Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Nepal Trek: Need All The Info I Can Get!

I signed up with the REI Everest Classic Trek for October. I have had no problems with altitude at 14,000 feet whatsoever, have done Whitney a zillion times. The Everest Classic will go up to around 17,000 feet and the evening hike (optional) up Kala Patar is 18,000-plus, but it's a 19 day hike to acclimatize. I will be 62 years old at time of hike. Already have been cleared by my physician to go. Sherpas and yak carry all our stuff.

I think I will do OK with the altitude, the problem is I hate, hate, hate severe cold which I think is going to be there even near the equator. I've never been outside the U.S. so I thought the trip was a total of $3,000,missed the (really)fine print that said airfare was extra. Now the trip is hovering around $6,000. For this much dough I don't want to wash out and have to quit. The list of diseases REI sent is enough to stand your hair on end!

Richard Piotrowski: How cold does it get in the Himalaya on the regular tourist trail at night? Would Everest-type down clothing keep me comfortable?

What's the chance of catching a "New Delhi belly" type bug (diarreah/fever) right off the plane? From what I read hygiene could be a rarity particulary from someone fixing your food.

Are these trips "one way." Meaning once you set out, you must finish the trip sick or not? No one will accompany you back to Kathmandu?

Are there better outfitters over there other than REI? They seem to have all bases covered for the long hike.

May seems like it would be warmer than October. Too hazy and stormy a time to go?

Any input greatly appreciated. If I cancel soon I can get full refund. But I'd sure like to see them there Himalayas and Everest Base Camp.

Airfare plus other transportation costs of $3000 seems high, especially for Fall. Typical low airfares to India, at any rate, should be around half of that.

When I went, we purposefully weatherwise choose Oct-Nov rather than spring.

We came back through the Khumbu on the way out after a higher route. In the week we spent slowly drifting back down the Khumbu to Lukla I think the coldest at night was 5 F, but that was at 15-16,000 feet. Even have picture of us eating breakfast in the sun at that temp. You really do get more accustomed to the cold, and the 15 degree latitude sun really helps. The only time I wore 100% of what I took was over 20,000 ft but that was climbing at night, and peeled much of it off later.

So you might get those cold temps when REI takes you past Dingboche/Pheriche at about 14,000. (There is a medical clinic at Pheriche). Below that altitude, the temps at night were a pleasant 20-40F. Obviously the windchill is more important but you really don't have a problem in your tent, only if you happen to have a bad weather daytime move. I don't think you will be trekking at night. That time of year the weather is super, at least down at the moderate altitudes you are talking about.

I never got GI sick the whole month, until I returned to Kathmandu the last night and gorged myself with something evil.

Take some nasal saline spray and keep it in your tent or bag so it will not freeze. You will need it for the sinus/nosebleed/congestion/Khumbu cough that any thin, dry air anywhere will do to you. And the other nagging medical thing is cracked fingertips on stays longer than 2 weeks. Hand lotion is lousy. I have found that any ultra-greasy petroleum jelly-based stuff really seals and soothes the crevassed fingertips.

I'm sure REI must have a plan B. They surely must have some rest or sick days built into the schedule.

Just go for it. Have the time of your life. If you want a copy of my trip report, email me at my message board displayed name at hotmail.com

Harvey

I did the trek to Everest base camp in December,2001. It was absolutely fantastic! I wouldn't worry too much about cold weather in October. The coldest night that I had was 10 degrees F at the highest camp at Gorak Shep at 18,000'. The days were very comfortable for walking and I was often dressed in a T-shirt. I would certainly take a good down sleeping bag and a down jacket if you have one. I rented one in Kathmandu for the two week trek and the cost was very reasonable. Enjoy your trip, the mountain scenery cannot be described in words. Do be very careful with acclimitization and do not be pressured into ascending too quickly. Let me know if you have any other questions about the trip and I would be happy to help.

I'm pretty sure REI would not simply leave you on your own if something happens. Of course best is to avoid getting sick in the first place: only drink bottled water (with a real seal) or water that you treat/boil; no drinks with ice! Peeled fruit (bananas, oranges, etc) is okay but nothing where you are putting what was the exterior into your mouth (e.g. apples, lettuce). Cooked fruit, veggies, meat, etc is always okay -- if it's well cooked and hasn't been sitting out too long.

Take along some Cipro (ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic) in case you get really sick, but even then it ought to clear up within 2-3 days. And stay well hydrated at all times! It will help prevent/cure sickness and will help with the dry air and acclimatizing.

Sounds like a fantastic opportunity. And do look around for good fares... they're usually out there somewhere. Have fun!

