Trekking in Nepal?

[soboyle www.oboylephoto.co]

Anyone been trekking in Nepal recently? I'm considering a trip there

next March-April for a trek to Everest base camp, but the recent

news of the Maoist have me wondering if this is a wise trip to make

now. I'm getting mixed feedback as to whether it's safe to trek now

or not, many people just coming back say its no problem go for it,

others who haven't been there say stay away. The other half of the

issue is that my wife has actually given me the OK to go!!, so I

don't want to loose this opportunity. Experiences with porters and

trekking welcome, I've done a fair bit of hiking and trekking with

camera gear in the past but always welcome suggestions on how to

minimize while still having what is necessary. I'm considering a

self organized teahouse trek, flying to Lukla and hiring a porter in

Lukla for the duration of the trip.

[corey_wise1]

Hello Shaun~

I traveled and trekked there in Sept/Oct of 2000 right about the time the insurgency was starting to show up on the radar screen. And the insurgents had come to the village of a Peace Corps volunteer I had met and asked her to leave (which she did). This was in central/west Nepal in the lowlands. If you're planning on doing the Everest Base Camp trek I doubt you'll encounter any problems. They have not yet harmed any tourists and don't appear willing to do so. (The motivation being to destroy Nepal's tourist industry). Check out Lonely Planet's Thorntree for posts from recent travelers and put an ear to the ground when you get there. It's a pretty small (but potentially lethal) risk, but worth it. I'm dying to go back.

 

The other issue if you get to late into April you may be flirting with the rainy season, which is no fun. Best of luck with the trek, Nepal is a gorgeous country and now is arguably a really good time to travel because of lower numbers of tourists.

[corey_wise1]

Oh and if you have other questions, don't hesitate to contact.

[soboyle www.oboylephoto.co]

Thanks Corey,

I've been watching the thorn tree posts. There are a wide range of opinions as to whether it is safe or not, the majority of responders who are in Nepal, or have recently been there seem to think trekkers and back pack travelers are safe. I did the Everest trek in 1987 and have wanted to return since that time, now that I have a chance I hope that I can. Since I am planning my trek for next spring I have plenty of time to gauge the situation before making final plans. I may go a bit earlier, March perhaps, I want to miss the extreme cold of winter but beat the monsoon that starts in June. My first trek there was in april-may, which is the prime everest climbing season as well, and the trekking was spectacular that time of year. I was able to walk from Jiri to Kala Patar with sneakers there was so little snow.

I welcome any details regarding hiring porters, recommended porters or trekking agencies that are reliable to hire porters from etc. Since one of the primary reasons for the trek is to take photographs, I will need a porter to help with all the gear. Also cost for this and what they are getting in the tea houses along the Khumbu routes. Flights are more costly than when I last was traveling in Asia, I'm getting quoted about $1500 US return from NYC. Regards

[cfimages]

Corey pretty much said it all. I was last there in 2001 (actually during 911) for about 2 months. The Maoists called for a 3 day violent protest in KTM while I was there. A lot of tourists changed their plans and left before the start of the protest, however the whole thing was a flop - the Maoists broke a couple of windows at a school, burned about 8 cars and that was it - they called it off after the first day.

 

A few weeks later I stumbled upon a Maoist rally near Durbar Square when I was out wandering around. No safety worries at all - I should to the side and watched for a while, and even had one of the participants try to explain the Maoists political view to me, in a mixture of his broken English and my broken Nepali.

 

I think it's still fairly safe now - a friend was there in April this year and reported no problems or fears for her safety.

[keithdunlop]

Good up to date information on local conditions can be found at the Yeti Zone BB here: http://www.yetizone.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.htm.

 

For the most part Nepal is as safe as anywhere else right now, but be prepared to provide a "donation" along the trail. Initially, the Maoists were collecting fees from expeditions, but then turned to individual trekkers as well. 1000 Rupees from Americans I believe. You even get a printed receipt which I saw posted somewhere.

 

As far as trekking with cameras, you want to keep it as minimal and light as possible. When you get above Namche you will not want to carry anything that's not absolutely necessary. Keep it very simple. I don't know whether you use rangefinders or SLR's, but the best setup would be a pair of M7's with a 21mm VC, 35mm 'cron, and a 90mm Elmarit or a 75mm VC. Bring a 81a or 81b for the cooler light temp at altitude, a warm polarizer (used with caution at altitude) and small table top tripod. If you're an SLR user, something along the lines of a Nikon FM3a with 2-3 primes would be ideal. Dust is a major issue on the trail, so keep your camera in a chest pocket of your parka while walking, or perhaps a belt pouch like the Kinesis system. These days I would also carry a small cheap P&S for unexpected "donation" requests.

