Nearly there!
Darrel, Dave, Murray, Phil, Rachel & Eric, Adam & Gemma, Donald, Corrine...just over a week to go - and we start our journey...last minute details here in 24 hours!
Joel from Lukla in the Everest region.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Arriving
Yes, it is nearly here, our superb Zanskar spring trek. Lobsang, Tenpa and the guys are busy up in Manali sorting and cleaning are gear, the horses are limbering up for the first trek of the season. I am out of touch trekking in the Everest region from 9/19th May, but apart from that I am here to field questions.
Get your flight arrival details to us as soon as possible; address them to my hot mail a/c please, marked 'flight details Zanskar Spring'
I will confirm I have them, and you will be met at the airport.
My mobile phone number is;
+ (91) 9816495058
While in India, you dial zero before the number.
I will also be mailing my satellite phone details for emergency contact
Our hotel in Delhi is;
Cottage Yes Please
Laxmi Narayan St, Raj Guru Rd, Chunu Mandi, Pahar Ganj
Tel: +(91 11) 2356 2100, 2356 2300
Contact: Mr. Allan Barnard
Alan mobile: +(91) 9299 383727
Laxmi Narayan St, Raj Guru Rd, Chunu Mandi, Pahar Ganj
Tel: +(91 11) 2356 2100, 2356 2300
Contact: Mr. Allan Barnard
Alan mobile: +(91) 9299 383727
Insurance; please make sure you have your details with you...a photocopy of all of them, with a photocopy of your passport, for our helicopter friends up here.
Single supplement - if you do not want to share a room, tell us! On trek everybody gets a two person tent, and couples a three person.
Final payment of balance. We depart for Manali at 3AM on the 28th May, from when there are no ATM machines - and the bank rates in Manali are very poor; our hotel can cash travellers cheques on arrival, and we accept the balance in cash US$, GB Pounds, or rupees, note not credit card or cheque.
WHAT TO BRING
Check the gear list, but do not forget your down jacket, good sunglasses, capacity to carry at least three litres of water on the trail, and some kind of purifier - pump, filter, or iodine. WE supply all the (excellent!) food, tea, ground coffee, three meals a day; also rum for a sundowner once we are over that first pass.
If you get peckish on the trail, bring some snacks - those we do not provide.
ON THE TRAIL
You will be getting extensive trek briefings every night from Joel and Lobsang, but there are some very vital points we share with all our trekkers before we get into the hills, based on years of experience and dozens of times on this route.
Joel and Lobsang will be setting the start times for our days very early in our trek, and will of course go into detail about how our trekking day unfolds - but there is one safety rule that we never deviate from.
our trekking team always leaves camp in the morning as a group.
Once on the trail we naturally spread out and walk at our own pace - but in striking a balance between giving our trekkers freedom to enjoy the experience, safety, and group morale, we have found this works.
Our only other rule? Lobsang goes ahead mid morning and sets up our lunch spot, which is one of many high points of our day; you may reach lunch early, you may reach it with most of the group, you may reach it hungry.
But lunch never begins until the whole group has arrived.
Alcohol and other high making substances...
Anybody who knows me will tell you that I am probably on a natural high most of the time from the stunning beauty of Ladakh. And please accept my apologies for adding this, but some bad experiences with trekkers over the last year make me, reluctantly, add this.
Alcohol seriously impedes the acclimatisation process, and I urge all of you to follow my guidelines on this; a few beers in Manali, at 2000m, but avoid it altogether until over the Shingo la, and, (here it comes!) our treks, apart from the content of the med box, are totally drug free - possession and use of drugs such as Marijuana are TOTALLY illegal in India.
Please do not attempt to purchase them or bring them on our trek!
Thanks and see you soon!
Joel
Friday, March 23, 2007
Gizmos!
(Pic; Dave Donaldson with his camera on the 2003 trek)
Just A guy thing? Not really...ipods, solar panels, cameras, feminine urinary devices, battery chargers, coffee presses, thermal cups, pillows. Gosh. This section has them all, with some good, scathing, and semi serious, plus serious pre trek advice.
Cameras.
