Tag: Adventure Sports

A Kiwi’s Antar Yatra- An Intimate Pilgrimage You Need To Know About…!!

Travel has always been an integral part of every religion and not everyone is acquainted with the fact. Irrespective of the religion, pilgrimages have always been designed in such a way that the pilgrim encounters new experiences away from his/her vicinity. People are caught up so intricately in the web of life that they forget to see the world and explore a new perspective. A pilgrimage is one strict reminder.

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Kevin Duggan woke up to a similar reminder when he decided to visit India a second time. The same place where his sister Karyn Duggan had lost her life in 1998. Kevin had come a long way from New Zealand with his bike to traverse a considerable part of the Lesser Himalayas.

He had many unanswered questions and bringing a companion along would have defeated the whole purpose of the trip. Even after facing objections from his dear ones, the 53 year old set afoot on his journey alone!

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He cycled along Shimla- Narkanda- Rampur- Tapri- Reckong Peo- Spello- Pooh- Nako- Tabo- Kaumik- Kaza- Battal and all the way to Chattru in Spiti Valley. A 900 kms stretch on two wheels through mettle testing terrain. His idea was not to cover the distance from Point A to Point B but to ‘live’ the experiences that came along his way. Roadside workers inviting him over lunch, random stranger trekking a 50km patch over a mountain pass with him, pedestrians shouting out ‘Julley’ and many more overwhelming experiences is what emblazoned his quest. The ‘India’ Kevin had imagined ten years ago, was quite the opposite in reality now.

He felt spiritually connected to the place and feels that some part of his sister is still in that valley.

It was a mental challenge for Kevin to come back to India. He believed that harder the challenge is, greater efforts are required but if you meet that challenge; greater the rewards!

His rewards, as he genuinely puts it were, “meeting you (the 4Play.in Team) guys and having seven adopted Indian sons”.

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Everyone has a different way of traveling, some travel in groups, some aim in covering different spots on the globe but for Kevin, travel has a lot different meaning. Keeping himself in shape is what has helped him discover the world the way he wanted to.

Made of true grit and due to a passion for the outdoors, Kevin Duggan still going strong at the age of 53. Having completed one of the most prestigious endurance races on the planet, His quest for exploration has attained an undying character. Working regularly on his fitness level, he is quite a challenge to the status quo of modern athleticism.

Here is a video showcasing Kevin’s intimate pilgrimage journey.

The video is created by 4 Play. 4Play is India’s first adventure sports channel which curates stories from the outdoor extreme and adventure sports. They are the outcome of roughing it up in the outdoors, living on the cutting edge of what may be termed as extreme, and basking in the experiences that came along. For more interesting stories log on to http://4play.in and witness adventure sports like never before.

All you want to know about Everest Base Camp and Trekking.. Plan your trip now..!!

Everest: Mount Everest, earth’s highest mountain is located in the Mahalangur mountain range in Nepal and Tibet. Its peak is 8,848 meters (29,029 ft) above the sea level. It was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon a recommendation by Andrew Waugh, the British surveyor general in India. It is also known as Sagarmatha in Nepal and in Tibet as Chomolungma. The international border between China and Nepal runs across Everest’s precise summit point. Neighboring tallest mountain peak of Everest includes Lhotse, Nuptse and Changtse.

Conquered Everest
Trekking: Because Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It has attracted considerable attention and climbing attempts. There are mainly two routes for climbing: one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal, also known as standard route and the other from north in Tibet. It remained the difficult peak for decades though it was finally known to have been summated by 1953. The climbing pair of New Zealander, Edmund hillary and Tenzing Norway, a Nepali sherpa record first to climb its peak at 11:30 am on 29 May 1953. They climb via south Col Route. After that, expedition era took a rapid pace due to increase in people’s interest to climb Everest.
Early Expedition: Initially in 1921 British reconnaissance Expedition, the northern approach to the mountain was discovered by George Mallory and Guy Bulloct. They climbed the north Col to an altitude of 7,005 meters (22,982 ft). The British returned for a 1922 expedition, George Finch climbed with oxygen for the first time. He reached at an altitude of 8,320 meters (27,300 ft). It was the first time a human reported to climb higher than 8,000 meters. The next expedition took place in 1924. There were two attempts in which first was aborted due to bad weather. The other attempt delivered by Norton and Somerwell. They managed to reach 8,550 meters (28,050 ft). In 1950, Bill Tilman and a small party under took an exploratory expedition to Everest through Nepal along the route which has now become standard route. Before this, all expeditions were taken place from the north of Tibet. The Swiss expedition of 1952, led by Edouard Wgss-Dunant was granted permission to attempt a climb from Nepal. Raymond Lambert and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were able to reach a height of about 8,595 meters (28,199 ft) on the south ridge, setting a new climbing record. Tenzing’s experience was useful when he was hired to be part of the British expedition in 1953.
Conquered Everest: Everest was conquered in 1953 when it was finally summated by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The next successful ascent was three years later in 1956 by Ernst schmied and Juerj Marmet. This was followed by Dolf Reist and Hans-Rudolf von Gunten on 24 May 1957 and so on. Despite the effort and attention poured into expedition, it was only summated by about 200 people by 1987. Everest showed itself to be the most difficult place for decades, even for serious attempts by expert mountaineers and large national expeditions, until the commercial era picked up in the 1990s. By March 2012, Everest had been climbed 5656 times with 223 deaths. By 2013, the Himalayans database recorded 6871 summits by 4042 different people.

himalaya trekking

Commercial climbing
Commercial climbing: According to Jon Krakauer, the era of commercialization of Everest started in 1985, when the summit was reached by a guided expedition led by David Breashears that include Richard Bass, a wealthy 55 year old businessman and an amateur mountain climber with only four years climbing experience. By the early 1990s, multiple companies were offering guided tours to the mountain. Rob Hall, one of the mountaineers who died in the 1996 disaster, had successfully guided 39 clients to the summit prior to that incident. By 2016, most guided services cost between 35 to almost 200 thousand dollars. However, the services offered vary widely and its “buyer beware” when doing deal in Nepal. There are “budget” travel agencies which offer logistic support for such trip. However, this is considered difficult and dangerous. Many climbers hire “full service” guide companies, which provide a wide spectrum of services including acquisition of permits, transportation to/from base camp, food, tent, fixed ropes, medical assistance, experienced mountaineer guide and even porter.

Himalayan Expedition Tour

Adventure Sports at Himalaya
Tour companies: There is several tour companies providing base camp, trekking and adventure sports and HimEx (Himalaya Expeditions) is one of the best tour Company for Everest base camp trek. It is licensed from Department of Tourism and recognized by Ministry of Tourism, Government of Nepal. You can contact on website i.e. www.himexnepal.com. Its head office is in Kathmandu, Nepal which ensures to provide best facilities at reasonable rates. Do follow them and get all the information you need on Everest Base Camp and Trekking.