Unlike the mass-trekking groups and hand-held trekking groups in our country, who contribute to nurturing medicated bunch of trekkers, seed in fear for adventure and then sell it, glamorize a trek unnecessarily, and promote the concept of High Altitude Socializing and feast in the mountains, rather than High Altitude Trekking, we, on all of our treks, inspire and motivate to boost more of the Intrinsic and Inheritent Adventure Sense of a human being when it comes to our work ethics. Yes, we believe that every human being has inherited wild adventure sense by default, which passed onto us from our ancestors and is left inexperienced and untouched within as a result of living in modern society. We work to tickle your underlying raw adventure senses.
Himalayan High is run only by well-trained and experienced professional climbers and mountaineers. We don't organize treks and climbs just to earn money. We are in this business because mountains are our passion and that's the most important thing. We have left our lucrative high-paying jobs to dream of a cleaner and the raw Himalayas which are our best teachers for life. It has completely changed the person that we were before, for the better, and that's our major motivation in taking our trekkers to a Life-Changing experience in the Himalayas.
We promote raw and ethical ways of trekking, in a safe and small Team - much smaller than other commercial trek groups out there. We are guided strongly by the principles of eco-tourism and make our every journey to the Himalayas an opportunity to engage with the local community, make valuable exchanges of knowledge, raise awareness about the best practices and hygiene with our communication and most importantly, contribute to the growth of the local economy. We don't see trekking as a leisure tourism activity and that's why we don't organize hand-held and spoon-fed treks for tourists. We treat it as a proper adventure sport and that's what we preach through our words and actions. This difference in ethics and values makes Himalayan High a unique team. We simply love the Himalayas as they inspire all of us to be more courageous, and humbler, developing a positive never-say-die attitude, pushing our limits, and keep making better versions of ourselves, making us tougher with each exposure.
We believe - If Trekking The Himalayas did not make you humbler and changed you as a person, you either must be the wrong person to trek in the Himalayas or You must have trekked with the wrong person!
Read on to know more about how we make your experience unique, different, and worthy!
Safety On Our Treks is the primary matter of concern on all of our trek batches, and hence provide Guides and Leaders who are well-trained, tremendously experienced, knowledgeable, responsible, and capable of handling any kind of adversities on such treks. Safe treks are not just about good guides and leaders. It is also about high-quality safety equipment and small group size.
What We Do To Ensure Safe Treks:
- Smaller Team Size < 15 members. Our average team size is 10 - 12 members
- Trained and Experienced Trek Leaders
- Safety Equipment Provided For Free Use like Gaiters, Crampons, Helmets, Ice Axes, Harness, Climbing Boots, Trek Pole, Water Proof Gloves, etc
- Good and Safe Itinerary keeping Acclimatization in Mind
- Nutritious Food focused on Hydration, Taste, and Balanced Diet
- Pre-Trek coordination and preparation tips from the expert trek leaders
It's a result of our safe practices and strict SOW that in the last 6 years of our operations, we did not have even a case of a mere ankle twist on our trek batches. We are proud of it because not many trek operators including India's Largest, Biggest, Oldest, etc. trek companies who have operated this long can boast of it as every year some odd trekker dies due to unsafe practices, over-commercialization, big group sizes, incapable trek leaders and negligent behavior.
Medical Safety On Our Treks are of very high standard and its a result of it that from the inception of Himalayan High till now, we did not face any fatalities on our treks and the very minimal cases of AMS that we encountered on our treks were healed eventually with our care or rescued with safety to base location. The summit success ratio of our High Pass Crossing Treks and Summits above 6000 meters is phenomenal. There is a reason for it.. we filter our clients and don't just allow anyone to trek with us. We also focus that people of similar capabilities are put in one group. All these without panicking and promoting the use of Diamox which has become a bad trend in the industry and ruining the sport. People should really consider thinking that organizations which preach to consume Diamox right from Delhi, many of their trekkers have died on their treks even after taking Diamox from Delhi. There is no alternative or short cut to acclimatization, which is the only medicine for success on High Altitude Treks.
What We Do To Ensure Medical Safety On Our Treks:
- Smaller Team Size < 15 members. Our average team size is 10 - 12 members which give us a lot of flexibility and safety
- Trained and Experienced Trek Leaders with Medical Exposure
- Medical Kit containing High Altitude Emergency Medicines and Life Saving Drugs
- Thermal Temperature Scanner to measure body temperature ( in covid times )
- Oximeter to measure pulse rate and oxygen saturation in blood while on the trek.
- Back-Up Oxygen Cylinders is carried by our trek leaders or stationed in High Camps.
