3rd November 2023
In October this year, I was lucky enough to travel to Bhutan to undertake the Snowman Trek with World Expeditions. This 23 day trek has been on my wish list for fifteen years, ever since I learned about Bhutan. The small Buddhist Himalayan kingdom can only be entered on a guided trip, so the Snowman Trek is only attempted by a few dozen trekkers each year. It has a small weather window in October and November when conditions are favourable, and has a high attrition rate among participants due to altitude sickness, or snow making the trail impassable.
There were 15 trekkers – two Slovenians, two South Africans, four Kiwis, one Pakistani, one American and five Aussies – so quite an interesting mix. We had an international guide from Argentina, Angel, who had led several trips to the summit of Everest, plus two Bhutanese professional guides, Namgay and Chencho. We had an amazing local support crew of three horsemen, with 30 ponies and mules, a cook, a knife hand, and six men to put up and take down our tents. Luxury!
We walked 298 km on the trek, gained 15 km of elevation and spent around 10 or our 22 tent nights below minus 15 degrees – it was quite an adventure! We had blue skies every day, which resulted in very cold nights, but the amazing clear views more than made up for the cold. Our Bhutanese guide Namgay reported that this was the first time he’d experienced such fine weather in his 18 years of leading trips.
We climbed over 11 passes (or Las) that define the border between Tibet and Bhutan. Ten of the passes are over 4,500m, with our highest pass at 5326m, and our highest camp 5060m.
Savouring views of the 7000m peaks Jomolhari and Jichu Drake, we followed yak herders trails to remote villages in the Lunana area. This is isolated from the rest of Bhutan for much of the year by snow.
We all had some fairly mild symptoms of altitude sickness, managed well with advice from Angel. My symptom was nausea, but I emerged from the trek in fine fettle, apart from a big scab on my nose from a sunburn – nothing heals at altitude. The trek was hard, walking an average of eight hours a day, although the crew and fellow trekkers were wonderful.
Bhutan, its landscape and people have exceeded my expectations 100% and I’d love to visit again, however unlikely.
Maria Cunningham (Member)
