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Our 2019 Everest Base Camp trek has begun! The team had a good first morning in Kathmandu. We toured 3 of the 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites here.
Had a great flight into Lukla. We are now at our first stop at Phakding, 2.5 hours down the track. Everyone is in good spirits and doing well.
A good day. We spent about 6 hours on the trail heading forever up. – ascending 800 vertical metres per the day. The cherry blossoms and the rhodendrons are in full bloom making this a beautiful setting. The highlight of the day was crossing the big suspension bridge (the one featured in the Everest movie). We are now in Namche, my favourite place in Nepal.
Tomorrow we head up into the plateau for an acclimatisation trek.
Another good day. It rained in the morning which postponed our acclimatisation amble up to Khumjung. Spent the morning drinking coffee at “Sherpa Barista” and doing some shopping. If you have to kick back anywhere in bad weather Namche is the place.
At around 2pm we got underway and headed up. We reached just over 3700 metres. The rain stayed away and it started to clear making it quite a pleasant afternoon.
Ella and I then went in to meet some recipient families of The Juniper Fund sponsorship. Ella has been raising funds to support the Juniper Fund. We met two ladies.
The first was Da Doma, who lost her husband in the 2015 earthquake and subsequent avalanche at Base camp. She has two children who are now sponsored at boarding school in Kathmandu by her husbands former employer Adventure Consultants (who I climbed Everest with last year). Da Doma lives by herself and mostly farms to support her existence. Da Doma receives a “Cost of Living” grant annually from the Junioer Fund.
The second lady, Changi Sherpa lost her son in the Khumbu Icefall avalanche of 2014 leaving an orphaned daughter, Pasang, 7 months old at the time. Changi has been raising her grandaughter since her sons death. Pasang receives a Cost of Living” grant which is deposited in a trust until she is 18.
It was a very touching experience. Both ladies knew of our visit and broke into tears on meeting us. It was a wonderful opportunity to see where the money many of you have kindly donated is going to. It was also a very important life lesson to see how a little charitable effort can go a long way to changing the lives of those in need.
Here are some pictures of the ladies and Ella.
Ella with Da Doma and Chanji Sherpa.
This was a very picturesque day. The weather was a little overcast but the rain kept away. We are now at Deboche for an overnight before heading onto Dingboche tomorrow.
Woke this morning to beautiful blue skies, a dusting of snow and wonderful views of the peaks of Everest, Lhotse and AMA Dablam. We had a wonderful trek today up picturesque valleys via Pangboche to Dingboche (4400 metres). Everyone is doing well and in good spirits.
We having a rest day at Dingboche (4410 metres). In actual fact it is not really a rest day. We always use these days to spend the morning climbing higher to aid with acclimatisation. This morning we climbed up a ridge line above Dingboche to a height of 5100 metres. The weather has closed in a little. Everyone is doing well. we are now back out our tea house enjoying latte’s all round. Until tomorrow…
Woke to beautiful clear skies this morning which made for an incredibly scenic trek into Lobuche (4910 metres). A highlight of today was coming through the Dugla Pass. At the head of the pass is what’s known as the “graveyard”. This houses a number of memorials to climbers who have perished on Everest. Everyone is doing well. Here are a few pics from today.
Arrived at Gorak Shep, last stop before Base Camp. Absolutely beautiful day! Tomorrow very early we will climb to our highest point at Kala Patthar (5550) for sunrise over Everest and then it is onto Base Camp.
Just back from Kala Patthar (5550 metres). Everyone doing well. Spectacular morning. Clear and relatively warm. Amazing view of Everest.
We concluded our journey into Base Camp and overnighted there. It is an other worldly place and remains one of my favourite places in the globe. The magnificence of the mountains is breathtaking.
Finally we helicoptered from Base Camp back to Kathmandu. This has to be one of the most picturesque heli rides one could ever have.
Back in Kathmandu, Ella Horn meets with families supported by The Juniper Fund.
Watch the 2019 Everest Base Camp Trek Highlights video here:
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13 Days trek Everest Base Camp
A trek to Everest Base Camp is undoubtedly one of the great treks of the world. The Himalaya houses 50 peaks of 7000 metres or above and the Khumbu Valley, which leads up to Everest, is smack bang in the centre of it all. The scenery is absolutely amazing. The trek is 9 nights and 10 days in total with nights pre and post in Kathmandu. We are accommodated in quaint, comfortable tea houses throughout. Our itinerary however differs to the mainstream in that we culminate the trek camping a night at Base Camp itself. We then helicopter back to Kathmandu thereby avoiding a 3 day walk out.
Beautiful Bhutan 10 nights, 11 days
The last remaining great Himalayan Kingdom, Bhutan is famous for its magnificent mountain scenery, incredible architecture and colourful culture. A diverse natural Shangri-La, the country boasts a staggering variety of landscapes, as well as an incredible array of flora and fauna. Set in one of the world’s most breathtaking mountain chains, Bhutan is famed for its range of trekking opportunities. Enigmatic and shrouded in myth, Bhutan has the striking architecture of its mountain forts and monasteries to revered Buddhist religious figures painted or carved onto the craggy cliffs. Colourful prayer flags flutter on mountain passes and prayer wheels turn slowly to the soundtrack of clear mountain streams. We love Bhutan.
11 Nights Trekking for Snow Leopards
The Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh is one of the last frontiers for wildlife tourism. A winter trip meets the elements head-on in a stunning and apparently bleak landscape. But within these high valleys created by folds of the Great Himalaya is perhaps the highest density of the most elusive of the great cats – the snow leopard. The very name evokes all that is most wild, mysterious and elusive in nature – for this is an animal that comes cloaked not just in the subtle beauty of its own coat but also in the drama of the harsh and magnificent environment that it dominates. The Ladakh region is a high altitude cold desert and for the snow leopard to survive it has a prey base of bharal (blue sheep), ibex and marmots. Wolves, foxes and wild dogs are other predators in the same area. This is a true life changing adventure. Photo Credit Surya Ramachandran
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