- We monitor medical vitals and wellbeing every evening on our High Altitude treks.
Good Equipment For Better Comfort on the trek is equally important on any Himalayan Trek as good sleep results in better acclimatization and hence a successful trek. The equipment we provide on the treks are some of the best in the industry. Few of those are designed and custom-made just to suit our purpose of a safe and comfortable trek experience. From the double-layered insulated all-season tents to the sub-zero sleeping bags, thick waterproof foam mattresses (unlike the thin rubber or hitlon mattresses used by other companies), dining tents with camping stools and tables.. We believe - You sleep well, you trek well.
What We Do To Ensure Comfort On Our Treks:
- Sleeping arrangements are provided on HIgh Quality all Season Tents on Twin Sharing Basis so that you have enough space
- Thick Foam Mattresses are Used With Waterproof Cover for better insulation from the ground
- Subzero Sleeping Bags are used with soft and cosy fleece inner bags
- Down Sleeping Bags are provided for Expeditions above 6000 Meters
- Hot Water Bags Can be used to make the sleeping bags even warmer
- Enough hot water is provided for drinking
- Best campsite on the trek route is selected
- Good light food for comfortable and warm sleep
Hygiene on the trek is not neglected and we understand that often it is a personal concern as well. Sanitary and well and cooking hygiene is well taken care of on our homestays and camps.
What We Do To Ensure Well Managed Hygiene On Our Treks:
- We provide a clean, dry and sanitized sleeping bag inners to all our trekkers from the first night itself which is to be used throughout the trek and carried by the trekers themselves. Its done to ensure that it is not mixed up with other trekkers.
- We make sure that the sleeping bags used are clean and sun-dried, sanitized and provided to you in good non-smelly condition. Yes, we do get feedbacks from trekkers of other companies complaining of smelly sleeping bags and torn tents.
- We use dry toilets on our camps which are covered by mud after use so that the next trekker gets a clean toilet and layer of mud ensures that it is rid of flies, odour and bad sight.
- Our cooks are trained to keep the kitchen clean and we do not allow unauthorised entries to our Kitchen Tent during a trek.
- All raw materials are cleaned well before cooking.
- Drinking water is filtered, boiled and then treated with iodine/chlorine drops before serving.
- While dining, it's very important to eat on a clean surface and higher from the ground. Hence we provide camping stools and table in our Mess Tent which ensures you have better hygiene while eating on the camps.
- Washing point in the camps have hand wash and sanitizers for better cleanliness.
- The campsite is kept tidy with dustbin bags in corners.
Nutrition On Trek is as important and we understand that very well. Food is not just for nutrition but also for good mood setting. Good mood results in better sleep and hence a successful trek.
What We Do To Ensure Good Nutrition On Our Treks:
- Firstly, we do not carry packaged or pre-processed food on our treks.
- We serve a simple, delicious and nutritious food focused on proper hydration, body warmth and balanced ratio of Carbohydrates and Protein which are the 2 most essential component of your diet in the High Altitude.
- Heavy Spicy food should be ignored in the mountains as it is not digested well and hence causes acclimatization issues on the trek.
- We carry fresh seasonal vegetables, fruits, eggs, cheese, lentils, high-quality rice and wheat accompanied with a few extra items for evening snacking for a complete diet during the trek.
- While snacking, we keep oil in limit and always use good quality Soya or mustard oil only.
- Our menu is sumptuous and provides 2 big meals, 2 small meals and enough hydrating beverages like tea, coffee, soups and hot drinks etc.
Quality of local resources like local route guides, cooks, camp helpers and porters are very very essential on a trek and is directly related to your trek experience.
What We Do To Ensure Quality Local Resources On Our Treks:
- We make sure that we hire responsible local resources who we know and possesses good ethical and moral values, apart from being good at what they do.
- The group is accompanied by one of our leaders who head the local resources and ensure that the quality of service is delivered as promised and liaisons between the group and the local hires.
- Being in the industry for a long time we have developed long term bond with many of these local resources throughout the Himalayan villages and hire only responsible, well mannered resources
- We pay them higher than market rate as good compensation for working with high moral values. We also encourage trekkers to tip them well.
Contingency Planning and Better Understanding Of The Terrain: In the Himalayas life is not that easy. Often the trekking team do not understand what we do in the background to ensure a safe trek. The weather in the Himalayas is very uncertain and calls for backup planning. Similarly, high altitude comes with its own problems. It's very important in any Himalayan trek that we have backup exit plans from the trek.
What We Do To Ensure Quality Local Resources On Our Treks:
- Ensure knowledgable and experienced trek leader accompanies the team having a good understanding of the terrain and region.
