contact with the leaders of these groups. I was supported by our team in Kathmandu who did a great job of communicating weather updates to the groups and discussing future plans. Luckily we knew from reviewing the itineraries that none of our groups were scheduled to cross high passes or camp at extreme altitude above 5,000m on October 14th.

During the storm on October 15th we tried to contact all of our trekking groups in Nepal and Bhutan to find out their situation reports and obtain information on the actual amount of snow that had fallen compared to the weather forecasts. Unfortunately the Thuraya satellite phone system went down for an extended period of time from 7pm on October 14th until noon on October 15th, I assume this was due to congestion on the network as a result of high usage during the storm. This is unusual as Thuraya is no doubt the best satellite system for use in remote Himalayan region and is usually very reliable.

This technical glitch with Thuraya resulted in a short delay in getting information back to Edward manning the hot seat in our office London as by that time the media had already broken the story (eg BBC article: Nepal blizzards and avalanches claim many lives). We decided not to confirm publically that all of our groups were accounted for until we had heard back from all of our leaders that their groups were fine and well. As soon as these confirmations were received Edward and Helen updated The Mountain Company’s Facebook group as well as replying to as many emails as possible and handling a high volume of calls from concerned family and friends. The update reported on our Facebook group on October 15th was as follows:

TMC news from Nepal following the last few days of terrible weather: "all of our groups are fortunately safe". Some groups will have to change their itineraries or descend due to high levels of snow and poor conditions, but the good news is that everyone is ok.

October is the busiest month for trekking in Nepal. Normal conditions experienced at this time of year are sunny and stable weather following the summer monsoon rains. This year the monsoon wound down quite early around September 24th and there was sunny weather for several weeks throughout Nepal and Bhutan.  A cyclone in the post monsoon season is relatively rare however by chance Cyclone Phailin also hit the Himalaya around the same date last year. 

In October 2013 Cyclone Phailin approached the Himalaya towards the east of Nepal and into Bhutan, in fact I was trekking with a group on section One of The Great Himalaya Trail from Kanchenjunga to Makalu Base Camp at the time and we experienced heavy rain (as we were at a lower altitude) however there was over one metre of snowfall at Kanchenjunga Base Camp: to read our trip report on TMC blog.

However the impact on trekking groups from Cyclone Phailin was far less serious to trekkers as the regions in the east of Nepal and Bhutan are less accessible with far fewer numbers compared to the popular Annapurna Circuit. I gather before Cyclone Phailin in 2013 the last significant cyclone to cause similar problems and fatalities with trekkers was back in 1986 so these tropical storms are still relatively rare occurrences in the Himalaya.

Photo: Roland and friend on Thorong La in sunnier weather in 2005

Since getting back to Kathmandu I have read numerous reports of the groups crossing Thorung La pass on Annapurna Circuit during October 14th, I will certainly not speculate on what happened as only the survivors can tell the full story of the sad sequence of events. However it must have been a horrifying experience for those involved to have make a decision whether to stay in the tea shop at summit of Thorung La or descend down to Muktinath in a white out snow storm.

Of course if they stayed at the teashop on Thorung La they might get cold exposure leading to hypothermia especially if inadequately equipped with warm clothes as well as facing the possible risk of getting severe altitude sickness. Also given the amount of snow falling it is likely they might be snowed in for several days and risk descending on heavily snow laden slopes prone to avalanche (or wait for a helicopter rescue). It looks like also there may not have been sufficient space for everyone to stay in the tea shop as you can see from photo below it is a rather small building.

Photo: Thorung La tea shop (where many trekkers took shelter on October 14th)

Photo: Thorung La tea shop (where many trekkers took shelter on October 14th)

The one question everyone is talking about in Kathmandu is why Cyclone Huddud was not picked up by the relevant government authorities in Nepal and severe weather warnings communicated to trekkers planning to cross these high passes on October 14th? Trekkers pay for their trip around the Annapurna Circuit, both for the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) for access to the National Park and also a fee of US$20 paid for the trekking permits (TIMS). I wonder where all of these fees go? I am sure very little is actually used in practice to enhance trekking safety and security...

As discussed in this blog, the weather forecasts on October 12th indicated the cyclone would impact the Himalaya region including Nepal. Hopefully new procedures will be implemented in Nepal as a result from this disaster to prevent future incidents like this one happening again. It would certainly be a good idea to install a radio communication network (or satellite phones) in the high lodges of Nepal for early warning and communication of weather reports to groups before they cross high mountain passes.

