trekking peaks

When I was a small child I used to love fresh snow. If you’re trekking and mountaineering in the Himalayas, however, fresh snow isn’t such good news. It improves your photographs, but it also plays havoc with your plans. Here are three reasons why.

By the time you read this Edita and I will be somewhere in the Helambu region of Nepal, an area of low-lying hills and terraced fields north of Kathmandu. Our destination is the Langtang Valley, which in 2015 was the scene of a great tragedy.

In 2014, the government of Nepal published a list of 104 peaks that were newly open for climbing, unleashing a scramble to make their first ascents. There was just one problem. Some of these peaks had already been climbed before.

Tourism in Nepal has been hit hard by the earthquakes and border blockade, and tourist numbers have declined significantly. Against this backdrop, Nepal’s government continues to make announcements which damage its reputation as a tourist destination.

The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) has recently lost a significant part of its annual income. In this week’s post I look at the NMA’s work to see what programmes will be affected and what this change is likely to mean for mountain tourism in Nepal.

With earthquakes, fuel strikes and vacuous announcements about Everest dominating the news agenda, an obscure but significant rule change affecting Nepal’s trekking peaks has largely gone unnoticed.

Sixty-two years ago to the day Colonel Jimmy Roberts made the first ascent of Mera Peak with the Sherpa Sen Tenzing. This little postscript to the first ascent of Everest in 1953 may have been the birth of commercial trekking.

Budget climbing on its way out, cried a headline in the Himalayan Times. Nepal has often been seen as a cheap destination for mountaineering, but this perception is changing. I look at the reasons, examine whether it’s true and make some predictions.

The great mountain explorer Bill Tilman made three treks in Nepal in 1949 and 1950. His first to Langtang was not successful in mountaineering terms, but as an exploratory journey it must have been as enjoyable as any he undertook.

Last week I posted a trip report about our Cholatse ascent that was so long I imagine a few of you couldn’t be bothered to read it. Luckily for those of you who prefer to watch a bit of action I also have some spine tingling video footage.

The 3 curses of the Himalayan snow

My first visit to the Langtang Valley

Nepal’s scramble for first ascents – or are they?

Nepal announces cuts to Sherpa safety to attract more tourists

What does the Nepal Mountaineering Association do?

Death of the Nepal trekking peaks?

Colonel Jimmy Roberts and the first ascent of Mera Peak

Is mountaineering in Nepal becoming too expensive?

Tilman’s expedition to Langtang

Southwest ridge of Cholatse: the videos