Helicopter ride to Lukla with some pre-flight sightseeing in Kathmandu

After catching up with friends Saran (Nepalese mountain guide) and Steve (ex-pat Aussie and Nepali language scholar) in Kathmandu for lunch it was great to meet the trekking group. A lovely traditional Nepali welcome dinner with great food (royal dahl bhat) and traditional dancing we all got acquainted with Emma (swede), Mats (swede) and Steve (Aussie) over some Raksi (local rice wine). The group were all planned to trek to Everest Base Camp, with Steve heading off to Gokyo Lakes, Emma & Mats returning to Namche and Sarran and I to climb 6119m Lobouche Peak with support from expedition Sherpas. Interestingly Lobouche is a classic 6000m peak used for acclimatising for Mount Everest expeditions and is one of the most technical trekking peaks with 250-300m of steepe, fixed rope ice climbing. I had bumnped into legendary Kiwi mountain guide 'Woody' who was working for Russell Brice's Himalaya Experience and they were planning to summit Lobouche in preparation for an Everest summit attempt. If successful this would be Woody's 14th Everest summit - pretty full on! 

A city tour was planned the next day and we met up 9am setting off in the mini bus to Boudinath Stupa, a short drive from thamel in Kathmandu. It's an amazing stupa with the characteristic 'buddha eyes' and huge white dome-like body surrounded by temples and yes the commerce side of things - tourist shops! We were given an excellent talk and tour by our guide Nabeen and learnt about the wider history of Buddha and how this related to Boudinath. We learnt about the traditional Thanka paintings - mandalas and the wheel of life and how they are painstakingly crafted over months and sometimes years! 

After a good look around it was off to Durbar Square in old Kathmandu. An ice cream and a look at some of the beautiful temples, one of which had some rather intricately carved sexual positions from what they call'lion style' (doggy style to us Westerners) to 'the wheel barrow' and so on - a good laugh had by all. That night we chilled out and made last minute purchases of supplies (snickers and bounty bars for me) and had a nice relax over a few beers.

The airport over the next couple of days was the usual chaos and we found ourselves waiting, being pushed back because of delays (the day before) and losing the 'calm weather window'. So by midday the wind had risen above the 12knots in Lukla(apparently this is the benchmark of wind knots they won't fly over). Frustration was starting to mount after being put on the runway bus several times and returning to the departure lounge. It was obvious it was not our day and better to try and secure a morning flight slot. Off to 'fire and ice' for the best pizza in Thamel and to Kilroy's that evening for more comfort food feasting! 

Take 2 and things went from bad to worse with a plane breaking down and not much action of planes flying to Lukla at all. Classic disinformation and time was ticking for clients on an agenda - we needed to get out of here! Mats (Swede) decided enough was enough and hired a helicopter (knowing the rest of us were not in a position to fork out the $600USD each) he spoke to us saying there was no obligation but there was however, 4 available seats on the chopper if we were keen! Of course we took up this very generous offer and bailed from the dysfunctional mess humming our way to Lukla on the giant mechanical insect. As thanks I bought him 'touching the void' by Joe Sumpson as I had discovered, in previous conversation he hadn't read it and he was delighted by the gift.

We were off buzzing over the dry, mountainous landscape with cut gorges from silky relecting rivers - what a way to start trekking to Everest Base Camp by an adrenaline filled 50 minute chopper ride! We touched down in Lukla and we were finally on the trail tramping our way to Phakding , sucking in the clean mountain air, taking on the dramatic environs of the Everest Highway and soon slurping on tea as we pulled into our teahouse! Thanks again Mats - hero of the day! Rock on!

Vids to follow on Sunstone Facebook page.

www.sunstoneadventures.com

New Sunstone Adventures Website GO LIVE

www.sunstoneadventures.com was born on November 3rd 2009!
A big thanks to my great friends at NV Interactive - Grant, Sam and Tim!

Sunstone utilises local guides on all their Adventures Trips in the Himalayas. It's a great way for Western clients to interact with a local person for an extended period of time learning about specific local culture and customs. It also means we provide employment which is ongoing and creates sustainability that adds value to that specific community. Expertise and experience can also be shared and passed on by Sunstone team leaders and vice versa. It also adds real interest to your trek, mountaineering or ski adventure where strong lasting friendships are made which can become an experience of a lifetime.

