Helicopter Evacuation in Nepal | New Insurance Rules

Helicopter evacuation at Tengboche, Khumbu, Nepal

As many of you would be aware a huge scam was detected last year in the helicopter evacuations in Nepal involving insurance companies, helicopter companies, trekking agencies and hospitals.

Some of the reports in the international press are below:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/world/asia/nepal-everest-rescue-fraud.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/03/nepal-cracks-down-on-multimillion-dollar-helicopter-rescue-scams

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/world/asia/nepal-everest-insurers-fraud.html

After this scam was widely reported in the press, the Insurance companies have taken some steps to make it more difficult and costly to get an helicopter evacuation for medical reasons.

World Nomads one of the most highly respected and efficient companies also made some changes in their policies for the 2019 season which will affect many trekkers in Nepal.

These are the some of the  most important changes:

World Nomads can charge you upto a maximum of $725 for emergency helicopter evacuation in Nepal. This clause was not there before because in all the World Nomad genuine  medical evacuations I have witnessed the amount paid by the client was $100 per claim only - the wording on the site is below:

* Note - Nepal Air Ambulance /Helicopter Services: an excess of a maximum of €625 ($725)  applies to Medical transport & repatriation home (Section 1.2) in the event medical emergency evacuation by air ambulance or helicopter services are required in Nepal. 

  Further, it now seems,  and this is to be verified by World Nomads ,  that the Standard and Explorer policy types cover backpacking upto  4500 metres only. In case of backpacking upto 6000 metres (which would cover Everest Base Camp, Gokyo, Manaslu Circuit, Annapurna circuit and other high altitude treks in Nepal) an upgrade is required to the policy. For most of the Nepal treks this upgrade would be needed.

So my suggestion is that irrespective of which insurance company you choose for a trek in the high Himalaya do read the fine print and exceptions even more so now after these helicopter scams. You need to know what exactly is covered and what you have to pay for over and above the policy premium so that there are no nasty surprises when invoking the policy.

For my earlier post on helicopter charters in Nepal do visit http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.com/2019/01/everest-helicopter-charter-flights.html

South Col Expeditions runs multiple treks in Nepal every year - for more details do visit www.southcol.com

Himalayas: Weather

If you read any guide book on the Himalaya or on trekking in the Himalayan region, you will invariably be told that the post-monsoon season is the best time to trek in the mountains. Clear blue skies, superb mountain views, mild sunny days and crisp cold nights are all forecast for the trekker.

 You will also be told that the pre monsoon season i.e. March to May is the second best time to be in the mountains with mild showers in the evening but clear morning and the weather getting warmer as you approach the monsoon. Further, according to the guide books, trekking in the monsoon is strictly a “no no” and if the heavy rains and landslides don’t make your trek a nightmare, the leeches will! And of course the winter is so cold that no sane individual would venture into the high altitude at that time!

So what is the real story on Himalayan weather with the impact of global warming and climate change?

I have trekked in the Himalayas in all seasons, including the winter (Everest 2003-04), the monsoon (Sikkim 2000) and numerous autumn and spring treks.

One October I remember visiting Kathmandu airport every morning for the flight to Lukla and returning to our hotel at lunchtime. It rained for three days incessantly and the Lukla flight could not take off. Finally on the fourth day it did take off  and made a hair raising landing at Lukla narrowly missing the hill in front of the airstrip. Surprisingly the very next day the weather cleared and we did not get any rain for the next two weeks during our trek. In the October season in the Khumbu there are now more than 14,000 trekkers in one month!

Again, walking the Annapurna circuit in October I remember repeated day after day of afternoon rain up the Marsyandi valley. One downpour near the village of Chame was so heavy that we sheltered in a bamboo hut and managed to stay dry until the rain stopped.

In December 2009 I trekked with a South Col group to Poon Hill in the Annapurna region and surprisingly other than the morning at Ghorepani, the rest of the days had cold, cloudy weather very unusual for December.

The rain shadow regions of the Himalaya like Ladakh, Zanskar, Lahoul and Spiti possibly get the best weather in the monsoon season July to September.

So in my opinion, good weather is a gamble. What with global warming, rapid deforestation and urbanization, the weather is no longer predictable. Every season has something special to offer so select your season and hope for some great views and weather!

