Trips Grading Info |
Conditions that may affect grading
THE GRADES- Experience is not necessary at this level: Anyone who is in good health and fit enough to enjoy a good weekend hill walk can manage an One star grade. Usually, one star grade treks are short in duration and at lower altitudes. However, walking always involves some exertion: trails are seldom flat, and you must still expect to have a reasonable amount of ascent and descent. You would normally walk for 5 to 6 hours during the day. Typical holidays at this grade: Poon Hill trek/Langtang trek - Most people who enjoy a weekend in the hills or mountains at home are capable of undertaking a trek at this level: You need to be in good health and reasonably fit, and you will almost certainly be taking regular exercise. A trek could be two star either as a fairly easy medium-duration walk, or as a harder, shorter walk. Some walking at higher altitude and the occasional longer or more difficult day may be involved, but generally conditions underfoot will be fair. A walking day would normally be between 5 to 7 hours long and no experience is necessary. Typical holidays at this grade: Jomsom/ Muktinath/Gosainkunda/Annapurna Base camp - For any trek at this level, fitness is most important and you may have to improve yours before departure. Most three star grade treks are equivalent to extended walking in mountainous terrain at home, but usually at significantly higher altitudes; climate and remoteness can also play a part. Walking days are usually between 6 to 8 hours although there may be some longer days for pass-crossing or similar. Previous trekking experience is desirable but not essential if you are confident of your physical condition. Typical holidays at this grade: Annapurna Circuit/Kalapathar/Everest Base Camp - At this level we recommend previous experience of trekking, preferably at altitude, and you need complete confidence in your physical condition and your ability to trek for many days without a break and be able to cope with difficult underfoot terrain such as scree, very high or difficult passes on steep mountainsides. Extremes of altitude and weather may also be encountered, and on some treks it may be necessary to use ice axe and crampons. Stamina is very important, as walking days can be from 6 to 9 hours or even longer on pass-crossing days. Typical holidays at this grade: Trek crossing high passes like Apu laptsa, French pass, Tashi laptsa - To earn an five stargrade, a trek is likely to involve all the elements of a four star grade plus extra factors of significant difficulty - tricky river crossings, very high or difficult passes, glaciers, or trekking peaks where basic climbing skills be required. Often some special equipment such as ice axe and crampons will be needed and if so we require you to have experience of them. While normally walking for 7 to 9 hours a day, you should be prepared for up to 11 hours or on some climbs even longer. Typical holidays at this grade: Trek combine with Trekking peak climbing or Trek crossing high passes like Serpeni col TTG BIKING GRADINGTrip Classification Grading Our mountain biking adventures are vehicle-supported wherever practicable. As well as enabling you to ride with only your usual day-ride gear, this also means that you can hitch a ride if you find the going too tough. Some of our more challenging trips include sections of unsupported riding, with the group meeting their crew and back-up vehicles at the next overnight halt. All trips will involve riding on rough tracks or dirt roads, escaping where possible off road on to rough jeep tracks and single track trails. THE GRADESFactors affecting grading include: degree of up/down, difficulty of the surfaces to be ridden, amount of bike handling skill required, distances covered and other factors such as heat, altitude or remoteness. All our trips require basic fitness, preferably acquired through riding your bike, and please remember that any cycling involves some physical exertion, so you cannot expect that you will not feel tired on an easy trip. TTG CLIMBING GRADINGA number of our adventures include an element of climbing, usually on snow, where ropes and other items of mountaineering equipment will normally be used. These trips have each been given a trekking grade to reflect their overall difficulty and it is this grade which is shown on their grade symbol. Additionally, each of these trips has a climbing grade which is intended to indicate the technical difficulty of the ascent(s) involved and takes into account factors such as overall steepness, exposure and objective dangers. GRADING FOR OTHER TTG ADVENTUREOur special collection of themed adventure journeys are all very different in nature, ranging from gentle family adventures to demanding mountaineering expeditions. However in order to give an indication of their overall level of difficulty these trips have each been given a trekking grade and it is this grade which is shown on their grade symbol. |