Summer newsletter 2005


 

Welcome to The Mountain Company’s Summer newsletter! We intend to send these quarterly from now on- if you know of anyone else who would like to be included in the distribution list please let us know. The aim is to update you on any news and events from the Himalayas, new and interesting treks we intend to run and generally what we have been up to over the last few months!

The biggest British mountaineering news coming out of the Himalayas during the pre monsoon season was Alan Hinkes’ climb of Kanchenjunga which marked his completion of Challenge 8000, his attempt to be the first Briton to Summit the world's 14, 8000m peaks- well done Alan!

In Kathmandu a few days earlier there were many Kanchenjunga climbers gathering for the 50th anniversary of the first ascent- the mountain was first climbed on May 25, 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown of UK and the next day Norman Hardie, a New Zealander and Tony Streather of UK.

Roland, owner and founder of The Mountain Company, knows the Kanchenjunga area well as he attempted the original ascent route on the south west face of Kanchenjunga in 2003. One of The Mountain Company’s most adventurous treks is to Kanchenjunga north and south base camp with a crossing of the Mirgin la pass at 4,600m, if you are interested in this trek please get in touch.

It has been a busy year so far at The Mountain Company with Roland leading several treks, first Mera Peak in April followed by Everest base camp and High Passes in May. After a visit to Chitwan National Park and rafting he went on to Ladakh where he led the beautiful Markha Valley trail. The Trip Dossiers have been updated with photos taken while on these treks so they should now give a good feel of what to expect- they can be downloaded from the website by clicking on the “Download Trip Dossier” link on each trek page.

An interesting event occurred asThe Mountain Company team were trekking to Everest base camp- we saw a helicopter flying over Nuptse (7,855m) and close to the south col of Everest (7,950m) and as most people know helicopters are unable to fly at this height so we put it out of our minds as altitude induced craziness! After some net surfing on our return to Kathmandu we saw that a helicopter had actually gone further and landed on the summit of Everest! More information.

The Mountain Company news

We support IPPG’s work in protecting porter working conditions, we abide by their five guidelines regarding provision of equipment, reasonable loads, pay and insurance (for more info see their website).
  • The Mountain Company enters into partnership with Climate Care

Climate Care offers organisations and individuals a way to reduce their impact on global warming. It sells carbon offsetson the one handwhile funding and managing projects on the other. TMC purchases carbon offsets for all of its employees on overseas flights- there is also an option for any of our clients to purchases for their own travel.

  • Kilimanjaro National Park entry fees to be doubled in January 2006!!
The park fees will increase to USD$60 per person per day from January 2006, so if you can get the time go this year!
  • Everest north col expedition May 2006.

There has been significant interest in the Everest north col expedition which climbs to 7000m on the Tibetan side of Everest. Roland, an Everest summitteer on that route, will lead the trip if 5 climbers book up (if more than 3 climbers book we will use a Sherpa who has climbed Everest on this route). This is the most challenging trip offered by The Mountain Company - it would be suitable for someone who would like to push higher than just Everest base camp and see the exceptional views from the north col and might possibly have ambitions to climb Everest at a later date!If you have any further questions please get in touch.

  • The best time of year to visit Nepal and the Indian states of Sikkim and Uttaranchal is October and November (post monsoon).

Generally one gets clear weather and blue skies in these months so is great for views and taking photographs! If you are considering a visit to the Himalayas post monsoon, please get in contact soon to book your place. The most popular trek at the moment is Everest base camp and Sherpa villages - this is a variation from the classic base camp trek as we venture up the less visited and quieter Thame valley and stay at the Sherpa villages of Khumjung and Thame. This not only adds interest to the trek but increases the safety by enhancing your acclimatisation before climbing to Kalapathar (5,500m) and Everest base camp (5,300m).

  • We have recently added some new treks to our program, they are:
  • Everest luxury lodges- gentle trekking in the Everest region while staying in good quality hotels. A comfortable and relaxing trek through the interesting sherpa villages of the Khumbu.
  • Annapurna luxury lodges- the Kerr and Downey luxury lodges are used to stay in this beautiful region of Nepal where there are superb views of Fishtail, Annapurnas and Lamjung-also river rafting and a visit to the Chitwan National Park including safari on elephant back!
  • Manaslu Circuit- a remote and culturally interesting trek around this 8000m giant!
  • Curzon Trail including Kuari Pass- a beautiful trek on the western edge of the Nanda Devi sanctuary in northern India passing through alpine meadows and crossing several major streams, the view from Kuari pass is often described as the best in the Himalayas!
  • Markha Valley Trail- a beautiful trek in Ladakh, also known as Little Tibet, exploring a high and arid landscape with many Buddhist monasteries clinging to high cliffs and crossing two high passes bedecked by colourful prayer flags.
  • The Mountain Company’s Charity Trek program - with a group of 25 trekkers to Everest base camp, your charity could raise £65,000!

If you know of any charity which might be interested in this program, please ask them to get in contact - we have an information pack with more details.

We are always interested in getting feedback whether it is about the range of trips we offer, opinions/suggestions on our responsible tourism policy or anything else! The Mountain Company is a grassroots adventure travel company which specialises in organising meticulously planned trekking holidays at great value for money. We are passionate about mountains and their environment and enjoy helping other people explore these special places- you will get well experienced and informed advice because we have been trekking and climbing in all the locations ourselves.

As a special summer offer we will take the hassle out of obtaining the visa for your destination country because we are offering go on your behalf to the embassy/high commission (valid until September 30th 2005 for UK based customers).

If you have any questions, please get in contact- it is no problem if you would prefer to call out of office hours or at weekends! If you would like to meet face to face we are always available to meet over a coffee/beer if you are visiting the London area.

We look forward to hearing from you and please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested.

The Mountain Company team