Sunstone also donates 5% of all Adventure Trip's prices to a voluntary organisation specific to that local area. For example trekking in the Khumbu (Everest) Region in Nepal, the Himlayan Rescue Association (HRA) are an excellent voluntary organisation providing education to trekkers & mountaineers on Altitude, creating awareness and organising rescue and retrieval to distressed mountain users. The classic lecture they hold in both Pheriche (Khumbu Region) and Manang (on the Annapurna Circuit Trek - Annapurna Conservation Area Project) provides excellent information on altitude awareness and the risks of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High Altitude Cerebal Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HACE) and how to prevent and act should these effects become real.

In Gulmarg, Kashmir Sunstone are looking forward to furthering some of the work pioneered by the New Zealand Ski Club of Kashmir which is a voluntary organisation started by Martin Jones (Christhurch, NZ) and Billa Bakshi (Gulmarg, Kashmir). Eight voluntary international instructors donated their time and efforts to teach local Kashmiri kids from the Gulmarg area. This was a great iniatative and we hope to donate funds from our Adventure Trips towards this to help the kids hire ski equipment and pay for lift passes. Often the local Gulmarg kids have grown up in the area but haven't been fortunate enough or not had the opportunity to learn to ski, which seems a shame with such an amazing mountain so close to them!

For further info get in touch with Paul on: sunstoneadventures@gmail.com
Further web resources: Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) www.himalayanrescue.org
Info on the New Zealand Ski Club of Kashmir can be found on www.gulmargheliski.com

A Friendly Nepali Shouts Me lunch - Annapurna Circuit

A friend recently asked me - how is your Urdu? Not particularly good I had to admit but hey I always give it a shot, my Nepali and Hindi are probably a little better - especially when it comes to ordering chai, chang or Dahl Bhat. I have to say the Nepalese people are great for a bit of banter, always offering a cheeky smile and wanting to interact. They love it if you make an effort with soeaking Nepali and it is a sure way to get a good giggle. It really is one of the great parts of the many experiences I've had trekking and climbing in the Himalayas - the people. Also in mainland India and the Kashmari Himalaya - the people are fantastic but they tend to mello when you're in the more rural or less populated areas as in any culture! My first trip some years ago to trek the Annapurna Circuit was a particularly touching memory of a young cookboy (maybe 17 or 18 years old) I met on the bus ride from Kathmandu to Besisahar. We got chatting and (as often is the case) he was enjoying trying his english skills out on me and finding out about this Bideshi (foreigner) and what this mad kiwi was doing in a bus packed full of locals on his tod. We hit it off and I learnt he was on the long haul, for 8 hours, with me to Besisahar which is where the Annapurna Conservation Area Project and the legendary Annapurna Circuit start. On the way we stopped for lunch - Dahl Bhat (lentils with rice and whatever local veges are in season with chilis and various mouth-watering garnishes) and he was absolute insistent on paying for me despite my protests. "You in my country now" - what a great pride these people have of their culture & country and the enthusiasm they have for tourits! He returned with a huge plate of Dahl Bhat which I tucked into heartily as I sat taking in the local chat and watching life go by. Further on into the bus trip I repaid the compliment buying him a lemonade and a samosa. The bus trip continued through the spectacular countryside, albeit a bumpy ride, it was passed with a new friendship that put a big smile on my face! We were nearing those Himalayas......

Incredible Trekking, Climbing, Skiing photos of the Himalayas

Hey there folks,
welcome to Sunstone Adventures Limited blog site!
Sunstone Adventures is a UK & NZ based adventure guiding company specialising in providing expertly guided treks in Nepal and powder skiing adventures in Gulmarg, Kashmir.
For a little taster you can see some sweet shots at: www.flickr.com/sunstoneadvemtures
Our website is coming very soon at: www.sunstoneadventures.com
Cheers,
Paul
Paul Swettenham - Director
Sunstone Adventures Limited
sunstoneadventures@gmail.com