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Welcome to The Mountain Company's Summer 2009 Newsletter!
Our Spring pre monsoon trekking in the Himalayas is now coming to a close, this year we had a number of groups who came out to Nepal and Sikkim including a successful expedition to climb Island Peak as well as treks to Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Base Camp and Goecha La.
Roland took time off leading treks and instead joined an expedition to climb Mt Makalu the 5th highest mountain in the world at 8,463m.
After seven weeks acclimatising and setting up camps on the mountain, they got good weather and were lucky enough to summit on May 21st. This is the fifth British summit of Makalu without supplemental oxygen and ninth overall British ascent.
Congratulations to one of our leaders Mike Farris who summitted Everest on May 22nd, for his dispatches please take a look at his Blog at
If you are thinking of trekking in Nepal during the post monsoon season in Autumn (Fall) then we suggest that you book your flights quite soon. There are still some great deals to Kathmandu, however the prices will start going up in the next month or so.
Roland is now back the UK and will be in the office all summer, please call if you would like to discuss any of our treks with him, our office telephone number is +44 (0)207 4980953.
We look forward to hearing from you!
The Mountain Company team |
| Post monsoon treks in Nepal and Bhutan |
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At the moment there are still places available on our treks in Nepal and Bhutan for October and November, the following treks are now guaranteed to run:
October
November
To find the best deals for flights to Kathmandu we recommend you take a look at the cost comparison websites, if you are UK based check out Traveljungle.co.uk and for those of you from North America Cheaptickets.com |
| Mera Peak November '09 now guaranteed to run |
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 Roland will be leading the Mera Peak expedition in November, this trip is now guaranteed to run and there is still availability. Please get in touch soon if you are interested in joining the team.
We have a longer itinerary on Mera Peak than most other operators, this greatly increases your chances of summiting as you will be fit and acclimatised by the time you get to the mountain.
On arrival at the mountain airstrip of Lukla we head south on a quiet trail rather than heading straight over the Zatra La (at 4,600m it is too high too soon in terms of acclimatisation). This part of the trek passes through beautiful Sherpa villages and the holy Panch Pokhari lakes before joining the main trail at Kothe.
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| Langtang & Laurebina La in November '09 led by Alan Ward |
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 Alan Ward is leading our Langtang & Laurebina La trek in November '09.
The Langtang is a beautiful area north of Kathmandu on the border with Tibet. This area tends to get overlooked as there are no 8,000 peaks nearby, however it more than makes up for it with many spectacular 6,000m and 7,000m mountains.
As in the Everest and Annapurna regions there is a network of teahouse lodges in the Langtang so we plan to use them on this trek.
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| Over 20% saving on all treks for UK clients! |
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All our prices for trek packages are quoted in US Dollars, the reason we have done this is so that you can benefit from any upswing in Pound Sterling.
As a result of the recent strengthening of the Pound Sterling against US Dollar the prices on our treks for UK based clients have effectively decreased by over 20% (since January).
We are happy to accept Pound Sterling or US Dollar for the final payment. The amount in Pound Sterling will be calculated using current exchange rates from our US Dollar list price. |
| Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in May '10 |
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Roland will be leading the Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in April/ May 2010.
This trek is an epic 28 day trek crossing many high passes and travels through an area that is culturally Tibetan. Most other trekking companies run the easier Dolpo Circuit whereas we plan to walk out on the remote and challenging trail to Jomsom.
We are looking for photos of the Upper Dolpo region to use in our photo gallery, if you have any please get in touch. We have a special reward in mind as a thank you.
If you are thinking of joining this trek, you should watch the "Himalaya" DVD as mentionned below in this Newsletter. There are superb scenes in this DVD of the stunning Upper Dolpo region. |
| Makalu Base Camp trek April 2010 |
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 After Roland's recent expedition to Makalu we are planning on organising a trek to Makalu Base Camp and Shipton La in April 2010.
In some ways this trek is similar to Everest Base Camp but without the crowds of trekkers!
You start the trip by flying into the airstrip at Tumlingtar and from there the walk passes through interesting Rai & Gurung villages with beautiful terraced fields, and higher up there are Sherpa villages like Tashigaon and Seduwa.
After Tashigaon we enter the Makalu Barun National Park and cross the spectacular Shipton La to enter the remote Barun valley.
I have recently uploaded the spectacular photos of this trek to our website, take a look at the Makalu Base Camp photo gallery
At some point in the future we would really like to organise the very challenging Makalu Base Camp to Everest Base Camp trek crossing the Sherpani and West Passes. Please get in touch if you are interested. |
| Our online bookstore |
In each E-Newsletter we select & review our favourite books, DVDs and maps from our online book store on Amazon.
My top recommendation for this Newsletter is the stunning "Himalaya" DVD by Eric Valli. This movie was filmed in the Upper Dolpo region of Nepal on the border with Tibet. All of the actors are in fact local people from this area.
If you are thinking of joining Roland on the Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek next year this is essential viewing!
If you are interested in finding out more about Upper Dolpo you should also read "The Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthiessen and "Stones of Silence" by George Schaller, these are all included in the Upper Dolpo section of our online bookstore.
To get to our online bookstore please click on the book image above and then go to "Books, maps and DVDs" link on left hand side of our homepage. | |
| Max Travel: Tailored Solutions for Business and Leisure Travel |
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 The Mountain Company highly recommends Max Travel if you need help with booking flights or other travel arrangements for your trekking holiday. They are ATOL bonded.
Max Travel also have a wide range of other travel products from great deals on hotels and restaurants around the world to London theatre packages.
Take a look at their website at www.maxtravel.co.uk or give Edward a call at +44 (0)20 7095 0920. |
We hope you enjoyed reading our newsletter, please forward to any friends who you think might be interested by clicking on the "Forward email" link below.
For any further information, help and advice, don't hesitate to contact us. If you live in the UK, Roland would be happy to arrange to meet you anywhere within reasonable travelling distance of London to help plan your trip.
Roland Hunter
The Mountain Company
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| Western led treks for 2009 & 2010 |
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