Or until this system is in place trekkers should ensure they have some means of communication such as via satellite phone in more remote areas in order in order to access weather forecasts widely available on the internet such as Mountain Forecast for Greater Himalaya with regional forecasts too.

My thoughts are with the family of the trekkers, Nepalese guides and porters that died in the bad weather following cyclone Hudhud and would like to express my deepest sympathy.

If you are booked on trip later in Autumn with us then our current advice is to travel as usual however we will be in touch if there are any changes. Please get in contact with us on email if you have any questions or require further information on your upcoming trip.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincoompany.co.uk

Dashain festival in Nepal

Photo: Dashain bamboo swing in Kanchenjunga region of Nepal

The end of September is a bad time of year to be a goat in Nepal. As the festival of Dashain approaches one of the typical sights in Kathmandu are the many buses coming into town with goats on the roof ready to be sold at the market for the festival celebrations! The longest and most important festival in Nepal called Dashain starts tomorrow on September 25th and then continues until October 7th.

As a traveller it is well worth visiting Nepal during Dashain as you will see the celebrations and rituals for one of the most important and auspicious festivals in the Nepali year (however please be aware that many government offices and companies will be closed too). There is much excitement and joy during the celebrations, you will notice the holiday atmosphere as most Nepali get time off work and will travel back to their villages for the festival. People are also in a good mood as government workers and many private companies pay a Dashain bonus often equivalent to an extra month pay!

Dashain commemorates the victories of the gods and goddesses over the demons. It symbolizes the victory of the good over the evil when on the tenth day of the festival Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura. Goddess Durga is worshiped throughout the country as divine mother goddess. The festival of Dashain is also about forgiveness, kindness and respect. It is believed that if Durga is worshiped then good luck is likely to happen although if the goddess is angered then misfortunes are likely to take place….

Dashain is a long festival so it allows people the time to travel to be with friends and family. The tradition is to get a tika from an older person in your family. There are many pujas to worship god for peace and prosperity. Traditionally during the festival it is an opportunity to purchase new clothes for the family and many shops offer Dashain sales. There are celebrations throughout the period and many people enjoy flying kites and children in the villages ride on ferris wheels and swings built using bamboo, grass and wood.

During the festival there there is a variety of food eaten including sweets, fruits and meat. The most popular meat is not surprisingly goat! Of course meat is expensive and not many people can afford to eat meat regularly throughout the year so festival time is a special occasion for feasting.

Early October is also peak trekking season in Nepal so if you plan your trek during this month then you will see the celebrations of Dashain festival in the villages. If you are interested in visiting Nepal in 2015 for Dashain then this is will take place later than 2014, the first day is October 13th and tenth day is October 22nd.

Happy Dashain 2014 to everyone in Nepal!

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk 

Snow leopard in the Himalaya

Photo: snow leopard (credit: The Snow Leopard Trust)

I have never seen a snow leopard (Panthera uncial) in the wild however I have been lucky enough to see pug marks (i.e paw prints) and their scat in several places while trekking in the Himalaya. The first time I saw snow leopard pug marks was on the Ngozumpa glacier on the trail from Dragnag to Gokyo after crossing Cho La pass. A few years later I saw more prints on the trail to Advanced Base Camp on Tibet side of Mount Everest. I have also seen scat and pugmarks several times on the Mera Peak Expedition in Nepal.

While leading our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in 2010 we met a trek group coming from the opposite direction and they told us they had seen a snow leopard only twenty minutes earlier, sadly by the time we arrived to this spot the elusive cat had moved on. While leading the Lunana Snowman in Bhutan we have seen evidence of snow leopard activity, I remember while at one camp some locals approached our group to ask if we had a medical kit as one of their horses had been attacked the previous night by a prowling snow leopard. We had several doctors in our group so they were happy to clean and dress the wound so hopefully the horse survived this close call.

On both Upper Dolpo and Lunana Snowman treks there are many blue sheep on the hill slopes above the valleys and these agile animals are prey for the snow leopards. Therefore if there are healthy blue sheep populations then usually there will be snow leopards in the area. Snow leopards also eat Himalayan tahr, goral, snow cocks, pika, marmots and sometimes livestock too.

The snow leopard has a distinctive long, thick grey coat with black and paler spots in the shape of roses all over the body and tail except the underside which is white. Their thick, warm fur keeps them protected from the wintry chill at high altitudes. Their tail is as long as the body and furs on the soles of their paws enable these cats to have traction on ice. Snow leopards prefer rugged country with cliffs, rocky outcrops and ridges although can be seen in highlands in alpine grasslands, juniper, birch and rhododendron scrub up to 5,600m. The snow leopard leads a solitary life and is nocturnal animal hunting mainly a night.

