At age 12 my friend and I walked three days to the village of Tumlingtar.? For the first time I saw Westerners and heard about earning money by being a porter.? My family was very poor and life was difficult for my parents and siblings, so I decided to become a porter.? My friend and I trekked to Namche with loads and stayed there to work.

Eventually I landed a job portering on an Everest expedition carrying loads to Camp 3.? on one trip down, crossing a ladder in the Khumbu Icefall, I fell into a deep crevasse dangling by a rope.? There was no help available, but I eventually was able to pull myself out.? I vowed then no more Everest climbing for me! (Now my brother Jimig wants to climb Everest.)

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Trekking is safe in Nepal as long as you have a propoer guide who is familiar with the area.

The government of Nepal no longer requires a trekking permit for Everest, Annapurna, Langtang, and some other regions. However, conservation permit or National park permits are required for these regions. There are few restricted trekking areas in Nepal, where trekking permits are required. We will inform you upoin your inquiry.

A teahouse or  lodge is a locally run guesthouse. In popular areas such as Annapurna, Everest and Lantang Region--there are many nice accommodations and one can trek with a bare minimum of equipment.

Tea house treks are often quite nice, serving excellent food and providing many different services such as hot showers and laundry.

In this arrangement overnight halts with dinner and breakfast will be in Tea-houses (Lodges) and lunches in local restaurants en-route.

Based on the trip you plan, I will email you a list of things you will need.  Much trekking gear can be rented at inexpensive prices in Thamel, the tourist area of Kathmandu.  Sleeping bags (new) and down jackets rent for about $1 per day, so it isn?t necessary to burden your baggage with these items. I have also prepared a standard gear list to be brought to Nepal which you can view by clicking here.

During my working period as a guide for trekking companies, for the past 7 years, I have seen a lot of mishandling of clients and trekking staffs because of the tight competition between agencies in our shrinking tourism industry. Working independently is a risky decision for me because big companies are able to attract many tourists through their advertisement. Unfortunately the guides and porters that have to work for the trekking agencies are often not paid fairly.

Because of not being involved in the planning process guides have little flexibility regarding trekking program, the trek’s budget and personal requirements of the client. When clients pay the agency for their trek and the guide often obtains limited cash to pay for lodging and food for the entire the trek. If the amount is too small, the guide has to make up the difference by his own way. This type of financial crisis can create an uncomfortable situation for both guide & client. Many companies behave this way since they cannot make reasonable money because of the stiff competition. This limited amount funds the companies give their guides for the trek is not sufficient to provide quality service.

Being independent trekking guide I feel free to work with my clients, and provide them quality service as much as I can and more importantly we have clear understanding with each other as you and I are will directly involve during the planning process via email.