South Col Expeditions www.southcol.com treks in the Himalayas throughout the year. Do visit our web site for our treks both fixed departure and customised group offerings.

Everest | Helicopter Charter Flights

When helicopters started flying in Nepal, they were used mostly for search and rescue operations. However, in the last decade, the number of helicopter companies have increased and it is not unusual while trekking in the Everest region to find helicopters flying up and down between Gorak Shep to Pheriche/ Namche/Lukla/Kathmandu ferrying passengers on a charter flight.

Though many purists including myself  will balk at the idea of using a helicopter at the end of the Everest trek, this has become quite a common occurrence of late. The  main advantages for the trekkers are:

An Everest Base Camp trek can become 9-10 days Kathmandu to Kathmandu instead of the usual 14 days as the return journey  from Gorak Shep is significantly reduced by using the helicopter.

The long descent from 5150 metres at Gorak Shep to Lukla 2800 metres is avoided and saves your knees!

COSTS

Though the cost of chartering a helicopter is not fixed and there is considerable leeway for bargaining and getting a good price, the average costs for a charter is given below. Sometimes prices can be below this as well depending if the helicopter has come up to drop passengers and is going back empty.

Gorak Shep to Lukla  - $1500  (3 persons)
Pheriche to Lukla - $1300 ( 4 persons)
Namche to Lukla  $600 (3 persons)
Namche to Kathmandu $3200 (5 persons)
Lukla to Kathmandu  $2800 ( 5 Persons)


HELICOPTER COMPANIES IN NEPAL

Fishtail Air www.fishtailair.com
Summit Air (Helicopters Division) www.summitair,com.np
Simrik Air (Helicopters Division) wwwsimrikair.com
Air Dynasty www.airdynastyheli.com
Mountain Heli www.mountainhelicharter.com
Altitude Air www.altitudeairnepal.com
Shree Air www.shreeairlines.com
Kailsh Heli www.kailashheli.com
Manang Air www.manangair.com.np

Easy Flight Travel headed by Raju Pulami and based in Namche also provides helicopter services at reasonable rates. Do contact  https://www.easyflightnepal.com

South Col Expeditions treks in the Everest region every year. For more information on our treks do visit www.southcol.com

Kangtega and Thamserku | The Lesser Peaks of the Everest region

Thamserku from Namche Bazar at dsuk

The Everest region has a galaxy of star studded so called "lesser peaks" in the range of 6000-7000 metres. Most of these are extremely beautiful and in most cases over shadow Everest itself. Other than Ama Dablam which is really the "jewel in the crown", Kangtega and Thamserku are visible along both the Everest Base Camp and Gokyo trails.

"Kangtega, known also as The Snow Saddle, is a major mountain peak of the Himalayas in Nepal. Its summit rises 6,782 metres (22,251 ft). It was first ascended in 1963 1963 David Dornan, Tom Frost, Michael Gill, Jim Wilson  in an expedition led by Edmund Hillary.
Thamserku is a mountain in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal. The mountain is connected by a ridge leading eastward to Kangtega. Thamserku is a prominent mountain to the east of Namche Bazaar and lies just north of Kusum Kangguru.
The first ascent was made in 1964 from the south by members of Edmund Hillary's Schoolhouse Expedition: Lynn Crawford, Pete Farrell, John McKinnon, Richard Stewart and Phu Dorje Sherpa. Below the basin on the southwest face, they reached the south ridge after climbing a difficult couloir. The team described the climb as difficult and the route has not been repeated in its entirety by anyone else." From Wikipedia

Some photographs of these two magnificent peaks are below

Reflections in the first lake of Gokyo

Walking from Lobuche towards Dzongla on the Cho La route

On the trail near Dole, Gokyo trek

Early morning view from Luza, Gokyo trek

Evening at Kyanjuma

From the pass above Dingboche on the trail to Dugla

South Col Expeditions treks in the Everest region every year.  For details of our 2019 treks do visit www.southcol.com and for photographs from the Himalaya do visit www.sujoydas.com

Mustang | Flowers and Plants in the Trans Himalaya

The rain shadow area of Mustang close to the Tibetan border is similar to the rest of the Trans-Himalaya and close to Tibet in topography and features.

One would expect that this desert like terrain where the winds howls up the Kali Gandaki river valley every day would not be conducive for plant life.

