by Ian | Dec 3, 2013 | Expeditions, News, Training
Hi Guys,
I hope everyone is tip top and looking forward to Christmas… not long to go now!!!
As you know every January HSX heads off to the hills on our roaming weekend, in order to grab some fresh air and attempt to burn off all those mince pies we’ve been enjoying over the festive peroid!
This year is no exception and HSX will be returning to the Brecon Beacons over the weekend 25th-26th January. The aim of the weekend is to brush up on our Mountain Leader skills, including micro-nav, night navigation and wild camping.
If you would like to attend the weekend please contact the Event Director Chris Slater (chris.slater@hsx.org.uk) by Sunday 5th January 2014.
If you have any questions please do not heistate to contact me, my details are below for those who don’t already have them.
See you soon,
Chris
by Ian | Oct 9, 2013 | Nepal 2013
Once we had arrived back in Hotel Thamel we had a quick de-brief, being advised to shower and wash our clothes before they rotted off of us, giving us lunch money for us to go our separate ways for lunch. We were then given free-time to go and explore before we had to meet at 6 for dinner at K-Too Steakhouse.
On the Saturday we were treated to another cultural tour to Changu Narayan , another temple where Buddhists and Hindu’s can worship together. Our tour guide taught us whilst walking around about the many stone statues within the temple area. From here we left and headed for Bhaktapur Durbha Square, of which was many small squares not just one. Within one of the many squares there was a temple, one of the few to be left standing after the 1934 major earthquake. After lunch we were shown around some more then headed back to the hotel before free-time for the rest of the day and to head out in small groups to get our own dinner.
On Sunday we drove for a few hours out of Kathmandu and into the foothills of the Himalayas to go white water rafting. We we six to a raft with some of us sharing with a group of guys from the Czech republic. The rapids were awesome with some of them being graded as 3+ (on a 1-5 scale). We all sat on the edge of the raft with our feet inside the raft positioned such that we didn’t fall out. However the river had other ideas. On one of the first rapids the boat went down a drop in front of a big wave and gave an unexpected jolt. The next the we knew was Chris was about 20m from the boat going down the rapids head first. He was rescued by a kayaker and was soon back in the raft, looking a bit shocked. Between rapids we were allowed to swim in the river, this was refreshing as it was really hot. People were doing forwards and backwards somersaults into the water off the rafts. The group was provided with lunch and then we were back on the river. All to soon it was time for us to head back to the hotel.
On Monday morning we visited Narayantiti palace museum where the Kings of Nepal had lived until 2008 when Nepal got rid of it’s monarchy. We saw different rooms where visiting heads of state (including our own) were welcomed and stayed. During Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday morning we had free time to buy souvenirs, presents and to explore some more. In the afternoon we packed our bags and made sure they were under the weight restriction.
Written by Lhotse patrol
by Ian | Oct 4, 2013 | Antarctica 2018
A little video from training in the Alps this summer.
An amazing morning out on a route up the Cosmiques Arete
by Ian | Oct 4, 2013 | Nepal 2013
We left Khumjung at 9:00am in miserable and cloudy weather for an hour walk to Namche Bazzar. A short walk but still plenty to see in the poor weather. As we dropped over Namche hill we could here the drums from local school doing there morning aerobics, they where all lined up in their play ground. We watched a couple of helicopters land around Namche, which seemed crazy given the poor visibility. After just an hour and ten minutes we arrived in the lodge that we had stayed in on the walk up. We immediately noticed it was more busy in the town, more shops were open and more people about. The rest of the day was spent playing cards and chess, or just relaxing for the next day.
The next morning we had breakfast at 7:00am, filled our water bottles and set out for a long day back to Lukla. The walk back was the first and only day on our trek that it rained. Dressed from head to toe in water proofs we were in good spirits for a damp and slippery walk.
On our walk home we saw an awful lot more tourists heading up the track, who were quite excited to see a group of scouts. It stopped raining after the first hour and we all began to over heat. We stripped down and plodded on till lunch which seemed to take forever. We stopped for lunch Phakding which was pasta in red sauce as usual, then we carried on to Lukla which was another 3 hours walk. Passing loads of donkey and yak trains on the way.
We arrived at Lukla at about 4:00pm very tired and worn out. We drank tea and relaxed till dinner, which was chicken and rice. We also got chatting with other tourists, finding out what was bringing them to the Kumbu. Shortly after dinner we left to our rooms to pack for an early flight the next day.
We all got up at 6:15 and were ready for breakfast at 6:45 it was jam and toast, for once the toast was warm (we knew it was going to be a good day) we then walked the 2 minutes to the airport and checked in our bags. After saying an emotional farewell to our Sherpas, Kasang and Lakpa who had been exceptional and a really good laugh throughout the trek. We watched a few planes arrive and leave and then got on ours back to Kathmandu.
When we arrived in Kathmandu we immediately noticed the heat and humidity, and the city’s certain aroma (mainly poo). We where met by our guide from ‘Asian Trekking’ who greeted us ‘welcomingly’ (yes we know this isn’t a real word). We then got on to our minibus on the manic streets of Kathmandu, back to Thamel hotel for a long awaited hot shower!
By Nuptse Patrol.
