The Hidden Khumbu

In the autumn of 2007, Griffon Expeditions explored their newest trip called "The Hidden Khumbu"

Here's a selection of photos from the trip. Photo credits to Chris Atkinson, Sharyn Smith, and Chris Jones

Looking down at beautiful Gokyo.

Read: "No skinny dipping in the holy lake".

The dreaded mastiffs really just want to be loved!

The Khumbu glacier

Sharyn and Angela telling jokes on the way up the valley

The strikingly beautiful summit of Lhotse at sunset

Cho Oyu heads this gorgeous valley with the "Rhino Horn" which we climbed the next day framed in front.

Every evening the mist would rise up fromthe valley below, and climb towards us like a tide before falling away again leaving clear night skies

Hiking towards high camp with our porters. We did this trip pretty light, with 4 porters carrying food for 12 days plus camping supplies and all our climbing gear. We called them the "dream team!"

Sharyn curling up with a good book in her mountains of down... just like being in front of a roaring fire.

The sunset on Mt. Everest from our high camp. The view just can't get any better!

Until the moon rises. Sharyn was so excited by this moonrise that she couldn't stop taking pictures and nearly missed dinner.

The Rhino Horn with Cho Oyu in the background. Look closely and you'll see the climbers nearing the top! We believe this was a first ascent!

On the way up to the first pitch of the Rhino Horn, we passed these super-blue alpine lakes.

Chris Jones belays Chris Atkinson halfway up the Rhino Horn.

Chris A. leads to way up the 'horn.

Chris and Ang on the summit!

Walking the ridges and exploring around high camp. We found strange animal tracks up here! Yeti?

Climbing up the glacier on Sumna Ri

Chris and Ang on top of Sumna Ri, Everest in the background.

We continued over a pass and headed towards the Nangpa La where Tibetan Yak drivers still bring there goods to trade at Namche Bazaar. The trip from Tingri takes them 7 HARD days over some of the roughest terrain imaginable. Still, trade seems to be thriving. We counted over 100 yaks in a day!

Up close and personal with a rather large yak!

Our camp enroute to the Nangpa La. Windy, cold and dusty, but the company was great!

Enroute to the Nangpa La - and the Tibetan border

Tibetan window frames are apparently in demand in namche bazaar!

If you want to use images or text from this site please contact chris@griffonexpeditions.com for permission.

Griffon Expeditions Ltd. is a niche adventure travel company offering adventure travel in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and around the world. We offer: kayaking Tibet, rafting Tibet, Tibet rafting, Tibet kayaking, Tibet tours, Tibet travel, trekking Tibet, climbing Tibet, paddling Tibet, Infatable kayaks, Tibet travel information, Tibet tours, Travel to Tibet, Tibet tour, Tibet travel permit, tibet travel guide, Tours in Tibet, Tibet hotel, Tibet ticket, Tibet visa, Tibet map, Tibet maps, tibet vacation, Tibet tour packages, Lhasa tour. Please contact us directly for more information on our products and services. We work with high quality local operators in Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. We specialize in cultural tours, educational trips, adventure tours, rafting, kayaking, trekking and horse trekking. We have been at the forefront of adventure travel in Tibet for many years and partner with the local leader in the tourism industry in Tibet. We often run trips to Kailash, Everest Base Camp, Shigatse, Gyantse, Lhatse, Tingri, Tsedang (Tsetang), also major monasteries such as Samye, Drepung, Sera, Ganden, Drigung, Reting, Tashilumpo, Sayka, Mindroling etc. We specialize in customized trips. Our custom trips are tailormade to suit the expectations of each individual group. We often facilitate school groups, research projects and other special projects. We are the first and only company to get offical permission to run rafting and kayaking trips in Tibet in conjunction with our local operator. We run trips on many rivers including; Tolung, Drigung, Reting, Yarlung Tsangpo, Kongpo, Sutlej, Indus, Po Tsangpo, Parlung Tsangpo. There are many first descents still to be done in Tibet. We organise all permits including Tibet entry permit, TTB, Alien Travel Permit, ATP, Military Permit and even restricted area permits.

We're small, flexible and personable not like many other travel providers out there. We're committed to ethical and responsible travel to places we are personally passionate about. We also know about the places we travel and expect you to have a genuine interest in the culture and geography of the places we visit. When you contact Griffon you'll communicate directly with staff that have a deep understanding of the destinations we travel to. We know our destinations intimately. We take our role as providers of once in a life-time experiences very seriously. We're a specialist adventure travel company focusing on providing high quality tailor-made trips and expeditions for small groups. We're not interested in mass tourism, bus tours or similar monstrosities! We specialize in providing personalized service, creating tailor-made trips to Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal and wilderness destinations around the globe. We thrive on the challenge of crafting new and exciting itineraries, facilitating interesting projects and exploratory expeditions.