If you are interested in participating, please take the following steps:  

1) Read the overview of the 2004 trek that is included below (a tentative itinerary can be viewed by clicking here).

2) Confirm your intention of joining the 2004 trek as soon as possible by e-mailing trip co-organizer Michael Useem at useem@wharton.upenn.edu.  

3) Send a deposit check for $500 per person made out to "Geographic Expeditions" to Michael Useem, Department of Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104-6370 USA 

PURPOSE:  For those of you who would like to think further about leadership development, we are planning the seventh annual Wharton Leadership Trek to the Himalayas on April 26 to May 12.  

Leadership is a capacity that draws on all aspects of the self.  Developing a vision, articulating it, and inspiring others to achieve it requires not only careful analysis and technical knowledge but also a sense for what is important for the organization and for the people in and around it.  

Mastering these abilities is a lifelong endeavor, and we invite you to continue your leadership development amongst the awe-inspiring peaks of the Himalayas.  The trip offers a unique opportunity to exercise your body and cross-train your mind, to reflect on your leadership with MBA graduates and company managers in the Himalayas. 

Images of mountains resonate deeply in cultures around the world; they are symbols of patience and strength, mystery and inspiration.  Mountain climbers, like the mountains they climb, hold a central place in our culture's mythology, a paradigm for how individuals striving for a goal can achieve what others label impossible.  But reaching a summit is usually far more than personal achievement, for it almost always depends on collective effort, with the contribution of each required for the success of all.  As the Japanese leader of a Mount Fuji society puts it, "The most important thing in climbing is the inner strength to help each other, so that not just the strongest but all the members of the group reach the goal."  

The seminar trek uses mountains, mountaineering, and trekking as powerful cross-cultural metaphors to expand and deepen our understanding of leadership and teamwork: 

o How have expeditions to Everest, Annapurna, K2 and other Himalayan peaks built the leadership and teamwork required to reach the summit -- or to retreat safely when good judgment suggests they should?  

o How do non-Western ways of approaching mountains reveal different possibilities of leading and working together as a team?  

o Can the mysterious hidden valleys of Tibetan lore, some resembling the fictional Shangri-La of James Hilton's novel, Lost Horizon, help us understand the underlying purpose of leadership and teamwork?  

o What does it mean to reach a summit? What have we achieved? What should be next? 

LOCATION:  Depending on conditions in Nepal and India, we will go to one of three locations:  Mt. Everest through Nepal, Kangchenjunga (the world's third highest mountain) via India, or the sacred mountain of Chomolhari in Bhutan.  At the present we are planning on Mt. Everest via Nepal, but we will make a final decision on the destination early in 2004.  

SEMINAR LEADERS:  The seminar co-leaders are Edwin Bernbaum, scholar, mountaineer, and program director at the Mountain Institute; Michael Useem, professor of management and director of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change; and Evan Wittenberg, director of the Wharton Leadership Program.  They will be working to ensure that the trek provides as much opportunity to learn and think about leadership and teamwork as possible.  In Nepal, India, or Bhutan, the trek will be supported by a first-rate regional team that will include some of the most experienced trekking and climbing guides in the Himalayas. 

TRIP PHYSICIAN:  A doctor will join the trip.  

OUTFITTERS:  Geographic Expeditions, one of the leading American outfitters for treks of this kind, supports and facilitates the trip.  

WHEN:  We fly from the U.S. on Monday, April 26, 2003.  For those coming from other locations, you will need to arrive in Kathmandu (or elsewhere depending upon the final destination), by April 28. I f you have the time, you may want to reach our arrival city a day or two early to overcome jet lag and see more of the city and its environs (as some participants have done in prior years).  

The trip requires approximately 17 days door-to-door, which means that you can be home, weather permitting, on May 12.  If we go to Everest via Nepal, the weather at the airstrip of Lukla near Everest may not permit: flights out of Lukla can be delayed, and while we hope for the best, it is possible that we could be delayed there for several days or more.  This does not apply to the other trip locations. 

