Everyone had left by the time we awoke in Dharapani in the morning: BJ, the guys, even our four-footed friend had disappeared. Suddenly I felt utterly alone, alone and tired at the end of the world. I realised I was tired of being alone, tired of being cold, tired of being sick, tired even of… Continue reading Annapurna Dreams
Even though we lost a day looking for phantom trails out of the Ruby Valley, we still arrived a day early to Machhakhola. Manaslu is a restricted area: it requires a special permit and a guide for company. I was quite grateful for a day of rest in the wait: the past 7 days alone… Continue reading Manaslu Circuit
Of the Ruby Valley track I had no knowledge, and no expectations. It was just a link between Langtang and Manaslu, a walk that needed to be walked to stitch the regions together. It soon became clear that there is much more to the Ruby Valley than that. Again we were taken by surprise as… Continue reading The Ruby Valley
Back in the Rolwaling we already decided not to cross Tilman's Pass, the last truly technical stretch on the high route. The Iron Lady in Thame told us that no one goes there and true enough, we found no information whatsoever on this pass. Here and there we caught that the ice on top of… Continue reading The Sacred Lake: Langtang National Park
It is said that the Rolwaling is a mirror of the Khumbu 40 years ago, before the people there abandoned most of their traditional activities and developed everything for tourism. I'm not sure about that, but the Rolwaling is a fast-changing region that was hit hard by the earthquake. It is also inhabited by Sherpa… Continue reading Rolwaling
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
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
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?
Team Belgica 