Epic Travel Blog

19 April: Today was a rest day at Namchebazar (3300 metres). These “rest” days are important for the acclimatisation process to the altitude. We did nonetheless spend the morning on an acclimatisation trek up to the Everest View Hotel (3880 metres). The hotel offered awesome views of Ama Dablam (6812 metres) and Thamserku (6623 metres). Unfortunately Everest was shrouded in cloud however, I am sure that we will have ample opportunity in due course. We also visited Khumjung village in the valley below. This village’s school and hospital has been heavily supported by the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation. The afternoon was spent finalising ...

You may have heard news of the recent tragic events on Everest with the avalanche. Rest assured that Brad, Kevin and Ake are fine. They are still 5 days from Base camp. Our hearts go out to the friends and families of the Sherpas that lost their lives. 17 April: Had an early start for the flight into Lukla. The 35 minute flight was spectacular as we skirted the high snowcapped peaks on our left. The landing at Lukla was interesting to say the least. The airstrip is steeply uphill so no need to wear the brake pads out! ...

16 April: We arrived into Kathmandu yesterday after an uneventful flight, via KL. The weather here is beautifully warm and sunny at 24°C. We are staying at a very comfortable hotel called the Yak & Yeti, which is centrally located in town. Kathmandu is very similar in some ways to the cities in northern India. Of course there is a fair degree of commonality in the cultures with Buddhism and Hinduism being the dominant religions. Like India, the traffic is chaotic with the beeping of car horns the order of the day. We spent yesterday afternoon settling in and we had a briefing ...

Rob Barbour from Epic Private Journeys here. I have just returned from a fabulous couple of weeks in Uganda, guiding a group of 8 people who were experiencing this magical country for the first time. Uganda is unique in that not only is it a great destination to see the few remaining mountain gorillas, but it also offers chimpanzee trekking and the opportunity to view several other primate species. We visited the remote Kidepo National Park in north-eastern Uganda to add a more traditional safari component to the trip. Kidepo National Park has large herds of buffalo and good numbers of lion that prey on ...

It has been a pretty intense couple of months on the training front in preparation for the climb. I have continued doing what I ordinarily do; weights, swimming, cycling and running but have supplemented this with some more specific training. I have been doing 3 pack trekking sessions a week. At least one of those has been walking a nearby hill near my home, Gower St, with my pack on dragging a tyre. Ordinarily I do 15/16 repetitions of the hill which takes me I hour 30 minutes. Must say you get some pretty strange looks from people driving past. ...

In July this year, I accompanied a wonderful family from the US on an active safari through northern Tanzania. This included a mix of mountain biking and walking through community wildlife conservancies and rural areas, hiking in the Ngorongoro highlands as well as more traditional safari and game viewing through Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. This safari offering is unique. Being on bikes and on foot it allows for plenty of wonderful, spontaneous and absolutely authentic cultural interaction. There were times when we would ride through a small village and all the villagers would line the road ...