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The River Life Life on the river is quiet a unique lifestyle. In the past 6 days we’ve been experiencing it for ourself. We floated down the Kali Gandaki river and camped on beaches along the way. We’d wake up every morning for a leisurely 8am breakfast and pack up to get on the river. Everyday we’d float down the river in the morning for about 2 hours and then stop at a small little beach for lunch. We’d all hang out, eat some lunch, and then continue on going down the … Read more

Hello. My name is Stevens Gustafson and this blog post will be a review of the second half of our Annapurna circuit trek from October 20th to October 27th.On the first day we hiked from Yak Kharka to Throng Pedi. We hiked for about 3 hours and climbed roughly 400 meters to an elevation of about 4400 meters in Throng Pedi. The hike was pretty mild but the elevation made it much harder. When we arrived we ate lunch and hung out in the tea house for a couple hours. In the a… Read more

I awaken to the bellowing of a rooster below me and the battering of rain on the tin roof above me. I roll over on my straw mattress, remembering where I am, and  drift in and out of sleep before breakfast. Yesterday, we left Kathmandu for the homestay portion of the trip. After spending a day or two relaxing and preparing in the city, the group embarked on a 12 hour drive. The drive was followed by a rather sweaty 40 minute uphill hike to reach our village. This is wher… Read more

Yaks dressed in neon decorations drag ploughs through cracked clay. Shaggy sheep fleck the mountains with white. Candles float in bowls of butter bouncing light onto ancient monastery walls. Villages of identical plaster rectangle homes become more dilapidated as we near Everest Base Camp. Colours of the rainbow bleed from fur blanketed mountains and silhouette Tibetans working the land. We flew from Kathmandu to Lhasa but were rerouted to Chengdu in mainland China due … Read more

Wafting cinnamon smoke, frazzle-haired golden highland cows, prayer flags eternally flapping in the wind, handmade copper bowls overflowing with offerings, bunches of bells strung together on fences, silhouettes of religious stupas decorating every high point, timeless waterfalls that have carved trenches into vertical rock walls, and gold threads of light knit together the morning sky. There are dramatic snow peaks layered in impossibly thick slabs of hard packed glacia… Read more

After spending nine days in Nepal, my group members and I thought we were well-adjusted to the Nepali way of life. We had mastered getting a reasonable price out of the store-owners in Kathmandu, meditated among buddhist monks, and went hiking in the Himalayan foothills. We thought we knew what life in Nepal was like… However, that all changed when we entered Ale Gaun, a small village nestled in the foothills some three hours away from Pokhara. Turns out this is where m… Read more

Peace and connection. These are the two words that come to mind when I think of the past few days. It is not only the daily guided meditation, but our setting:the beautiful and enlightening Neydo Monastery.It is waking up with yoga at 7:00 every morning. There were grunts, pain, and drowsiness, yet the feelings afterwards are magnificent. Our group has already established a level of connection and compassion for one another that is remarkable. The love and genuine int… Read more

"It was too late to take risks now. I asked Tenzing to belay me strongly, and I started cutting a cautious line of steps up the ridge. Peering from side to side and thrusting with my ice axe, I tried to discover a possible cornice, but everything seemed solid and firm. I waved Tenzing up to me. A few more whacks of ice-axe, a very few weary steps, and we were on the summit of Everest. It was 11:30 am. My first sensation was one of relief - relief that the long grind was … Read more

Fifteen of us sat in the van quietly on the way up to Nagarkot. Kate stared out the window at the depths below and thought to herself, "I can not believe this is happening." Sophie gazed at the trees that swept by thinking, "I wonder what we're having for dinner later?" And in the very back sat Jake who was on the edge of his seat, panting like a golden retriever thinking, "What's gonna happen next? I wonder why the sky is blue? Ooh! That's my favorite cliff! No that's m… Read more

Namaste everyone! My name is Kevin and I will be guiding you, alongside Lou, on this incredible journey through the rooftop of the world.  I want to give you all a warm welcome and say how thrilled I am to be your instructor for the 2016 NAT program!  I know you are getting incredibly excited for this program and I can say that I am right there with you! Let me tell you a bit about myself.  I first traveled to Thailand in 2008, after finishing university, to learn abou… Read more