Ski gear?

[Bernie]

Hi,

I will soon (2 weeks time) be attempting the EBC trek and are now looking at what gear to take. I have read on this forum that people recommend taking warm gloves, jacket, pants etc ... but without wanting to buy new stuff I was wondering if the gloves and jacket that I already use frequently to snowboard with would be adequate or would it be over kill. All my ski gear is good quality and has the advantage of removable linings for cooler/warmer environments plus it’s also water proof.

And would I expect it to get below zero in the tea house accommodation at this time of the year? And one last question, i don't yet have hiking boots and have always hiked with comfortable casual shoes before. I know it's recommended to have hiking boots for this trek, but would I be a fool to not buy some?

Thanks in advance,

Bernie

[yakshaver]

Ski gear is ok if it has romovable layers so that you don't get too hot when trudging uphill.
It can get very cold, below zero in fact, inside your lodge room above Namche Bazaar.

I would suggest some some footwear which protects your ankles, and has a more rigid sole than the casual sports shoes. This would mean some kind of boots. There is a difference in hiking, and trekking. The later is day after day after day after day etc...Your feet, ankles, soles, get very tired and this is when accidents can happen which destroy your trek. You may encounter snow, quite possible at the higher altitudes. However, since you only have two weeks at your disposal, I suggest you buy the ones with more synthetic material, rather than the full leather ones, and make sure they have enough padding and feel comfy from the beginning. Wear them a lot in the shop. Like half an hour. They will not need "wearing in" like some of the full leather ones.

[James]

Layering is the key. Hiking during the day you won't really need much. At higher elevations the sun will be strong and most of the time while hiking you wear nothing more than a fleece coat or wind breaker and maybe light gloves. However, early mornings, after dark and while resting or waiting for a sun rise it may be very cold and good gloves and down are advised. People always advise bringing a down coat as it is extremely light and very effective. As to whether gloves and coats need to be water proof is probably debatable. If its cold enough that you need the warmth of down, then breathability is probably more important than being water proof. If its warm enough for rain a waterproof shell may well suffice for the short time you’ll be exposed.

Again, boot vs. sneakers is personal choice. Truth is, if the trails are great and "if" conditions are dry sneakers would, in my opinion, be fine. Keep in mind your feet will be in these shoes/boots for some two weeks so comfort and durability are key. Real heavy climbing boots are unnecessary. There are some real nice light weight mid rise boots that strike a nice balance.

Keep in mind that most locals, guides and porters manage just fine without any "fancy" stuff. My porter preferred to walk in toeless flip-flops with socks, a sweater and seldom wore his gloves (though he skipped the bitter cold pre-dawn climb up Kala Pattar). It comes down to comfort. Keep in mind that most days you will be hiking just a few hours between villages - not making an assault on Everest.

[Bernie]

Thanks guys, with your advice I went out and brought some decent hiking boots on the weekend and although it's possible that I could have got away in prefect conditions with sneakers i feel much more prepared and glad that i got them cause u never know. I think i'm almost there (in preparation) however have two remain areas of concern that u may be able to help me with.

Firstly how important are trek pants, i will be taking cotton pants, long thermals, jeans, so are not sure if i really need the special quick dry pants as well?

Secondly again with sleeping bags, I know this has been discussed many times before on this forum but i am not sure if a warmer bag is required at this time of year. (trekking mid Nov). I currently have a +5 celcius bag that I brought last year so don't really want to have to buy another. I was thinking that this along with thermals and an insert that i will probably buy in Kathmandu should be enough. I am naturally a warm person but again the last thing i want is to be cold when i'm trying to sleep in the higher attitudes.

Thanks again for you help, hopefully i won't be bothering you again before i leave.

Cheers,

Bernie

[James]

The rule for winter hiking is always synthetics or put in reverse cotton kills. Cotton is great in hot weather, it holds the sweat and helps keep you cool. In the winter when you sweat going up the hills you don't want to stay wet. Wet equals cold. So again, while I'm sure you could get away with jeans, you will be more comfortable in nice light, quick drying trekking pants.

With regards to your sleeping bag I don't think it will be near warm enough for the coldest nights you will experience. The simple solution is to get another bag. The two bag system works really well. Get a bag that will fit nicely around your current bag and between the two bags you will be set for three different temperature conditions. As you will still be trekking during the busy season there may not be extra blankets or mattresses to cover yourself with. Sleep is hard enough at the higher elevation and is too important to risk being cold.

