Kim in the Himalaya 2005

by Kim Bannister

Tashi Delek!

As it’s getting close to Lhosar, the Tibetan & Sherpa New Year, it must be about time for a summary of the year’s treks. My year started back in the States, the first time in two years, visiting friends and family, driving cross-country and back, and selling a bit of ‘Kamzang’ silver jewelry en route. No sun in southern California unfortunately, as I arrived during the floods and heavy rains there, but I did get some nice days in Colorado. It was wonderful to finally get to meet my first niece in Portland, and to spend time with my family in Connecticut.

Back in the mountains, it was a full and diverse year of treks in three different Himalayan countries (as well as a bit of biking in the Kathmandu valley and around Leh between treks) which will be hard to beat in 2006. Some brief recaps of the treks in Nepal, India & Tibet from 2005:

April High Passes Trek, Everest region, Nepal

A classic Khumbu trek, good weather, great staff and a great group from three different countries, Colin & Jo, Stephan & Nico and Mike. We crossed two high Himalayan passes, visited Everest BC during expedition season and did just about everything else in the Khumbu, with Sherpa guide Lhakpa Nuru always there to help out.

Kailash Simikot Trek, Humla, Nepal & Tibet

What a trek, and it couldn’t have been with a better or more interested group of trekkers: Samuel, a repeat trekker, Ivan, Harshad (with his GPS always in hand, but don’t ask him to use the zipper of his tent), Peter & Jim. Humla, of which Simikot is the access village, is an amazing region of Nepal, very Tibetan in character but with a twist; men smoking hookahs, women adorned in colorful strands of glass beads, a mix of Buddhist and Hindus and a strong sense of independence and uniqueness.

Crossing into Tibet, in all my years trekking I’ve never been on a pass which, on the northern side, is so exposed, the trail covered with snow and ice leading down a few thousand meters to a small, rocky river far below. Barely there, and our horses couldn’t pass, so we hired 17 or so local Tibetan / Humla porters for the day. Truly an epic trekking day in the Himalaya! So we made it to Tibet, completed the kora of Kailash over the 5600 meter Drolma La, and the finished the trek at the annual Saga Dawa (full moon on the 4th month) festival, which, despite a raging snow-storm in the middle of the ceremony, was wonderful. Our jeep trip back to Lhasa was beautiful, and after a few days in Lhasa, we continued the jeep extravaganza back down over the Himalayas to Kathmandu. A classic journey, and the trekkers turned out to be closet shoppers, and even putting me to shame!

Of the trek, Ivan wrote: ‘So here I am again sat at a desk in the corporate world working away as though nothing happened it will take me a few weeks to fully absorb the experience we all shared but I really feel that it was significant, wonderful, inspirational and much much more... and once again a BIG THANKS for all the organizing that made this trip possible and thanks to you for being you!’

And Samuel wrote: ‘Kim, this trek was special. Different and better than any other I did before. Somehow the group became a ‘band of brothers’. The spiritual content of the trip produce a calm warm friendship between all of us. That is unique in a trek. And you where the one that made all this good things happened. Thank you.’

Nomads of the Changthang, Ladakh, India

Steve, Dagmar and Seth (who was visiting from my hometown, New Canaan, CT) were joined for the Markha Valley section by Eric and Willi (a friend from Kathmandu), and later Max (another old friend of ours from Nepal). Dagmar had her guitar out throughout the trek, which the local Ladakhi kids loved, and which made for the perfect evening entertainment inside our Tibetan yurt. We started the trek after a big winter in India, and as a result, couldn’t cross our first pass and had to re-route slightly, later having to ford a raging river (unusual for the season), our Sherpa, Lhakpa, going for a swim to test the waters and Lobsang saving the day with a horse for all to ride. Nothing like starting the trek with a few adventures! Later in the trek, we chased a large herd of kyang (Tibetan wild ass) and completed a ‘kora’ of the turquoise Lake Tsomoriri, meeting many nomads en route. An amazing trek!

