|
|
|
|
| WESTERN LED TREKS FOR 2011 | |
|
|
|
NEW YEAR 2011 NEWSLETTER
Happy New Year, I hope you had a good one. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who trekked with The Mountain Company in 2010. It has been a busy and very enjoyable year and miraculously in spite of the best efforts from volcanic ash clouds, heavy monsoon in South Asia and snow at European airports in December we managed to successfully run of all our trips as planned
Looking back over 2010 my thoughts are with the people of Pakistan and India who were affected by the catastrophic flooding over the summer. As I am sure you remember in August heavy monsoonal rains hit Baltistan and Ladakh resulting in widespread damage from landslides and flooding.
In Pakistan I have been impressed by the work carried out by Felix Baltistan Foundation, this charity was set up by a group of Basque mountainseers in memory of Felix Inurrategi who died in 2000 while climbing on Gasherbrum II. Over the years the Foundation has been helping villages in Hushe valley however shortly after the floods they provided emergency relief and have since continued their support to help the villages faces the winter- for more information on Felix Baltistan Foundation.
Last year I enjoyed leading seven trips for The Mountain Company and by far the most memorable was a reconnaisance trek from Upper Dolpo to Jomsom in Nepal. This trek visits a remote area near the border with Tibet then travels east to Jomsom following a section of The Great Himalaya Trail ("GHT")- for more information take a look at my trip report on TMC Blog.
The Mountain Company is running our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in May 2011 and 2012, please get in touch soon if you are interested in joining one of these groups.
I am looking forward to 2011; we have an exciting and ambitious program of treks lined up for you! Each year The Mountain Company organises a reconnaisance trek to explore a remote region of the Himalaya, in April 2011 I am leading the challenging expedition from Makalu Base Camp to Everest crossing three high mountain passes.
Take a look at the column on the left of this newsletter for the complete list of western led treks for 2011.
Please get in touch if you would like information on any of our treks or would like discuss this further. I will be in London until the end of February.
Happy New Year! Trek on!
Roland Hunter The Mountain Company Telephone: +44 (0) 207 4980953 
|
|
 | | K2 seen from Concordia |
PAKISTAN TREKS FOR SUMMER 2011
The Mountain Company groups have visited Pakistan every year since 2004 and over this time we have built up unrivalled experience in operating in this amazing country.
So far we have received alot of interest for these departures, please get in touch soon if you would like to join one of these groups. |
|
LUNANA SNOWMAN TREK SEPTEMBER 2011
 | | View from Karchung La |
We already have a number of people interested in joining this group so at this stage it is looking likely this departure will run as planned. In Bhutan it is important to book flights early with Druk and Buddha Air for the busy Autumn trekking season, please get in touch soon if you would like to join this group.
|
 | | Lamarayu Monastery in Ladakh |
LADAKH TREKS FOR 2011
We have three treks planned for Ladakh in Nothern India for 2011: Stok Kangri Expedition in mid July then later that month Alan Ward is leading Tsomoriri Lake. Alan will return to Ladakh in September for our Nubra Valley trek. Our Stok Kangri Expedition would be a suitable objective for fit walkers or climbers looking to join their first Himalayan expedition. Our Stok Kangri Expedition starts at the village of Chilling in the Zanskar valley and from there it is a six day trek to Stok Kangri Base Camp. Tsomoriri Lake trek is famous for its unique landscape, nomads and the lakes. This area is on the Changtang Plateau culturally part of western Tibet and known as the land of nomads and while on trek you will see their traditional lifestyle. The area is also an important wildlife sanctuary harbouring snow leopards, wild asses as well as various species of birds such as black necked crane. Nubra Valley trek visits an area north of Leh once the gateway to the Silk route. The valley has vast alluvial plains and is famous for its baterian camels which roam the sandy banks of Shayok river. |
|
LEMOSHO ROUTE ON MOUNT KILIMANJARO
 | | Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro |
Alan Ward is leading our trek to climb Mount Kilimanjaro following the Lemosho route in June 2011. This route is the quietest on Kilmanajro with fewer other trekkers compared to other more popular routes such as Machame and Marangu.
There are eight trekking days on the Lemosho route, this is longer than the other routes on the mountain and so gives you more time to acclimatise to the high altitude. This will significantly increase your chance of summit success and enjoying the trip at the same time. |
 | | Mount Kanchenjunga seen from Oktang |
KANCHENJUNGA CIRCUIT NOVEMBER 2011
Gary Pfisterer is leading our Kanchenjunga Circuit trek in November 2011, he is a very experienced mountaineer plus a popular and well liked trek leader. Gary knows Kanchenjunga region very well having led three expeditions to climb this mountain from both North and South sides. His late wife Ginette Harrison was the first woman to successfully climb to the summit of Kanchenjunga and survive the descent. |
TRAILBLAZER GUIDEBOOK: NEPAL TREKKING AND THE GREAT HIMALAYA TRAIL BY ROBIN BOUSTED
I have just placed an advanced order on Amazon for Robin's guidebook on The Great Himalaya Trail ("GHT"). Robin has been driving GHT project and I am looking forward to reading his guidebook when finally printed later this month.
Also a few weeks ago I purchased GHT map of Nepal, this has been published by Himalayan Map House with help from Robin. This is a very detailed map that shows GHT High Route, GHT Cultural Trail and all interlinking 3,500km of mountain trails. IN Kathmandu the map cost 1,500 rupees (about £14 or US$21), this is not currently available on Amazon however perhaps Stanfords map shop in London will get a copy soon?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LATE AVAILABILITY FOR 2011 SPRING TREKS IN NEPAL
We have the following availability for our treks in Nepal this Spring, please get in touch soon if you would like to join any of these groups. There are still great prices for flights to Kathmandu.....
March
Dates: March 6th to 24th 2011
April
Dates: April 3rd to 21st 2011
Dates: April 10th to May 1st 2011
Dates; April 24th to May 13th 2011
Dates: April 23rd to May 13th 2011
|
|
NEW LODGES AND HOTELS IN EVEREST REGION
 | | Mount Everest from Kalapathar |
I have recently got back from leading a group to Everest Base Camp and during the trek I noticed several new lodges and hotels that have been build. At the Mountain Company use the best lodges available in each place so we have decided to change several for our Everest treks in 2011.
In Namche Bazaar there is a wonderful new hotel called Hotel Sherpaland, the facilities are superb and conveniently located off the "high street", for more information please take a look at their website. We will use Hotel Sherpaland for our Everest Luxury Lodge and Luxury Everest Base Camp treks.
In Lobuche there is a new place called Motherland Lodge that has just been built due to open in late January 2011. We will use Motherland Lodge for our standard Everest Base Camp and Luxury Everest Base Camp treks. |
TRIP REPORTS FOR 2010
As you may have already seen we write Trip Reports on The Mountain Company Blog after each of our camping treks, these reports should help you understand what to expect for each trek and to find out how our previous treks went.
I have copied the links below to our Trip Reports for 2010:
|
We hope you enjoyed reading our newsletter, please forward to any of your friends you think might be interested by clicking on the "Forward to a Friend" link below.
Also if you are on Facebook please visit The Mountain Company's Group by clicking the link below. .
For any further information, help and advice, please don't hesitate to contact us. Roland Hunter
The Mountain Company
Telephone:+44 (0) 207 4980953 |
|
|