I agree that you should be able to get much cheaper air fares than $3,000. You could also get better trekking rates in Katmandu, BUT having not been there before you are probably better off paying extra and having REI do all the work for you. When you go a second time you'll be able to save by arranging your own trip.

This past October I took a trip to Kala Patar and had spectacular weather. I can't imagine though, that you would hike there in the evening. The daytime views from there of Everest and the surrounding mountains are spectacular.

I am 60 years old and had no problems with the physical challenges of the trip, but I trained beforehand. The weather we had was great throughout the trip, and the temperatures, even up above 16,000 feet, were moderate- I never broke out my down jacket.

I am amazed by the contrast between the chaos of Katmandu and the serenity of Lukla and the countryside in general. Don't miss the opportunity to experience the splendors of Nepal. It is a wonderous place.

Thanks everyone for the input! I'm getting pretty serious about doing this now.

Turang: Airfare thru REI is $1900 and takes you to Bangkok first. I saw other airfares starting at $1250 thru India and Asian airlines. I'm sure REI is skimming a little off of this for profit.

What is nickel and diming me is trip insurance (about $500), $300 in traveler's checks, immunizations which no doubt come out of my pocket and the Hepatitis shots come in phases of 2 or so spaced over a couple of months, a 0 degree sleeping bag ($100-$300) and the rest of the stuff I already have. Add all this to the basic REI price of about $2999 and it creeps up to $6000, but for once in a lifetime experience, it's probably worth it.

Peter- You are probably right on going with REI first time. I'm sure there are better deals, but I have no idea where to start looking. I'm sure a travel agency is also going to pocket a little for themselves too, so it's back to square one.

In addition to REI there are others

just some examples:

http://www.mtsobek.com/

http://www.alpineascents.com/

http://mountainguides.com/everest-trek-nepal.shtml

http://www.sierramountaineering.com/contact.html

note that this latter one is Kurt Wedburgs company. Kurt is a frequent contributor to this message board.

About a month ago, I posted a very similar topic. The only difference for me was that I was going alone (with a local guide), as opposed thru REI. I think being 62 and making that trek is very admirable. My dad is 63 and can only dream of this adventure. I guess my point in my repsonse is twofold: if you are able to get your money back, let me know and I can put you in touch with a couple local guides who will taylor the trek to meet your goals and objectives. The guides were actually recommended by folks on this board. My trip is upcoming in May and the planning thus far has been great. Secondly, if you cant revise or cancel your trip, try to put into perspective that its only money. Secondly, You've worked hard your entire life and this is a trip you've earned. Enjoy your good time and forget the money aspect.

Thanks Skunkpack, yes, I got to thinking what about in maybe 10 years or less I'm sitting there thinking why didn't I DO this when I could and it would be too late? I almost died 15 mos ago due to surgery gone bad and I think it's because I hike the four-teeners I somehow survived the heart failure the anthesiolgist put me in (don'thave a med malpractice case either because I am OK! Rather have health than money.) I want to go over and give thanks to the Mother Goddess of all mountains. I start soc. security this year, so the money I did indeed earn would buy me this trip of a lifetime. Since REI does EVERYTHING I think I'll go with them until I learn how to do overseas traveling.

Peter- REI takes you up Kala Patar in the evening to see the alpenglow sunset on Everest/Lohtse/Nuptse. Supposedly a 1,000 foot elevation gain to 18,000 in a few hours. Advised to take warm clothes and lighting device. It's optional. Michael Palin of Monty Python in his Himalaya book had photos of this sunset.Not to be missed. They give you hot tea at the summit and you come down in the dark.

Bobcat,

You will be pampered by the local folks that REI uses to guide these treks. They cover all the details, such as providing soap and water outside of the latrines. (The only outfit I've ever seen do this.) One thing that I was surprised by (and you might want to check up on), is that at the price they charge, they didn't provide a western guide for the group that I kept bumping in to in 2004.

If you happen to get ill to the point that you can't continue, you will be guided down. It may end up being a Porter who speaks limited english, but you WILL NOT be abandoned by any of the Trekking Agencies. Their reputation depends on success.

Like most of the others have mentioned, unless there in an unusual cold snap, it won't be that cold. For the climb up Kala Patar, I would definitely have a very warm coat. If you spend more than one day in Gorak Shep, be prepared for a COLD and noisy night. (I haven't ever had the desire to go back there. A longer hike out of Louboche is more civilized in my opinion. But this usually won't work if you're heading to Base Camp.)

October is a better time to go.

