Oct. 31--A 15-day trek to Mount Everest's base camp beginning April 12 will commemorate the anniversary of the April 25, 2014, earthquake in Nepal that killed more than 8,000 people and caused heavy damage. Ace the Himalaya, which specializes in tours in the Himalayas, is organizing the trek and donating $100 per trip booked to rebuild a heavily damaged school in Namche Bazaar, the largest town on the Everest base camp trekking route. Ace the Himalaya is hoping to attract 400 clients to the trek and raise $40,000 for the school rehab. Trekkers will be broken into groups of no more than 14, and each group will have its own guides, porters and lodges. This is no walk in the park. Maximum elevation reached will exceed 18,000 feet. During a one-day stop to acclimate to the altitude, trekkers will visit the damaged school and help with some simple rebuilding. The $2,000 per person cost of the trip will include lodging, guides, porters to transport luggage, an internal flight and other items. Meals are extra. 877-306-0650, http://tinyurl.com/p7y7roe
Girls just want to have Austin
Girls just want to have fun, particularly girls about to get hitched. And for some, bachelorette parties have evolved from one wild night to a girlfriends' getaway. The folks at Thumbtack, who help match up people with service providers, crunched the numbers on brides-to-be who asked for their help, looking to see where they wanted to have their last fling with friends. The No. 1 destination? Somewhat surprisingly it was Austin, Texas. The remainder of the top five were big cities, which you might expect: Las Vegas, Chicago, New York and Miami Beach, Fla. So what kind of activities do the bachelorettes want for their partying? Food scored high, with a personal chef and cooking lessons taking the top two spots. Pole-dancing lessons scored in the top 10, along with boudoir photography. Check out the report at http://tinyurl.com/njp9hln.
Over-the-top expeditions
Quark Expeditions has been leading adventurous clients on tours of polar regions for 25 years. To observe that anniversary, it has put together the Explorers' Collection, a batch of trips -- some decidedly over the top -- to fill out the wish lists of the well-traveled and, in most instances, well-heeled. For those in that latter category, there's the Arctic Icebreaker Expedition: Arctic Semi-Circumnavigation. This is a 33-day voyage by icebreaker through the Northwest Passage, from Greenland to Russia. It's priced from $43,290 triple occupancy plus $3,800 for a transfer package. Also for the well-heeled is a 21-day package that combines an exploration of the Galapagos Islands with a cruise across the Drake Passage to Antarctica. The base price is $15,290 double occupancy, but then there are additional charges, including a flight from Ecuador to Ushuaia, Argentina, for the Antarctic leg. The Explorers' Collection also includes jaunts to the North Pole, Falkland Islands and more. Info: 888-979-1306, http://tinyurl.com/nd6clff
Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
