The Nepal/Tibet Hiking Expedition Thread

[Epoch]

Tentative plan : Aiming for ABC (Annapurna Base Camp). We'll take a leisurely pace of 9 days up/down total. No porters, just 1 guide (optional). A group of 4 trekkers will be ideal. We will fly into Kathmandu and stay for 1 night, then take the bus ride (12+ hrs, if I remember correctly) to Pokhara. We can then spend another day to acclimatise, plus stock up on logistics.

We will be taking the oft-use teahouse trek route. The numerous teahouses on the lower altitudes will ensure we can lodge every evening. This is where the guide comes in useful, as he can move ahead to arrange for accomodations prior to us arriving at the teahouses every day. At the higher altitudes, we will need to plan carefully as the villages are more spread out.

Prior training is a definite. 6 months before go-date, light jogging will be started (2km moving up to 10km in 2 months / 2 or 3 times a week). After this phase, we will do stair-climbing for 2 months (10 levels, rep 5 times, 2 times a week). Last phase, we will load up our backpacks with 10kg weight and trek from Jurong West Sports Stadium to Clementi Sports Stadium, following Boon Lay Way. Safety vehicle will need to be arranged for pickup / emergencies. This will be done once a week until go-date.

Objective of this trek : Relax and enjoy the natural / spiritual journey in the mountains. Appreciate the beauty that is Mother Nature. Enjoy the warm hospitality of the Nepalese people. Unwind from the daily grind of Singapore life.

[Nautilus]

sounds interesting.

i think we need to see who is in, plus monitor the maoist rebel movements and the weather condition in nepal. I do not mind trying other routes like sikkim or tibet. lets see what everyone thinks. U mentioned we go end of autumn beginning winter? the weather can come down suddenly, so mentally and physically has to prepare for it.

[Nautilus]

thought about everest base camp? but perhaps would be too hard for some of us plus takes too long to complete (about 18 days).

the last one we took was relatively longer because we made a detour due to avalanche. but i sort of remembered relatively tropical environs.

any other routes u checking on?

lets say we do annapurna from pokhara right? 9 days enough? I forgot how long we took the previous time.

i think we need to have flesh out some details of the route so we know what to expect.

where is TP? get him in discussion man!

came across this though. thorung la, the pass we didnt manage to do.

http://realtravel.com/pokhara-journals-j2766856.html

on hind sight, the diamox i purchased on the street of pokhara the other time was probably a rip off. didnt do my AMS any good. I think part of my problem could be over exertion through out the entire leg before ABC, by trying to catch up with the lead guide. well it could have been my genes also. another issue may be over consumption of alcohol on my part (fire-water).

may want to take note of this to have more awareness about acute mountain sickness.

http://www.ismmed.org/np_altitude_tutorial.htm