The title pretty much says it all. I had a permit for Mt. Pashwou in Tsum Valley from the ministry of Tourism in Kathmandu. I followed all of their ridiculous rules. I employed a licensed “guide” who was a complete joke but is required by law in certain restricted areas. I also had Ramesh with me to porter as usual. Ramesh is always awesome btw. I’m really glad he was around.

It started out ok. An 8 hour bus ride to Aaraghut. Started going south first thing next morning. The guide was a complete joke. He was supposed to carry around 10 kilos like we had agreeded on before we left Kathmandu. After spending a day on the bus he changed his mind. He made it clear he wasn’t carrying anything.

(The “guides” pack, Ramesh’s pack, and my pack)

Ramesh and I laughed and told him we’d pack it all. I told the so called “guide” no f*#king way when he tried to give his tiny 5kg load to Ramesh. Up the trail we went. The guide decided to run ahead to get us some rooms at this “friends” lodge. The place was nothing special. Pretty much like every other lodge/tea house in Nepal. I was shocked at the bill the next morning. Talk about paying 1st world prices for 3rd world accommodations. It was almost x4 what I’ve ever paid anywhere else.. That was the last time the “guide” decided where we stayed.

The next four days passed by quick enough. We reached the last checkpoint after 5 long days of trekking. Even though the “guide” was supposed to accompany me to base camp he decided we really didn’t need him anymore. I didn’t argue and was glad to see him leave the next morning.

Ramesh and I headed up to the village of Chhule. The locals in Chhule, in upper Tsum Valley, were not happy to see us. We were denied access to the peak. The village leader told us there was going to be a meeting that evening to decide if we could continue to base camp or not. The meeting was a f*#king joke. Ramesh and I sat there quietly while everyone else there got drunk on Roxy. After about 3 hours they decided we could not go any further. They didn’t care about my permits.

We spent the night in some guys house. He was an aggressive drunk. Eventually he blacked out. Neither of us slept that night. The next morning we walked across the bridge to the neighboring village of Nili to make some phone calls. The Ministry of Tourism passed the problem off onto the Manaslu Conservation Area Project. MCAP. Some MCAP official talked to the village leader on the phone for awhile trying to plead our case for us but the village leader’s answer was still a no. We were informed that they would “use the knife” if we went against their decision. We headed back to Kathmandu right after that.

(The village meeting)

All in all with permit fees, guide wages, porter wages, lodging accommodations, and bus tickets it was a waste of about $2,800 and 2 weeks of my time.

I’d recommend avoiding the entire Manaslu area and especially Tsum Valley