The snow leopard occupies a territory of 12 to 39 square kilometres and marks this area by scent markings and scrapings. Their mating takes place during the winter in February or March and a litter of four cubs would be born in June or July.

There are between 3,500 and 7,000 snow leopards living in the high mountains of Asia and over last two decades the population has declined by more than 20%. Sadly poachers have been targeting snow leopards for their pelts and also for internal organs which are prized in traditional Chinese medicine. At times herders hunt them because snow leopards sometimes eat their livestock. Tibetans are also traditionally known for wearing coats of tiger, leopard and snow leopard skins while displaying them during a traditional festivals. However in 2006 the Dalai Lama called on all of his followers to stop buying, selling and wearing wild animal skins as this was against Buddhist principles.

Although it is relatively unlikely in practice to see a snow leopard while trekking in the Himalaya, I like the idea that these wild cats are also roaming in the hills while I am in these remote areas. I have seen only one snow leopard on my travels and that was in Darjeeling zoo but I am hopeful one year I might catch a glimpse of this beautiful cat in its natural habitat.

If you would like to find out more about the snow leopard or to get involved with their conservation please take a look at Snow Leopard Conservancy website

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Is it possible to visit Nepal during the monsoon months from July to September?

Is it possible to visit Nepal during the monsoon months from July to September? This is a question we often get asked at The Mountain Company from people interested in visiting Nepal over European summer holidays. The short answer is yes it is certainly possible to travel in Nepal over the summer months however it is not the optimal time for a visit.

If you have the flexibility with your dates then I would recommend rescheduling to Spring (i.e March to May) or Autumn (i.e October to December). Of course some people do not have any other options with their holidays so my next suggestion would be to visit Ladakh as this Himalayan region's peak trekking season is over the summer months. Ladakh is located in far north of Indian in the Himalaya within the so called rain shadow as monsoonal rains do not tend to push this far into the mountains. If this is an option then I suggest you take a look at our Ladakh Sky Trail led by Almas Khan in late August, this trek is now guaranteed to run and there is currently availability.

If you are still keen to visit Nepal in summer months then it is worth explaining the challenges involved with travelling during the monsoon as well as several of the advantages of this time of year. The main drawback is the weather, it is likely to be rainy as these months are of course during the monsoon. This can cause issues for vehicle transport especially in the hills as there is often landslides blocking roads or if unpaved then the tracks will be muddy so there is always a high risk of your bus getting stuck in the mud!

If you plan to fly to start of the trek such as Lukla airport for Everest Base Camp then it is likely there will be delays if cloudy conditions as planes can only land with clear visibility on the runway. Trekking in the Himalaya during monsoon will be hot and humid at lower altitudes and also it is quite likely there will be leeches, snakes and other creepy crawlies around!

Photo: bus journey during the monsoon!

Having said this the main advantage of travelling in Nepal during monsoon is the lack of other tourists so the trails will be quiet compared to Spring and Autumn seasons. Also the higher valleys above 3,000m such as Lantang will be lush and green with many flowers so no doubt will be very beautiful. It is worth pointing it does not rain for the whole day during the monsoon however it is likely to be cloudy for most of the time with heavy rains for at least an hour or more per day.

There are also a number of interesting festivals in July and August such as Janai Purnima held at Gosainkund lakes below Laurebina La on the Langtang trek. The Gosainkunda Yatra festival is held each year when many Hindu devotees make a pilgrimage to Gosainkund lakes regarded as sacred to Lord Shiva. A dip in these lakes is believed to add considerably to pilgrim’s merit. Traditional faith healers called jhankris perform ritual dances to drumbeats throughout the night and day so it will certainly be a noisy and colourful event.

Photo: Gosainkund lakes

The word "Janai" means sacred thread and the word "Purnima" means full moon day. This year Janai Purnima will be held on full moon of Nepali month Shrawan or in western calendar on August 10, 2014. Janai Purnima, known as the Sacred Thread Festival, requires Hindu men to perform their annual change of Janai worn across the chest.

The mid-west regions of Mustang and Dolpo are often recommended for summer trekking in Nepal as these places tend to receive less precipitation in monsoon due to the rain shadow effect. However I do not think it is worthwhile as there can also be heavy rain, landslides and delays with flying in and out of Jomsom and Juphal airstrips. Also there is a far higher safety risk of flying in Nepal during monsoon months so I think best to avoid STOL flights.

Please get in touch with us at The Mountain Company if you would like any further information or advice about tours, treks or expeditions to Nepal.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk