Hi all,

Following positive experiences of self-organising climbing trips to AK and the Cordillera Blanca, I'm beginning to plan our first expedition to the Himalaya (Nepal). Just wondering if anyone has comments or advice about the pros/cons / costs/benefits of organizing a Himalayan expedition (versus hiring a company like Monterosa or Asian Trekking to organise the logisitcs). For instance, how long it takes to obtain permits and in KTM prior to heading out? Likewise, is it possible to find a porter/cook privately, or are most of them affiliated with a company/booking agent?

Any tips and comments are appreciated!

Hey there!

I climbed this year with Monterosa, having them for logistics up to base camp on Island Peak and then Ama Dablam. I initially wanted to organize everything myself, but as I didn´t start that much in advance and things weren´t going as I wanted to, I ended up hiring them.

First, have lots of patience. These people, I mean Nepalis in the tourism industry in general, are the most disorganized I´ve encountered. Even in Africa it was easier to organize a climb. Be prepared for indecipherable e-mails (although written in english) and long periods of waiting in between them. Phoning isn´t that much of a great idea because it´s very hard to understand their english.

Regarding permits, from what I can tell, Monterosa got ours the week before our climb, but I don´t know if they already had put an application for it, and I know you have to pay something in advance. To me that seems to be the hardest part for a foreigner to do themselves and what made me give up doing it myself in the time I had.

Regarding porters, cooks, group equipment, etc, If you have contacts in Kathmandu, it may be easy to organize. The people at the AAC Guesthouse there apparently can help, but it´s worth checking in advance. Teahouses and meals you can arrange during the trek, there´s tons and they´re never full, so you shouldn´t have a problem, and they too can help with porters. Just make sure you do so in advance and have back ups - I left base camp in the middle of the high season and couldn´t find a porter to bring my stuff down to Lukla, so I had to send it in yaks and it took a day extra to arrive, besides being more expensive.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cissa!

Thanks so much for the information, it's a real help as I start planning our logistics. Especially the advice to contact the AAC guesthouse in KTH. Other than that, it seems like the "basic base camp support" options from the main expedition companies are the way to go, even if it entails patience! Justs as a question, how long before your trip did you contact Monterosa?

I started contacting Monterosa about 6 weeks before I arrived. Two people recommended them to me, but still it took me time to decide on them just because I sent lots of questions and their e-mails were hard to understand. I sent my deposit about 3 weeks before getting there because they needed money to apply for the permit, and payed the rest when I got to Kathmandu. Although it may seem short notice, everything was organized and ready to go once we started the trek.

Thanks to both of you. Some really great information on the Alan Arnette site. Had been on his site before, but don't know how I missed the guide/logistics company comparison.