HIMALAYAS

The Himalayas are situated in Asia separating the subcontinent of India and the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayas are a massive mountain range with the worlds largest river systems and stretches across the five nations of China, India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal and is home to fourteen of the worlds highest peaks including Everest, K2 and Kanchanjunga which are in excess of 7200 metres, it is estimated that 750 million people live in the river areas of the Himalayas, a number of hill stations are located in the lower Himalayas, plants and wildlife vary in the Himalayas due to the different climatic zones and altitudes, the base is tropical and so plants including orchids and rhododendrons thrive, the higher elevations are permanently covered in ice and snow, the desire to conquer mountains such as Everest and K2 has been the ambition of many experienced rock climbers and mountaineers for many years.

Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first to reach the summit of Everest in the Himalayas in 1953, since then many people have attempted Himalayan mountaineering and climbing, some successfully and some not so, today Himalayan mountaineering is led by a highly experienced team of high altitude sherpa guides and a carefully planned itinerary which can be altered at short notice if the weather changes, as it can do, very quickly in the Himalayas, the Sherpas set up Base Camps and Advance Base Camp which provide kitchen and shower facilities, overnight stays at these camps allow members of the team to become acclimatised in order to continue the ascent, Himalayan mountaineering is a once in a life time opportunity and requires a high level of fitness and a lot of preparation, Himalayan mountaineering begins at Kathmandu where equipment is checked to ensure that all members of the team have the correct gear, from here the team flies to Lhasa to get acclimatised, a journey by jeep will take the team to Xigatse and then on the Zegar, at each stage of the Himalayan mountaineering adventure the team has the chance to acclimatise while the sherpas continue the ascent to set up the next camp, many of these planned expeditions attempt the north side of Everest, Himalayan climbing is more popular on the south side of Everest because of the ice, specialist equipment has to be used including crampons.

Himalayan climbing is also led by a team of experienced rock climbers and mountaineers, rock climbing is different from mountaineering, as is the equipment required in Himalayan climbing as some of the rock faces may be covered in ice, Himalayan climbing can be attempted by beginners due to the different levels of ruggedness and steepness of a rock face, beginners are required to attend a training course prior to climbing in Himalayas, non-guided expeditions are available for experienced climbers in the Himalayas, guided expeditions are well planned and follow an itinerary, a variety of expeditions are available for both Himalayan mountaineering and Himalayan climbing, choose which mountain you wish to conquer and make your plans thorough, some of the mountains in the Himalayas have not yet been climbed.