Endless discussions on the right model, but one thing most trekkers these days agree upon is that digital is the way to go; 35mm, APS, instamatic, (seriously) all have their adherents, but the ease of use plus the ability to review and delete, and of course edit pictures, is the big advantage.
The sheer portability of the new digital compacts is, of course, the other big factor.
So you have 3 options in the digital world; compacts, pro-am compacts, and the SLR camera.
Just to get an idea, here is a link to an example of each.
Compact; The Olympus Stylus 800
Pro-am compact; The Canon Powershot G7
(basically this is a high end compact that comes very close in quality to the SLR cameras)
SLR; The Olympus E500
These reviews really do tell you all you need to know, going far into technical realms. I (Joel) trek in incredibly varied areas, and also bike and travel a lot in my spare time, from minus 40c on the Chadar to the sandy beaches of Dorset to the muggy foothills of the Indian Himalaya...
Some of the cameras I use, and why!
Olympus C8080 wide zoom
A collectors item, but one worth looking for. Fast start up time, a digital viewfinder (saves incredibly on powers) and a magnesium and rubberised body; 8 mp, plus takes both XD and CF cards, plus takes an excellent battery pack, plus a 22-100 wide angle. And something fast vanishing from the Digital market, a folding viewing screen - waist level shooting- and that Olympus lens.
Look at
Olympus E500 SLR
Nearing retirement, my first digital SLR was really well used, but I needed to revert to the sturdier E1 (see below) the plastic body rapidly was worn out by sheer use, and the buttons likewise. Nevertheless, with the added viewfinder magnifier, an excellent camera, easy to use, and of course, light, with a really bright and clear picture viewibf screen.
look at
Next, charging is not possible once the trek has begun; villages in the Indian Himalayas have no mains supply, and the solar systems they do have are not set up for western gadgets.
If you need to charge your camera, you should look at different solar panels on the market, but make sure that they have an adaptor to fit your camera or battery charger.
Here are some options.
The Solio solar charger
Comes in at $99, and is a small tear dropped shape pod that opens into a solar panel array; unlike most solar panels, it has an internal battery. so that you do not need to wire your camera, ipod, etc, on the trail, but keep it charging on your rucksack all day long, then charge up in the evening. It comes with a range of adaptors and leads to suit whatever your are using, including the car type adaptor.
And it comes in pink!
Brunton solar panels
Come in a range of sizes with prices from the reasonable to the downright silly - these are worth investing in if you are really going to be spending a lot of time in the outdoors; very sturdily made, but they are really only usable on arriving at your campsite.
Silva Solar Panels
Yes, from the people that brought those compasses...
They do a few models, all designed to charge AA or AAA batteries; they are good but the plastic cases are easily breakable.
FOOD!.FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Is it worth the waiting for? If we live 'til eighty-four All we ever get is gru...el! Ev'ry day we say our prayer -- Will they change the bill of fare? Still we get the same old gru...el! There's not a crust, not a crumb can we find, Can we beg, can we borrow, or cadge, But there's nothing to stop us from getting a thrill When we all close our eyes and imag...ine
Food, glorious food! Hot sausage and mustard! While we're in the mood Cold jelly and custard! Pease pudding and saveloys! What next is the question. Rich gentlemen have it, boys: In-di-gestion! Food, glorious food! We're anxious to try it. Three banquets a day -- Our favourite diet! Just picture a great big steak -- Fried, roasted or stewed. Oh, food, Wonderful food, Marvellous food, Glorious food.
Food, glorious food! What is there more handsome? Gulped, swallowed or chewed -- Still worth a king's ransom! What is it we dream about? What brings on a sigh? Piled peaches and cream, about Six feet high! Food, glorious food! Eat right through the menu. Just loosen your belt Two inches and then you Work up a new appetite. In this interlude -- Then food, Once again, food Fabulous food, Glorious food! Food, glorious food! Don't care what it looks like: Burned, underdone, crude -- Don't care what the cook's like... should we be fated to Do nothing but brood On food, Magical food, Wonderful food, Marvellous food, Fabulous food, Beautiful food, Glorious food!
