Kangchenjunga North and South Base Camps Nepal - Part I by Ashesh Ambasta

6/11/24: On the slopes of  Drohmo Ri  at 5,281m):  It was thrilling to track the route taken by Pete Boardman, Joe Tasker, and Doug Scott who had made a successful bid in 1979. Here, I've traced the West Wall going up to the North Col (the site of Camp 3), the North Ridge leading to the “Croissant” and further up, to the “Pinnacles”, and the final push to the Summit.

Ashesh Ambasta is a seasoned trekker and photographer who has done a number of treks with South Col Expeditions.  In late October and November 2024, Praveen Gupta, Deepak Chandnani, Daniel Bayer and Ashesh trekked to both the north and south base camps of Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world, from the Nepal side. In this evocative account with wonderful images Ashesh shares  their experience of this outstanding trek still relatively unspoilt. The first part of  their journey to the north base camp Pangpema  is documented here.

 For more photos of this trek do visit     https://photos.ap .goo.gl/QPHbCH7XxFn9Q29d8

28^th October – 14^th November 2024

For those accustomed to the relative comforts of the Everest and Annapurna circuits, be warned.  The lodges are rudimentary at best and, in places, downright crummy. The food is largely basic and passable.  And, if you plan to cover both the North and South base camps, as we did, it’s a long grind of about 18 days through steep ascents and descents at high altitudes.  But, if you love the peace and tranquillity of the mountains and detest hordes of trekkers jostling you on the trail, all this pales into insignificance.  The sheer grandeur of the peaks that tower over you at the two base camps and the breath-taking panorama on the approach marches are incomparable.  I have done countless treks in Nepal, but this easily stands out as among the best for the beauty, magnificence, and diversity of the terrain. 

Kilimanjaro Climb | Dr Ajmal Sobhan

 

At the start of the climb the Lemosho Gate

Ajmal Sobhan from Newport News, Virginia, is a retired surgeon, former marathon runner with many treks under his belt. In this guest post Ajmal describes his climb of Kilimanjaro the tallest free standing mountain in the world and one of the seven summits. 

-Kilimanjaro: The agony and the ecstasy

Before going to Tanzania, I must have watched a dozen or more YouTube videos on Kilimanjaro. Most of them gave a good packing list, shots optional or mandatory,  different routes  some tougher and some easier. Not many described the level of difficulty related to age and experience, and none described the sad state of the trails  when the rain practically destroys any safe pathways other than using common sense or relying on the experience of the guides.

 Practically none of those videos prepared me for what was to come. I had never been to Africa nor had I summitted any mountains. All the experience I had involved trekking not climbing. Most of the treks were in Nepal, Colorado, the AT (Appalachian Trail), and one in India (Green Lakes, Kangchenjunga, Sikkim).

Everest and the Khumbu Region | Updates October - November 2023

Everest, the Lhotse wall and Ama Dablam from the high route between Phortse and Pangboche 

I was in the Khumbu for around three weeks in October – November 2023. Here are some updates which would be useful for trekkers in the coming year.

Trek Card

There is a trek card now which is issued at Lukla. You can apply online for the trek card uploading your passport soft copy and your photo at https://trekcard.app/registration  When you reach Lukla you can get the trek card by paying Rs 2000 at the Lukla checkpost.  The Sagarmatha Park fees continue to be paid at the Monjo checkpost. 

Lukla to Tumlingtar Trek | October - November 2023

 

The mighty Arun river at Karticke Ghat from the bridge - Tumlingtar is one hour from here by jeep

 "For dreadfulness naught can excel

The prospect of Bung from Gudel;

And words die away on the tongue

When we look back at Gudel from Bung."

H W Tilman - Nepal Himalaya 1950

After completion of our Ama Dablam Base Camp trek with our South Col Expeditions group I decided with one of my guides to head down to Tumlingtar from Lukla to assess the trek route as well as the new roads which had come in from different directions. I wanted to establish whether this route still remained a viable trekking entry or exit to the Solukhumbu region. The detailed day wise itinerary of my trek is given below.

October  30 2023

 After seeing my group off on the Lukla to Kathmandu flight, we left Lukla 8 45 am  following the trail next to the airport and headed down to Surkhe. In about thirty minutes we reached  a bridge over a khola (river). The trail then remained flattish for 15 min passing some village houses and then there was a steep downhill section on steps to reach the  junction for Chaurikharkha. Soon after we stopped at a sunny lodge for tea  around 2300 m and before us we could see the long climb to Paiyan. We reached Surkhe about 10-15 am (1 hr 30 min walk from Lukla). On the way we passed signs advertising jeeps to Phaplu and Salleri and onwards to Kathmandu.

Ladakh | Phyang to Hunder Trek across the Lasermo La by Ashesh Ambasta

2 Sept 2023: Atop Lasermo La. Left to right -- Prasad, Ashesh, and Kunsal, and Stanzin (kneeling) posing for the regulation photo, clicked by Glory! 

 Ashesh Ambasta is a experienced trekker who has been with South Col Expeditions on numerous treks including many in Ladakh. In this guest post he recounts his experiences on the recently concluded Phyang to Hunder trek across the 5440 m high Lasermo La - from the Indus to the Nubra valley.

I am sure that trails in Ladakh never fail to amaze and delight trekkers. For starters, it is possible to experience what can truly be called wilderness treks barely a few hours from Leh. How cool is that? Then, there are the breathtaking vistas. Scarps with steep acclivities rise to dizzying heights on either side of the trails, which usually follow water courses resulting in narrow – and the only – bands of vegetation for miles on end, combined with multi-hued slope surfaces, all conspiring to produce enchanted, fairy-tale panoramas.  Not surprisingly, even though the Phyang to Hundar trek was my fifth in Ladakh with South Col  Expeditions, the anticipation gripped me well before I took off from Delhi.

