UKC

Got the time off to allow me a month or two in the Himalayas this spring...
Would be a first for me in the Greater Ranges, done lots of Alps/Scottish winter etc before.

Any recommendations for:

Books
Destinations
Itineraries
Guides/Sherpas
Partners (anyone want to go with me?)

Bearing in mind:

I'm not interested particularly in new routes/super hard stuff
Would like to do some technical climbing though if possible
Would like to go above 6000m but not too much further
Would be good to stay away from masses of other people don't need to be the only tourist/climber around

I realise thats a bit of a long winded request, but any help would be appreciated

In reply to tommytuffa:
A useful starting point is the commercial sector. Have a look at the websites of those like Jagged Globe, Alpine Ascents, Martin Moran, etc. see where they go, read their reports, look at their galleries. That might give you some inspiration on.

Another question is when you can go. There are places where the best time to visit is August, and there are places where August will be a nightmare. In very broad terms, the monsoon heads north for m India, and close to the border of what was Tibet the rain runs out and you find yourself in a desert. If you have the monsoon, then best to go before or after the monsoon (May or October should be good), but if you go to the desert areas, then mid summer gives you the warmest weather. But this is very broad terms.

The desert areas are very different from the areas that get the heavy monsoon rains. Again, in very broad terms, the desert areas are Buddhist with gompas, the wetter areas are Hindu with temples. Very broad terms. The desert areas have lots of bare ground and lots of irrigation, the monsoon areas are more forested, with deodar pines or rhododendrons depending upon area.

I recommend you look at http://medex.org.uk//medex_book/english_version.php for excellent guidelines for altitude. This is a useful reference when planning your own itinerary, or when assessing commercial trips.

In reply to tommytuffa:
http://www.amazon.com/Trekking-Climbing-Indian-Himalaya/dp/0811729532 is a good intro to the Indian Himalaya, with some excellent suggestions. I don't think you will find any of these treks busy, and on most of the climbs you would be the only party on the hill

In reply to tommytuffa:

Hi Tom, just emailed you. I'm off to the Karakoram in June/July time. It would be unclimbed stuff but not desperate stuff. Otherwise would tick the boxes (apart from not being spring time).

Otherwise if you are limited to Spring then probably focus on Nepal.

Cheers,
Lee

In reply to tommytuffa: Hi - I am landing in Kathmandu on March 17 to do Pisang Peak (6100m) and Annapurna Circuit combined- its 28 days from start to finish. Pisang is a biggy but a good mountain to start an appetite for bigger peaks. You summit on ropes - but its not particularly technical. If its your first time at altitude - its a shock to the system. Even the easiest of trek routes can be challenging at altitude. Physically I found the affects of altitude tough. At the mo - I am going on my own with Advanced Adventures who I trekked with out in the Solukhumbu region earlier this year. Looking for people to join me - as at the mo - its just me and the guide! I do alot of mountaineering in Scotland and North Wales. But himalaya is just amazing! :0)

In reply to tommytuffa:

Steve Razetti seems to have been just about everywhere in the Karakoram and Himalaya and taken a picture of it:

http://www.razzetti.com/#

An excellent source of inspiration.

In reply to tommytuffa:

Does it have to be spring? If July / August would be ok I could send you some ideas for good stuff to do in the 'Stans...

In reply to tommytuffa:

Thanks for all the info

I have a potential opportunity to work in Machermo clinic/shelter in the Gokyo valley in Nepal, so that might govern the destination!