 

Porters will be very easy to hire in Lukla, but if you're not carrying too much, you can wait until Namche to find someone. Make sure your porter has good shoes, and proper clothing. Buy gear in Namche if needed. It is important to take the required responsible for the health and safety of your porter. Many have died due to the carelessness trekkers.

 

Make sure you take your acclimatizations days in Namche (or Kenjoma)and Periche, and do a short day-hike on your rest days for about 1,000 meters up, and sleep back down low. The rest days are critical.

 

Finally, make sure you stop by the medical clinic in Periche for the altitude sickness lecture. It's vital information you will need to heed, especially if traveling alone.

 

I've done the trek from Lukla to Kala Patthar, so email me if you'd like any other specific information.

[keithdunlop]

By the way, March/April is a good time to go. The monsoon starts later, usually June. You will likely see porters heading up to supply EBC for the May summit attempts. Most expeditions arrive at EBC late March to early April.

[soboyle www.oboylephoto.co]

I currently have two camera kits, and I'm considering which to bring on the trek, first is a Canon 10D with 17-40 f/4, 50 macro and 70-200 f/4, OR a Contax G2 rangefinder with 21, 28, 45 and 90 lenses, plus a backup G1 body.

I'm tending toward the Contax for size, weight, lens quality and low tech. But that will cut me short on focal length for shooting mountain details, getting distant portraits, I would loose macro capabilities, and I loose the digital advantage of knowing I got the shot by confirming the histogram.

Any thoughts on whats the better approach? Would I miss the longer focal lengths? I tend to think I would.

I have a bunch of batteries already for the 10D and a image tank for image storage of digital images, and from what I read you can now charge batteries if you bring along the right adaptors in Namche and even higher up (at tengboche perhaps?) so I'm not too worried about running out of power. And considering I will hire a porter I don't think the weight will be critical.

In either case I would bring a small pocket camera for snaps and a backup just in case, I have a canon S400 that would fit that bill nicely.

[keithdunlop]

Your G2 kit is a better way to go. The SLR kit, while good, is just far to big and heavy for this, in my opinion. You will not miss a thing. I would also be concerned about dust with a DSLR. Trust me, you are going to be so beat at the end of each day, your last thought will be dealing with charging batteries and cleaning sensors. When I was last in Nepal, I carried an F4 with 24mm and 50mm primes. I did not miss one single shot. The 80-200 stayed in Kathmandu. I still use a Nikon F5, but these days I am prefer the smaller rangefinder systems for travel work. If you're comfortable with a rangefinder, it's a far better tool for this kind of work. Others may have different opinions.

 

There was an NG story about the Khumbu region published last year that was partially shot with a G2 if that means anything to you.

[rana_dayal]

Hi Shaun,

I am planning to do the same trip next year in Nov. It is MUCH preferable to March April (for a photographer). If you would be interested drop me a line, I can send you gear(not photo) lists and various useful bits of information. Feel free to contact me ...

[corey_wise1]

Shaun~

I too live in NYC and had looked into flights over there awhile back. The best I could come up with was flying EVA Airways to Bangkok (stop off in Seattle, change planes in Taipei, about 22 hrs) around $800 return and then hopping a Thai Airways flight or Royal Nepal to Kathmandu which was about $300 and change. This would save some off what they're quoting you, but there is some jockying of the schedule with the BKK to KTM portion and I had heard that the Thai Airways flights are often booked out far in advance. Layovers in BKK arn't to bad as I usually shack up at the Amari Hotel at the airport, they have a deal where you get a 4 star room for 3 hours (just enough time to have a shower, nap and hit the pool) for $25 and it's right out the front door of the airport and over the pedestrian overpass. Just something to consider. Best of luck!

[kaiblanke]

Shaun,

<p>

I did the Annapurna trek in 2002 and it was fine. I did wrote a similar thread like yours <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003exL"> here </a> and summarised my experiences <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003u3u" > here</a>. I have a Nepal folder here on photo.net if you want to have a look at some of my shots.

<p>

We also saw some rebels from very afar, but were not harmed at all. Although travelling in a group and having really excellent guides and porters maybe has avoided paying some "fees".

