For any hiking aficionado, the Snowman Trek in Bhutan would probably be the ultimate hiking experience along with another sought after trek – the Machu Picchu Inca Trail in Peru. A hike of endurance – the Snowman Trek takes about a month to complete. It isn’t labeled the world’s most difficult trek for nothing.
Beautiful but grueling the trek takes one along the most scenic routes in the Himalayan belt. So far, the record for completing the trek fastest stood at 21 days, but that all changed with a group of elite ultra-marathon runners from the United States. They completed it in a record time of just two weeks.
And their journey has been documented into a movie titled “The Snowman Trek”, which was released in 350 movie theatres across the US in May.
With experienced mountaineer Ben Clark in the lead, the four elite athletes – Timothy Olson, Chris Ord and Anna Frost – covered rugged terrains of 11 mountain passes, traversing through valleys and peaks, and camping at remote areas with altitudes above 5,000m.
“Finishing the Snowman Trek in half the time needed has been a dream we’d been wanting to accomplish,” said Clark 38.
Even for seasoned hikers, the unforgiving trek is notorious for having only a 50% success rate due to high altitude problems or snow-blocked passes.
“Even the locals were skeptical about our ambition to complete it in two weeks, but we managed to complete the trek in just 15 days and nine hours,” Cark said. “This documentary brings big mountains, a big story about mountain culture and exclusive shots all to the big screen.”
About the Snowman Trek:
The gruelling and demanding Snowman Trek follows the border between Bhutan and Tibet, winding its way through 11 passes that exceed 4,500 meters above sea level. The views during the trek are stunning, with mountain peaks reaching above 7,000m.
The trek, which covers remote areas, would normally take around a month to complete. Starting from the northern tip of Paro in Bhutan, the crescent-shaped trail extends up into the Laya highlands, goes across to the east and ends in Bumthang.
Little Bhutan offers the Snowman Trek in our itinerary. The trek includes daily meals, accommodation, qualified guides and entry fees, road permits and visas. The company also provides trekking equipment, camping assistance, horses, sleeping bags, mats, and tents.
For more information on the Snowman Trek drop us an email to [email protected]
