Everest Circuit

[ronin]

Hey guys, my wife and I are at the planning stages of doing a trek taking in the Gokyo Lakes to Kala Pattar and possibly an attempt of Everest base camp(depending on how we go with the altitude).
Figure we'd be looking at about 18-25 days.
Have never done high altitude treking so we don't know how that will go.
We're looking at using a guide and porters but want to stay away from the large travel companies, we'd prefer to use locals (and keep the money for the locals) and stay at tea houses.
We plan to go around Oct next year and have already started a training program and looked into immunisations, passports, insurance, etc.

We'd love to get some sort of feedback from people that may have done similar, their experiences, which guides they used, etc, anything that might help.
Cheers,

Mike

[Tony]

Hi Ronin,

My Daughter and boyfriend went with this treking company Adventure Thamserku, it was just the two of them, all costs included and they could not have been happier with them and it was cheaper than the big guiding companies. They are a local company and the owner puts a lot back into the local community including starting and sponsoring the Classrooms in the Clouds

Tony

[flatfoot]

There was quite a discussion on trekking options in this thread:

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=5560&p=66732

It will give you a good idea of the sort of options available. There are some good photos too!

I didn't get to go on my intended trip this year. I've now got plans to go in the October season next year.

[ronin]

Thanks so much guys, that link is great, plenty to read.
Hey flatfoot, you're aiming for around the same time as us, we may end up running into each other, small world and all that.

[flatfoot]

I'm leaning towards a Gokyo Lakes circuit of some form too (with EBC). Definitely think that a trip around 25 days is what I'd like to aim for. The advice on longer treks for aclimatisation definitely seems sensible. I'm planning to travel with a friend or two. At this stage we haven't had a chance to discuss it in detail.

I've been invited by colleagues to participate in the 100km Oxfam trail walker. That's in august I think so the build-up to that event should be good fitness training.

[isoma]

Hi Mike,
My (now) wife and I trekked these areas in 2000/2001. We did it independently, catching a bus to Jiri and hiking for 5 or 6 days before getting to the usual starting point for an EBC trek at Lukla. Its definitely worthwhile starting at Jiri if you have the time, as this part of the trek is much less crowded and gives you excellent training for the higher altitude walking that you'll do after Namche. I dont remember the times and numbers exactly, but the route from Jiri heads east while the ranges run north/south. As a result there is a lot of up and down - I'm sure most days would have included total ascents over 1000m, which isn't possible after Lukla.
We just stayed in "teahouses" along the way and used a Lonely Planet trekking in Nepal guidebook.
Highlights after Namche included the monastary and views at Tengpoche;catching sunrise on Everest on New Years Day from Kallar Pattar; taking the (easy) mountaineering route from the Khumbu valley to the Gokyo valley via Cho La pass; views from Gokyo Ri and Renjo La; and I'm not sure if this was a highlight or not but the flight out of Lukla is an experience not to be missed
I think we took about 22 or 23 days for all of that. We went in Dec/Jan (winter) which meant it was extremely cold of a night (-30 at Lobuche) but much less crowded. I dont remember being cold during the days though and we had no rain. If you only had time for one of those valleys I'm not sure which one I'd go for. EBC is an obvious goal but there's not much to see there and the views from Gokyo Ri in the other valley are probably better than the views from Kallar Pattar.
One other thing to mention - dont believe the locals when they say that garlic soup is a good way to prevent mountain sickness. 2 to 3 serves a day for me and I still copped it !

[Vozzie]

If anyone is still interested in exploring Nepal options, I have a company that I would recommend you have a look at:

http://www.ethnictreks.com.np/

I did an Everest Base Camp trek with them in December. All locals and most of the porters all come from the same village.
Not as sophisticated as Peregrine or World, but a genuine cultural experience,with expansive local knowledge and contacts.
Importantly, they go the extra mile to ensure safety when things start going wrong ... as they did for a few on this trek.

Due to their much lower overheads, their price is usually much lower than the majors.

Happy to answer any questions.

Steve