On the stomach problems issue, my doctor got upset with me when I mentioned that I was self-diagnosing and self-prescribing medications. He told me to "grin and bear it," so I did in 2004. Big mistake! I had so many bad days that I've decided I'm going to use the technique of a Swiss couple that I met in 2002. They use norfloxacin (sp?) twice a day from the moment they land in Kathmandu until they leave. According to them, they've never had a down day due to the runs. (I'm sure Ken and some of the other medical pros will chime in with their opinion of this.)

There are many agencies that will do the same trip cheaper than REI, but from what I saw of the group that I encountered, they were quite pleased with how things were going and had no regrets. After serveral meals together, some started asking questions about price and my recommendation to them was to talk to as many agencies as you can in Kathmandu and find one that you feel comfortable with. (I haven't paid standard trek fees for years due to my friendships over there, so I have no idea what a trek costs these days.) If you want, I can pass along the name and e-mail for my friend over there. With a local agency, you'll be able to spend more time for the same amount of money. (And to me, the cost of the flight is much more costly than the stay/trekking/climbing.)

I havn't been to nepal but will go next year. When doing these types of travel I prefur to use local companies and guides. I have done this twice in Africa for about half the price of western companies. In addition my group for my africa treks was just me, with my own guide etc.

Western groups generally have 10 plus people in a group which some may enjoy. I would rather be the one to set the pace with my guide.

http://www.nepalhiking.com/everest_basecamp.html

Is one of the companies I am considering. RR

If it helps, on my trek last June, we brought a 69 year old man who had hip replacement surgery a few months before leaving. He made it up to Everest Base camp with us and even spent one night on the glacier with us. The rest of my buddies did great. The biggest question about what to wear boils down to this; Are you camping or staying in the many accommodations along the way and are you camping at EBC? Most guided treks do not camp at base camp so expedition weight down isn't needed. Our semi-self guided group (we used some of the same local logistics staff that Alpine Ascents International uses) did and I was fine in fleece pants and a light 600 fill down jacket at night. The days were beautiful, we even stripped down at the top of Kala Platar and took a dip in glacier run off . (It helped that our Sherpas were able to wrangle a space heater for our dining tent from an expedition on their way out). If you will be staying in lodges all the way up (why, not? they are cheap and easy), you won't need anything extreme, just a warm sleeping bag. I used a cheap zero degree down bag from campmor and was toasty.

As for getting sick. The only people in my group to get sick were me and my buddy, both of which got food poisoning and we're pretty sure it was from our stop over in Hong Kong, not in Nepal. The TwinRX hep A/hep B vaccine is a great thing though. It'll give you life time immunity and you won't have to worry about picking up hep A from local fruits and veg.</a>

Oh, and your gear is carried by porters and yaks. Not Sherpas. Your sherpas are strictly guides and assistants while trekking. They stay in the same accomidations and eat the same food. They are part of your group. They are a quiet but proud people. Porters are generally poorer Nepali valley people that carry loads during the tourist season for an extra buck. Calling your porters "sherpas" in front of true sherpa people would a a faux pax. ;-) And remember... walk to the left of the prayer flags and stupas. =)

Bobcat,
I did this exact trek with REI in 2003 and spoke to the trip leader (Thupten Yeshe Sherpa) in Tibet this past fall when I was climbing there. Overall, I had a great time. Thupten, who leads the trip, is a phenomenal guy. He was a monk at Tengboche before he left there to help his mom out, so his nickname is "the broken monk" in Namche Bazaar, where he has a great house that he'll probably invite you to stay at. (And it has a shower!) He's an artist as well and has painted a prayer room in his house that is phenomenal, and he has enough good english to really communicate well about the Sherpa people, their customs,and the buddhist religion. I got a lot out of meeting him. He's quite special. Anyway, he and his sherpa buddies are very nice and I didn't feel the lack of a western leader. That being said, I'm also a doctor, and I did watch them have some ideas about altitude sickness that I wouldn't have supported. The upsides were the spectacular scenery, the generally well-thought out trekking plan, and the way that camp magically appeared every night with smiling faces and pretty good warm food. The downsides were that a few others on the trip were either unprepared to hike all day or unprepared to be in a third world country...a higher ratio of "spoiled Americans" than I would have expected who sometimes made the trip unpleasant. You could encounter them anywhere though. Everyone on my trip got a tummy bug at some point, and you should bring cipro and flagyl. You can also buy it in the grocery stores in Thamel in Katmandu for pennies. Add in to your mounting costs the tipping that REI lets you know about in the briefing sheets - I hadn't expected to have a few hundred more to pay after paying for the trip, but there it is. You could do the trip as nicely for about half once you know the region and the people, but this is not a bad way to start off. Thupten is what makes the trip very special.

Thanks everyone so much! Thanks for taking the time to enlighten me. It's definitely a GO.