Markha Valley (and Beyond), India

Helen & Mattias back to trek for the third summer in a row, with the usual bags full of treats and detailed maps; it was as great to see them as ever! They trekked alone with Lobsang and Lhakpa, and joined the Land Beyond group at Panjilla.

Zanskar, The Land Beyond, India

Trekking groups don't get much better than this one, and fields of wild-flowers (all documented by June) blanketed the way through the spectacular and magical valleys of Zanskar & Ladakh. June, Marv and Rein proved that 70 is THE age for a three week trek, Bengt dreamed of becoming a dad, John taught us, Stephen paid our gompa entrance fees by Visa, Harry Louw spoke in strange Afrikaners tongues, June kept us laughing, Marv taught us the ways of the American Indians (but we refused to learn the rain dance) and Rein presided over the tent in a god-fatherly manner.

Trans-Himalayan Tracks, India

The Guberajon, or 'Gompa Rangjung', the 'self-emanating gompa' which towers over the Zanskar valley, provided our inspiration for a trek dedicated to Jason.

Lost Worlds of the Jumlam, India

We hardly noticed the autumn chill in the air (ok, maybe Kim did, but she won't admit it) as we trekked through a magical world of river gorges, over high passes, crossed crystal-clear rivers over 100 times, passed by herds of blue sheep, and camped under a full moon and starry skies. The enthusiasm of our small group was infectious, and our trek was completed by a wild three-day jeep journey via Rangdum and Kargil back to Leh.

Manaslu & Nar Phu, Nepal

Manaslu: A rainy start in the middle hills forced us to shelter in smoky, Nepali tea-houses and an un-crossable Larkya La (pass) was disappointing but showed us snow-covered villages high up in the mountains for some of the best trekking days ever, and the trek ended with the spectacular high route back down to the palace at Gorkha. Helen & Evan, back for more trekking, set the pace for the rest of us, Sally kept us healthy, Nick entertained us by jumping in icy rivers, Peter awed us with tales of the high seas, and Alan equally with his journeys in the far-reaches of the Himalayas. Kim & Lhakpa kept the massive number of staff together and happy, and the dining tent, food, gear and trekkers dry and warm. Through it all, the Maoists kept careful watch over us, but only vaguely hinted at donations such as cameras and binoculars ... team Canada, eh? Or was it New Zealand?

Nar Phu: With lots of rain and snow under our belts after the Manaslu trek, we continued on from the start of the Annapurna circuit, had some chilly nights en route to Phu (we founded the ‘Yak Shack Café in Meta), and only made it as far as a day trip to Phu after Lhakpa cut two hours worth of steps in icy, cliff-top trails. Nar was wonderfully sunny, an amazing array of roof-top activity in the village, and a running water pump to wash off the grime of the past week of camping. The Kang La (pass) challenged us with snow up to our knees, and the finish of the trek was crossing the Thorung La in gale-force winds down to lower Mustang, where balmy breezes encouraged an over-indulgence in chilled beers. A true journey, challenging most of the time, and worth every day (32 of them) of it! Thanks to Peter and Alan for making this an amazing trek, and we'll see you back in the Himalayas soon!

Excerpts from Kim’s Manaslu notes

Manaslu Nar Phu trek: It was a LONG, rainy and then snowy trek in Manaslu, Nar Phu and the Annapurnas. This year all over the Himalayas has been unbelievable in terms of high water, early snow & snowy passes and icy trails … very hard on the locals.

We started with the Manaslu trek, which there were six people, for, two British couples, Helen & Evan and Sally & Nick and two men, one from, Peter, a trekker from Ireland and the other, Peter, a Kiwi living in France, an ex-sailor. All great. The last two did the whole trek with Lhakpa and myself.

