Tashi Labsta was the third, and most likely the final, out of the five high and technical passes we would cover on the high route. The pass is notorious because of a high danger of rockfall and the perilous glaciers that border it to the west. It was the final obstacle on the way to… Continue reading Tashi Labsta La
My relationship to the Everest Base Camp Trek is ambiguous. Though the Solokhumbu is a fascinating and fast-changing region characterized by its hospitable Sherpa inhabitants, the never-ending trekker's line, the bad mountain etiquette and the ill prepared/complaining/obnoxious tourists made me let out a sigh of relief when we left the area and started heading for… Continue reading Through the Khumbu
Maybe sometimes it is better not to know what to expect, to expect the unexpected, and to just go with the flow. "To remember that your present situation is not your final destination, that the best is yet to come, and that fortune favours the brave." (Quotes found inside Yak Hotel, Makalu BC). With no… Continue reading Two Cols and a Concussion
Never ever have I been as relieved to reach a place as I was when I got out of the jeep into the streets of Num. After a small quest to restock on cookies, kerosene and a welcome meal of fried noodles with eggs, we were ready to start afresh. A local man led us… Continue reading The promised land: Num to Makalu Base Camp
The way to Num was long, hard and full of surprises. I'd like to explain, first of all, that I will be talking a lot from the I perspective in my writings from the Great Himalaya Trail. This is because, even though we are a team, at the same time it is a very personal… Continue reading Brutalised and shattered: Taplejung to Num
Back in Belgium, I got the feeling that the universe did not seem to be aligned for this trip. Never have I been seriously injured before, yet 3 weeks before flying to Kathmandu I took a muscle in my ankle. Wherever I needed to get to in Belgium had road diversions or cancelled trains. While… Continue reading The Great Himalaya Trail, chapter 1: rumbles in Kathmandu
Our story with Aarn starts on Te Araroa in New Zealand. When we first started encountering these packs we frowned at them with great skepticism, wondering how awkward it must be walking with those pockets on the front of your body. We didn’t really understand the point of it, and we decided we did not… Continue reading Aarn Guiding Light Bodypack
1. SEASON September - January/February Started in Kanchenjunga in the end of September, we still hit the last of monsoon season. A lot of rain during the first three weeks on the Milky Danda and in Makalu. Everest was very busy as we hit it in the middle of peak season (mid-October), so at times… Continue reading Great Himalaya Trail: Planning & Logistics
2600 kilometres into my Te Araroa hike I arrived in Queenstown. From there, my companions and I decided to detour from the trail and include the famous Routeburn Track. At the Routeburn Flats shelter we encountered a young German, who with many gestures was explaining an admiring girl that he had walked up to Mount Luxmore, a… Continue reading Has anyone noticed the women out there?
Going out on paddling trips in the deep blue waters of the Aurlands- and Nærøyfjords was a dream I'd cherished since first coming here two years ago. Because kayak rental is, however, expensive, and sometimes not allowed without proper certification, nothing ever came of it. Maybe one day, I figured, I'd have friends with a… Continue reading Packrafting the fjords
Team Belgica 