UKC

Ive ascertained that there are a lot of people on here that have been trekking in the Himalayas. I didnt expect there to be quite as many. If you had 3 months:

Where would you go and what would you do?
Who would you go with?
How would you find them?

(I've done most of my travel alone, dont fancy doing that anymore) I cant decide to wait until next Sept and stay until next Xmas ( with the intention of missing half a British winter), or go in March 2013. You may have ascertained from some previous postings that I am not keen on crowds. I visit the hills to get away from crowds and enjoy the space. (Not wanting to contradict this but of course, its important to be in good company)

In reply to Blizzard: Eyup, just thinking aloud really but maybe why not organize a trip, then you'll be in good company

In reply to Blizzard: budget? Your dates mean Nepal. Bhutan, garwal or nw India. I asked victor Saunders where to go once. He said doesnt matter its all amazing. He's right! If plenty cash remote Nepal if tight budget then garwal kumoan.

In reply to johnj:

When you say organise a trip, what do you mean? You need people first, an agreed objective of sorts, then you all have to get on! To answer the early question, I'll have about 2 grand to spend.

How many people on here have 3 grand to spare, plus 3 months spare time? Not many I'm guessing

In reply to Blizzard:

Indeed not many do, but there are always folk here and there who are up for such stuff, how many people do you need for a realistic objective?

In reply to Blizzard:

When I say organise a trip, well thats down to you, if you want to go somewhere first you need a basic plan I'd assume.

In reply to Blizzard:

In Nepal, the season will have an effect on where you can reasonably expect to go, assuming 'normal conditions'.

March-April will have too much snow in, say, Mustang, but would be good for the trek into the Kanchenjunga area which has lots of leeches in Sept. Crossing high passes into the Khumbu may be impossible in early April but a pleasant trek in October. November might be too cold in the remote Api region, but fine in the trekking lodges of the Khumbu.

Three months is quite a long time, especially if you find you don't actually like trekking in the Himalaya. Time is short for most nowadays, so you're unlikely to find partners for the whole thing start to finish. Maybe breaking it up into two or three segments, with some downtime in KTM/Pokhara in between?

Having that much time, you may want to try to do things that you'll never get the chance to do in future years when you may only get three weeks off. So far west Nepal, Dolpo, Kanchenjunga BC etc might be worth looking at. Also, are you interested in Buddhist culture, or don't give a yak's ass about culture and want to climb a 6000m peak? Etc etc...

In reply to Damo:

Its a bit of a long story, but I actually have a two whole years spare at the mo. I have spent long trips abroad previously. If I had it my way I would chose to cycle. It would have been nice to go with Paul Pritchard, but his trip is very much underway now.

I toyed with the idea of just getting a flight out there and seeing where I ended up. On some of the website they suggest March- April. Potential areas I had in mind where Annapurna Circuit, a trek to Everest and Mansulu.

Alternatively I wait until next September.( staying out there until Xmas)

In reply to Blizzard:

The AC is fine March-April, it's very popular, as is Everest BC, obviously. Manaslu will require a bit more organisation and you might get snow on the Larkya La if you go in March.

You can add other bits on to the AC too though, like Nar Phu (between the AC and the Tibet border) or continue on from Jomsom and go around Dhaulagiri. That would be OK in April and give a variety of scenery and culture.

The 3 Cols trek from the Arun to the Khumbu, over Sherpani Col, West Col and the Amphu Lapcha is also meant to be good, but might be too hard in April due to snow. Oct is better.

In reply to Blizzard: With that amount of time you could just go and see what happens. When I did the Annapurna Circuit I met plenty of people in the lodges and ended up going on lots of little adventures I hadn't planned. I would have had no problem filling another 2 months! I'd just go get on the circuit and see where the time takes ya

In reply to Blizzard: just got back from the Annapurna circuit; it is far from an adventurous wilderness experience! Stunning scenery etc but busy lodges with all mod cons. We were a group of 10 friends from Shrewsbury m.c. And we went direct through Grace treks international ,an excellent agent in Kathmandu. I first trekked in Nepal 30 years ago and my advice is to go well away from the honeypots;the circuit has a road almost all the way round it now

In reply to johnj:

I followed your advice ( against my judgement ) Posted a new thread on here (unsure if you have seen it) I didnt expect any replies. Who on hear is likely to hook up with someone they dont know for a months trekking?

I am actually thinking of just getting a flight out there without a plan and seeing what happens. I have heard about Annapurna circuit. Thanks for confirming my worse fears.

Jansmc - Did you enjoy yourself? Was it good?

In reply to Blizzard: I've trekked 3 times with people I didn't know beforehand, worked out fine, but of course theres an element of luck. People are looking for others to trek with all the time, try Trekinfo.com or Lonelyplanet thorn tree. It's pretty easy to find someone

In reply to jansmc:

10 friends- you are the lucky one, I can count my friends on one hand, and they are a lot older than me, and not up to high altitude treks. How long did Annapurna take and how much did you pay?

In reply to Blizzard: Bear in mind they went in peak season, October is the busiest time followed by March and April. You can avoid the crowds by going out of season, winter is cold, summer is wet, but if you pick the right time you often have lodges to yourself. For me you have two choices, trek off the beaten track (not Annapurna, Everest of Langtantg) but you'll probably need to camp and take some crew with you or carry an awful lot of stuff. You'll get some solitude and not meet many Trekkers and can go in season but youll also have to socialise with your guide and or porters instead. Works for some not for others. Or you can tea house trek out of the main season in the popular areas. You did need a guide, you can sleep in lodges and just take sleeping bag and clothes and follow your nose. This is my preferred trek. I hate crowds too but I also hate taking crew with me. So tea housing off season is the best of both worlds, easy to organise, you don't need much stuff and gives such a feeling of freedom. You can miss even more of the crowds if you trek 1/2 day out of sync with the normal itineraries. Check out Trekinfo.com, there's so much specific info on there.

In reply to Escher: Edit> You don't need a guide rather than you did need a guide, damn iPad correction

In reply to Blizzard:

Hello, yes i saw your thread, i understand sometimes what it's like to do things when we're trying to move into new ground or areas and sometimes you seem to do a lot for little return, but it does get you further along the path than what you would have been if you hadn't tried. And you're never going to hook up up with anyone for your trip if you don't put any feelers out.

One day i may be in your postion, but right now I am very busy with work and other projects, but wish you good luck with your travels. I've only had one 5 week trip out there in 1995, where we went up to the Langtang valley, climbed a trekking Peak, Nya Kanga, and returned via the ganga la pass, a very enjoyable trip :+)

In reply to Escher:

So when is the right time? I was thinking of going next March. With the rain, are leeches, so I am led to believe. I dont want to freeze my ass off, worst still not be able to trek due to heavy snowfall. Maybe I will go in March but go to a more remote less popular circuit.