Gokyo-EBC Feb 27

Hi Mike, I'm not going on your trip but went in October and had an amazing time..  The 12kg is the limit for the main bag for the Lukla flight and you can leave stuff you dont need for the actual trek in Kathmandu.  I'm not sure if they even weighed the bags before putting them on the plane and they certainly didnt weigh our hand luggage (rucksacks).  Rather than packing chocolate (which you can buy in all the lodges - just check the sell by date !!) my advice would be to make sure you have plenty of paracetemol / ibuprofen and plenty of immodum tablets !  All the lodges stock basic snack food / drinks and toilet paper so I wouldnt wast valuable space / weight on them.  Warm clothes and drugs are the way forward...! Hope you a great trip... Andy 

Hi Andy. Thank you for the brill tips! I did a trek with Exodus to the High Atlas a couple of years ago, and the trail mix I took with me was extremely good to have- there being no shops for snack procurement for days on end. On your advice that would not seem to be an issue with this trek, so I'll bring plenty of currency to buy en route instead. It's reassuring, though, that the baggage limit might not be absolutely strict! (I've been doing trial runs with wearing so many clothes, the pockets stuffed with as much gear as I can cram, that I look like a Michelin Man!).

No problem, have a wonderful trip - and even if you do forget to pack anything or cant fit it in you can buy pretty much everything you would need for the trek from Namche Bazaar where you stop for an acclimitisation day anyway..!

 

Hi Michael.

I'm Leigh-Ann and I'm going on this trip.  I'm travelling on my own, so I must be the other 'chap' that you were told about!  It's nice to 'meet' you.  I agree that the 12kg limit is going to be a bit of a challenge, though you're more organised than me as I haven't got as far as trial runs yet! 

What are you thinking re the visa - apply in advance or on entry??? 

7 weeks until we leave, can't wait!      

Hello Leigh-Ann. Great to meet you! I am feeling more relaxed about the baggage limit since reading Andy's comments. Truth is, Exodus are pretty good on this stuff in my experience, and if 12kg is supposed by them to be sufficient I expect it will be fine. My chocoholism is under complete control. Well, more or less. I understand the best way to sort out the visa is to download the form and fill it out beforehand, and bring it with a passport photo and US dollars to submit on arrival at KTM, so that's what I'm planning to do. Are you training hard for fitness? I'm walking quite a lot now (about forty or fifty miles a week in total, though most of this is flat- there are no mountains here in Southern England). Also, I'm going to one of those dreadful gymnasium places and using the torture devices in there for strength training. I hope to be reasonably fit by the start of our trek, to be in a better state to enjoy the views!!! Not that this will help deal with the altitude, though, which is on my mind a bit. Have you done high altitude before? My highest climb was Toubkal in Morocco, which was only a bit over 4000m, I think. Roll on, Nepal! M.

Apologies for above text formatting. I did enter page breaks for paragraphs, but they disappeared on posting. Hope it still makes sense!

Hi again.

Thanks for the info re the visa, that sounds like a good plan.  Are you planning to take all your currency as US dollars or are you taking a mix of US dollars/euros/sterling?  It's not clear from the trip notes whether one currency is better than another.  

I'm training a fair amount - as much as I can fit in around work.  I attend military fitness classes, get out into the hills as often as I can (though the lack of daylight curtails the amount I can do in the winter) and - like you - have been supplementing that with some visits to the gym.  I live in Scotland so I'm spoiled for hill options when I have enough free time.

I've been at fairly high altitude a few times now, the highest being Kilimanjaro.  I got mild altitude sickness early on in that trip and was then fine.  I'm planning to get some diamox so that I've got it if I need it but hope not to need it (I haven't needed it yet).  I've done Mount Toubkal too.  Did you enjoy it?  I thought Mount Ouanakrim was the nicer of the hills but thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

6 weeks now (and counting!)... 

