Langtang Valley — Two Yatris

When you travel frequently, generally you have seen it all at some point, and are rarely phased by mishaps. That all went out the window with our trip to Nepal. When i booked the these tickets, it was a Vancouver-Delhi direct, a short stop-over to see some relatives, and then an easy flight to Kathmandu. Unfortunately Russia invaded Ukraine, and Air Canada no longer flies over Russian airspace. So we had to travel the other way around the world through Toronto. As well, when India cancelled the eVisa program, I assumed it was for those getting a stamped visa with the eVisa application. We did not realize or fathom that stamped valid visas were invalidated. So we had a bit of a shock upon arrival at the airport to checkin. After initially being told we could not board the flight, we were able to rearrange our connecting flight so that we did not have to clear customs in Delhi. That was quickly undone, as our flight to Toronto ended up having to land in Ottawa due to fog. We ultimately missed our connection to Delhi, lost our bags and had to spend a night in Toronto. The following day, after once again convincing check-in staff we didn’t need a visa we were off to Delhi via Doha. Luckily the checkin staff at Doha got distracted by my height and didn't check for my visa. After another search by transit staff for our bags in Delhi, we were off to Kathmandu. After filing a missing bags report we were greeted by our trekking company, and then promptly taken to the wrong hotel. After fighting scooter traffic we were at the right hotel, just over 60 hrs since departing our home. At this point we learned we were being paired with a lesser qualified guide than was arranged. We fought off jet lag for a couple days while making several trips to the airport looking for the lost luggage. Eventually we located 4/5 bags and headed into the mountains.

With our team we piled into a jeep and headed towards Shaybru besi. It was an interesting journey through some hillside towns. A less interesting military checkpoint where all our gear was searched, picking through my camera gear to ensure I didn’t have a drone. We reached out accommodations and started our dining journey of dal bhat. The next day we headed for Lama hotel. This was the most rustic accommodation on the trip, but a fun meal with lots of locals huddled around the heath in the kitchen. The path continued through the valley forest, up through the rhododendrons and along the rushing pure blue river. Our next destination was the village of Langtang. This was the tragic site of a landslide at the time of the 2015 earthquake. The missing half of the town was evident. Our tea house had a third floor dining area with views across the more windswept alpine setting above the trees of the valley floor. The hike the following day was gorgeous, walking along prayer walls, yaks with the Himalayan peaks in all directions We had great sunny days for this hike and onwards at Kyanjin. We did an acclimatization hike to Kyanjin Ri as we prepared to head to yala peak base camp. The views from the hike were breathtaking. Was somewhat emotional almost after all the tribulations involved getting this far.

Unfortunately, I awoke feeling somewhat off the next morning. I did not think I had altitude sickness, but when my pulse was checked it was in the low 40s, high 30s. Symptomatic bradycardia, even if benign didn’t seem like something to play around with in a remote setting, so we made the decision to cut our trip short. Instead of ascending Yala peak we moved our helicopter forwards and took the 25 minute flight back to Kathmandu. I got checked out at a travelers hospital, initially assessment was fine, but a holter was done. This showed a AV block, that cardiologists there felt may require pacing—which I declined. Ultimately after consulting with many colleagues at home, and getting everything rechecked it was a vagally mediated benign bradyarrhythmia. In between medical checkups, while managing a lot of stress we saw some of the sights of Kathmandu, and did a short tour of the higher end hotels (Marriott, Hyatt, Dwarika’s). The silver lining is during this time, I was able to get a transit visa through the Indian embassy so we could leave the airport in Delhi on the way home to visit family.

Despite all the chaos, it’s the few days hiking through Langtang that we remember most, and are sure to return someday to the Himalayas. I think for future trips I will likely ignore the urge to bring mountaineering gear, the trekking experience was fantastic and didn’t feel overly touristy, and it is so much easier to travel without all those bags in tow. To be honest Yala peak did not seem like a very aesthetic summit, and I don’t feel like a missed out on a great deal cutting things short. I’ve heard if you are in Khumbu, there will be crowds on the easier mountain objectives. Plus I have lost some confidence in arranging things locally and the quality of medical care available. Perhaps if we gain a great deal of self-sufficiency in the mountains I would reconsider but otherwise will leave the mountaineering adventures to 1st world countries.