Matthew: Great pictures! I did not know a thing about Kala Patar. I thought it might be a big mountain miles and miles away, but looks like a little hill in Everest's back yard. That makes it even nicer being it's so close. Seems like the pic of the Naked Guys got the most views. Nice farmers tan!

Ski On: Thank you also. I think being a rank newbie to travelling and the Himalaya, REI would indeed be the best way to go.

Richard P: Thank you too. I did get a hold of Bishnu in Nepal via e-mail. His English is very good. He said temps in May and October not that different at all, but October is clearer weather.

Ski On, your mentioning Thupten reminded me of the many conversations that I had with him while we kept leap-frogging each other at villages throughout the Khumbu region. He is a very wise man and I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to handle the death of my guide's mother during our trek. I offered to head down valley so that he could be with his family, but he kept refusing (maybe he was trying to remain "professional"). Thupten told me that it is not common for a Sherpa to avoid returning to family during such times (sounds like almost any culture) and didn't understand why. He talked to my guide, but never filled me in on what my guide's thinking was. It definitely put a damper on the rest of the trip.

One side note about spending time in the monastery: almost all buddhist males spend some part of their life in the monestary, but his story is really cool in that he spent his time at Tengboche. Quite a special place.

One side note on Matthew's comments: just because you are born Sherpa doesn't mean you are automatically entitled to be a guide. There is a process that they go thru to gain status and most will be a Cook, Porter, etc to gain the additional knowledge of the region required to be a guide. Others will go to "climbing school" so that they can do high altitude work. There are also a large number of members of other cultures that serve a guides (fairly common in the Annapurna Region).

No comment on the photos, other than to mention that I once took a tongue-lashing from my wife for only walking down about 10' from the summit of a mountain in Thailand before relieving myself. There are certain things that you don't do on mountains when you are in the company of Buddhists.

I did both the Everest trek (2000) and Kilimanjaro (2001) with REI. I thought that REI and the local guides did a great job. Met some good people who are still friends. On the Everest trek, when we got to Gorek Shep a couple of our group got sick having trouble breathing and had to go down. They were accompanied by porters who stayed with them at Pheriche until we caught up a few days later. The Everest trip was in October and the low temps at night were in the single digits but no one seemed to have a problem with that. The oldest person in that group was 65 and he didn't have any problems until we got down to Lukla when he came down with a 24 hour flu bug. Most of us, at one time or another, did have some minor stomach issues. On Kili we had one fellow who had trouble at about 18,000' and had to go down. Again he was accompanied by a porter back down to the base camp. While the guided trips through US based adventure companys are a bit more expensive than going over and finding a local guide, I liked having the arrangements already made for me and not having to worry about most of the logistics. I'll be 62 this year and I'm thinking of doing another high altitude trek again myself. Good luck.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/publicsite...cae3747&p=2

Everyday Tips
Taming Traveler's Diarrhea
Don’t let bacteria ruin your vacation.

Traveler's diarrhea — or "Montezuma's revenge" as it's often termed by visitors — is most frequently caused by bad water. The water in other countries, particularly developing nations, may contain bacterial strains that we're not used to and against which we have no tolerance. The best way to avoid waterborne bacteria during your travels is to drink only bottled water and to request that drinks be served without ice.
While drinking bottled water is smart, the worst threat of diarrhea actually comes from food. Current opinion blames poorly prepared food as the more common — and serious — culprit behind traveler's diarrhea. In other words, if you're going to have a burrito, skip the street vendor and shell out the extra few bucks to eat in a cleaner, more reliable establishment.

If you suffer from a diarrhea-causing illness, such as inflammatory bowel disease or colitis, you would do well to be particularly cautious: Your resistance to even a mild form of traveler's diarrhea may be very low, and the condition could make you very sick. To avoid an unpleasant scenario, talk to your doctor about taking some antibiotics along with you on your trip. You'll have the option of premedicating or taking them at the first sign of symptoms. If you do become sick, be sure to take in plenty of (bottled) water and food — if you're able to keep anything down. As always, seek medical attention if you become light-headed or dehydrated.

Last updated: July 2006

BTW: Jamie McGuinness' "Trekking In The Everest Region," which has been the best guidebook, by far, is coming out with a new edition in the very near future. I pre-ordered a copy from Overstock.com for less than $15 bucks, shipping included.

From what I've read both norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin are great antibiotics but you should read the warnings on the label or talk with your doctor before prolonged usage. A big but little known problem is that you may become susceptible to tendon rupture if you take these drugs for an extended period during hard exercise. Shortly after I got back from the Kili trip, I was training to do Mt. Rainier and tore my achilles tendon while jogging. Since I'd never had an injury like that before, I still wonder if it might have been related to the cipro I took while in Africa.