Source: Dailymail.co.uk Date: Friday 1, November 2013 Keyword: Exodus Find a Job M&S Wine Feedback Wednesday, Nov 06 2013 3PM 14°C 6PM 14°C 5-Day Forecast Home News U.S. Sport TV&Showbiz Femail Health Science Money Video Coffee Break Travel Columnists Travel Home Destinations Holiday Types Expert Reviews Mail Travel Travel Boards Travel Blog Celebrity Travel Login Tall order: 6,000m trek up Stok Kangri, one Site Web of the world's highest climbable mountains Like Follow MailOnline @MailOnline By SIMON CABLE PUBLISHED: 11:57, 1 November 2013 | UPDATED: 11:57, 1 November 2013 TOP STORIES IN TRAVEL View 7 shares 0 comments Troll-tastic: New York's quirkiest The summit of Stok Kangri is just 200 yards away, but I know these final few feet are going to feel museums like the longest walk of my life. New Yorkers can turn almost anything into a At 6,000m up, standing on the ridge of one of the world’s highest trekkable mountains, the ascent of museum exhibit. Chris this Himalayan peak is becoming an ordeal of epic proportions. And the temperature has dropped to Lawrence goes leftfield in well below freezing. the Big A... An adventure? Yes. A challenge? Certainly. But a holiday? At this moment, it’s about as far from a Albuquerque makes relaxing break as I can imagine. good on Breaking Bad The TV drama about drugs has been tourist catnip and entrepreneurs have been quick to cash in. Can you hair colour influence your holiday? Gingers apparently prefer safaris and brunettes opt for adventure. Going bald? It's backpacking for you... Stress-free city: Six things to do in Zurich According to a poll last month, Zurich is the best city in the world in which to live. It's rather good for tourists, too... Festive fun: A taste of Bavaria in Manchester The city's Christmas market is now regarded as one of the biggest and best in Europe, says Tim Carroll. A walk on the wild side at Kate Humble's farm Wendy Gomersall goes Long walk: Simon beginning the 6,000m ascent up to the summit of Stok Kangri foraging with the TV presenter. But can she It’s reflective of a growing trend for adventure holidays, which has seen a 20 per cent rise in the make a meal from number of intrepid travellers opting for high-altitude treks in the past four years. hedgerow vegetation? Our 14 companions on this trip include a former soldier, a vet and a retired criminal solicitor, joining We lift the lid on the together for a 14-day expedition to a remote town in the foothills of the mountains, and across miles best kept ski secrets of the some of the most unforgiving terrain on the planet. Winter sports guru Peter Hardy offers the low- Reproduced by Gorkana Group under licence from the NLA (newspapers), CLA (magazines), FT (Financial Times/ft.com) or other copyright owner. No further copying (including printing of digital cuttings), digital reproduction/forwarding of the cutting is permitted except under licence from the copyright owner. All FT content is copyright The Financial Times Ltd. Article Page 1 of 7 264681198 - CAMMCM - A22010 - 1 Source: Dailymail.co.uk Date: Friday 1, November 2013 Keyword: Exodus Hardy offers the low- Our adventure begins in Delhi. The first destination after leaving the city is Leh, an isolated desert down on the best lesser town in a far-flung corner of north-west India’s Ladakh Valley. known mountain resorts... Known as ‘Little Tibet’ thanks to its strong Buddhist culture and the vibrantly coloured monasteries perched on the surrounding hillsides, it lies nestled in the shadow of the mountain we hope to LATE DEALS BLOG: conquer. EDITOR'S PICK The tourist season here is short, lasting only from June to September before the roads get blocked Is the new-found by snow, making travel around the region almost impossible. sunshine making you crave a holiday? Fish through the latest deals and offers here... Remote mountain town: Leh, where there's no mobile signal or internet coverage LATEST TRAVEL NEWS Musicals score a hit for British tourism Virgin Holidays expands on the high street Ryanair to introduce allocated seating £7m rollercoaster launches in Australia Thomas Cook launches new high-tech resorts Will 'Wiggins effect' boost England tourism? Advice for Tunisia tourists after bomb blast Families petition on term-time breaks £70m plans for theme park in Venice UK's best - and worst - hotel chains revealed Heathrow applauded for family-friendliness Mountain landscape: Simon and his group taking a break during their adventurous trek But during these four months it becomes a backpacker’s paradise, with visitor numbers booming in recent years after a calming of decades of political unrest between India and Pakistan, which has long kept foreign travellers away from the contested Jammu and Kashmir state. TRAVELMAIL