The unfortunate incident(s) occurred whilst reading an article about a school that travelled to Nepal on expedition: a four week adventure to trek the Annapurna Circuit and take part in a community project.

Nothing exceptional in that, I hear you cry, except this school… travelled in July!

Queue first fall.

For those of you not up to speed on the climatic idiosyncrasies of distance land-locked countries in continental Asia; July, my friends, is the height of Nepal’s monsoon*.

There I was, on the floor, reeling at the news that the students’ enjoyment of the expedition was tempered by the fact they had to dodge landslides and take a ten hour bus journey due to poor weather and a cancelled flight.

I got to my feet and sat back down (a little closer to the middle of my chair), remaining blissfully unaware that another thunderbolt was fast approaching…

I merrily continued reading, noting the liberal smattering of buzz-words like ‘life changing’, ‘self-development’ and ‘adventure’ that adorned the page in front of me - before discovering that this school had paid ‘around’ £4,000 per student…

BAM!

Second fall.

This one hurt more than the first.

I spent a considerable few moments lying dazed and confused on the floor, trying to fathom how such a trip - even with a no doubt all-singing all-dancing comprehensive pre-expedition training programme - could possibly cost anyway near such a Himalayan figure. Had I misread the currency symbol? (I checked, and hadn’t).

I was irked [technical term].

Somebody, somewhere, was laughing all the way to the bank, and it wasn’t the drizzle-soaked students or the teachers enjoying the cloud-obscured ‘views’ of the Himalaya.

And so, having extracted myself from the floor for a second time, and after much deliberation, (all of two minutes and 23 seconds, if I’m honest), I decided to etch onto my tablet what I’d always known but never written in stone: three commandments by which The STC does business, lest I were to be tempted to wander off the straight and narrow path:

1) Provide honest advice from experts.
2) Make reasonable, not outrageous profits.
3) Have enough integrity not to just follow the money

And, if at any time you find us deviating from said path, you have my permission to tell our Mums.

* If you insist on trekking in Nepal in July then stick to the regions of Dolpo or Mustang. They’re much drier due to the Himalayan rain-shadow.