Trek yourself happy with Tenzing tours

By Efrosini Costa

Trek yourself happy with Tenzing tours
The lure of the world’s greatest mountain range doesn’t need to remain the stuff of dreams; Sherpa Tashi Tenzing explains why we will all fall in love with trekking.

“You could say trekking’s in the blood,” Tashi Tenzing proudly declares. That’s not surprising considering his family history. Tashi’s grandfather was the great Tenzing Norgay, the first person to reach Mt Everest’s summit with Edmund Hillary in 1953.

“It’s very addictive,” he insists.

Despite pursuing a university degree, the Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer has been leading trekking and climbing trips in Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Kashmir and the Indian Himalayas for almost 20 years through his family- run adventure company Tenzing Asian Tours.

Since his childhood, Tashi has emulated his family’s love of mountain exploration, he’s even written a book about the proud Sherpa legacy. B

ut, while most people would be happy to scale Everest’s summit just once, the father-of-two has completed the death-defying feat twice now. “I keep going back to Everest because it’s very special to our family. I feel its part of my life and my history.”

A trekking expedition is perhaps the surest way to experience a location up-close, marvel at its unspoilt wilderness and intimately explore its culture. But don’t be alarmed about the preparation involved.

“You don’t have to be fitness crazed, as long as you have done some basic training and follow your guide’s instructions you’ll be fine,” Tashi assures us. Of course Everest’s base camp is just a heliflight away!

You won’t have to go without your creature comforts either, with luxury chalets complete with heating, hot showers and organic locally grown food and meals.

“Our personalised service is why people enjoy coming with us. They get a leader who has incredible history behind him and understands the cultures, both eastern and Western. Today, with global warming, it’s so much more than just trekking form point A to point B, there is much to learn from an educational view too. We enjoy sharing and introducing this part of the world to them.”

Perhaps the personalised service is why Tashi has had people trek with him 14,15, even 16 times over, “I’ve run out of places to take and show them,” he teases. From families to couples and single travellers, the typical trekker can be aged anywhere from 18-86 (the age of Tenzing Tours eldest traveller).

“We get old in our body, but in our mind we don’t get old. So if you can maintain that you can keep trekking well into your eighties.”

Forget the gym, he argues, get trekking instead. “You’ll get in touch with nature, become spiritually enlightened and lose weight. It’s so healthy for you to breathe in fresh air, hike 4-6 hours a day, sleep well, eat well – you become so energised after just 12-15 days. It will change the way you live.”

Tashi Tenzing can only take part in 6-7 treks a year, so if you want to secure your spot on one of his adventures you’ll need to get in early for the Spring Season (March-April 2015) or Autumn season treks (September-October). Visit www.auroraexpeditions.com.au for more information.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe. 

Member Login