We had a great 2024 - will you join us for a 2025 trek in Nepal and/or Ladakh-Zanskar?
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A curious mountain weasel
Hi Everyone
I promise not to send too many newsletters but due to a technical issue, I haven't sent one for a whole year - apologies!
We are most definitely still out there trekking and had a rewarding, busy 2024, check the partial summaries on our recent Previous treks page. Currently, I'm in New Zealand for a couple of months loving summer while preparing this year's adventures.
One of the 2024 highlights was our Tsum and Manaslu trek and I realized it is likely the best longer trek in Nepal. Why? Read on further down.
In Zanskar, I've long had a list of trek fragments that are orphaned by roads and this year I'm going to backpack a few of them that link well, and finish with a road trip through Spiti at the ideal time, as we loved it so much last year.
And what are our other Ladakh treks? Read on...
If you are interested in a trek this year, whether it is already on the website or not, do get in touch, preferably by email but WhatsApp can also work +977 98021 49789. (I managed to wipe all my WhatsApp messages at xmas when switching phones, so if you were discussing a trip and I haven't replied, do get in touch again. My number is still the same.)
We are ready for bookings on most trips, and our process is to send our booking email with all the info you need, including how to pay in your local currency with the minimum of hassle. All trips are confirmed to run, and do note our trip maximums are only 7-9 trekkers, not 16. We are running only a dozen trips this year, and our treks really are unique and well thought out.
Currently, air ticket prices seem relatively good which might balance out the overvalued USD (which is likely heading for a period of volatility).
Wishing you a belated happy and healthy New Year!
All the best - Jamie
Jamie in front of the camera
Ladakh-Zanskar
I love the relative summer warmth and that we meet few/no other trekkers. For sure, Leh is busy with domestic Indian tourists but few trek. Our setup is the classic caravan style with our wonderful crew of friends that we have shared journeys with for a decade or two. All the gear is carried by well cared for mules and horses. We are cared for with lots of mostly vegetarian meals, lots of fresh fruit and you don't have to do the dishes! There are fewer of these types of treks being organized but I personally love this style and the panoramas still leave me in awe.
Markha Passes
Our first trek of the Ladakh season is a trek of the Markha valley with the wilderness end, and this time no peak climb. The basis of the trek is a couple of Singaporeans and they would welcome a few more trek companions. Although I have Kunga as the leader, there is a chance Esther and I will be along as well.
Changthang Passes
For our main trek, we return to an area I last explored a decade ago. Locals are promoting it as a snow leopard and wildlife area, however "the market" has not listened yet so it is still well off the beaten track with valleys for exploring and pleasant, grassy camps.
Your own private trek
As I will be backpacking in late July through August, our crew are free and we can arrange a private trek for you. The higher altitude Wild Yak area is one idea but I have plenty more and will plan all details for you. Please get in touch!
Flying to Ladakh
We have comprehensive info, but in short Air India has great connections and now that it is privately owned, is steadily improving service levels. Indigo, India's other major airline, has widened its code sharing, so there are competitive options.
Zanskar rock
Zanskar jeep safari/skypacking
I'm really excited to backpack through Zanskar for the first time. There are some scenic hikes that I have wanted to do for a while, however they no longer fit with a caravan-style trek due to new roads. Now, the are perfect for backpacking!
There is no direct link on the website to the itinerary (I don't want Indian trekkers copying the ideas yet!) so do get in touch and I can send you the link. There are only one or two spots left.
As Lobsang is driving to meet us backpackers at each resupply point only a few days apart, we are running a jeep safari to the highlights of the region as the same time so if you want to backpack but your partner would prefer a jeep safari, uniquely we can do!
Hannah loaded up
Manaslu dawn from Lho
Manaslu Beyul
Calling this the best trek in Nepal is quite a claim, but I do think our combined Beyuls Tsum and Manaslu is that, and it is the route we recently trekked in 2024 with a slight twist. However, that trek was 34 days so this year we will run a shorter Manaslu only version. Perhaps in 2026, we will run the full trek.
But why is it the best trek? The trek around Manaslu is already an impressive and popular trek with great mountain scenery and pretty villages, however the real highlights are off the main trail hidden up sometimes improbable side valleys. Surprisingly, these side trips are not super cold nor high. Indeed, while the terrain is breathtakingly sheer and mountain panoramas feature, they are also cultural; that ideal mix. Oh, and add awe-inspiring primary forest and tame wildlife ...