30^th August to 1^st September, 2023

A fitting start to the trek was a visit to the sixteenth century Phyang monastery. It falls on the way to Murubok, where the road ends and the trail begins. The gompa itself is inspiring and we were fortunate to arrive at a time when the resident monks were in prayer in the main hall.  The sonorous chanting lulled us into a meditative and peaceful repose, an appropriate mood for the trek. 

30 Aug 2023: A propitious start to the Phyang-to-Hunder trek is a visit to the 16th century Phyang monastery.  This gompa is on the way to Murubok, where the road ends and the walking trail begins.

The Best Himalayan Blogs from Feedspot

 

Feedspot recently published a list of the best Himalayan blogs and the link is available at

https://blog.feedspot.com/himalayan_blogs/?feedid=5614136

The list covers 35 blogs and websites from the thousands of blogs on the web ... many of them also run tours and treks in the Himalaya.

This blog www.sujoyrdas.blogspot.com is no 24 on the list. 

For more information on my treks and photo workshops do visit www.southcol.com.

For photographs on the Himalaya do visit www.sujoydas.com

Best wishes to all for the upcoming festive season and enjoy the holidays!

Mulde View Point, Dobato and Poon Hill Route and Timings March 2023

 

Mulde View Point and Poon Hill Trek Route and Timings

With a view to extend the Poon Hill trek by a few days we decided to go a recce of a new route to Dobato and Muldai View Point – the Muldai route can be extended to Khopra Ridge as well.

February 28th 2023 - Flight Kathmandu to Pokhara drive to Ghandrung 

Our Buddha Air flight to Pokhara was at 7.55 am but when we reached the airport we were told that there are not enough passengers for two flights so they sent us on the earlier flight at 7 30 pm. The flight was uneventful with views of Langtang, Ganesh Himal and then Himalchuli and the Manaslu group. Finally just before Pokhara the Annapurnas and Macchapuchare came into view through the early morning fog. We landed at the new Pokhara airport which is big and very swanky with all the modern amenities and facilities. Our jeep ride to Kimche below Ghandrung took around 1 hr 45 min and we then started the walk to Ghandrung. Kimche is around 1700 metres and in an hour we reached Ghandrung which is 1980 metres. I was quite shocked to see the rapid urbanization of this beautiful village. Gone are the slate roofed houses and lodges - ugly new brick and concrete constructions are mushrooming all over the village some three storeys high- there is construction materials piled up everywhere destroying the old charm and beauty of this once upon a time Himalayan village. We walked up past our earlier lodges Milan and Gurung Cottage both which seemed to be quite congested and surrounded by new buildings in a state of semi construction and decided to stay at the Ghandrung Eco Lodge which thankfully had a better view and an open aspect - tomorrow we walk to Tadapani.

Pokhara to Kimche by jeep 1 hour 45 min to 2 hours; Kimche to Ghandrung trek 1 hour ; Ghandrung 2032m 28 22 34N 83 48 26 E

Ncell and NTC both working at Ghandrung 4G reception; Dal Bhat Rs 500 Black Tea Rs 80

Kashmir Tarsar Marsar Trek - Route and Timings August 2022

 

Kashmir Tarsar Marsar Trek August 16 to 20th 2022

A detailed day wise route desctiption and timings of the popular Tarsar Marsar trek by South Col Expeditions in August 2022 - due to bad weather and lack of days we could not cross over the Sonomas pass to Sumbal but returned to Lidderwat/Aru the same way.

August 16th 2022 Pahalgam to Aru to Lidderwat 

We drove from Pahalgam to Aru 2440 metres in about 30 minutes and started out from Aru around 8 am. It had rained for 14 hours nonstop the previous day but the weather had cleared up and the sun was out with blue skies. The first part of the trail from Aru to the Agricultural station was extremely muddy and slippery thanks to all the pony traffic as well as the incessant rains. This portion of the trail took us around one hour which should have normally taken 30 minutes. We reached the first meadow around 9 am and after a short break plunged into the forest - this part was also quite muddy and it was heavy going - finally after around 2 hours from Aru we emerged into the meadows for a brief while and the trail had dried out somewhat due to the morning sun. The river Lidder thundered through the gorge below while thick pine forests surrounded the adjacent hills. We met few tourists and some locals making their way down from Lidderwat to Pahalgam and some shepherds as well. Finally around 11.30 am at around 2670 metres we reached a small tea shop - further up on the ridge was another tea shop serving tea and Maggi noodles. The distance was around 7 km from Aru.  After a quick break we carried on the trails through the meadows soon descended to the Lidder river.  This idyllic section of the walk followed the Lidder river and was incredibly beautiful with the river flowing adjacent to the trail. We soon came to another tea shop - the third one on the trail from here the path climbed up to another small meadow before again plunging down a steep path to the river. You finally cross a bridge across the Lidder and climb up to the meadows of Lidderwat.  As we reached Lidderwat and stopped for lunch the rain came down once again and carried on till around 5 pm in the evening after which the weather did clear up and we saw some blue skies in the clouds - hope for tomorrow. 
Aru to first meadow 1 hr - should be 30 minutes in dry weather; First meadow to first tea shop 2 hrs to 2 hrs 15 min; First tea shop to second tea shop 30 min; Second tea shop to third tea shop 45 min Third tea shop to Lidderwat 45 min to 1 hr 
Aru to Lidderwat 4.5 to 5 hours depending on trail conditions - 10.7 km 18695 steps
Aru 2430 m 34 5 31 N 75 15 57E Lidderwat 2775m 34 9 35 N 75 14 31 E