- Always plan meticulously for answering various eventualities during the trek
- Use Wireless Phones for communication
- Always remain on high alert and monitor every individual in the team for prevention rather than cure
- Take extra resources with the team.
Well Crafted Itinerary For Safe Trek: Itinerary is a very important factor for a safe trek and comfortable experience. Often people in order to travel quickly ignore the safety parameters like change in sleeping altitude. It's also a common mistake to not consider the effort required to cover the distance rather than just the distance. The gradient of the trek route needs to be considered as well. We design our itinerary keeping all safety parameters in the perspective Sleeping Altitude, Trek Time, Gradient of the trail, Supply of food and water during the day's trek, weather contingencies and evacuation, etc.
Acclimatization Is The Key To Success: On any high altitude Himalayan Treks, acclimation is the key to success, Acclimatization helps your body to perform in the high altitude terrain similarly as lower altitude as a result of some biological changes in your body due to high altitude. The most important of these are increasing the haemoglobin count in the blood which thickens the blood helps it carry more oxygen from the lungs. The body goes through other physiological changes due to the increase in altitude as it tries to adapt to the new environment. We do a few things to enhance the process and NO - ITS NOT DIAMOX WHICH OTHER TREK COMPANIES RELY ON.
What We Do To Ensure Better And Quick Acclimatization On Our Treks:
- Acclimatization walks every evening beyond 3500 meters. This ensures we climb high and sleep low.
- Food menu ensuring use of garlic for better blood circulation and hydration of your body aiding rapid acclimatization
- Not overexerting yourselves
- read more on 13 Ways to Acclimatize Naturally
Equipment Rental: We understand that good quality trekking gears are expensive and provide an inhouse solution firstly by including most of the equipment in our default trek offerings, and then secondly by renting out the remaining few. You need not buy expensive trek gears anymore.
No Outsourcing: Unlike many companies operating through their websites namely Thrillophilia, Adventure Nation, and similar, who sell cheap deals on their website and heavy marketing and then further sells it to non-standard local operators at a much cheaper deal, we strictly DO NOT OUTSOURCE our trekkers to other companies for a lesser or higher price whatsoever. Neither do we promote or support these kinds of companies by partnering with them. They have ruined a trekking experience like buying potatoes and onions in the market.
We try to offer you the best deals as possible, but without compromising on our quality, and safety standards, to get you in. We have strict guidelines mentioned on our website about Who Should Not Be Travelling With Us.
Reviews And Word Of Mouth Recommendations: We are a very small organization of just 4 - 5 members and depend mostly on Word-of-Mouth recommendations which spread through the value and quality of service we provide to our clients. Giving you a good experience and service is not our duty but a lifeline on which Himalayan High stands.
We keep our reviews gladly, transparently and boldly on Google unlike hiding it on our own website and showcasing only the positive ones. Heartful thanks and gratitude to all of our Trekkers who took the effort to review us after they completed their trek with us. We understand none is perfect, but with proper experience, intention and feedbacks, one can achieve perfection. Our reviews are a result of our hardwork and intention to serve with the best interest of the trekking community as a whole and not just for our own business.
You can read our reviews online on Himalayan High Google Verified Business Places Page
Respect Nature And Minimize Impact On Ecology: Finally, we ensure that we and all our trekkers respect Mother Nature and puts effort to minimize the impact of trekking on the ecology, as much as possible. This is sheer important and we are very strict in following it. We know of many trekkers who did not choose us because we denied them to arrange camp fires, For us its only to be used for survival and not for becoming Bolllywood Heros.
What We Do To Minimize Impact On Ecology On Our Treks:
- No organized campfires or high altitude party are allowed on our treks. Fire is only for survival. We arrange a limited fire inside the dining tents when required using coals brought from cities and fallen dried twigs.
- No loud music in the middle of jungle
- No cutting of trees for firewood. We cook on Gas Cylinders or Deisel Stoves
- No carrying packaged food in Plastics or cans. Even if we are bound to do it some time, we make sure they are brought down to the nearest city and disposed properly
- Biowaste is buried deep in the ground
- No washing of clothes in the river
- Toilets tents are pitched far away from the riverside
- Use of dry toilets only and minimizing use of alcohol-based wet tissues
- Finely filtered small and well-disciplined groups only
Right from the food we serve on the trek to the toilet tents we provide, everything is taken care of in a highly satisfying manner. We do so because that's what we have been doing and is expected out of us. And all these efforts that we put on planning each trek have resulted in creating life-changing experiences for so many of our trekkers who chose to join our trek groups.
Come, let us get the mountains into our lives and start transforming our inner-selves.