Equipment for EBC in Oct-Nov

[earth2al]

Hello All! I'm beginning to purchase equipment for a late October trek to Everest base camp. I've gathered lots of great info from various blogs but have a weather question. Will I need snow baskets for me trekking poles? The answer to this question will answer several others that I won't bore you with...now. >

[thecakeisalie]

You most likely will not need the baskets. Depending on how early you go, rain may be a bigger concern than snow.

[earth2al]

Thanks 'Neighbor', I'll be certain to pack my rain gear. Looks like I'm going to need it at work tonight as well...

[thecakeisalie]

No joke! I thought I was going to have to take the kayak to work...

I actually spent the weekend down at Starved Rock, and honestly, hiking there in the rain is the best way to go! Virtually no other people, the waterfalls in the canyons are at their peaks (especially this time of year), and the mud really wasn't that bad because its mostly sandstone and clay! Its more like walking on a sponge than in mud.

Anyway, back on topic, when I went in mid to late November I only saw precipitation on one day out of 12, and that was an overnight dusting of snow at Namche Bazaar. It melted off as the sun came up, and I didn't even see a cloud for another week. Hopefully you will be as lucky.

[earth2al]

Hi Cake, I've never made it down to Starved Rock since Rock Cut, and lots of 'mountain' trails, is very close to me. Maybe I'll do a 'training trek' down there some weekend for a change of scenary. Of course I now have another question. If I rent a sleeping bag,will it count against my 10kg porter load limit? I think I already know the answer... Also, is there a size limit on the duffel that the porters will strap to their heads (can't wait to try that myself!), or will I have to use the duffel that they provide? Thanks,Al

[Zuleika]

you use the duffle they provide and yes the sleeping bag weight does count.
The porters usually pack 3 of the duffle bags into their carry basket so each carries around 30kg. This is why you use the provided.
Also recommend taking some waterproof bags for your clothes inside in case it pours. Dont reckon the duffles are too waterproof

[thecakeisalie]

Hi Al,

I tried to post a couple of pictures here to show you the duffel I was given, but it didn't work so look here instead.

You see the red bag in the middle of that first pic? That's what they gave me. Also on my porter's back (his name is Puri, should you run into him!) in another pic...

I threw in a picture of me with Puri just to give the bag a sense of scale... I'm 6'2", Puri looks like a midget...

And the last shot is of Puri earning some extra cash by picking up a few extra customers in Namche on our way back to Lukla. My bag is on the far side, my guide's back is on the top, and there's at least 3 more sleeping bags/packs he's carrying in there... the dude was amazing.

I should also mention that this was not with GAP, and you may or may not have similarly sized duffels, but at least this is something to work off of. And like Zuleika said, waterproofing is key, you can see from the pics that my stuff would have definitely gotten wet if I had run into bad weather. Hindsight is everything!

[earth2al]

So, I guess I'll empty my old Disc Golf duffel instead of buying something that will go from the cargo hold to... the cargo hold. Ok, next question, I've seen a couple of gift suggestions such as pictures (of my dog or the Dali Lama?), pencils (and sharpeners?), and pens. Any other ideas? I have been saving baseball-style hats for several years. Are these appropriate? I will carry them myself but I'm not sure where I should distribute. I'm thinking the farther up 'the hill' the better... Thanks for all the quick responses! Al

ps in the US we have dollar stores everywhere so...

[Zuleika]

GAP duffels as provided by Amadablam - the GAP operator in Nepal - are black with white writing in this pic:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/279855 ... 0848zgUNJc

[earth2al]

Thanks for the pic Zu. Doesn't look like I'll have any problem getting 10 kgs in one of them... Still open to gift suggestions, lightweight of course.

[thecakeisalie]

Hi Al,
Handing out gifts is always a dicey topic, so you may not get a lot of feedback. On one hand it is very nice gesture on your part to want to help a community, especially if the gifts are for a host family or someone else you have spent considerable time with (porters, guides, etc.). On the flip side, it can set a bad precedent if the people you are trying to help come to expect hand outs. It can also be perceived as insulting in some instances (though I wouldn't worry about that as much).

An alternative to handing out gifts would be to donate the gifts (and here is where clothing and school supplies are much appreciated) to the local organizations that distribute these things amongst the communities.

To answer your original question,if you are still going to bring gifts I think the baseball hats are a great idea, and would be a perfect gift for your guides and porters if you have enough to go around. My guide did the whole trek in a NY Yankees hat (odd colors, but the logo was unmistakable), and I know he didn't buy it himself... because he had no idea who the Yankees were!

Hope that helps a little.

[earth2al]

Thanks Tom, huge help! Baseball, football (American), basketball, and fishing hats it is. I also think I'll do some bulk pencils and sharpeners and find an appropriate recipient. I tkink that the picture idea came from some searching that I did about a Tibet trip before I booked the EBC.

[Zuleika]

I agree with thecake re the gift ideas. I have seen first hand how horrendous this has become in Kenya with people giving out pens and sweets to the kids there - it becomes a totally begging/grabbing/grasping frenzy - awful. The kids expect it with every tourist truck that rocks up and then they swear and cuss at you when you dont give them anything. Thoroughly unpleasant - and its our fault!

I think we should be more responsible than to encourage this kind of behaviour in other countries. Yes by all means take stuff but for heavens sake give it to a teacher etc at a school to distribute fairly.

Sadly - The kids on the Annapurna route have already started begging for sweets!

[DanielBMe]

Not to hijack this thread but I do have a question on gifts. I'm going to Kenya and Tanzania in 4weeks time. I was thinking of bringing gifts but not sure when/who/how I would know where to give them to especially since I'll be in an overland truck most of the time. Should I even bother bringing anything? Now I'm not sure.

[ballu]

I'm not sure if your trip includes any visits to schools or orphanages, but those would be the best places to leave gifts.