 

 

Hello again Leigh-Ann. Apologies for delay in replying. I'll be taking Sterling with me for exchanging in KTM to use throughout the trek, and I'm planning to pick up some extra currency for shopping in KTM on the way back. I gather Sterling works as well as US dollars, so I'll save one step of commission charges and only bring enough of the latter for the entry Visa and a fifty for emergencies (I was taught ages ago to carry a $50 note whenever I travel, as it can help in many situations). Oh dear, you do sound ever so fit. Kili must have been fabulous, and I cant wait to hear all about it. I hope I'm not going to be the whimp being dragged along at the back of our little group! That said, I did a nice 28m hike along the muddy and very hilly coast path here yesterday, taking it slow for seven hours, and today I don't feel as though I did anything. Which is encouraging! But it's the dreaded Gym tonight... I loved the High Atlas trek, and fully agree about Ouanakrim- a lovely walk that was. I enjoyed the plod up to Toubkal, though any sense of pride in the achievement was immediately dispelled when a local chap arrived whilst we were posing for photos, dressed in a t-shirt and flipflops. Gah. How's your packing situation looking? I'm fully outfitted now, and it doesn't look like the baggage weight will be a problem after all. I'm rather pleased with my minimalism, actually! :-) I've got some Diamox too, though I hope not to need it. Roll on, 27 Feb. Just over four weeks now...

Damn. Apologies for the apparent ramble. This software still doesn't like my page returns. How do you do it?

Oh, I've thought of a good tip for you. There's a clever drug called DUKORAL, which is an oral vaccine for Cholera. It has a brilliant antitoxin effect too, which means that when (not if) you get Nepal Belly, it will greatly help you recover- in a fraction of the time. I don't know about you, but the thought of several days of severe diarrhoea whilst on trek is not very thrilling; it can be quite debilitating combined with altitude. You might want to look into it. A tame GP will prescribe, though you may need a private script, which means paying about £40 for it, I think. I've got some.

Hi again Mike

Sorry for the slow reply, things have been a tad hectic! 

I'm glad to say I've managed to track down some elusive English notes now.  It wasn't as easy as you'd think it might be in Scotland!  I've also braved the photobooth and got some awful passpost photos - is it possible to get decent passport photos?!  

You shouldn't worry about me being fit, I'm not really.  I had great plans to get my fitness up for the holiday but it hasn't really happened.  I did have a nice wintery - and very windy - walk up a Munro the other weekend there but I haven't made it out as much as I'd hoped.  Your muddy hike sounds fun!  Have you had much snow over the last few weeks? 

I've got some diamox and I looked into Dukoral - thanks for the tip by the way - but my doctor wasn't game for giving me it.  Hopefully Immodium will do the trick for me instead!

You're still ahead of me on the packing stakes.  I've checked I have everything on my list and have piled some stuff together but that's as far as I've got.  I've promised myself I'll get to it earlier than the night before we leave!

Anyway, I'm rambling!  It really isn't long now.  Are you going to be on the group flight? 

Leigh-Ann

Hello Leigh-Ann, Yes, they say that if you actually look like the person in your passport photo, you cannot be judged healthy enough to enter most civilised countries!!! I haven't done mine yet, and you've reminded me- thanks. I've been slightly thwarted in my Great Fitness Campaign too, having had my scientifically precise schedule interrupted by a cold and two tummy upsets in the last month, which is most unusual for me. However, I feel pretty fit in general, and I'm really looking forward to the challenge. (You can remind me I said this when I'm sat quietly weeping by the side of a track up a big hill!). I was pleased to get my extremely green Exodus kit bag, and have found it easily fits everything in. I haven't done a weight-check yet, but I reckon it'll be fine. I'll be taking the group flight out from Heathrow. Do you know that Exodus can request a preferred seat for you? They were unable to get a bulkhead seat for me (I was too late in asking- they'd all gone), but the chap has kindly requested an aisle seat for me, which I usually prefer. His email is: marcus.fisher@exodus.co.uk Best of luck with your packing and all that. We're off in a fortnight! Zikes! Mike.