PARTNERS By day, it’s a quiet market town, by evening the rabbit warren of streets become a bustling hive of Free prepaid MasterCard for your Euros or Dollars activity with busy bars and restaurants patronised by Western travellers and a smattering of more Save up to 85% on phone calls on holiday permanent, free-spirited guests, who appear to have arrived during the 1970s, but never got around to leaving. More... Reproduced by Gorkana Group under licence from the NLA (newspapers), CLA (magazines), FT (Financial Times/ft.com) or other copyright owner. No further copying (including printing of digital cuttings), digital reproduction/forwarding of the cutting is permitted except under licence from the copyright owner. All FT content is copyright The Financial Times Ltd. Article Page 2 of 7 264681198 - CAMMCM - A22010 - 1 Source: Dailymail.co.uk Date: Friday 1, November 2013 Keyword: Exodus A quick travel conversation with: Model Erin O'Connor talks India, Mauritius - and home Like Follow From Delhi to Jaipur and back in a VW Polo? You'll need a blindfold for that! MailOnline @MailOnline Finding heaven in the Himalayas: A trek up to the roof of the world in north-west India Leh is our home for the next three days as we acclimatise to the dizzying altitude at 3,505m above sea level, where mobile reception is blissfully absent, and the internet hasn’t been working for ages. The group begins to swap tales of previous expeditions – it becomes clear that I’m the least experienced member of this well-travelled band of climbers. While my girlfriend Melanie recalls past trips trekking through Nepal, others recount recent memories of treks up Mont Blanc in France, and even Aconcagua – Argentina’s notoriously tough 7,000m peak. Heather Bentley, a 50-year-old vet, describes a successful trip to climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. And Roger Scarth,49, reveals he is attempting to conquer Stok Kangri after a recent bid to scale the 7,134m Peak Lenin in Kyrgyzstan defeated him just 1,500m from the summit. Impressive panorama: The group hiking with the stunning backdrop of the Ladakh Valley Reproduced by Gorkana Group under licence from the NLA (newspapers), CLA (magazines), FT (Financial Times/ft.com) or other copyright owner. No further copying (including printing of digital cuttings), digital reproduction/forwarding of the cutting is permitted except under licence from the copyright owner. All FT content is copyright The Financial Times Ltd. Article Page 3 of 7 264681198 - CAMMCM - A22010 - 1 Source: Dailymail.co.uk Date: Friday 1, November 2013 Keyword: Exodus Steep climb: Approaching base camp before the final climb to the summit ‘Beach holidays just don’t do it for me,’ he explains. ‘I need to be out of my comfort zone at least once a year or I just feel like I don’t exist. The desire is to go higher, to challenge yourself more each time. 'To stand on top of a 6,150m mountain is something no one can take away from you. Trips like this make you realise what you are capable of.’ After a final kit check at our hotel, it’s time to go – and contact with anyone outside our group will be almost non-existent until we return to Delhi. We depart the relative comfort of Leh, and the mud and brick buildings soon disappear into the distance, while the desert road out of town is replaced by a treacherous, makeshift trail winding its way along the Zanskar River to the first of our many wild campsites. Between the group and the 25 ponies accompanying us, we’re carrying every provision we’ll need for the next eight days. There will be no market stalls, no cosy mountain lodges, and barely even another human for the remainder of the journey. Rest stop: Simon's girlfriend Melanie at Palam Peak, an acclimatisation break at 5380m Reproduced by Gorkana Group under licence from the NLA (newspapers), CLA (magazines), FT (Financial Times/ft.com) or other copyright owner. No further copying (including printing of digital cuttings), digital reproduction/forwarding of the cutting is permitted except under licence from the copyright owner. All FT content is copyright The Financial Times Ltd. Article Page 4 of 7 264681198 - CAMMCM - A22010 - 1 Source: Dailymail.co.uk Date: Friday 1, November 2013 Keyword: Exodus In the distance: A view of the isolated desert city of Leh, where the group stayed before beginning the trek Our sleeping arrangements are primitive, coming in the form of canvas tents. Reading would be done by torchlight, and a half-decent night’s sleep relied upon a thorough re-working of the rocky ground underneath. But the harsh terrain is in stark contrast to the tranquil scene above us each night, with the spectacular sky and its constellations shining clearer and more brightly than I’ve ever seen before.