Apologies to Lionel Bart
We eat well...
When you book one of our India treks you are paying for our expedition service, and we believe in eating well. I have been told I talk about food a lot, which is not true; I talk about food all the time, when I am not eating it.
Seriously, on your trek you will eat very, very well.. and on this section I will be throwing in a few pictures, menus, and of course, trekkers feedback.
Loosen that belt!
Above...Paranthas (spicy potato pancakes) and scrambled egg with cheese and tomato; and fresh salsa with crackers with a trekker about to devour...
Arriving
Please be sure to let us have your flight details as soon you have them...for our spring trek, Joel will be travelling out to the airport to meet trekkers with our drivers, and we will be supplying you with his mobile phone number if he misses you. This may sound a little odd but Delhi airport after 11PM most nights is a zoo, with literally hundreds of drivers from the hotels, with signs and as Joel is only 5ft 6in...you could miss him; keep an eye out for probably the only westerner in the arrivals hall with the 'Project-Himalaya' sign.
Immigration
Have your passport and a pen ready as you have to fill in an arrival form, then get in the line...some airlines hand out the forms before landing; their is a bottom, tear off strip that you need to fill in for customs with your amount of bags; you present that at customs as you go through after you have claimed your luggage.
Missing luggage
We hope not! If it does not arrive, there will be airport staff on hand with the requisite forms. These days they can track it quickly, and they will give you a tracking number...do not leave the terminal without your paperwork!
Other forms of travel
If you are arriving early or coming via another city (for example via Bombay or Calcutta in which case you will arrive at the domestic terminal) do tell us in advance.
The Tents...
We are very happy with our tents, from our friends Big Agnes at www.bigagnes.com, using the Mad House 2 for singles and the Mad house 3 for doubles; look also at their catalogue for all the pictures by Kim and this year one tiny one by Joel...
Catalogue
The Mad house
Below...Mad House tents on the Chadar 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
READING
We carry a well stocked library on our trek...but here are some must reads.
A short walk in the Hindu Kush
Eric Newby
Ladakh, Crossroads of High Asia
Janet Rizvi
Kim
Rudyard Kipling
When Men and Mountains meet
India Discovered
Into India
The Great Arc
John Keay
Trespassers on the Roof of the World
The Great Game
Peter Hopkirk
Tournament of Shadows
Karl Meyer
MOVIES...
The Cup 1999
The man who would be King 1976
Silent Holy Stones 2006
Caravan/Himalaya 1998
The 2007 Team
At Project-himalaya we are very happy that trekkers return to us every year to trek new routes, or even the same routes again (and again). Our trek bookings this year kicked off with David Donaldson from New Zealand with three of his friends asking if they could join us..about the same time Darrel Smith from Canada came on board, shortly to be joined by Rachel & Eric from the USA and Adam and Gemma from Australia making it a nearly full trek!
And of course we will not be trekking alone.
Lobsang
David and visitors to our website know the legendary Lobsang, from the Changtang (Tibetan plateau) who has been the one key member of our trekking organisation since it started in India nearly 10 years back. Lobsang is an incredibly strong and astute sirdar, responsible (with me, Joel) for dealing with the preparation and day to day running of the trip. Food, jeeps, route finding, serving dinner - lobsangs skills are as big as his heart. We finished our Chadar winter trek just over a month ago, and as ever he was crucial to the success of this adventure. As we speak he is in Manali, with his (rapidly growing) baby son.
Above - Norbu, Lobsang and Stanzin on the Frozen river trek.
Will show you our Manali sirdar at home, along with in the picture...
Tenpa
coming soon...
Sunday, February 04, 2007
The classic Traverse
Look here for trek status, news and updates...
Above, the 1902 team.
Welcome to our blog which will keep you updated with the latest information our our spring adventure...reading, photography, flight information, gear information, and more on your fellow trekkers, it will all be posted here in the coming weeks.
I am writing this in the UK on one of the few sunny days we have had as spring arrives here; I have been catching up with my family in Brighton, Sussex, where I was brought up after moving from the USA in 1960. I will be back in India on the 26th March, from when things will start to get very busy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)