Copyright © 2005 Ted P. Eugenis
|
|
Darjeeling is also the home of the Himalayan Mountain Institute (HMI) which recently opened its training facilities to foreigners.
We had tea with Nawang Gombu, nephew of Tenzing Norgay. Gambu was the first man to climb Everest twice (1959 and 1963). It was on the '63 climb that Gambu started a life long friendship with Jim Whitaker, his twin brother Lou and others. We declined the trek offered by Gambu's daughter, however, as it would have cost us USD 960 or 43,000 INR. We ended up doing the whole appriviated 4 day trek for roughly USD150.
|