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#ghtonwheels

GHT on Wheels

In 2022, Mangal Krishna Lama made the first solo traverse of the Great Himalaya Trail high route by mountain bike — twenty-two passes above 5,000 metres, roughly 1,700 kilometres from Kangchenjunga Base Camp to Hilsa, in 88 riding days. The high route is the point. The Great Himalaya Trail has gentler lines through the middle hills; the high line is the one that stays up, over the mountaineering cols to a high point above 6,000 metres at West Col. No bicycle had been recorded across them before 2022.

High on the Great Himalaya Trail during the 2022 solo traverse.
KANGCHENJUNGAHILSA
22 PASSES ABOVE 5,000 M6,100+ m · AT WEST COL

The expedition

He set out from Kangchenjunga Base Camp on 1 April 2022 and rode west — 88 riding days over the shoulders of Makalu and Everest and across Dolpo and Mugu to Hilsa on the Tibetan border in July. Solo means one rider: he planned and carried the logistics himself, with porters and technical support on four mountaineering passes. On the high passes a bag with his tent, sleeping bag, food and spares fell into a crevasse, and he went on. Much of the high route was pushed and carried, not ridden — the honesty is the achievement: nobody claims you can ride West Col.

The record

The traverse was tracked live by Garmin inReach satellite, documented day by day on the expedition's Instagram, recorded on the Great Himalaya Trail's Wikipedia page, and covered by Nepali Times, OnlineKhabar and The Annapurna Express. Behind the solo ride was a small team — among them co-founder Pawan Dhakal, who assisted the route planning and held the emergency line for every day he was out.

Press enquiries: info@elyakadventures.com

The chapters

  • Riding high alpine turf below the eastern walls of the Great Himalaya Trail.

    01 · Kangchenjunga Base Camp → Makalu

    The Eastern Walls

    It begins at the foot of the third-highest mountain on Earth and goes west through the emptiest country on the Trail — passes stacked one behind another, villages days apart, and no easy way down.

    Distance
    About 250 km
    Time on the line
    About two weeks
    High point
    About 5,150 m
    Best season
    April–May or October–November
    Main passes
    Nango La, Lumba Sumba La
    Permits
    Kangchenjunga conservation-area and restricted-area permits; Makalu Barun National Park at the western end
    Support
    Local guides and a support team; porters or mules where there is no road, and camping where there are no lodges
  • Carrying the bike across the moraines where the high route leaves rideable ground.

    02 · Makalu → Khumbu → Rolwaling

    The Mountaineering Cols

    The crux of the high route — the mountaineering cols, up to the high point above six thousand metres at West Col. The bike goes over them the only way anything does: carried. Then the Khumbu opens below, and after it Rolwaling's locked valley.

    Distance
    About 140 km
    Time on the line
    About four weeks, most of it on foot with the bike
    High point
    About 6,150 m, at West Col
    Best season
    April–May or October–November, when the cols are cold and settled
    Main passes
    Sherpani Col, West Col, Amphu Labtsa, Cho La, Renjo La, Tashi Labtsa
    Permits
    Makalu Barun and Sagarmatha National Parks, the Khumbu local fee, and Gaurishankar Conservation Area for Rolwaling
    Support
    Mountain guides and porters on the glaciated cols; a support team and camping in the valleys
  • Morning light in the high valleys, with the Garmin inReach satellite tracker on his shoulder strap.

    03 · Rolwaling → Langtang → Helambu

    Langtang & Helambu

    Across the middle of the range: Langtang's long glacial valley and the ridgelines of Helambu — a few dozen kilometres from Kathmandu on the map, and a world above it.

    Distance
    About 530 km
    Time on the line
    About three weeks
    High point
    Just under 5,000 m
    Best season
    April–May or October–November; the monsoon makes the lower valleys slow
    Main passes
    Ridge crossings in Rolwaling, Langtang, Helambu and Ganesh Himal, all below 5,000 m
    Permits
    Gaurishankar Conservation Area, Langtang National Park, and the Manaslu permits near the western end
    Support
    Local guides and a support team; lodges where the valleys have them, and camping on the high ground
  • High glacial valleys and moraine shelves along the central Himalaya.

    04 · Larke Pass → Manang

    Manaslu & Annapurna

    Around the shoulder of Manaslu and into the ground El Yak knows best — Manang, the high shelf of the Marsyangdi, the walls of the Annapurna massif.

    Distance
    About 130 km
    Time on the line
    About five days
    High point
    About 5,400 m, at Thorong La
    Best season
    April–May or October–November
    Main passes
    Larke Pass, Thorong La
    Permits
    Manaslu restricted-area and conservation-area permits, and the Annapurna Conservation Area permit
    Support
    Local guides and a support team; lodges where the valleys have them, and camping where they do not
  • Riding the dry trans-Himalayan caravan trails west of the Kali Gandaki.

    05 · Kali Gandaki → Dolpo

    The Crossings into Dolpo

    West of the Kali Gandaki the country dries and empties. High crossings lead into Dolpo — caravan trails that have carried salt for centuries, and the turquoise of Phoksundo at the far side.

    Distance
    About 460 km
    Time on the line
    About two and a half weeks
    High point
    About 5,550 m, at Teri La
    Best season
    May to October; Dolpo lies in the rain shadow, so the monsoon is workable
    Main passes
    Teri La, Numa La, Bagala La and other high crossings above 5,000 m
    Permits
    Upper Dolpo and Mugu restricted-area permits and Shey Phoksundo National Park
    Support
    A support team with porters or mules for the caravan trails; camping throughout, with no lodges for days at a time
  • High summer pastures and nomad camps in the far west of the Great Himalaya Trail.

    06 · Mugu → Humla → Hilsa

    The Far West

    Among the least-travelled districts in Nepal: Mugu's gorges and forests, Humla's high desert, and the last descent to Hilsa on the Tibetan border, where the line ends.

    Distance
    About 190 km
    Time on the line
    About four days
    High point
    About 4,500 m
    Best season
    May to October; autumn is the steadiest, and Humla's high desert stays dry in the monsoon
    Main passes
    No pass above 5,000 m on the line
    Permits
    Mugu and Humla restricted-area permits
    Support
    Local guides and a support team; porters or mules where there is no road, and camping between the villages

Rider questions

? Who was the first person to mountain bike the Great Himalaya Trail high route?

Mangal Krishna Lama, in 2022 — the first solo traverse of the Great Himalaya Trail high route by mountain bike, from Kangchenjunga in the east to Hilsa on the Tibetan border in the west. The record is on the Trail's Wikipedia page and was tracked live by Garmin.

? How long is the Great Himalaya Trail high route by bike, and how long did it take?

Roughly 1,700 kilometres, ridden over 88 riding days across the length of Nepal. Much of the high line is not rideable at all — by Mangal's own account, close to 60 per cent was pushed or carried.

? How many passes over 5,000 metres does the route cross?

Twenty-two passes above 5,000 metres, rising to a high point above 6,000 metres at West Col, where the bike is carried because nothing on that ground can be ridden.

? Is the #ghtonwheels record verifiable?

Yes. It was tracked live by Garmin satellite, appears in the Great Himalaya Trail's Wikipedia entry, and was reported in Nepali Times and OnlineKhabar. El Yak states plainly what was ridden and what was carried, and never claims the unrideable ground was ridden.

Ride a chapter

The traverse is offered as chapters, in small numbers — you do not book the Great Himalaya Trail, you apply to ride a piece of it with the man who rode it solo.

Apply to ride a chapter
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