Ski school exploratory to Humla, the “Wild West” of Nepal

This February, I was lucky enough to organize an exploratory Skitour trip to the remote district of Humla in the very West of Nepal. Humla´s remoteness is not only given due to its border with Tibet, as many districts in Nepal, but primarily because of the lack of roads. Only since very recently, a road is being built from the Tibetian border town of Hilsa to the districts capital Simikot. However, Nepal Army which is implementing the work is still blasting the last section out of a massive rock. Nevertheless, reports claim that the road could be finished already this year and hence finalising a milestone infrastructure project for Humlese citizens.

It will take several more years to finalize the connection from Simikot to the Terrai and Humla´s neighbouring provinces, but work is already underway. Currently there remain only two options to reach Simikot: By foot via a multiple days trek, or by plane within several hours from Kathmandu. While I decided for the latter, I convinced my colleagues in Kathmandu to open a chapter of our Skischool in the far West. We sorted out four sets of Skitour gear and avalanche recievers and booked a flight to Simikot.

When I took my flight from Nepalgunj to Simikot, I was the only passenger aboard including dozens of stoves, bags of rice and other foodstuffs. As soon as the Twin Otter touched down and disembarked at the “Lukla-style” airport, dozens of traditionally clothed Humlese rushed towards the plane. I slowly realized what this was about. The crowd of people was desperate to fly out before the winter fully commenced and the ovens, my fellow passengers, were sold at the local market just in time before massive snowfall was about to start.

Simikot in deep snow

Finally, I was welcomed by my friend and the guide for any trekking activites in Humla: Abinash Lama. Abinash, is about my age, fluent in English and dreams of studying Cinematography. Currently he is not only an ace in photography and videography but also frequently vlogs on Youtube. At some point, he confessed to me, that every upload of his edits on the web takes up to 3 days. Which shows his incredible motivation to share and tell stories of Humlese people, social challenges and their hardhsips.

Abinash hosted me for the two coming weeks and was extremly keen to learn how to Ski. Hence, after the predicted snowfall started, we started right away with the training on large flat potato field. The locals were stunned about a short demo run and what you can actually do with skis and I went on to instruct them the very basics of the gear and how to use it.

Our Ski course attraced massive attention and lots of interest

The following days we recieved further snowfall and I was stunned about the mass of snow in Nepal in an altitude of only 2000m. Due to the Western Disturbances, the massive weather systems that bring the winter rain to the Terai and the snow to many glaciers, precipitation is the highest in the very west. After all my years of instructing Nepali skiers and snowboarders I was incredbibly excited to ski my first ever tree run in Nepal. On the other hand, I was in a quagmire. Should I leave Abinash and my students to explore prospective slopes for bigger trainings and commercial skitour operations and reports to the government? I decided to stay in Simikot for almost two weeks to teach as much as possible, while only exploring the vicinity of the district capital. While the road towards Hebka Valley and Hilsa is already finished, it is quite difficult to travel long distance, even with SkiMo gear.

Pauli La, I believe one of Nepal´s highest roads

Interestingly, several Bolero Jeeps have already been flown in by helicopters to connect the surrounding villages with Simikot. However, due to the mud and snow, the drivers gave up and went on holidays. Nevertheless, I stumbled upon another road leading up to a pass called “Pauli La”. This is what I believe, one of the highest motorable roads in Nepal reaching about 4600m. I do not exactly know why it was built in addition to the main road following the Karnali river, but it is the perfect access to a pass and several peaks that are perfectly suited for Ski & Splitboard Touring.

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The first snow plough in Nepal

During my two week stay, the airport was shut down due to the snow. Hence, I was stunned again when I saw the first snow plough mounted to a jeep in Nepal. Airport authorities, Army and Police helped to clear the runway, and after several hours of shoveling, the first planes from Nepalgunj were able to land. What was planned to be an exploratory expedition, turned to one of my best skischool trips to Nepal ever. Not only was I able to instruct students and find new friends, I also discovered several new potential spots for a sustainable SkiMo tourism in the very west of Nepal.

-Julius Seidenader-

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