Everest Trek | Videos

South Col Expeditions treks the Everest region every year. This post shows two videos shot on our Everest  trek. The first one is a panorama view from the high point of Gokyo Ri above the Gokyo lakes with a view of four 8000 metre peaks - Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu. The second shows the view just outside Namche Bazar on the trail to Kyanjuma.

For more information on our treks do visit www.southcol.com and for more photographs on the Himalaya visit www.sujoydas.com

Nepal Himalaya | A Journey Through Time | Book Launch New Delhi

Nepal Himalaya - A Journey Through Time will be launched in New Delhi on Sunday December 4th 2016 at the India Habitat Centre, Gulmohar Hall at 7 pm. On that occasion, a presentation through photographs titled The Lure of Everest will be made. All are welcome. The details are below:

The Everest Region in Black and White

Ama Dablam and Kangtega on the trail from Dingboche to Dugla

Thamserku from Luza on the Gokyo trail

Setting moon behind Kwangde, Namche Bazar

Pumori and Kala Pattar

Everest

Thamserku on the Gokyo trail

The Scott Fischer memorial above Dugla

Kangtega and Thamserku last light from the lodges of Kyanjuma

Join South Col Expeditions on the Everest trek in October 2016.  For details do visit
http://www.southcol.com/treks-nepal/the-everest-trek-to-kala-pattar/

Everest Trek: Peakfinder Screenshots 1 Kala Pattar and Khumbu valley

As mentioned in some of my earlier posts, I have started using the Peakfinder app extensively on my treks to identify the peaks and have been saving the screenshots on my Ipad. Here are the screen shots from that iconic view point Kala Pattar and lower down the Khumbu valley.

Kala Pattar looking north 

Kala Pattar looking south west

Kala Pattar looking south

Approaching Lobuche 

From Dugla looking south

From Dugla looking south west

From the memorials above Dugla looking south

Everest Trek- Updates November 2015

I spent seventeen days in the Everest region in November 2015 and here are some updates from the area:

In addition to Tara Air, Sita Air and Simrik Air, Goma Air is flying to Lukla with two Czech planes every day. The planes are new and that makes a big difference from the old Twin Otter Aircrafts.



 There is a Herman Helmers branch now operating in Phakding just after you cross the suspension bridge on the way  to Benkar and Monjo. It has all the apple pies, doughnuts, premium coffee and breads that are available in Namche! The prices are the same.

The last suspension bridge below Namche has been replaced by a new bridge which is about 50 feet higher so there are presently two suspension bridges over the river the lower one not being in use.

The bridge over the Imja Khola below Devoche and on the way to Pangboche has collapsed in the earthquake and a new bridge has been built further down on the east bank of the Imja river.

The Chukung Resort in Chukung has been totally renovated and there is also a new swanky Khangri Resort with plenty of rooms. The popularity of the Island Peak climb has possibly been the reason for the  lodge boom in Chukung.

There is a new lodge in Lobuche with 35 rooms located right next to the Eco Lodge. The lodge is called Oxygen  and was open for just a month when I visited on November 14th 2015. The young and energetic owner who also works at the Pyramid research station is trying to attract trekkers and given the number of clean bathrooms he should get good business for the next season. However the dining hall was like an ice box as the heating was not working too well. He hopes to fix this for the coming year.

There are five  lodges in Dzongla now as well as a number of permanent tents so accommodation in the peak autumn season should not pose a problem. The new lodge which we stayed in was Mountain Home.

In addition to the old and trusted Yak Lodge at Dugla, we now have the new and swanky Kala Pattar lodge. So with two good lodges accommodation should not be an issue in Dugla any more.

Some of the lodges in the Khumbu have a wifi internet  card , Everest Link which allows you to use wifi. It is a prepaid card with an expiry in terms of time or capacity whichever is earlier. However I found that the card only worked in the lodge which had sold it, possibly linked in some way to the router which the lodge was using.

The Gokyo Resort which was earlier being run by S D Sharma has now being leased by Maya Sherpa who runs the ever efficient Hotel Namche at Namche Bazar. The lodge is being run by Maya,s brother Nima and is back to the same levels of friendly and efficient service.

South Col Expeditions runs treks to the Everest region every year. For more information do visit www.southcol.com

Everest South West Face | Forty Years since the First Ascent

Dougal Haston on the south west face of Everest 1975

On September 24th 1975 two climbers from Britain, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston reached the summit of Everest by the unclimbed South West Face after a bivouac near the South Summit of Everest.

The expedition led by Sir Chris Bonington also climbed the mountain by the South Col route when two climbers Peter Boardman and  Pertemba Sherpa summitted the peak. Sadly, the cameraman Mick Burke who was also with them was lost near the summit in bad weather.

The enormous south west face of Everest was one of the big wall challenges in the Himalaya.

In 1970, Chris Bonington's team had successfully climbed the huge south wall of Annapurna I from the south side, what is now popularly known as ABC (Annapurna Base Camp).

The south west face expedition laid siege on the mountain in the manner of the earlier British expeditions on Everest. There were a series of camps on the mountain and Doug Scott and Dougal Haston made the climb from the highest Camp VI  below the upper snowfield.

Today is almost the 40th anniversary of the first successful ascent and the south west face is still attempted though in variation to the original route climbed by Haston and Scott.

Some photographs from that climb are below:

Haston climbing the Hillary Step

Doug Scott on the summit of Everest 1975

The enormous  south west face of Everest from the Western Cwm

Though Haston, Boardman and Burke have passed away,  all in climbing accidents, Chris Bonington now 80 and Doug Scott are still climbing together as seen in this photograph below on the crags in England!

On 23rd September 2015 a lecture will be held in Oxford which will include all the surviving members of the 1975 expedition. For more details on this lecture please do visit  http://www.canepal.org.uk/2015/03/lecture-oxford-23-september-2015-40th-anniversary-of-the-first-ascent-of-everest-south-west-face/