Nyema Kunta Sherpa

Nyema Kunta Sherpa, originally uploaded by matthewharrup.

In the Andes, we were carrying 15-20kg packs at 5,000m but we'd had 3 months of acclimatisation and also the porters wanted $100 for 4 days. It wasn't fun.

Out here, even though we're staying in tea houses so our packs were about half that -no camping equipment or food, we just felt plane lazy. This guy wanted 4gbp a day (about 8x the national average wage) to carry both our bags and we said OK. He also was a great guide, finding the path, booking all the rooms and food and only occasionally dropping us off at places ran by friends or family - all good though.

I'd definitely recommend anyone to hire well, him, or any porter that can speak a bit of English - it'll be like a walk in the park rather than a hike.