<p>

As for the cameras: The G2 kit is definitely better suited; I'd leave the 10D at home. A 81a or b filter is nice, the polarizer is not needed, esp. not with the Contax. Take a bunch of nice slide film and enjoy! If you have questions, you can contact me offline.<div></div>

[julian_love]

I have just got back from a trek to Everest base camp this April/May. The options for photography were excellent. The weather was sometimes cloudy but this allows for some atmospheric shots IMHO.

 

I took a 10D, 17-40 f4 and 70-200 f4 - great kit for trekking, but I needed 6 extra batteries and a portable hard disk to make it work. Still, glad I took the 10D rather than film (although I had an EOS 3 as back up). I attached a Lowpro lens pouch and a gadget bag (for memory card/filters etc) to my backpack waistbelt (I have a MacPac Persuit 50L)....this meant they were always easily available while trekking. The camera I just slung over my shoulder most of the time unprotected, and just wiped off the dust each evening in the tent. Otherwise going in and out of your bag gets to be a pain.

 

In three weeks I took 2100 frames - you can look at some of the pictures here:

http://www.adventurephotographer.net

 

Julian

[soboyle www.oboylephoto.co]

Thanks for the many replies.

I've read that the Everest trek has become very popular, and can often get very busy on the main treking routes up toward Kala Patar, I'm just wondering if I should aim for a more off season trek to avoid full tea houses and crowded trails. Or is crowded a relative term, and a bit overstated? I was there in 1987 and started my trek in Jiri on April 1st and went all the way to Kala Patar, there were very few trekkers on the section from Jiri to Lukla, but it tended to get busier the higher I went above Lukla, and Tengboche was very busy with people getting turned away at the guest house there.

Perhaps a shoulder season with less crowds would be a better experience than the prime seasons of March/April and Sept/October? Any experiences with off season treks in the Khumbu region?

[rana_dayal]

Actually the tea-house situation has long since improved a lot...that are a lot more and they are ..er...um...less rustic. In any case having spent years in the eastern Himalayas (haven't been to Everest though) I can tell you for sure that blue skies are plentiful only in Mar/April and Nov/Dec. The monsoons are miserable mud, landslides and leeches. I assume that you are from the USA...let me tell you that you ain't seen anything like the monsoons. It rains very heavily for days on end. And the airport at Lukla does not have radar control so landing/takeoff is only possible in fair weather. Also note that the beginning and end of the rainy season has violent thunderstorms.

[bruce johnson]

I was in Nepal in Mar/Apr 04 and took about 2000 slides while there. My equipment was a Elan 7E with 17-40/4L and 70-200/4L and a Konica Hexar AF (35/2.0 lens). I had the Hexar loaded with Provia 400F (sometimes at 800) and Provia 100F in the Elan. This worked great for me and allowed many good indoor shots with natural light (without the hassles of switching film midroll, not a problem with digital cameras though) and also gave me a backup camera. If I had a Contax G2 system, I'd have brought just that along.

 

We had no run-ins with Maoists, most of their activity is away from the Himalayas and Kathmandu is relatively peaceful - just respect large gatherings and noisy crowds and heed the bandhs. It's the trip of a lifetime, definately go!

[lkenney]

I trekked in Nepal in April 2002. At that time the Maoist were acting up and during the year before the royal family was murdered. Also, 9/11 was the previous september. My wife was freaked a little - especially since I was taking my 17 year old daughter. Just as we arrived the new king placed a bounty on the head of all mao. We hiked in the Khumbo. Due to illness of one in our party we only made it to Tenboche and not all the way up to Everest - we were actually headed to the Lhotse glacier anyway. No sign of the Maoist. We were told that there was very little mao activity in the Khumbo. most of it was in another region of the country. In addition, all their terrorist activity was directed twoards Nepali involved in the government. Even the mao recognise that the country would fall apart financially if they began targeting tourist.

 

My advise - GO! It was the best trip I ever went on. I never felt unsafe. At that time they loved Americans. I hope it is still true. Not only was the Khumbo magnificent there were numerous outstanding opportunities for photos in Kathmandu.

 

A word to the wise. Remember your elevation. I didn't and many of my shots were overexposed at or above 10,000 feet.

[lkenney]

Oops. Sorry I meant that I underexposed the photos. Actually they may appear underexposed due to UV or atmospheric haze. There was no rain but plenty of cloud in the mornings.