Nepal 2018
Trekking from Chomrong to Bamboo
April 19 @ 8am Nepal time
Great news! The weather has finally cleared and everyone woke up to glorious views of Annapurna South, Machapuchare (Fishtail) and the other snow-capped peaks in the Himalayan range they are trekking toward. Today's hike will first descend for an hour and then once again ascend to a slightly higher elevation of 2,310m at the small settlement of Bamboo where the group will spend the fourth night on the trek. The weather forecast is for continued clear skies, so the timing of the trek seems to have been blessed with optimal weather for the final approach to the high glacial basecamps.
The group will soon enter the "blackout" zone as far as mobile phone signals are concerned, but there will be SAT phone options at the lodges each night so I'll be able to get reports each evening which I'll continue to share with you all. All good in Nepal!
Trekking from Landrung to Chomrong
The team of Kristin students have arrived in the village of Chomrong at an altitude of 2,170m around 2pm Nepal time. The students hiked over terraced fields and crossed several streams and rivers as they ascended through the rhododendron forests and begin to progress above the tree line. The 700m of altitude gain after today's challenging trek have brought them to the entrance of the narrow canyon that leads to Annapurna Basecamp.
There has been some light rain and low clouds for most of the day which obscures some of the mountain views, but makes for very cool and pleasant trekking conditions. Everyone is healthy and doing very well during the often challenging trek. The group will be having dinner around 6:30pm and then getting some rest and reflection time in the comfortable lodges before lights out around 9pm. Tomorrow's hike to the village of Bamboo is "only" 4>5 hours and the altitude gain will be moderate (2,170m > 2,310m).
18 April - Landruk
April 17 - Trekking to Landrung Village
4:30pm Nepal time - April 16
Everyone has arrived in the first trekking night destination of Australia Camp. The sherpa team is very impressed with the strength and fitness of the group who made it to the camp in just over 2 hours of uphill hiking. The weather is a bit hazy, but hopefully the clouds will part and afford everyone a wonderful view of the entire range of the Annapurna Himalayas that is available from the camp.
Several students "walked in the shoes of the Nepalese" by taking over porter duties and hauling the 30>40kg loads in traditional style. All good in Nepal!
Day Two... White Water Rafting
Current Location: https://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=uzWiJ/27.86561N/84.63263E
After a thorough safety briefing and fitting of flotation jackets and helmets, the group is off for the 4>5 hour raft trip. The weather is clear and warm, so the conditions are perfect.
All the Kristin students & staff really enjoyed the white-water raft trip today on the Trisuli River. Everyone is now safe & sound in the riverside tented camp and are enjoying hot drinks and a bit of time to relax before dinner is served by the rafting crew.
After dinner the crew will put on a nice campfire so everyone can enjoy the relaxing sounds of the river and the first star filled night in Nepal. There were no accidents or incidents to report on the rafting excursion. Everyone is looking forward to a night in the tents and then departing early tomorrow morning for the start of the trek to Annapurna basecamp. All good in Nepal!
Day One in Nepal
We've all have had a very good day here in Nepal. Everyone woke up from a well deserved night of rest and enjoyed a breakfast buffet in the hotel dining room. We then spent about 2 hours repacking from the travel suitcases to the new Kristin duffel bags so that everyone is ready to go tomorrow morning. After a lunch in the garden of the hotel we drove though the traffic, earthquake damage, urban intensity and city sprawl to the outskirts of Kathmandu and the location of the VVM School.
Because this was Nepalese New Years day, the students of the school were on break, but the Kristin students were welcomed by the principal of the school who expressed his sincere gratitude for the generosity extended by the Kristin students in raising funds necessary to service and replace the internal filters of the school's water filtration system.
There are almost 600 students attending the school and the clean, hygienic drinking water that will now once again be possible because of the new filters and UV light sterilisation parts will have far reaching benefits in not only the health of each student, but also the quality of education they are receptive to because they are not distracted by gastrointestinal distress, dehydration and other consequences of a fouled water supply. The Kristin students also turned over a wonderful supply of new sports equipment to the principal. Before leaving, I reminded the principal that the Kristin students and community also collected a large amount of toothbrushes and other extremely useful medical supplies which we will be utilizing in our major dental and vision camp to be held at the school on April 27.
After receiving traditional garlands, the Kristin team left for the ancient hilltop temple of Swayambunath where they will enjoy this 2,500 year old sacred monument and it's splendid panoramic view of the entire Kathmandu Valley. After dinner once again in the hotel the teachers will be getting everyone to bed so we can have an early and efficient departure for the rafting tomorrow morning.
Arrival in Kathmandu!
The Kristin Nepal expedition team arrived safe and sound here in Kathmandu. The Silk Air flight touched down on time and after about 1.5 hours to secure visas and collect the luggage and cargo, everyone rolled out of the airport. We drove everyone back to Hotel Manaslu where the students were give a short briefing and encouraged to head right up to their rooms and get a well deserved night of sleep. Mr Churches requested that we not wake everyone up until at least 7:30 tomorrow morning.
All the students and staff are tired, but grateful the long journey to Nepal has been completed. We'll get started on the good stuff tomorrow morning. The hard part is over. Warm regards from Kathmandu!
Breakfast at the Hotel Manaslu
Today’s plan is pack for the trek, visit VVM school in Patan and present the UNICEF donation and then explore Kathmandu.
En-route to Nepal... First Stop... Singapore!
Our Nepal expedition team are making their way through the teeming urban wilderness of Singapore before checking into their hotel for a bit of rest from the all night flight. They will land in Kathmandu late tomorrow evening.
Nepal Trip 2018 - Packing with a difference!
This Wednesday 39 students boarded a plane for Nepal, participating in a 3 week adventure aimed at making a positive difference for earthquake ravaged villages in the Himalayas. Alongside personal packing, the students packed a whole range of donated goods, after dedicating hours of their time these last 18 months.
Nils Bachmann and friends worked weekends doing odd jobs, sausage sizzles and refereeing to buy sports equipment for local children and tools for the community centre project Kristin School is helping to build. Over 1500 toothbrushes have been packed in bags, ready to get to the dental clinics that need them.Briar Petrie and her team wrote letters and collected 2000 feminine hygiene products, to help ensure girls stay in school all year round.
Everyone on the Nepal trip is proud of the donations they are taking and we can’t wait to see the photos as they begin their amazing adventure in Nepal!
