Читать книгу Everest Here Continents Collided - Alex W Milne - Страница 7

There is nothing more satisfying for a geologist mountaineer, with a photographic obsession, than visiting the Khumbu. Trekking through the high mountains, day after day, with a small group of dedicated sherpas and porters is enormous fun. You set off every day eager to see what lies beyond the next corner. A rhythm develops. It is a symphony of mountain vistas, glaciers and the people you meet along the way.

I have chosen to publish my book as an ebook. Why an e-book? So that the eclectic reader can use today's technology to see more deeply into the landscape. The format works well in both presentation of images, and linking to the web for additional revealing content. The format allows individual images to be enlarged and looked at in detail.

The book takes the broad view of how the Himalaya formed and zooms ever inwards, taking the reader on a trek through the foothills of the Khumbu up into the high mountains. The armchair enthusiast will gain a deeper insight into how the mountains formed and how they look. The trekker will see, at every twist and turn, how these mountains and glaciers evolved and with it a deeper understanding that will enrich the experience of walking through the incomparable Khumbu.

I have visited Nepal on two occasions. The first was in 1980 when I crossed the Thorung La with John Wood in December to complete the Circum-Annapurna trek. One of the first westerners to do so. The Nepalese government until then were very reluctant to allow trekkers into this area, because of the poverty of the local population. They felt that foreign visitors would exacerbate the then shortage of food in the area. In Stan Armington’s seminal trekking book on Nepal he states that when you return home from Nepal, you will mortgage your life to return. Well truth to say, it was a further thirty years before I returned, but I always knew I would. It remains the single most spectacular country I have visited. Put simply, Nepal has it all. Wonderfully warm, open and friendly people, despite or indeed perhaps because of, all their undeniable hardship. Amazing scenery. A wonderful climate.

In the intervening years Nepal has been through a huge turmoil having fought a recent 10 year civil war. The Royal Family has been deposed and the government is now struggling to establish a stable democracy. It is a country that is so poor that it fails to provide the most basic services. In Kathmandu 80% of children go to school, however in the countryside it is significantly less, at 40%.

Thirty years ago there were only a handful of restaurants and hotels in Thamel and the electricity supply was off more often than it was on; candle lit diners were a necessity and added to the atmosphere. The only motorised vehicles were taxis. These days, Kathmandu has expanded into a thriving metropolis of probably a million people and with it the problems of most modern big cities. Arriving in the evening and crossing the city to the Vajra Hotel was like arriving in any other third world country. Roads were choked with traffic jams. Pot holes impeded the flow of traffic and the pollution was nauseating. What I find extremely sad about Kathmandu is the motor car and motor bike congestion in the old city. It is clearly out of control and the pollution only adds to the challenges that the city faces in the future.

Khumbu Trekking Map