Manaslu is just east of the Annapurna range, one of the top-10 8000 meter peaks, and quite remote. You’ve got to camp although in a pinch single trekkers might be able to find places to stay and eat. We started after a scary bus trip to a small village called Arugat Bazaar; to get there, we had a few harrowing hours of negotiating a muddy, rutted road overhanging steep drops down to terraced rice fields. This region is called the ‘middle hills’ of Nepal, is at about 700 meters (so low), hot and humid, many rivers, forests, fruit trees, rice fields, very irrigated, straw-roofed huts, water buffalos and chickens, goats, small, dirt trails all over, monkeys and mostly Hindu villagers although there are also Gurungs (partly Buddhists) living there.

We started the trek on a rainy day, and the down-pour continued for the next three days, so that after the first night we needed to shelter the next two in smoky, local tea-houses, second floor of creaky, wooden buildings. Not the best of accommodations, but the camping grounds were under a few inches of rain, and there was no way to set up camp otherwise. Our new, Tibetan-style while canvas tent became mildewed on the first day, and grew ever blacker during the trek, and even now after three chemical washes and a few weeks out in the sun is unusable. Ah, well, for the first night it looked great.

All the rain was snow up at the pass and on the peaks higher up, and there had been snow for days before that, so we passed groups coming down from the Lharkya La pass from the first few days, a bit disheartening, except that we figured after a week or so that it would take us to get up there, the snow would melt a bit, locals would try the pass, and we’d be able to get over.

After the first few days of ‘middle hills’, also tobacco, millet and beautiful ‘pink sorgum’ fields, all ethnic Gurung villages, we entered the Tibetan regions of Manaslu where the altitude was higher, the people originally from Tibet but now mixing a bit with the local Gurungs, and they grow potatoes, barley, cabbage, some green leafy vegetables, carrots, the usual high altitude crops. Wooden houses, snow-peaks emerging, not so hot and humid, and then further into more arid region with snow on the ground, very Tibetan in character as they didn’t mix much with the locals, Tibetan ‘gompas’, etc. It’s stunningly beautiful up in the higher reaches of the Manaslu trek as there are pine forests as well (up to where we made it), and when you finally get a view of Manaslu, spectacular!

At the second to last village in the region, called Sama Goan (or Ro by the locals), the snow was a few inches on the ground, the rest mud, the locals were trying to save their barley and potato crops from the early snows, and as no group had yet crossed the 5000m pass, we decided as a group to head down and not waste days waiting higher up where there was reportedly lots more snow, cold, and little hope of crossing. There are many passes into Tibet as well from the upper village, called Samdo, and if the locals aren’t using the passes to trade than there was little point in us trying to get over. The other side of the pass was said to be dangerous in the snow/ice, and we had a team of about 24 porters and 5 kitchen staff with us as well, so too many people to worry about in difficult conditions.

So we decided to take the ‘high route’ back down the valley, and end up in Gorkha, where there is an old Gurung palace perched on a hill-top; it was the old capital of the region when the Gorkha king took over what is now modern Nepal and united it. The Gorkha people are the famed Gurkhas of British army fame, mostly ethnically Gurungs. A bit confusing … In any case, the route down was amazingly beautiful, with unbeatable mountain views, incredibly scenic villages, lots of BIG up and down climbs, wobbly bridges and many Maoists! Just paid the Maoist ‘fee’ once, about $1.50 per person per day, and after that just had to listen to the propaganda. Very interesting … They did ask if we wanted to donate our cameras and binoculars to the cause, but we all politely declined. We were a group of New Zealanders to them, although I of course slipped and said something about the US. Whoops.

So all ended well, everyone in the end was happy with the trek, and we send the four Brits back to Kathmandu from Gorkha. The rest of us continued from the bottom of the Annapurna trek, a three hour drive away, up to Nar Phu. I went to this region two years ago, and I think you’ve heard about it, but briefly it’s a remote valley system in the Manang region of two high villages that trade with Tibet and lower Manang, very interesting, newly opened. Just as we reached the start of this region we met people who had crossed the pass in Manaslu, so it was closed for 20 days.

