10 essential trekking tips for beginners:

Having led countless treks in the high altitudes of the Himalayas, we suggest the following trekking tips for beginners.

1) Choose you first trek and trek operator wisely — If you are energetic and willing to enter the world of the mountains, it is very important to choose the right trek for yourself, and more importantly your trek operator. The experience and practices you follow on your first trek stay with you for the longest time. Having fun with amazing views, stunning pictures, thrill, fun and adventure are a few things that attract many people to come for a trek however trekking has much more to offer. We as trekkers need to follow the right practices and care for the mountains, flora and fauna and respect the local cultures and beliefs. Along with this, safety on the trek with respect to health, weather or any other emergencies also need to be kept in mind. Once you follow the right practices with the right mind-set is when you become a “trekker” and not a “tourist”. Choosing your first trek on your own could be quiet confusing and challenging. Your trek needs to be planned on the basis of your leaves/ days in hand, physical fitness levels, choice of weather to trek in and much more. You can seek assistance from your trek operator in choosing your first trek.

2) Allocate your budget for trek equipment — There are a lot of queries regarding the gears that need to be bought. We suggest that depending on the number of treks you plan to do in a year, you should invest in your gear. The basic gears that we recommend to have are rucksack, trekking shoes and sunglasses. These 3 things have to be of the right fit, size and comfort.

3) Do a proper research of your trek — Just as you are planning to choose your trek, you must also be aware of the area in terms of safety, weather predictions, stay options, permits & permissions with fees from the local authorities, safety and evacuations planning from your trek operator. Knowing all these things in advance only adds on to having fun on the trek knowing that in case of these issues you are prepared.

4) Do not hide and medical history from your trek operator — In the mountains even the best of doctors cannot do much as they do not have their equipment or the staff. So on the trek all you get is first aid. Being first –aid experts ourselves we are prepared to treat/ manage health conditions and have a close look-out for each trekker for sign & symptoms for AMS or other mountain sickness. It becomes very crucial not to hide any medical history from your trek operator as any minor issue could also escalate and become life threatening in higher altitudes. People with Asthma, heart conditions, surgeries/ operations, ligament tears or fractures need to cross check with their trek organisers about their specific trek. There are some treks which are not meant for people with such medical conditions to attempt.

5) Pack as light as possible — The basic rule of trekking in the Himalayas means to travel & trek with as much light weight as possible. The majority of weight is that of jackets and trek pants (mostly winter gears). Depending on the number of days you need to pack. For instance, on a trek of 6 to 7 days going up to 13,000 feet, your rucksack should not weigh more than 09–10 kgs. For your first few treks, run a checklist from your trek operator to make sure you have the right things. As and when you keep doing more treks, you get to know what you need to pack as per your own needs.

6) Break in your trekking shoes — Shoes are the most important equipment in the entire gear. Having said that, you also have to keep in mind that your foot needs to adapt to the trek shoe. This process of the foot getting used to the shoe is called as “breaking-in”. This generally means that you need to wear your new, out of the box shoe for 4 to 5 hours a day, thrice or 4 times a week. 3 to 4 weeks of breaking-in makes your trekking days comfortable.

7) Follow (LNT) Leave No Trace policy on the trek — Over the past few years trekking has picked up in our country. It is important to ensure that we as trekkers have a minimum impact over the nature. Leave no trace policy means that we generate as less as possible waste in the wilderness (or as a general practise). This would mean to keep a check on the group size, avoid generating plastic waste, making sure of following proper human waste disposals and much more. Any negative impact on the slopes would account for and impact the slope. The recent example of such a thing is the legal notice by the local authorities of the ban at camping in bugyaals (meadows) in the Uttrakhand state, Kheerganga trek or for that matter Triund trek.

8) Follow trekking etiquettes — Trekking itself is a disciplined and a punctual adventure sport. It involves being courteous, respectful, warm and polite to others (especially locals & the support team), not playing loud music while trekking or at campsites, not polluting the water sources/ bodies nearby and looking out for fellow trekkers as a team. Always keep in mind the support team and locals are doing the best they can. In the wilderness team spirit and closeness with each other is the only thing that keeps the entire team together. Any sort of challenges — weather-wise, medical emergency related situations can only be managed well when we empathise with each other.

9) Carry a basic medical kit — Generally the trek operator would be carrying a dedicated medical kit along with supplemental oxygen (for treks above 13,000 feet) for the entire team, however it is still suggested to carry a medical kit with basic meds in it. Cough and cold, fever, pain killers, antacids and other prescribed drugs (if any, need to be consulted with the trek operator in advance), band aids, lozenges, electoral sachets are a few basic meds that every trekker should carry along.

10) Say no to Alcohol/ smoking/ intoxication of any sort — Intoxication of any sort could put the others and the trek lead guide in a tough situation. Sometimes if things get out of hands, it could also lead to a casualty. Alcohol dehydrates the body and slows the senses and in the high altitudes it should be completely avoided. It does give instant warmth, but immediately could lead to a dizzy head or lead to losing consciousness. Smoking interferes with the respiratory system decreasing the lung capacity and causes breathlessness. Both smoking and drinking should be avoided else it could jeopardize the entire team’s trek.