Your Nepalese team may consist of several people, each with different responsibilities. They are:

• The Guide Leader (Sirdar) is responsible for and the leader of the whole team and is treated with respect by all. Often, he has earned his position by starting as a porter and rising through the ranks.
• Climbing Sherpa: who fixed the rope and guided you to the summit
• The Cook is responsible for all meals and is on a trek that doesn’t use lodges for meals. (camping trek )
• The kitchen boy is an assistant to the cook. ( camping trek )
• The Assistant Guide is actively helping clients under the leader’s direction and set camp.
• The Porter is the load carrier for the trekking group. As Nepal is a mountain country with few roads, porters are employed to carry loads. Compliance with regulations and common courtesy dictates the maximum weight carried and the minimum wage paid. Porters are provided with gear based on the routes they follow and with insurance for alpine treks.

YOUR PRIVATE GUIDE IN GURJA HIMAL EXPEDITION

The keystone of your success on all of our expeditions, we are systematically on a ratio of one high-altitude Sherpa per participant. He accompanies you for the key moments of the ascent and during the summit push. He is particularly experienced in high altitudes. He has participated in several expeditions at more than 8,000 meters, successfully leading participants to the summit. We select him for you. He is generally English-speaking. He may not be permanently at your side during rotations between the camps; his role is also to carry out the portages to set up the camps.

There is a summit bonus for your high-altitude sherpa to be paid on-site in cash after the climb. This bonus is due from the moment you leave the last camp towards the summit during your summit push attempt.

EXPEDITION LEADER IN GURJA HIMAL EXPEDITION

His role is important in leading the strategy necessary for success: rotation in the altitude camps, acclimatization of each participant, and study of weather reports to decide on the optimum moment to launch the summit push.

The expedition leader represents the Alpinist Club to the group. Mainly based at the base camp, he can accompany you to the high-altitude camps to supervise the smooth running of the expedition's logistics. He makes the necessary decisions that may be required. His authority is preponderant and unavoidable. You must respect his decisions as well as those taken collectively.

KITCHEN AND PORTERS TEAM

A kitchen team will be present at the base camp.

There is a team of porters who help us set up the base camp with all the equipment and the kitchen. Beyond that, the team of high-altitude sherpas takes over. They help us in particular in setting up the high-altitude camps and in portaging from the base camp.

Each participant will have to take care of carrying their personal belongings and altitude food. The collective equipment is transported by the Nepalese team. Our backpack will be calibrated from 10 to 12 kg.

For unforeseeable reasons at this stage, including weather but also the fitness or lack of fitness of the participants, your guide may have to adapt or even interrupt your program at any time if he deems it necessary, whether for the whole group or for a few participants, and for the smooth running of your trip. He remains the sole judge and guarantor of your safety.

PHYSICAL LEVEL IN GURJA HIMAL EXPEDITION

This program is designed for participants in excellent physical condition, with endurance experience, and strong mental resilience. High-altitude challenges require significant mountain experience, including hiking, trekking, or mountaineering. Participants should know how to use ropes and operate in a roped party, whether alone or with a guide.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES IN GURJA HIMAL EXPEDITION

Experience with high-altitude expeditions and basic mountaineering skills (handling crampons, harness, ice axe, and ropes) is required. The route includes mild challenges, such as snow slopes at 30–35° and glacial passages. Suitable for those with some mountaineering experience who want to progress. Weather and environmental conditions can increase difficulty.

For more preparation, consider our mountaineering courses or expeditions to progressively higher peaks (5,000m to 7,000m).

ACCOMMODATION IN KATHMANDU AND DURING THE EXPEDITION

Hotel in Kathmandu: In Kathmandu, we will provide you with a single room in a hotel

During the trek, you will stay in the Lodge. Lodges in Nepal are very random in terms of comfort. Lodges can look like a refuge or sometimes a homestay. They are mostly family homes with double, triple, or dormitory rooms. Toilets and showers are always separate.

Base camp: At the base camp, we are in individual tents. A base camp for several weeks must be as comfortable as possible, to allow a good recovery on returning from the high-altitude camps. It must allow us to face a period of bad weather in the best possible conditions. Each participant has their own tent with a comfortable mattress. A heated mess tent is the main living area. Tables and chairs are permanently installed there. We also have a shower tent and a toilet tent (solid waste in evacuated barrels)

High Altitude Camps

During the ascent, at the high camps, we have a high-altitude tent for 2 people, or even 3 people at the last camps.

Hygiene & dry cleaning

• Toilets: The base camp has toilets and toilet paper. Be sure to wash your hands with hydroalcoholic gel (to be taken from your personal pharmacy) after each visit to the toilet. For the higher camps, we recommend that you bring a bottle that you will use to urinate at night to avoid having to go out.
• Daily hygiene: a basin with water and soap is available at the entrance to the mess tent. Water is intended for washing the face and hands; do not drink it.
• Shower: hot water is available (ask in the kitchen). Only take showers in sunny weather to avoid catching a cold!
• Laundry: water (cold) and basin to be requested from the kitchen; bring biodegradable products only.

MEALS IN KATHMANDU AND TREKKING

Upon arrival in Kathmandu, a welcome dinner is provided on the first evening. Similarly, upon return from the expedition, a farewell meal is provided.

