Almas Khan

A likely first and never repeated, would be my six month trek with Garry Weare from the source of Ganges to Ladakh, the route took us over the Yamnotri pass, Rupin la, Bawa Pass, Pin Parvati and then over Shingo la.

On a very sad day, 25th April 2015 during Nepal earthquake, I was leading Dhaulagiri Circuit for The Mountain Company. Keeping the group and local crew safe and calm was challenging. We found a low risk place to set up camp and I made the decision to stay on Dhaulagiri, and did not run back to Kathmandu like many leaders who panicked. It gets close to one of the better decisions I have made in mountains by staying calm and logical in the face of disaster, by ensuring the group were well informed and assured of their safety. I had sufficient battery life on the satcom to let our clients and crew make a brief call home and extended that to non TMC staff. Having grown up in a seismic zone I’d experienced enough earthquakes. In 1991 during my time at the Nehru Mountaineering Institute the Uttarkashi earthquake hit. It devastated my home state, I learned that a tent was the safest place to sleep.

Fear leads to illogical decisions, on the day of the Nepal quake I watched experienced leaders abandon their crew in haste to return to Kathmandu. 

Whilst thousands awaited flights and slept in hotel gardens We spent a week enjoying the clean air and stunning views at Italian base camp. We made good use of our time with day walks and some mountaineering training! A trekker, part of one of the groups I met the day of the earthquake, he joined me on Dhaulagiri Circuit with TMC, the following year-that was rewarding. I am grateful to Roland for his ongoing support during this time. He took a sat phone to my wife Jayne, who was in Kathmandu.

A calm head and tea tree oil. 

Very often the most beautiful places are between camps so don’t rush. Find your own rhythm and stay with it you will enjoy yourself more and you will acclimatise more efficiently if you walk at a pace at which you can keep your breathing deep and steady. I believe that 90% of what is required to complete a trek is in your mind. The most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing clients who are struggling complete a trek, I often say- If you can walk for another hour you’ll make it to the lunch stop, if you can get there there you’ll make it to camp and if you get that far there is absolutely no reason why you can’t walk for another 26 days.

I grew up in a house surrounded by hills and forest, whenever I annoyed the people at home (which was most of the time) I was told to go outside and play...and my playground was the Himalayan foothills. My uncle taught me rock climbing at 5 years old and I perused climbing from that young age. My first paid job was as a climbing instructor, which wasn’t really the ideal career path my family had hoped for so I worked in front office at a five star hotel until I found a job leading treks, 25 plus years leading in the mountains and haven’t looked back since.

Back to Svalbard and maybe Kamchatka in Russia. Japan is a favourite destination and would love to climb there.

Fly solo around the world in a small plane, flying was always a dream and in late 2018 I undertook flight training, have the license now -I just need a plane  “ If your dreams don’t scare you they aren’t big enough”

Fire and Ice, Himalayan Java.  

Bar on top floor at the Hotel Tibet.