Trekking in Nepal

[Sjakihata]

Hi,

On 3 of january me and a buddy (I actually met him through the .org) are going to Nepal and Tibet trekking.
Today I've just purchased a lot of goods, to help me overcome this endeavour. Including: backpack (osprey cresent 75), sleeping bag (The North Face, cat's meow), boots (scarpa), underlay (therm-a-rest 4), a good jacket (soft shell) and various other small thingamajigs and gadgets.

I feel well prepared now, however, I thought of asking the .Org for advices and valuable information both about Nepal / Tibet but also about trekking in general, what to do and not to do.

It is first time that I go trekking, never had real time for it (finished high school this year) and I got a year before I start at the uni, so Im using it for travels.

Also, in the spring me and two friends are going to norway as well, however, I hope to have learned the lessons on the way to Nepal.

Cheers and thanks in advance

[English assassin]

Umm, where are you going to trek in Norway in the spring? Sorry if you know all this and tell me to shut up but there's going to be a lot of snow, and you will need to know about snow conditions, avalanche dangers and so on. I'm afraid I don't know what conditions are like in Nepal in january but I would warn against assuming one set of snowy conditions is like another. Its very very variable stuff, snow.

For Norway, good gaiters and waterproof trousers will be essential. Rigid boots are really what you need for snow, and I'd take crampons. You're not climbing so an ice axe is a bit of a pose, I take one in case of a fall but in truth I've only ever used it to dig a hole to crap in.

Practice using your stove before you go. You don't want to discover you can't light it or whatever at the end of a 20 mile trek into nowhere.

Pitch your daily distances at a level thats still fun. The national parks in Norway have good huts, often about a days walk apart, but you still need to be realistic. fresh snowfall will REALLY slow you down. Keep an eye on yout progress and your timing as you go along so you don't suddenly find its getting dark and you are five miles from the hut.

Take a head torch and a spare battery and bulb for when it DOES get dark and you are five miles from the hut. :-)

ALWAYS take emergency food, (I mean enough for a few days, not just a stale mars bar) and ALWAYS leave a route plan with someone. STICK TO THE ROUTE PLAN (unless snow conditions make it obviously unsafe). And don't forget to call in when you have arrived safely.

Be sure to have properly broken those new boots in before you go. Not just a short walk in them, get a few good days walking in, including up and down hill. pack everything in your pack you are going to take and see how it feels taking that all for a walk. Then unpack it all and work out how you can cut some weight...

Finally, I find a half bottle of whiskey is essential kit when trekking.

Sorry you probably know all this, have a great time.

[Orda Khan]

Excellent advice there.
Above all else, stay safe. Take plenty of pics and do please post some on your return. I have longed to see the Himalayas and Tibet, maybe one day.....
Have a wonderful time.....turn a prayer wheel for me ~;)

......Orda

[Sjakihata]

Unfortunately I do not own a digital camera, but I think my trekking buddy does, however, and I shall see to it that some pics are posted (im home again around 20th feb)

On norway, yep, snow will be painfull. But I do not consider it to be an obstacle, for these reasons:

1, we start the trip mid may (10 or 15)
2, we start the trip from southern norway working northwards
3, we expect to walk to Nordkap, with one train trip included

the whole trip will be about 1.5-2 months.

Out estimate is 20 kms a day, we should be able to manage that. And the terrain that we select will be some for rookies, that means hills (opposed to mountains) and flatland / forests, so no crampons.

thanks for the advices, keep 'em coming ~;)

[Baron Nogood]

I don't know if this will affect the areas you will be trecking through but I know my boss just returned from Nepal and was restricted to Katmandu (Thanks to the project he was visiting being in a slightly dangerous area). Follow the travel advice of whichever country you are from, but be very careful in Nepal...there has been trouble there all year...maoist rebels etc.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618386271

Take care.

:bow:

[Sjakihata]

I just read in a danish newspaper that during a recent (couple of days ago) attack 14 individuals were killed, mostly maoists, but also some policemen.

[Orda Khan]

The Maoist rebels are a concern, which is why I said stay safe. There should be somewhere you can get advice on areas to avoid, hopefully.

....Orda

[Shahed]

I have a friend in Katmandu...he's done his fair share of trekking with me in Northern Pakistan.. he is Nepalese.. will email him and post back any tips he may have.. as to which areas to avoid and also any general information he might have.

Sounds like a lot of fun !

[Sjakihata]

Thanks dude

:bow:

[Somebody Else]

Hey... I'm not sure if my experience is gonna help all that much, you probably aren't going to be travelling in quite the same way that I did when I did my trekking (admittedly, mine was only in the Hindu Kush, the foothills to the foothills of the Himalayas - still pretty high though) I mean, we kinda cheated by using porters and a guide and stuff. Speaking of which, do be sure that you know exactly where you're going etc.

But stay safe, and watch out for the wind - we had our loo-tent blown away down a valley at one point. Do be sure to bring along a little more than the basics - it's the small things that make camping on some windswept mountainside more homely.

And, most importantly, have fun.

[Patricius]

I have talked to someone who trekked in Nepal. The Maoists leave tourists alone.

[derF]

Nepal? The locals there are recruited to the Ghurkas Special Operations Forces.

Ghurkas are not very nice people to mess with.

[Shahed]

Repost:

Oops Damm I think I'm too late but here is the info that u asked for:

The wisest men follow their own direction. says:
so tell me which areas are best avoided by a guy who wants to go trekking in nepal... i.e which are most dangerous... have a friend from denmark going there in january

Tribhuz says:
none

Tribhuz says:
no foreigner has ever been harmed from the first day the conflict began

Tribhuz says:
all touristy areas are safe

Tribhuz says:
at most, if your friend does encounter maoists, at most they may tell him/her what the revolution is about so that the their cause id advertized abroad

The wisest men follow their own direction. says:
ok thanks for that info bro... will forward it to him.. if u hear about any areas whcih are dangerous lemme know so i can tell him

Tribhuz says:
sure... just tell him NOT to listen to US State Department travel advisory

The wisest men follow their own direction. says:
HAHA !

The wisest men follow their own direction. says:
that's clever

Tribhuz says:
but having said that Americans are not really popular among the maoists. But again, last week I met bunch of yankees at a bar called Funky Buddha, who had just completed two weeks Everest Base Camp trek.

Tribhuz says:
They reported no problems whatsoever

Tribhuz says:
so if it's safe for yankees, its paradise for danes (who are among the biggest international aid adency in Nepal)

The wisest men follow their own direction. says:
Well thats great, so he should'nt have any problem at all. Thanks man... just forwarding him this message now.

HAVE A GREAT TRIP !!!