And why hasn't anyone else declared this the best trek? Few guides have trekked all these side trips (or all of high country Nepal!), and therefore nobody else* has realized the significance, and almost surprisingly, the trails/facilities needed for some options have only recently been built.
*One person joined the 2023 and then the same 2024 trek because it was so awesome!
So, for 2025 the bubbly Jo Chaffer will lead our Manaslu Beyul trip (and we have a couple of private club trips too). If you don't already know Jo, take a look her reignition retreat treks.
And why am I not leading this trip? Because I'm heading elsewhere, see below.
Himalayan tahr at a monastery
The incredible Konchokling
Mustang, Saribung & Phu
Our other major Nepal adventure is an epic journey through areas begging to be linked up. We start with the badlands of Upper Mustang then cross the snowy Saribung La to Nar-Phu and finish with an optional crossing of the Meso Kanto-Tilicho to Jomsom. This trek is confirmed although I haven't finished the details. We have an accompanying "best" 18 day Upper Mustang Magic trek too.
Other Nepal treks
Our Kanchenjunga North-South trek has been a favourite guided by the impressive Bire and we can run either in the spring or in November, or as a private trip.
Upper Dolpo trek partner/permit share wanted! One previous trekker is heading to Dolpo in late August for a partly homestay trek with a few nights of basic camping perhaps. Get in touch with me to talk ideas through!
Near the Selele La
Zanskar GHT album
In 2022, we trekked almost the length of the Zanskar range and here is the first of two planned photo albums. It is hard to do justice to the varied panoramas and especially Zanskar's savage rock mountains. It was a trek of awe.
A tough river crossing
Sleepout under the moon
H5N1 conjecture
A long time ago in this newsletter, I posited that covid-19 was the result of a lab leak, which was almost under the radar and controversial at the time. Now, it is official, at least in a US senate report, and is otherwise beyond reasonable doubt. However, it is still not clear to me what SARS-COV-2 was, whether vaccine research gone wrong or a less clear of purpose gain of function research that was basically banned. It is almost certain that an American lab made it first, then Wuhan's WIV played with it and accidentally released it. Both sides are obfuscating as much as can be expected although what is known is increasingly detailed and mindbogglingly complex. It is recently clear, however, that it likely began circulating at the 2019 military games held in Wuhan Oct 2019.
Recently, I have been worried about another possible human pandemic in the form of H5N1 bird/avian flu (and now a bovine "cow" flu/influenza variant). To my curious mind, there seems to be an inexorable, worrying buildup. Certainly, there are already shortages plus price rises for eggs in several US states, infected cows are dying (~2% infected die) and infected raw milk is killing cats. Also but unrelated, headlines make it appear to be a particularly bad flu season in parts of the world.
So, I was relieved to find a comprehensive, sober assessment by a relative expert who talked with and cleverly tracked true experts. The basic upshot is they guess (a rather educated guess but still a guess) that the risk of a proper flu pandemic is still only a little higher than any other year (5%, 1 in 20 years), so perhaps 7.5% (1 in 12.5).
Once (/if) H5N1 breaks out, the risk of it being deadly like the brutal 1918 flu is only ~7%. There is roughly a 30% chance it will be similar to other recent flus, ie not much to worry about unless you are unlucky. The last option at roughly a 63% chance is it's as deadly as a few other more major flus, eg 1968 Hong Kong flu where around 1-2 per thousand died. Similarly, another forecasting group summarized the risk of an WHO-announced pandemic this year at 4%.
So, while the risk of H5N1 turning into a nasty pandemic is clearly not zero, I now feel it is worth reacting to only once the news hits that H5N1 is spreading human to human (H2H) and has a higher death rate than usual flus. Regardless, it is most definitely worth masking up in crowded places, especially airports and when boarding planes.
If you book a trek, you will notice that in case of Force Majeure as decided by me, we will refund everything if paid at least six weeks prior (and will consider carefully if anything falls out of this window/definition), but I hope we don't face this situation. Add in the climate crisis steamroller, and I suggest holidaying sooner rather than later ...
"It is later than you think"
