Maybe the third time is truly the charm? Wahoo! We are happy to report that ‘Team Kali’ completed the Langtang Lollipop Fastpack on June 7th in northern Kathmandu at the doorstep of the Royal Astoria Hotel. The team covered over 186k/115miles with a tremendous amount of vertical change (the cumulative gain alone was 14,198m/46,500ft) including a crossing of Larabina Pass at 4,610m/15,124ft and a sketchy crossing of the rarely visited […]
Annapurna Women’s FKT: Behind the Scenes with Sunny Stroeer
Just a couple weeks ago, over the course of three days and 23 hours, I set a new women’s speed record on the Annapurna Circuit. It was one of those spontaneous ‘that’s-a-terrible-idea-but-heck-why-not’ projects: I came up with the idea on a Monday and started the record attempt at the crack of dawn on Wednesday – not even 48hrs later (if you want to hear the full story of how that […]
Navigating the Crux: Harvey Manning Peak Challenge OKT
Below is an excerpt from a ~78 hour adventure that I had earlier this month with Ras Vaughan. Our hope was to have an amazing time in the mountains; we also thought it would be pretty cool if we could be the first people to finish the the Harvey Manning Peak Challenge. Designed by George Orozco as part of the ‘Issaquah Alps Challenges,’ the goal was to summit 18 peaks […]
Langtang 2017 Trip Report
Our first edition of Langtang Fast Pack (LFP) was a huge success in terms of adventures done. We covered a lot of ground: 153 km/95miles in distance and 11,800m/38,700ft in total elevation gain over 11 dayson the trail! With the goal of starting and ending in Kathmandu on foot, we began at Budhanilknatha Temple gate in the northern part of the city, below the valley rim in the edge of Shiva […]
The Barkley Marathons: The only thing I wish is that I had suffered more ‘Out There’
I’m in Bangkok visiting an orthopedist for the second time in four years. The last visit was the result of running into a doorway in Nepal during the 2013 Manaslu Stage Race, hitting my head at literal breakneck speed and resulting in a two fractured vertebrae (see ‘A Pain in the Neck‘, Journal of Wilderness Medicine. Sept 2015). This visit is the result of another trail race, albeit much further away and different […]
Winter Trekking in the Khumbu Region: From Jiri to Everest Basecamp and Beyond
Introduction Big thanks to Brian Fagin for this guest trip report! – Sudeep and Seth. This trek is a bit of a Frankenstein. I started with the Tenzing/Hillary Trek, which begins in Jiri and ends at Everest Basecamp (as opposed to flying in to Lukla and hiking to EBC). Beginning in Jiri adds anywhere from 5-8 days to the trek, but Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa had to begin here, […]
Mardi Himal Base Camp and More – Three base camps in 6 days
On our very first day we both realized that MHBC and ABC trek was doable within our timeframe and jumped with the idea. After all, what’s adventure if it doesn’t give you any kicks? So we marched on with our made-on-the-trail-masterplan and did Mardi HBC, Macchapurche BC and ABC in 6 days.
Langtang Lollipop 2016 Trip Report
Sudeep and Seth did a recon in October, 2016 with the goal of completing the entire route in 60 hours. They failed. The full trip report is posted on Seth’s personal blog. The short version is: Leaving the Royal Astoria Hotel – they made it 18 hours to Magengoth before monsoon rains hit and they took shelter in a lodge. They next day found them sheltering from rains in a […]