A South Col team trekked Mustang  to Mustang twice in 2015 and again in 2016. We were very surprised to find so  many flowers and plants in bloom.

Here are some photographs of the plants and flowers we saw:

For more information and photographs on Mustang do visit

http://www.sujoydas.com/Nepal-Himalaya/Mustang-In-the-Land-of-Lo/i-LMNdRDz

http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2015/09/mustang-and-lo-manthang-itinerary-part-i.html

http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2015/09/mustang-and-lo-manthang-itinerary-part.html

The Imja Khola Valley in Nepal

The massive south wall of Lhotse seen from near Chukung

In the shadow of the highest mountain in the world lies a land of high passes, flower drenched meadows and massive glaciers.

The Imja Khola is one of the rivers that flows down from the upper reaches of the Imja glacier and joins the Dudh Kosi at Thyanboche. This essay covers the Imja valley of Nepal- the river flows down from the glaciers of Imjatse and joins the Dudh Kosi  below Tengboche.

A lone lammergier  approaches the sheer wall of Ama Dablam as seen from Pangboche 

Rocks and clouds

Yak in a snow storm 

Tibetan snowcock calls out to it's mate

The Imja Khola 

Rhododendrons in spring

Pumori

For our treks in the Everest region and the Himalaya do visit www.southcol.com

Kandy Temple of the Tooth Relic | Sri Lanka

Entrance of the temple

One of the most sacred places of workship for Buddhists is the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy Sri Lanka which is visited by pilgrims the world over. On a recent visit to Sri Lanka I spend the morning at this temple.

From Wikipedia
Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple.

Bhikkhus of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings. On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers called Nanumura Mangallaya. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.

The temple sustained damage from bombings by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in 1989 and by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1998 but was fully restored each time.

Flowers ready for offering outside the temple

A smaller temple in the main complex

Everest Trek Updates November 2018

I trekked the Everest region in November 2018 and some updates which will be useful for trekkers are below:

Permits
The TIMS permit is no longer required and it is also not necessary to buy any permits in Kathmandu. The Pasang Lhamu Municipality permit is available in Lukla on arrival ( NPR 2000/-) and the Sagarmatha Park permit is available at Monjo ( Foreigners NPR 3000/- Indians NPR 1500/-).

Mobile Phones
Ncell is the service provider of choice and has good connectivity except at Dingboche, Pheriche and Lobuche and Gokyo. Nepal Telecom is the second choice in this area as the coverage is more limited.

Everest Link www.everestlink.com.np
There is now a wifi card available from Everest Link which works in most lodges. The cost of the card is NPR 1999/- for 10 GB data and NPR 2999/- for 20 GB data. I used the 10 GB card on this visit and found it worked quite well. The period of the card is 30 days.

Lodge Accomodations

Since October 2018, above Namche Bazar, it is not possible to make payments to lodges for rooms directly. There is a newly formed Khumbu Hotel Association which has a checkpost at each village and collects the payment for the rooms directly. At present the minimum rates are NPRs 500/- per room excepting in Lobuche and Gorak Shep where it is NPRs 700/- per room. Lodges can and do charge higher rates depending on the type of accomodation, attached bathrooms etc.












Updated Prices for Meals etc.
There has been a steep increase in costs of meals, tea, coffee, hot water etc since my last visit. I photograped a lodge menu at Lobuche and the costs as per menu are given below. At Gorak Shep it would be another 5-10% more while at Pheriche/Dingboche/Namche it would be 10-15% less. Based on these costs the average cost per day for meals only (excluding rooms) would range between $30-40 per day.

Trekking Numbers ( October -November)
There were a record number of trekkers in the Everest region this autumn. The month of October 2018 alone had around 14,500 trekkers  which was up from October 2017 ( 12,479 trekkers). As result, lodges were extremely crowded, flights overbooked and trails very busy. Trekkers to Everest next year should consider this in planning their dates. Interestingly, the crowds dropped by the 18th of November and when I returned on 26th November there would be around 40-50 trekkers coming in as compared to 400-500 in October!

The statistics for 2017 and part of 2018  as per the Sagarmatha Post is below:



For more information on our Everest and other treks do visit www.southcol.com
For the best seasons for Everest trek do visit http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.com/2017/12/everest-base-camp-trek-best-season.html.