Paul Burditt
Paul has led or undertaken many strenuous treks in Nepal including: Dhaulagiri Circuit (twice), Manaslu Circuit, Kanchenjunga Circuit, Rowaling to the Khumbu and Everest region in winter.
In December 2015, Paul took his wife and young daughters on a camping trek along the Milke Dande in Eastern Nepal – he wanted to share his passion for mountains and the people of the Himalaya with his family; as well as to bring business to the country after the devastating earthquake that spring.
A planned personal trip to Nepal in spring 2020 to trek the Arun Valley postponed because of the Coronavirus pandemic; this was particularly sad as Paul was hoping to meet up with TMC local trekking staff in their village. Paul is keen to extend his deep knowledge of Nepal by leading trips to the far west of the country.
In 2013 Paul led the Lunana Snowman trek in Bhutan; in what is believed to be the only successful traverse that autumn given the vagaries of the weather that year. This was a long held ambition given his interest in Buddhist culture which had been sparked over 30 years previously when trekking and staying in monasteries in Ladakh after leaving school. He is keen to get back to Bhutan to see Gangkar Punsum which remained hidden behind cloud thanks to cyclone Phailin last time.
Paul’s experience extends well beyond the Nepal Himalaya – he has visited the Karakorum twice, including leadership of the Snow Lake trek. A continent apart – he has trekked widely across the Andes including Bolivia (5 months), Peru and Ecuador. In 2019 he walked part of the Lebanon mountain trail, starting in the north just by the Syrian border.
Getting to know Paul Burditt
Kanchenjunga Circuit in Autumn season – for the sheer variety. Quintessential Middle Hills: vivid green lush terraces surrounding traditional villages, cardamom plantations amongst the trees. Followed by majestic peaks and glaciers higher up - best watched at dawn as the rising sun’s rays play on the ice.
Crossing Snow Lake in the Karakorum and camping at the top of the Hispar La. It was a hard day, but the weather was perfect and the sense of achievement was enhanced by the close integration between the group and the entire support team. We felt so far from civilisation. The goat curry that night was splendid.
For the gentlemen a large aperture Nalgene bottle and tight lid – to avoid getting dressed and out of your tent when nature calls in the middle of the night.
It is not a race; go steady. Enjoy the cultural experience as much as the scenery.
At school I enjoyed the doing the Duke of Edinburgh awards. Before going to university, I spent six months in India - first as a Horlicks salesman in Calcutta before travelling around the country. This is when I got my first taste of Himalayan trekking – walking from Darjeeling into Sikkim, trekking in Kashmir and going over the Zoji-la in a local bus to Ladakh where I spent 6 weeks walking between monasteries here and in Zanskar (where there was no money economy or roads at that time).
I got the bug and I am still doing it nearly 40 years later as an aside to my normal professional life working in IT for a large insurance company.
I am always planning & dreaming – now my desire more than anything is to take my teenage daughters up a trekking peak. Nepal is ideal but school holidays don’t work well for the best trek and climbing seasons – I might try Gondogoro Peak in Pakistan during a summer holiday.
Family trips aside – I would love to lead the Lunana Snowman trek again. Weather did not permit a view of Gankar Punsum last time and it is a wonderful country. Given my affinity for Buddhist culture I also keep my fingers crossed to lead in Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT in Western Nepal.
There is a small local café (Kantipur Restaurant) down a side road opposite the legendary Shona’s Rentals that serves great buffalo momos and I always get a warm welcome.
When down this road look out for a T-shirt shop on the left up a small flight of stairs by the IME money exchange – P N Embroidery. Ganesh Neupane is a wonderful T-shirt embroiderer and is one of the happiest men in Kathmandu. He has been making T shirts for my children for a dozen years and you will find pictures of my family on the counter of his shop.
Sailing on a small yacht to Antarctica. There are parallels between walking high up in the Greater Ranges and sailing offshore – you are a small team, communing with nature far from inessential material trappings of 21st century life.