 |
Our treks | 8000m peaks | Tibet tours | Contact us | About us | Photos & Diaries |
Photo galleriesTrip diariesPrevious treks
|
Merriment and Happiness NewsletterJan 2001 Namaste, dal bhaat and hello everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Joel and Jamie *. In Kathmandu there has been far too much merriness and happiness, the parties and fun are only just winding down now (I wrote that two weeks ago, but now that Joel has left, I have time to complete this). After two weeks of tippling every evening, I decided enough is enough. Socializing doesn't always require alcoholic lubrication. Unfortunately it was Jason and Katherine's last night, and K obviously needed help, so I sipped her beer behind her back and saved someone from getting thrown up on, probably. Instead she got Tom & Jerry's rocking with Abba. So last night I said again 'enough is enough' (and not just to Abba). Walked into a new restaurant and they handed us a free tequila each. Bloody hell. Kathmandu never stops. Does that account for the timeliness of the greetings? * Everyone who has met Joel will agree he is quite a unique character, and that is what I thought, at least until I met Jason, his brother. Bloody hell. We had just finished watching 'The Jerk', Steve Martin, finally getting to see the movie that was discussed ad nauseum on our 68 day Kangchenjunga and Makalu 1999 episode, and the channel changed. Faster than you can say 'True Grit' (yep, quite a few won't understand that, but many will), before my brain had even registered that the channel had changed, within a millisecond of having seen one obscure bit of the film both yelled out at exactly the same time 'The Dirty Dozen', 'by so and so, oh, and there is Lee Marvin who was actually in the army...' and I swear we had the entire history of every actor, who they shagged/married or didn't, other flicks they starred in etc. From both of them. At the same time. Scary! And the other stories, ohmygod, I nearly wet myself a few times.
We have had so many really fun treks this year, and we sincerely hope that everyone enjoyed them as much as we did. XXX did: "civilized life ain't all that civilized. need details for India. something to look forward to." "... want to do Kanchenjunga too, XXXX wants in to, but he is on a budget, can he get a job cleaning up after ponies, or breeding them whatever, you know how canuks are. I will do nothing with or to the ponies." As many people found getting back home, normal life it seems is, well, normal. Escape! We are ready and waiting for you.
And due to successful marrying of Jamie's organizational abilities - Joel, do that shit # - and Joel's entertainment skills - where does all that shit come from? # - we are endeavouring to run most trips with both of us as leaders - double trouble, you might call it. Perhaps we should change the name to Insanity Treks Unlimited, as vouched for by having a record 4 physiatrists coming to study the phenomena last year, and hopefully at least one more next year (John?). # see religions of the world, Sam's bar, Kathmandu
We miss you guys! Honestly, each trip was fun and we both have many good memories and more than a few stories (!) of every person who came with us. We would like to see all of you again. So if I haven't emailed, the reason is I am only just getting on top of the backlog, not helped by my computer being out of action for 3 days.
FYAOO (gotcha with that one? For Your Amusement Or Otherwise) this is the latest stuff that has been writ to be red: Catherine & Jason's poem of appreciation for Joel ...it was too much Sherpa rum... Lobsang's tales by Joel, our guide for the 2000 Ladakh treks Find out why Lobsang is no longer a teetotaller... Jamie's version of the High Khumbu & Island Peak tripYak steak and more yak, yak, yak-aemia Stuff the Jamie thrashing, how many different coloured thong bikinis did Tom buy his new wife? The answer is here... Jamie's Shishapangma diary'The next chore is another special high altitude one that probably isn't mentioned too much for reasons that will become obvious. The body is around 72% water, and as I am fond of saying, at altitude, the other 28% is snot, well it feels like it. It is only when trekking the miracles of snot become obvious. There are a multitude of kids, and even my good friend Sam...' Noshaq 7492m July 2000If one believes in signs, then we were given plenty. Approaching full moon we witnessed a lunar eclipse then at Camp 2 at 6425m we were struck by a shaker of an earthquake. And lucky not to die. We were camped beneath a large serac... Titbit from a Pakistani paper: Pakistani coast guards burnt 7 tonnes of heroin, 90 tonnes of hashish and 200kgs of opium... And for more timeless classics like a Holiday in Kargil, go to the main Trip diaries page... And second to last we would like to bore you with the trips that we are running this year (we hope your New Years resolution was to catch Joel out with a movie question or come and see how gay we look with our matching North Face jackets). More details on the web site... Kangchenjunga Magic & Tengkoma climb 6215mHuge rewards for those intrepid enough; an ancient culture and scenery to rival the Everest region. A classic trek, classic expedition style from the middle hills to the north base camp where avalanches rumble and glaciers groan on the world's #3. But wait, as if that isn't enough, we also have an optional climb of Tengkoma, a straightforward climb. Dates: 26 Mar-22 Apr, 28 days. Service: expedition style. Leader: Joel Schone. Cost: US$2120. Kangchenjunga NSW *exploratoryIs it co-incidence that the trip is 42 days or is there a deeper meaning? Yep, meaning enough time for the north and south base camps and the west. West? We explore west to the base of the 'Chewbacca La' (for Star wars fans), a valley begging for exploration. Dates: 26 Mar-6 May, 42 days. Services: Mixed expedition and light expedition style Leaders: Joel & Dave E Haun. Cost: US$2680. Chulu Peaks Everest warm-upPrivate trip but ex-clients may be able to join, either as mountaineering companions or as fully guided clients. Duncan and the team are warming up for the big one - Everest, from the Tibet side. Cho Oyu warm-up in LangtangWhether you are going to the peak or not, you are welcome to join. Langtang valley and Gosainkund... Cho Oyu Expedition 8201m - TibetWanna climb something HIGH but as straightforward as BIG mountains get? Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain on the planet. Our spring climb is a fully supported and guide-assisted effort. If you pay this much money you want the best shot you can get... All staff have worked/summitted on the mountain previously. Dates: 15 Apr - 29 May. Service: guide-assisted. Guide-manager: Jamie McGuinness. Senior climbing sherpa: C Pasang. Cost: $8500. Hillary's Khumbu TraverseHillary and team did it in 1953, we do it in 2001 (but we skip the Everest climb...) We begin with the wonderful Gokyo lakes region, including the 5340m Gokyo Ri, cross the Cho La to Kala Pattar 5600m and/or Everest BC then cross the infrequently used Kongma La for Chukhung Ri 5559m. We allow two extra trekking days over all other companies for weather hiccups and so that you can acclimatize properly. If you come this far you want to get there! All other foreign companies use tents. We can't work out why, when the teahouses are so good... Dates: 10 May-3 June, 25 days. Services: teahouse trekking. Leader: Joel Schone. Cost: US$1860.
|
|
|