We did a four day tea-house trek up the Annapurna trail, which was a nice change from camping (although we did cook), and set off from Koto for Nar Phu. We ran into more ice/snow en route to Phu, so weren’t able to bring the porters up with us. Instead we opted for a day trip out to Phu, so Lhakpa and Tertha (one of the porters, very, very funny man) cut steps in the ice/snow on very exposed trails, often cliff-side, always quite high over the river, for about two hours, with a family of four Manangis visiting relatives in tow. They had been terrified to go alone, and returned to our campsite to go with us just to give you an idea of how bad the trails were. Lhakpa almost had a fatal fall into the river, but grabbed an ice ledge at the last minute …

Nar was less snowy, but the route up steep and snowy/muddy; I’d thought there would be less snow there. It was great to be back in Nar, and we stayed at the same guest house run by such a nice family as I did a few years ago when I did the exploratory trek up there with one porter. (I bought 5 yak-wool striped blankets from them, the newer ones that we had on the rug of the ‘display room’ during my show this winter). We left in the dark, 4am with head-lamps, for the Kang La pas back towards the Annapurnas, with the lodge owner with us in case the trail wasn’t visible in the snow. It was a good thing we had him along; even with him finding the best route on the ridge, we still broke through the snow up to our knees most of the time, and the day was exciting as there had previously only been one person with a guide over the pass after the snows. Up to the higher reaches of the pass there was really a lot of snow and it was tough going at 5400 meters, but worth it for the spectacular mountain panoramas!

Steeply down to the Annapurna Circuit again, some more tea-house trekking with just three porters and Lhakpa, the two clients, and I. The Thorung La, which is the big pass at the top of the Annapurnas, was also challenging as we had 30-40 knot winds near the top! We trekked down to Jomsom (lower Mustang), flew to Pokhara, and made up for the traumas of the trek by over-indulging on red wine and pizzas both in Pokhara & Kathmandu, and everyone recovered nicely … !

Note from Everest Christmas Trek, Khumbu, Nepal

Perfectly blue December skies, with just a touch of cloudy weather under over the Nupste wall; December treks don't get much better than this one! Jim, Irv, Sarah, James, Lowell, Maddy & Ben made it up most of the peaks for exceptional mountain panoramas and then luxuriated by the Sherpa stoves. Tashi Ghale, our 'guest' photographer from Manang, awed us with sunset shots of the moon over 8000 meter peaks, Lhakpa took us on a tour of the Khumbu as seen through the windows of his extended family's guest houses and Lowell managed 'Namche Base Camp'. Kim celebrated her birthday under Mount Everest at Kala Pattar, and Xmas Eve in Kyangjuma & Xmas in Monjo were cozy and filled with good food and drink. Special 'thanks' to Dave R for his inspiration throughout the trek. Thanks to all for a wonderful Christmas trek!

... I’m fine, besides some cracked fingers and cuticles from the cold! I had good birthday gazing up at Everest from 5640 meters (Kala Pattar, a trekking peak) during the day, and then a small party down at the lodge in the evening, with a cake that Lhakpa baked somehow for me, a box of wine from Lhakpa’s family (which not many others felt up to drinking at 5100 meters), and some presents around the Sherpa stove. We walked out to Everest Base Camp the next day, right on the glacier and next to the icefall, cold with the December winds blowing!

Xmas was spent at the Kailash lodge with Kali & Chombi in Monjo, Xmas Eve at a Tashi’s cozy lodge in Kyangjuma, just above Namche. All in all, a great December, but it WAS a bit colder than usual this year. We had a photographer from Manang (the Annapurnas) with us, Tashi, which was amazing. Tashi was up every evening on some peak for sunset, and even got me going one night (away from the stove, no less), for moon over Everest and mountain views at sunset from Gokyo Ri.

Finally, I spend New Year’s Eve here in Kathmandu with the last of the Everest trekkers, Maddy & Ben, along with Lhakpa, his wife Lhakpa Doma and their son, Nuru, and my good friend Wendy from our teaching days in the Khumbu.

Have a great 2006, all, and hope to see you in the Himalaya!

Cheers, Kim