Richard Bailey recently had the opportunity to head out to Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas which was something he wasn't going to turn down!

"When the offer came to take four people to Stok Kangri (6153m) it didn't take long to think about it.
Once we left the town of Leh at 3500m we would be out on the hill for 2 weeks. Most of the time was to be spent trekking through some rugged high altitude terrain in weather that was likely to vary between very hot and cold and wet.
So which boots to take? The mountain itself would need plastic boots capable of coping with the coldest places at high altitude but the rest of the time was to be spent in my new brasher Borgue's. A few days work in the Lakes had confirmed my initial impression that these were light, waterproof and supremely comfortable.

The trekking throught the Markha Valley exceeded our expectations with staggering views and incredible walking unfolding everyday.
Each night we arrived at yet another dramatic campsite where our local staff did an incredible job supplying limitless hot drinks, three course dinners and even a hot shower. When a pillow complete with pink case was pulled from the back of a donkey the whole thing became surreal!

After 11 days and numerous high passes reaching heights of 5200m, we arrived in base camp. The weather was looking very doubtful but still alarms were set for 1.30 the next morning and it was with some regret that I swapped my now trusty Borgue's for the rather less comfortable plastics. The usual early morning mixture of nausea, excitement and nervousness greeted us all. I soon lost my breakfast, as usual, and we all worked hard to find a slow sustainable plod.

6 hours and a lot of hard work later found us on the summit ridge. The starry night had been followed by a cloudy dawn and now it was snowing steadily with limited visibility.
We plodded slowly upwards in the cloud each of us lost in simply putting one foot in front of the other.
My brush with Giardia earlier in the trip was leaving me without my usual energy. The ridge narrowed and suddenly out of the mist appeared a pyramid of frozen prayer flags. Breathtaking views unfolded back into India and out towards Pakistan. We all shuffled carefully onto the narrow summit and began to think about the long joirney home.

I literally lived in my Borgue's for most of this trip and I can honestly say they were faultless.
If you get the chance to visit Ladakh then grab it and when you do, take your brasher's!"