It is three years since we were sitting in the foyer of a Kathmandu hotel when the whole city shook violently as the valley dropped a metre during the 7.9 Nepal earthquake. We had been on an Expedition to the Manaslu region with a wonderful team of Nepalese staff recruited from the Langtang and Hellambu Valleys. Within a few short minutes the homes of our staff had been flattened by the shakes and by the land slips. Lives were lost and livelihoods destroyed.
A couple of days later our staff somehow got us on a plane home and only then did they turn their attention to rebuilding their homes, villages and their lives. As we flew out of a country in chaos we resolved to return and spend tourist dollars in the regions most damaged by those moment when the earth shook and when mountainsides collapsed onto unsuspecting villages.
Three years on and the countdown to the MEDEX Langtang 2018 trip has begun. As tradition decrees that meant a weekend meeting at Hyssington to talk about all things trekking and to limber up on some mid Wales giants! Yesterday Corndon was topped and today Roundton was the site for our summit pose. In a few short weeks we will be sweating and shivering our way through the Himalayan foothills towards the mighty peaks of Langtang and Hellambu. We don’t have any summit plans this time and, instead, we will be content to wander past the shrines and gompas and to drink in the mountain scenery.
Most importantly it will be great to be back in Nepal and see how the country has rebuilt itself.
This trip is with old friends many of whom have been with us on our various expeditions multiple times. It was great to welcome them all to the Pinfold on a fine autumnal weekend and to share fine food and good company around the log burner and the Aga.