Happy Trekking

[bernie]

Thanks James for the advice, next on my list sleeping bag shopping. Do you think a -5 degree bag would be alright or should i go warmer?

cheers,

bernie

[James]

A +5 and -5 C bag combination should achieve a -17C or 0 F rating and that with your hot water bottle should do the trick. I would suggest touching base with the manufacturer to confirm the combined insulation value. If your bag manufacturer can't help the following site may help by way of comparison. http://www.bigagnes.com/overbags.html
Keep in mind each manufacture uses different methods to determine a warmth factor, but if you contact the customer service and tell them about your trek and the expected conditions, they should be able to help.

Just think, once you're all comfy in your bag, then you'll have to take a trip out to the toilet. All those stars in the sky and all that darn cold, boy I can't wait to go back! Don't forget your head lamp.

[Bernie]

Thanks again James, I think we will take our own bags and hire some extra sleeping bags in Kathmandu to go over our own.

[Unregistered]

Sleeping Bags, .... well, keep in mind that if your sleeping bag says (ie) comfort between +20 and 0 C, you most probably will be freezing at 8 or so. In other words always add at least 5 to 8 degrees to what the minimum says on the bag.

[Oli]

I like to wear a warm hat when cold in my sleeping bag. Extra insulation for the head works wonders for the rest of the body.

If you are going to use two bags then try to get the outer one suitably large so as not to crush all the padding on the inner bag. The insulation is designed to be trapped air and not a thicker wad of feathers or foam.

[James]

Good point, the two bag system works well with a down mummy bag on the inside and a lighter synthetic rectangular bag on the outside. Getting an extra long bag for the outside bag is nice as well. Synthetic bags will not accumulate the perspiration.

[zx9]

Thanks guys for all the advice, well i ended up buying a new sleeping bag in Kathmandu, i couldn't believe how cheap they were, cost me about $50AUD (haggle down from $80) for a super down -10 rated north face bag (dunno if it's the real thing or not) but it did the job fine, warm as toast all the way to Gorek Shep, without additional clothing. My girlfriend used the 2 bags (rated +3 & 0) together which seemed warmer than my bag (as normally she gets cold very easily)

As for my other gear related questions, gloves & ski jacket were fine, no need for a down jacket even at 5am on top of kala patar, but hiking boots are a must, very glad i brought these, wouldn't have survived with anything less. Thanks again all for the information, I had everything I needed without having to carry anything extra.

Bernie

[James]

Welcome Back!

Glad to here you stayed warm but come on, spill the beans - we want details. Any snow in Gorek Shep? What were the temps like? How was the volume of trekkers? Did you use an agency, a guide and/or porter and would you have done anything differently?

You have to remember that some of us are in serious withdrawal and we need a fix.

[zx9]

More than happy to ...

In short, no snow in Gorek Shep, up to Tingboche there was quite a few trekkers but not as many after that, most logdes were empty, on 3 or 4 occasions we were the only ones staying in the lodge. Was a lot warmer than expected until toward the end of the trip.

And in more detail ...

well it was my first trip to Nepal & the Himalayas so i did as much research as possible. We (myself & girlfriend) organised the trek via email before we arrived with Nepal Trailblazer trekking. A customised trek for just the two of us plus guide & porter. In Kathmandu we stayed at the Kathmandu Guest house, highly recommend, then flew to Lukla at 7am 2 days later to start our trek. We took nine days to trek to Ghorakshep (including 2 acclimatisation days on the way at Namche & Dingboche). On our forth day we stayed in Tingboche where the town was getting ready for the full moon festival. We were lucky enough to be able watch the monks practicing their dancing at the monastery. We met many people here who have travelled to Tingboche just for the festival alone. On our 6th day acclimatising in Dingboche we walked up the Chhukung valley and climbed Chhukung Ri (5546 mtrs). Our real day of altitude. Up until now we hadn’t really felt any different but climbing Chhukung Ri took all the engery we had and we were completely exhausted on our return that day to Dingboche but it was well worth it. It was also here that we first suffered the altitude headaches, although quite minor. On our 8th day we reached Ghorakshep and continued onto basecamp. 5am the next day we started our climb up Kalapathar to arriving in time at the top for the sunrise. This was definitely the coldest part of our trip and I was wearing almost everything I had. Our trip down for the next 3 days was fantastic and it was here that we could really enjoy the beauty of the area. We were also lucky enough to have coincidently time our trip with the Everest Marrathoun that is run every year. We met many of these runners on our way and we were walking back though Tingboche about 9am when the first of the runners started to pass us. They started in Ghorakshep at 7am and finish in Namche. We made it back to Namche a few hours were many runners were still crossing the finsh line all afternoon.

