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Our annual visit in 2009, took us to a remote region close to Machhapuchre (Fish Tail) Holy Mountain of Nepal. I am delighted also to report that 13 trekkers managed to summit Mardi Himal which stands at over 5580 metres. From the summit of Mardi Himal the view of Machhapuchre is breathtaking and no camera lens can do this mountain real justice. The summit of Mardi Himal is connected to the Machhapuchre ridge line, therefore when one stands opposite looking at this magnificent mountain from Mardi Himal it is literally in ones face….all 6998 metres of it rock, ice and snow.
Our visit once again incorporated all the usual trimmings with local visits to places of interest, foot travel through the many remote Gurung farming villages and in to mountainous terrain along the Khomein Ridge which is not heavily trekked by westerners due to the difficulties underfoot and the altitude. We have been fortunate over the years to be able to have Doctors accompany us on our annual visits to Nepal all of them have been a terrific asset over the years and also take much of the burden off the trek leaders shoulders, especially the medical aspect of trekking to high altitudes.
Our treks have been very varied and of course we have managed over the years to see much of Nepal and learn a lot about the Nepalese culture and traditions. Not all of them are attempts to climb mountains or summits, but we will each year generally go above 4000 metres through high Cols or similar to move from one area to another.
They are clearly an experience that our pupils relish and their trekking experience stays with many of them for years. In fact an increasing number of OH’s are now taking the opportunity to spend Gap periods in the village of Ghachok where Shree Sharada School is situated.
In recent years we have seen poverty levels improve and much more of the tourist spent money is now reaching the more remote and impoverished areas. Nepal is endeavouring to lift itself out of poverty and needs western support to do so. Tourism is its major source of income and the more we trek the more we help. The unfortunate Maoist problems a few years back practically crippled tourism and the Maoist movement quickly woke up to the fact that they were ‘shooting themselves in the foot’ every time they caused problems within the country. In recent years they have been given a much larger say in Nepal’s internal politics, which in turn has helped to ease many of the problems that were experienced by trekking groups in the late 1990’s.
The trek in 2010 is scheduled to go in to the Manaslu region, which was once a protected and heavily restricted area. Westerners were not permitted to trek in this region without official sanctioning from the government and in some areas without the local elders permission. Trekking permits can now be obtained for this area, but are still restricted to some degree. Manaslu is the eighth highest mountain in the world and along with the many of the other 8000 metre mountains first climbed in the 1950’s by mountaineers who had no idea what lay ahead of them, or whether they would actually return from their venture, unlike modern mountaineers who now climb them with specialised clothing, technical equipment and satellite route planning assistance.
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