In the cities, many small (or large) restaurants allow us to discover the typical local cuisine. Except for Kathmandu, breakfasts and evening meals are prepared by the kitchen team or the lodge cooks and are taken in the lodge dining room or under the mess tent. Depending on the profile of the stages (length of the day's walk and/or presence of water), midday snacks will be served hot or cold in the form of picnics.

Here is a typical one-day menu during the trek:

• Breakfast: eggs, toast or chapati, or Tibetan bread or pancakes, or pancakes, butter/jam, tea or coffee
• Lunch: a main course, tea or coffee
• Dinner: soup, main course, fruit (fresh or canned), tea or coffee. During the trek, tea or coffee is served with meals. Two cups per person are included. Apart from these included menus, other drinks and foodstuffs will be at your expense.
• Water: provide tablets (Hydralazine, Micropur, or another type) to disinfect the water you put in your water bottle, depending on the source and the advice of your guide. It is sometimes possible to buy purified water and refill your water bottle without having to buy bottled water. You can also buy mineral water in the cities (not included in the price) but its ecological balance is poor, as you know. Also, we do not recommend it.

During the trek, Meals are prepared by the kitchen team in the lodge  and are taken in the lodge dining room 

Base Camp Meal: All meals are prepared by the kitchen team using local ingredients, including rice, pasta, lentils, potatoes, vegetables, eggs, a little meat, etc. They are served to you in a dining tent. Non-alcoholic hot drinks such as tea or coffee are offered to you at will. We recommend that you stay constantly hydrated.

High Altitude Camps Meal: At high altitudes, eating can be difficult, and freeze-dried food is usually necessary. While this food might taste fine at lower elevations, it can quickly become unappealing in high-altitude camps. We will provide freeze-dried dishes and share your preferences. We’ll do our best to match these, depending on available stock. You can also bring up your favorite foods for the expedition.

For a higher camp

Each tent is equipped with a stove to melt snow for water, prepare freeze-dried meals, and make hot drinks. Gas cartridges will be provided

Stay Hydrated: Bring water purification tablets (like Hydroclonazone or Micropur) to treat water, depending on the source and your guide's advice. Purified water may sometimes be available, reducing the need for bottled water, which is less eco-friendly. Glacier meltwater lacks minerals, which your meals partly provide. However, relying only on tea, coffee, or plain water can lead to poor hydration, stomach issues, and mineral deficiencies on long expeditions. To avoid this, pack 2–3 tubes of mineral salt tablets (10 tablets per tube) to add to your water bottle.

TRANSFERS / TRANSPORT DURING TRIP

All transfers are provided in private vehicles.

For various reasons, we prefer trekking to reach the base camp: the progression designed for acclimatization allows you to prepare yourself physically and psychologically for the climb. It is also the ideal time to get to know the team and to start building a team spirit and cohesion.

The return is also planned as a trek. That said, the possibility of taking the helicopter on the way back is possible for an additional fee.

GROUP SIZE

The group is composed of 1 to 10 participants maximum. The number of participants is voluntarily limited to allow a better immersion, not to embarrass our hosts, to develop spaces of freedom and to allow a great flexibility of operation. However, the maximum number can be exceeded in the case where the last person who registers wishes to travel with another or several other people. The services will not be modified, and the conditions of the trip will be identical as a result.

COLLECTIVE CAMP EQUIPMENT

All logistical equipment is provided, including individual tents at the base camp with mattresses, mess tent, shower tent and toilet tent, as well as all collective and individual cooking equipment. At altitude, tents, stoves with gas cartridges, ropes and anchors.

INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT

Personal equipment is not provided. A complete list is provided later in this document. It will be refined with us during the preparation days and up until the time of departure, according to your questions.

High altitude sleeping bags, full suits, and/or good quality down jackets are expensive items that you may not use often. We can rent you this specific equipment for the duration of the expedition. You must then return the equipment cleaned and in the condition in which it was given to you (deposit required).

SECURITY AND COMMUNICATION

We have at least one Iridium satellite phone that is used only for logistical, weather, and security purposes. Under certain conditions, participants may use it. For these private uses, please contact us.

The camps will be permanently connected by radio. The expedition leader, participants, and high-altitude sherpas will also have access to this.

The expedition will have a hyperbaric chamber at the base camp and a complete, lighter pharmacy at the higher camps.

PREPARATION FOR GURJA HIMAL EXPEDITION 

Preparing for the trek requires several months of preparation with 4- to 6-hour walks every weekend for stamina and participating in a sport that requires short periods of high exertion.

MEDICAL CHECK-UP

Being in good health is essential to enjoy your Alpinist Club trip fully. If your last medical visit was more than four years ago, please get another general physical exam and tell your doctor the nature of your trip (climate, altitude, difficulty, etc.). The altitude also has the effect of reviving dental problems or other chronic pain, so getting a dental checkup is also prudent. If you are undertaking a high-altitude expedition, we advise you to consult a mountain medicine specialist.

ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS

This trip takes place at high altitudes, so some people may experience altitude-related discomfort like headaches, loss of appetite, and swelling of limbs. Most of these symptoms usually go away within a few days, but sometimes they can develop into a serious illness: pulmonary or cerebral edema. There are no preventive drugs for AMS. Diamox diuretic is often effective for symptomatic relief, but you should first check with your doctor to verify that it is not contraindicated. Think about it before you go.