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Sir Royston
11th May 2008, 02:51 AM
Hello all

Just joined the site, and would welcome some info re. the following:

Bit of background first - as an intro to trekking in Nepal, about five years ago I did Pokhara to Jomosom with a mate. We got a bit of a move on and did it in 4.5 days - I thoroughly enjoyed it and vowed to do same again with my wife as soon as possible, although with various things it's taken us five years to get round to it.

Of course there are now reports that much of the route has been affected by the Beni-Muktinath road project, and therefore we have decided not to do this trail again.

The attraction of the Jomosom trek is that it is not very far, not particularly strenuous, temperatures OK in October, and has plenty of good accommodation. These are all fairly vital attributes in my wife's book because, although she is certainly no whimp and is quite fit and strong, she does not like to get too far outside her comfort zone - and endless slogging up stairways to the stars is not her idea of fun. Fair do's and no problems at all with that, but we need to find an alternative route that fits the bill.

I've been looking at the maps and other info sources, and have decided that we could go for a shortish route above Lukla (fly to Lukla) as follows:

Lukla/Phakding/Monjo/Manche (couple of days)/Thamo/Khumjung/Monjo/Lukla.

I'd be grateful if anyone could advise me whether this is a reasonable route in terms of the required attributes as mentioned above. I'm being cautious because I don't want this to be one level of difficulty above what my wife would find enjoyable, and therefore spoil it for her.

We can take our time - we've got flights (end-Oct 08) giving us 14 clear days into and out of Kathmandu, although we want to spend a few free days in KTM after the walk.

Glad of your input folks. Thanks in anticipation.

Sir Royston

James
11th May 2008, 03:49 AM
Lukla/Phakding/Monjo/Manche (couple of days)/Thamo/Khumjung/Monjo/Lukla.


This would make for a nice trek, however, be warned there is a 2000 foot ascent with steep switchbacks shortly before Namche. The Namche hill, at that elevation and with a notable thinning in air, is the first significant hill of the Everest Trek. Also, the rise out of the Namche bowl and over the hill to Khumjung, while not a long distance, is a steep hike. A day trip to Thamo or Thame is not too hilly.

Sir Royston
12th May 2008, 03:12 AM
Thanks James - exactly the sort of info I am looking for.

Can anyone add anything further?

Regards

Sir Royston

kegarne
12th May 2008, 04:28 AM
I would also suggest a day hike above Namche to the Everest View Hotel. From there you can see the top parts of Everest and have a magic view of Ama Dablam. Well worth the trip....

Sir Royston
13th May 2008, 09:59 PM
Thanks - I've had a look at the HEV webpages and it looks excellent.

Will look at this as an option, both prior to leaving England and then perhaps a final decision when we get up in the area. I've ordered a detailed map over the web, and when it arrives I can consider the extra distance, severity of the climb, etc.

Thanks again

Roy