Tuesday September 1, 2009The Everest Workshop & Trek 2010
Thank you for your interest in the 2010 workshop trek!
Our first "experiment" of offering a photography workshop and Everest trek to our audiences was more successful than we could have ever imagined. The word "successful" has many meanings as it relates to the 2009 trek: the trip was financially viable, it was fully booked, the participants represented a wide range of personalities and lifestyles, everyone got along very well, no one was injured, etc…
For us, though, the 2009 trip was "successful" because everyone returned home from this experience as a better photographer and a changed person. Visiting the Himalayas can be a very profound experience and the 2009 participants fell in love with the region and its people…and have the amazing photos to prove it! It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for everyone involved and a trek that will be talked about for years to come.
Well, maybe it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime adventure because we're going to do it again!
For 2010 we will be returning to Everest but this time we'll be exploring the Tibetan sides of the mountain. In fact, we will be visiting both the East face and the North face of the world's highest peak. The North face is a popular destination as many Everest climbers start their ascent from the North side base camp. If you are familiar with Jon's podcast The Rest of Everest, then no doubt you are familiar with the North side base camp.
The East face of Everest is entirely unfamiliar. In fact, very few people ever journey to the East side and therefor the area is still wild and undocumented. Climbers tend to ignore this side of the mountain because of the extreme difficulty of all East face routes. The East side is also more difficult to get to. The North side base camp can be driven to along a spur road from Tibet's famous Friendship Highway but getting to the East Face of Everest requires several days of trekking. All told, an East Face trek will take about 8 days roundtrip.
Visiting the Tibetan side of Everest is very different from visiting the Nepali side of the mountain. The altitude is extreme on both sides but the acclimatization process is very different on the Tibetan side. For this trip, we will get accustomed to the high altitude by visiting several cities and cultural sites on the Tibetan Plateau. Our starting point once in Tibet will be Lhasa, the famous capital of Tibet and the former home of the Dalai Lama. We will get to explore the amazing Potala Palace as well as many important buddhist temples and sites such as the Jokhang Temple. While it may seem like we'll be doing a lot of sightseeing, we'll actually be getting our bodies accustomed to the altitude because the city of Lhasa is already at 12,000 feet (3500m).
As with the 2009 trek, the focus of this trip with be the photographic workshop taught by Chris and Jon. In order to give every participant the opportunity to make the most of the workshop, we will be using Jeeps while sightseeing/acclimating, then porters and pack animals to carry the majority of our supplies, luggage and personal photography equipment while trekking. In other words, every participant will only be responsible for carrying a small daypack and whatever camera gear will be used on any given day. This way the trek will be filled with opportunities for improving your picture-taking skills, not your endurance under a heavy pack!
To keep the group as close together as possible, we will all be staying at the same hotels and guesthouses throughout the trip. Once we leave for the trek itself, we will be camping. Again, we've worked out all of the logistics with Mountain Tribes and there will only be two people per sleeping tent. We will also have a mobile kitchen and dining tent with two head cooks and five kitchen assistants. Every effort is being made to facilitate the workshop and make the trekking experience as conducive to learning as possible.
The trek will require about a four week commitment (including roundtrip travel from/to home) from each participant. In order to achieve the best weather window for our adventure, everyone involved with the Workshop Trek will need to arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal no later than April 15th. From that date, the following itinerary will be followed (give or take a day):
Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu (1,400m)
Day 2: Sightseeing in Kathmandu (Tibet visa processed)
Day 3: Fly to Lhasa (3,650m) new Mandala hotel
Day 4: Acclimatization & sightseeing in Lhasa (3,650m)
Day 5: Acclimatization & sightseeing in Lhasa (3,650m)
Day 6: Drive to Gyantse (4,000m). Zongri hotel
Day 7: Drive to Shigatse (3,900m) Gangchen hotel
Day 8: Drive to Shegar (4,350m).Everest hotel
Day 9: Drive to Kharta (3,690m) camp
Day 10: Trek to Dambu (above Landrubling) (approx 4,260m) camp
Day 11: Trek to Sha-u Tsho (4,560m) camp
Day 12: Trek to Joksam (4,000m) camp
Day 13: Trek to Pethang (4,300m) camp
Day 14: Rest and acclimatize at Pethang Ringmo / spare day. camp
Day 15: Trek to Basecamp / Karbus (5,270m) camp
Day 16: Trek to Bridge Rakpa Chu. camp
Day 17: Trek to Base Langma La (4,800m) camp
Day 18: Trek to Shomare - above Landrubling (4,220m) camp
Day 19: Trek to Kharta (3 hours) camp
Day 20: Drive to Rongbok monastery camp
Day 21: Everest North Base Camp camp
Day 22: Drive to Nyelam. Guesthouse
Day 23: Drive to Kathmandu
Day 24: Free day in Kathmnadu
Day 25: Departure from Kathmandu
Prices, Dates and Registration Details
We know this is the information that most people have been interested in. First off, it must be said that participation in the workshop trek will be limited to adults age 18 and older. We are pricing the trek at $8,500 per person. This will be all inclusive once everyone arrives in Kathmandu on the 15th of April, 2010. In addition to any workshop materials, the price will include:
- All ground transportation once in Nepal
- 4 nights accommodation (including Breakfast and Dinner) at our hotel in Kathmandu
- Traditional Nepali meal for our team dinner celebration
- Airfare from Kathmandu to Lhasa, Tibet
- All hotel and guesthouse lodging and meals while in Tibet
- All meals and camping support during trek
- Tents, sleeping mattresses and chairs
- Trekking permit and Tibetan Visa
- Fully insured trekking guide, assistant Sherpa, cooks, porters, yaks and Jeeps.
- Courtesy tip for our Nepali and Tibetan staff
The price does NOT include round-trip airfare to Kathmandu from your country of residence.
The scheduled dates for the workshop will be from Thursday, April 15th, 2010 to Sunday, May 9th, 2009.
Due to the large demand for the workshop and the fact that we are limiting the number of participants to 15 (fifteen), we will be conducting registration through our websit at
www.everestthetrek.com/registration
Registration will officially open at 9:00AM MDT (UTC -7) on Sunday, September 20th and will be first-come-first-served. Every completed registration form will be time- and date-stamped which will determine the order in which we will be offering positions on the workshop. If for any reason a name is removed from the list, all registrants below that name will be moved up one position.
Once we determine the registration order, you will receive an email from info@everestthetrek.com informing you that you are on the participant list. After that, we will require a 50% deposit ($4250) to secure your place on the trek.
To encourage early registration and to firm up the participant list as quickly as possible we will apply an "early bird" discount of $500 for anyone who pays their 50% deposit by October 20th, 2009. In this case, the discount will be applied to the full price immediately and only a deposit of $4000 will be required to secure your place on the participant list.
All deposits will be NON-REFUNDABLE and need to be paid by December 1st, 2009.
The remaining 50% balance will need to be paid no later than February 1st, 2010.
Full information on payment forms and methods will be included in your registration email.
The Trip of a Lifetime
Thanks again for your interest in the 2010 Workshop Trek.
We're making every effort to ensure that this trip will be the experience of a lifetime. The goal here is to provide an adventurous, safe learning environment to empower you to take the kinds of photographs and video you’ve only dreamed of taking.
And because Chris and Jon and Monika are podcasters, the entire trip will be documented ad nauseum with both 1080p HD video and high-resolution audio. They will be using this trek to generate months of content for their shows–and you’ll be part of it! This is an amazing opportunity to not only enjoy the adventure of a lifetime, but to have it professionally captured in photos and video and fully produced to be shared with the world.
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