Bethan is currently on VentureCo’s Himalaya Venture in India and Nepal. The 12 week Venture includes a development project in a village in Rajasthan, as well as an expedition, involving camel treks, tiger safaris, deserted beaches, mountain biking, rafting and the Everest Base Camp trek

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Diary of a Himalayan adventure: Update Four Bethan Buck writes... "So we left Yuksum at 8am after comparing the weights of our bags - we were all apprehensive about trekking and having to carry all of our stuff which was really tough for the first few days but we got used to it quickly. The first day was a hard six hour uphill haul through early monsoon rain to a little shack where we spent the night. To make the day easier we gave each other parts from Lord of the Rings. When you have a lot of time to think without any distractions apart from a landscape with a strange likening to Lord of the Rings, that is what happens. The second day was really short, but very steep. After only a few hours walking we got to a small mountain village. We were camping in the garden of an old couples' house and that afternoon with time to kill, we ended up sitting out of the rain in the kitchen of the tiny house. We taught our guide and a few of the porters to play Cheat (Gullatoua in Hindi) and in return they taught us the Hindi/Nepali numbers as we played. Then we literally spent hours with the porters teaching each other magic tricks, card tricks and drinking the Tomba, it was really good fun. We soon retired to bed and fell asleep to the various farmyard sounds around us. The third day started very amusingly with Nicole falling head first and rolling all the way down the hill by the toilet. After that, it was another long day, halfway through which we got to snow. Our imaginations took a new turn and we were now in Narnia - and it really did feel like it. It got snowier and snowier until we reached a point where it was four feet deep snow on an empty plain. We made snow angels and a snow man and had the biggest snow ball fight ever. It was awesome but very very cold and we soon carried on trudging through the thick snow. It seemed to go on forever, but eventually we got to where we were camping (yes, that's right - camping in the snow). It was the coldest most uncomfortable night ever, we tried to amuse ourselves by helping the cook make Momo's and reading to each other from Roald Dahl's short stories. However, we had very little sleep that night. The only highlight for me being my 'squattie' wash with Hannah and a bowl of hot water in our tent. We spent the whole time sitting frozen cold in our underwear in collapsed hysterics, it's strange what you find funny when you are in that situation. Early the next morning we were woken to climb a peak a few hundred feet higher than our camp to see the view. It was really stunning, but the walk was hard work and a few of us were getting the first signs of acute altitude sickness. After a fairly romantic breakfast on the side of a mountain in the falling snow, we got ahead of the yaks and started our walk through the thick and fast setting snow. We carried on for hours and then started a really big downhill fall to cross the river, which was stunning. We then had a big climb to get to the next camp site - on a snowy field in the middle of the most breathtaking mountains - we were right near the peaks and just above us rose the top of a mountain over 6000 foot high. The next morning we slowly made our way to our final destination, our base camp if you will. It wasn't so snowy here as the sun had been shining. Although as soon as the tents had been put up, a crazy blizzard began and after spending an hour and a half in the tent, we came out to see a complete winter wonderland. Everything was covered with snow and the river which ran by our camp looked amazing. As the snow clouds cleared, our peak was revealed to us; at 4600 feet high it touched the sky and was really really beautiful. The next morning we were up and ready to leave camp at 4am to climb the mountain in time for sunrise. We set off in the dark and as it gradually got light, we struggled our way up the tough snow thick peak. The climb was definitely worth it and we got there just in time to see the sun hit the peaks surrounding us. We stood absolutely frozen, staring in awe at the view before messing around in the snow until our tummies started rumbling and we could no longer feel our toes. The next day was a long hard walk through jungle terrain again, though uphill this time and then a very long and steep down hill. By the evening, we had reached where we had stayed at the old couples' garden although this time we got places in a little youth hostel type place nearby. By the evening we were tired, so we got into our thermals and layers and began brushing our teeth on the balcony, Suddenly, from within the dining room, we heard the guys start to sing. We peeped round the corner and saw that they were beginning to dance too. We watched from the dark doorway when all of a sudden, we were dragged into the room and danced and sang for hours. They sung us Nepali songs and we sang them Queen. The evening was great, the dancing was so much fun and the mountain drinks were out in force again! It was now time for our last day of trekking. We started earlier then usual and walked until dusk. It was really good fun, up and down hill through the remaining mountains. We stopped for lunch at a waterfall where we had a dip and washed our hair in the icy cold water. Back in Yuksum, we were taught a card game by the non-English speaking yak men. It was very amusing and the night soon began. Pema and Nazir returned from the village with yet more mountain drinks and a lot of singing and dancing." Click here >> for arriving in India Click here >> for taking part in Hoil and renovating classrooms Click here >> for camel trekking Click here >> for trekking in the mountains Click here >> for elephant riding in Chitwan National Park Click here >> for Everest Base Camp Click here >> for bungy jumping, white-water rafting and home Name: VentureCo Address: The Ironyard, 64-66 The Market Place, Warwick Click here >> for details of this placement Click here >> to see all of VentureCo's placements Click here >> to email VentureCo Tel: 0845 344 7523