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General Climbing Discussion

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Nepal 06 23-Jan-2006 At 3:45:44 PM vwills

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I was in Nepal in Oct- Nov 2005. I did the Annapurna circuit initially and the Maoists are active around the Beni area and Poon Hill area as well as Western Nepal. I contributed a "voluntary" donation of 1200 rupees after doing the usual tourist thing of heading up Poon Hill to watch the sunrise over the Annapurna massif and Dhaliguiri. The friendly terrorists were waiting on the way down where the ridge narrows to collect the fee, for which I was given a receipt. There were lots of military checkpoints around Pokhara and on the way back to Kathmandu.
There was no sign of the Maoists in the Khumbu. There is a heavy military presence around Lukla and a curfew. There were far more trekkers in this region than the Annapurna region.
There was a unilateral cease fire in Nepal for most of my time there so there was no problem with transport strikes etc. Generally I felt quite safe.

Just a point on 'trekking peaks"- this is a category based on altitude, and how much you pay for a permit, not ease of ascent. While Island Peak is relatively straightforward especially if your team uses fixed ropes, it is still a 6000m peak and a lot of people dont summit due to the usual mountaineering problems of hypoxia and weather. Other "trekking " peaks provide some of the hardest climbs in Nepal.

For insurance, if you dont belong to the German mountaineering club or the American alpine association, IHI is the most straightforward. Just pay for the 3 or 4 day window you have for the ascent from base camp. The trek to base camp is no different to what you would experience if you trek to Kala Pattar, though much nicer and should be covered by most comprehensive travel policies..