Inturdiction:
This is the place that separates the boys from the men. This is also a place where boys become men! The Everest (Solo-Khumbu) region is not for the 'run-of-the-mill adventure tourist'. This place beckons the hardest of the hardcore folks out there. This place is a paradise for those who get excited hearing words like EBC (Everest Base Camp), high-altitude trekking and mountaineering and near death experiences that leave you feeling more alive than ever. In short this is the ultimate adventure destination for those whom the society dubs as 'Crazy'.
To successfully navigate this region, you indeed, need that streak of madness blended with sheer grit in just the right proportions. This is what will help you surpass numerous difficulties that you will face for sure during your trekking and soul-stirring mountaineering adventure-filled expeditions, like, when the air around starts to get thinner making it difficult to breathe, your body being stretched way beyond any normal endurance levels and your mind starting to go numb. The elements of this region are harsh, to say the least, and fatal if you make the cardinal mistake of not respecting them. The region with its erratic climate changes, its deceptive snow laden mountain slopes, its slippery layers of ice, glaciers that may give way before you can recover and its precarious paths make this expedition the most daunting one you would have ever undertaken.
This is where you can eat the world's most expensive chicken as you sit chatting, recuperating after a day of laborious climbing. This is where a little 10-year old Sherpa can embarrass you with his ability to navigate the mountain terrain with comparative ease. This is where the not so distant view of the Everest Base Camp makes your chest swell with pride and eyes filled with tears of joy, as images of the magnificence that is Mt. Everest conjure up before you. This is where the awesome heights leave you feeling humbled. This is a place where you don't have to go in search for an adventure. Your adventure starts the moment you board the plane to land on one of the world's most dangerous, shortest and highest airstrips, Lukla. This region inspires you as it tests your mettle and will not relent till it brings out the Snowy Horizon in you.
Will you dare yourself to make this trip? Will you be ready to test yourself against one of natures mightiest? Will you prove to yourself that you are a true Snowy Horizon?
If the answer to all the above questions is yes, then we have the most potent of packages in store for you. Go ahead. Take that first step. Take pride in being called 'Crazy'. For this one thing we assure you of, when you tell stories of your adventure-filled exploits of how you tamed the treacherous terrains and belittled the forces of nature during your wild trekking and mountaineering ventures to your family, friends and acquaintances, 'Crazy' would soon give way to 'Respect'!
If the answer to all the above questions is yes, then we have the most potent of packages in store for you. Go ahead. Take that first step. Take pride in being called 'Crazy'. For this one thing we assure you of, when you tell stories of your adventure-filled exploits of how you tamed the treacherous terrains and belittled the forces of nature during your wild trekking and mountaineering ventures to your family, friends and acquaintances, 'Crazy' would soon give way to 'Respect'!
Nepal is a land-locked country between India and China. It spans across the hills and mountains between the enormous Ganges plain and the high Tibetan plateau. To the north of it are the majestic Himalayas, including Mount Everest (8,850 mts.), Kanchenjunga (8,586 mts.), Lhotse (8,516 mts.), Makalu (8,485 mts.), Cho Oyo (8,201 mts.), Dhaulagiri I (8,167 mts.), Manaslu (8,163 mts.) and Annapurna I (8,091 mts.) - eight of the ten highest peaks on planet Earth.
Nepal is a country with many legends and folklores that add to the vibrancy and colour of the place rendered by it being a cultural bridge between Tibet and India. It is a potpourri of various ethnic groups, castes and clans. Nepal, the only Hindu kingdom in the world, also has Buddhists, a few Muslims and Christians. Kathmandu, the country’s capital is a fascinating city offering many engaging delights and various interesting places to visit and for sightseeing.
About The Everest (Solo-Khumbhu) Region
Most people in Nepal call Mt. Everest, Sagarmatha, which means ‘Forehead in the Sky’. The Tibetans call Mt. Everest, Chomolungma, which translates as ‘Mother Goddess of the Universe.’ These are expressions which are not at all far from the truth. How else does one describe the magnificence of Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain at 8,850 mts.(29,035 ft.), offering the highest perch on Earth?
The Everest region represents nature at its most powerful, most awe-inspiring, most unconquerable. It offers an opportunity of a lifetime to stare the impossible in the eye. It is a region that has many inherent dangers, extremely low temperatures, low levels of oxygen, high winds at high altitudes, the tremendously strenuous terrain, to mention just a few. However, ask anybody who has been there if all the hardships were worth it and more often than not the answer would be in an absolute affirmative. It is a place where every true Snowy Horizon would definitely leave his/her heart behind.