Weather wise it was prefect and our guide kept saying how lucky we were for that time of year (late Nov) … each day started of blue sky until late afternoon were the cloudes would creep in. Most days, well up until Dingboche we would walk in shorts & T-shirts however would need to rug up as soon as the sun disappeared around 4 in the afternoon. Each day however the cloudes seem to come in just a little earlier, (maybe ½ an hour or so) than the day before and on last couple of days it was getting cold and cloudy before midday. Our last day we were little worried that we would get a flight the next day due to the weather, but just made, as we learnt the flights the following day were all cancelled due to weather.

Our porter named “Balaram” was fantastic (most highly recommend, good enough english to be a porter guide). He and his family also feature in the BBC documentary “Porters Progress”. On hind site though I don’t think we needed a guide and although he was a nice chap and he was of very little value, most of the time walking 10mins or so in front of us. All in all like so many others I loved Nepal and will definitely be going back.

Bernie

[James]

Thanks for posting the high points of your trip, it sounds like you had a great trek.

[nepalhike]

This is Krishna Bahadur Adhikari from Nepal and I am team leader since seven year in this travel and tourism industries, so I got many more experience from my abilities and recognize to foreigner who visit with me in Nepal and they are truly positively glad with me and several confidently recommend to other new client in my name and absolute service but only people know my service when they trust me and adjust with me. Hopefully I am your additional helper from Nepal sector and try to survey my service.

Trekking is the emphasize of a visit to Nepal on account of the wide range of geographical features; the country nurtures a variety of vegetation and landscape. In addition to the natural endowment is the rich Himalayan culture. Thousand of visitors trek to different parts of Nepal every year to experience its rustic charm of nature and culture. Most treks go through areas, between 1000 to 3000 meters, although some popular parts reach over 5000 meters.

We offer trekking (Teahouse and Camping), mountaineering, sight seeing, tour, jungle safari, rock climbing, pilgrim’s tour and many more from my effort. That’s wise I would like to request you assessment our country once again and inquires me before you departure from you country. Specially teahouse trekking route for only three region are famous in Nepal that is Annapurna region (3 to 28 days), Everest region (6 to 30 days), Langtang Gosainkunda Helambu region (5 to 18 days) and between these region habitually Annapurna well-known for teahouse in Nepal. My contact details are below:

Krishna Bahadur Adhikari (Team Leader HMG No: 3505)
P.O.Box: 23044, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: 00977-1-2093348
E-mail: treknepal2u@yahoo.com or mountainguide20005@yahoo.com

Your trust is my advancement method in Nepal then we well known to each other through travel and tourism sector.

I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Your Sincerely
Krishna

[nepalhike]

This is Krishna Bahadur Adhikari from Nepal and I am team leader since seven year in this travel and tourism industries, so I got many more experience from my abilities and recognize to foreigner who visit with me in Nepal and they are truly positively glad with me and several confidently recommend to other new client in my name and absolute service but only people know my service when they trust me and adjust with me. Hopefully I am your additional helper from Nepal sector and try to survey my service.

Trekking is the emphasize of a visit to Nepal on account of the wide range of geographical features; the country nurtures a variety of vegetation and landscape. In addition to the natural endowment is the rich Himalayan culture. Thousand of visitors trek to different parts of Nepal every year to experience its rustic charm of nature and culture. Most treks go through areas, between 1000 to 3000 meters, although some popular parts reach over 5000 meters.

We offer trekking (Teahouse and Camping), mountaineering, sight seeing, tour, jungle safari, rock climbing, pilgrim’s tour and many more from my effort. That’s wise I would like to request you assessment our country once again and inquires me before you departure from you country. Specially teahouse trekking route for only three region are famous in Nepal that is Annapurna region (3 to 28 days), Everest region (6 to 30 days), Langtang Gosainkunda Helambu region (5 to 18 days) and between these region habitually Annapurna well-known for teahouse in Nepal. My contact details are below:

Krishna Bahadur Adhikari (Team Leader HMG No: 3505)
P.O.Box: 23044, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: 00977-1-2093348
E-mail: treknepal2u@yahoo.com or mountainguide20005@yahoo.com

Your trust is my advancement method in Nepal then we well known to each other through travel and tourism sector.

I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Your Sincerely
Krishna