November '23 Himalayan Blue Sheep story

[adamkolesar]

Looks like a very physical hunt. How would you rate it as far as mountain climbing ?

Our guides "managed" the ascents very well; allowing short rest stops throughout the climbs. There were a few sketchy stretches, especially during our extended stalk. They took great care in getting us where we needed to be. I imagine the client's fitness is being assessed during the first three days of hiking to sheep camp.
Fitness is fitness. The wildcard is tolerance to altitude. The tent and Diamox mitigated the effects of altitude in our case.
Mahesh did mention having the donkeys available to get clients up the daily 2000+ foot ascent to the hunting area if needed.

 

[TurkeyReaper69]

A member of the Nepalese/Dhorpatan game department is present for all the hunts. Typically they stay at base camp as they tend to be older folks. Our guy was young and was with us every step of the way. He was there to record all the demographic information on the sheep and confirm legality such as method of take etc. He was also there to observe sheep numbers in the field and took note of the snow leopard tracks and their location. I saw one European blue sheep video where the game official judged an animal was wounded and not recoverable and the game officer cancelled the hunt.
His "certification" is also part of the documentation necessary for the hide and horns to be exported out of Nepal.

Thank you for sharing, very neat experience. I'd love to hunt the high mountains of central Asia one day.

 

[adamkolesar]

For those that might be interested, the EXO Backcountry podcast on the sheep hunt is live.
Here's the link.

Listen to 436 | Hunting Blue Sheep in Nepal (A Listener Story...) by Hunt Backcountry Podcast on #SoundCloud

436 | Hunting Blue Sheep in Nepal (A Listener Story...)

Today's guest, Adam, reached out to us about a very unique hunt he went on earlier this year, in Nepal for Blue Sheep. We knew that this hunt involved very big mountains and a unique species of sheep,

on.soundcloud.com

 

[arkansashntr]

Awesome podcast and great photos to go along with it!! Congrats on the Ram!

 

[bowhuntercam]

Congratulations. Thanks for sharing!

 

[ReddingArcher]

Really enjoyed listening to the podcast, congrats again!

 

[Reddish]

Congrats! That is a great adventure!

 

[eamyrick]

Listened today. Wonderful podcast. Very well spoken. You reminded me of Grancel Fitz. Famous hunter from NYC whose goal was to take a respectable head of all NA Game. His book “North American Head Hunting” is a must read.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I just finished listening as well. Started yesterday and continued this morning. Obviously there is a financial hurdle to clear, but it takes some balls, and a true desire for an authentic adventure to go on a trip like this. Also, I think it's worth noting that so many youtube videos, writeups, and details hunters talk about after various mountain hunts have a common feel of glorifying the hunter, the mental/physical challenges met, or the score/number of inches on the trophy taken..... in contrast, the level of detail you are able to go into on the other various aspects of the trip, and the things you wanted to talk about, specifically the culture, rituals, and the various dynamics within the team, show that you were not there to just stroke your ego and check a species off the list. I'm sure the team sensed your interest, awareness, and empathy, and genuinely enjoyed your company. Really appreciate your perspective, and your sharing this experience with us.

 

[Read1t48]

What a great adventure! Thanks for taking us along. Great podcast, too! Well done on all accounts.

 

[adamkolesar]

I just finished listening as well. Started yesterday and continued this morning. Obviously there is a financial hurdle to clear, but it takes some balls, and a true desire for an authentic adventure to go on a trip like this. Also, I think it's worth noting that so many youtube videos, writeups, and details hunters talk about after various mountain hunts have a common feel of glorifying the hunter, the mental/physical challenges met, or the score/number of inches on the trophy taken..... in contrast, the level of detail you are able to go into on the other various aspects of the trip, and the things you wanted to talk about, specifically the culture, rituals, and the various dynamics within the team, show that you were not there to just stroke your ego and check a species off the list. I'm sure the team sensed your interest, awareness, and empathy, and genuinely enjoyed your company. Really appreciate your perspective, and your sharing this experience with us.

Thanks for the kind words. My hope was to convey the scale of the effort; and in the process memorialize the details while they were still vivid in my mind. All in all it was a very humbling experience.

 

[TXCO]

Congrats on a great trip!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sevens]

Awesome adventure and thanks for sharing!

Being a rifle looney, what other cartridges did hunters select that you saw on the permits?

 

[goonplatoon88]

This is one of my favorite hunt recaps of all time. Can't believe that guy was wearing Adidas. Well done on bringing this adventure to us that will never be able to live it ourselves

 

[adamkolesar]

This is one of my favorite hunt recaps of all time. Can't believe that guy was wearing Adidas. Well done on bringing this adventure to us that will never be able to live it ourselves

The porters and Sherpas were the real all-stars of this adventure. The plastic bag inserts for snow were really something.

 

[adamkolesar]

Awesome adventure and thanks for sharing!

Being a rifle looney, what other cartridges did hunters select that you saw on the permits?

The eight hunters for the Fall season came from USA, Germany, Belarus, and Russia.
Calibers used were 6.5 PRC, 300 Win Mag (the favorite) 7mm RM, .280 Ackley, my .270 and the dude from Russia w/ the .338 Lapua!

 

[Doc Holliday]

The eight hunters for the Fall season came from USA, Germany, Belarus, and Russia.
Calibers used were 6.5 PRC, 300 Win Mag (the favorite) 7mm RM, .280 Ackley, my .270 and the dude from Russia w/ the .338 Lapua!

Do you know if all 8 were successful? And if anyone was not, can you share why?

 

[adamkolesar]

Do you know if all 8 were successful? And if anyone was not, can you share why?

I only know my outfitter had four of the Fall hunters and he went 4 for 4 w/ me being the last hunter of his for the season.
Don't know how the others made out.

 

[ETtikka]

Thanks for sharing, awesome story telling!

 

[Pokerface]

Awesome adventure, thanks for sharing. This is as close as I will get to hunting these sheep... Joe