Distinct Geography:
The Everest region lies mostly in the country of Nepal with some parts of it extending beyond the borders of Nepal and into China. This region known as Solo-Khumbu includes the famed Sagarmatha National Park in addition to over 90 peaks of height greater than 7,000 mts. and includes the towns of Namche Bazaar and Lukla, the villages of Thami, Khumjung, Pangboche, Phakding, Monjo, Dingboche, Debuche, Lobuche, Pheriche and Kunde and the famous Buddhist monastery at Tengboche. Some of these permanent settlements in the region are situated as high as 4,500 mts. and the summer encampments can be at much higher altitudes. Across the region, altitude ranges from 3,300 mts. to 8,850 mts., the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest.
The Everest region lies mostly in the country of Nepal with some parts of it extending beyond the borders of Nepal and into China. This region known as Solo-Khumbu includes the famed Sagarmatha National Park in addition to over 90 peaks of height greater than 7,000 mts. and includes the towns of Namche Bazaar and Lukla, the villages of Thami, Khumjung, Pangboche, Phakding, Monjo, Dingboche, Debuche, Lobuche, Pheriche and Kunde and the famous Buddhist monastery at Tengboche. Some of these permanent settlements in the region are situated as high as 4,500 mts. and the summer encampments can be at much higher altitudes. Across the region, altitude ranges from 3,300 mts. to 8,850 mts., the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest.
One of the most dangerous parts of the region is the Khumbu Icefall at the head of the Khumbu Glacier. It is at an elevation of 5,486 mts., a little above the Everest Base Camp and southwest of the Everest summit. The danger is due to the unbelievable speed at which the Khumbu glacier, that forms the icefall, moves, causing large crevasses to open up with little warning. Also, the magnificent heights all around, can play ruthless games with you. Altitude sickness, frostbites, blizzards and bitter cold might test your resolve. Conquering becomes more vital first in your mind and over your senses and only then over nature itself.
The Untamed Factor:
The Khumbu region becomes dry and desert from around October to spring and a contrasting intense green and flowery in the monsoons. The rapid change in elevation in the region leads to flora and fauna that is diverse with dense forests of pine and oak and up to 4,000 mts., the flowering rhododendrons. The latter causes a riot of colors in spring and is a major reason to make the trip. Tiny snow rhododendrons are amazingly, the highest altitude plants in the region. Other flora that can be seen here includes the gentian, primrose, edelweiss and the mountain poppy while the deep valleys offer sights of blue pine, fir and juniper, which is highly sought by the locals for its fragrance.
The Khumbu region becomes dry and desert from around October to spring and a contrasting intense green and flowery in the monsoons. The rapid change in elevation in the region leads to flora and fauna that is diverse with dense forests of pine and oak and up to 4,000 mts., the flowering rhododendrons. The latter causes a riot of colors in spring and is a major reason to make the trip. Tiny snow rhododendrons are amazingly, the highest altitude plants in the region. Other flora that can be seen here includes the gentian, primrose, edelweiss and the mountain poppy while the deep valleys offer sights of blue pine, fir and juniper, which is highly sought by the locals for its fragrance.
Most of the wildlife seen here comprises birds including Danfe or Danphe (in Nepali), the Impeyan Pheasant and national bird of Nepal. Tibetan ravens, Lammergeyers or bearded vultures, Griffons which are similar to the Lammergeyers but heavier and with shorter, wider tails and Golden eagles can be seen gliding along the mountain sides either hunting or scavenging. Blood pheasants and flocks of Snow pigeons can be spotted at close quarters and birds like the Snow coughs that soar to seemingly impossible heights remind a Snowy Horizon of the task ahead.
Land animals in these regions are elusive, so keep an eye out for the Himalayan Thar, a large mountain goat that is excellent at rock climbing. The males can touch one meter in height and sport a copper brown coat with a slightly paler mane. Although extremely hard to spot, the region is also known to have a number of Snow leopards and Wolves that live at the top of the tree lines. A little beauty, the Weasel might present itself to you, even at altitudes of 18,000 ft., as a blur of tan fur scampering along somewhere. The musk deer that is unfortunately illegally hunted for its Musk is sometimes seen in the dark forest near Dole or Tengboche. Red panda and the Himalayan black bear are some of the more exotic animals that are found in this region.
And finally, the yaks and naks; yaks are the male animals while the naks are females. They are famed around the world for their thick coat and ability to thrive at extreme altitudes and temperatures. A yak can sleep outside in -40° Celsius and some are known to grow to weigh over a ton while standing 1.8 mts. tall at the shoulders.
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