LEARNING:  We emphasize continuous learning on the trail. This includes daily leadership exercises and seminar discussions based on pre-departure readings and emergent topics.  We devote time to considering leadership, decision making, and team dynamics on the historic climbs of Mt. Everest, Annapurna and other peaks, across organizations and cultures, and within our own trekking party.  We are sure to encounter a number of unanticipated events on the trail.  We divide into three or four teams on the trail, and their leadership is rotated daily.  The day's three or four team leaders also take overall responsibility for the entire group's plans, exercises, discussions, and other events. 

CONDITIONING:  The trip entails much up and downhill movement on mountain trails for six to eight hours per day.  We begin at an elevation of some 9,000 feet and may reach heights of 18,000 feet or more at our high points.  Extreme conditioning is not required, but a vigorous conditioning program must be followed to ensure that you comfortably master the terrain, and you must not be over-weight.  That conditioning may entail intense daily use of exercise machines or running, and it is preferable to take several extended hikes in hilly country prior to the trip.  For the sake of the group and your own enjoyment, it is essential to be in great shape at the start.  The trek involves no technical mountaineering, and it does not use ropes, crampons or other climbing equipment. 

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS:  One significant other, immediate relative, work colleague, or close friend is invited to join the trek.  He or she should share a keen interest in leadership issues and will be expected to participate in all of the leadership learning seminars and exercises. 

ELIGIBLE PARTIES:  The leadership trek is open to Wharton MBA and Executive MBA students and graduates, managers who have completed one or more programs in Wharton Executive Education, and sponsors of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management. 

SIGN-UP:  Send Michael Useem (useem@wharton.upenn.edu) an e-mail message affirming your intent to join the 2004 trek, and mail a deposit of $500 per person, with the made out to Geographic Expeditions, to:  Michael Useem, Department of Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104-6370 USA.  

Geographic Expeditions applies an initial $300 cancellation fee, and payment of the full cost is required by Geographic Expeditions by January 5, with additional cancellation fees applying after that date.  Trip cancellation insurance, which offers coverage in the event of withdrawal due to injury or illness, is available through Geographic.  Both Geographic and Wharton ask you to sign a waiver form concerning damages and injuries on the trip. 

We recommend that you arrange your international air travel through Geographic Expeditions (800-777-8183, 9AM-5PM, Pacific time; ask for Herbert Fong, who is also available at <herbert@geoex.com>).  Geographic has extensive experience in routing trekkers between the U.S., Nepal, China, and India.

COST: The land cost of the trip depends upon the number of participants and the destination.   

NEPAL - Everest trek: 

Group Size      Cost per person
18 +                $ 4385
16-17              $ 4800
14-15              $ 5345 

Single Supplement $ 300 

Internal Nepal Air Costs; $ 280 (subject to change): Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu 

Land Cost includes: 
- 3 nights hotel accommodations at Hotel Shangrila in Kathmandu 
- 1 night accommodation at lodge in Lukla (on return)
- All meals after arrival in Nepal (from dinner on day 3 to breakfast on day 16)
- Welcome and farewell dinners in Kathmandu 
- All inclusive trek (all camping equipment - tents, sleeping bags, pads, toilet tent, kitchen tent, etc; all meals, all fee related to Sherpa leader, Sherpa camp team and porter) 
- Conservation fee (kerosene for cooking on trek, extra porters to carry out non-biodegradable garbage, national park fees where applicable) 
- All ground and air transportation within Nepal except as noted 
- All service charges, baggage handling, transfers, taxes 
- Geographic Expeditions trek manager Ang Jangbu 
- Geographic Expeditions' Medical and Accident Insurance and Assistance Plan  

2. SIKKIM - Kanchenjunga Trek: 

Group Size      Cost per person
18 +                $ 4585
16-17              $ 4925
14-15              $ 5445 

Single Supplement $ 300 

Internal India Air Costs; $ 400 (subject to change): Delhi-Bagdogra-Delhi 

Land Cost includes: 
- 1 night hotel accommodation at Hotel Airport Radisson in Delhi (on arrival) 
- 2 nights hotel accommodations at Mayfair Resort in Darjeeling
- 2 nights hotel accommodations at Hotel Norbugang in Yuksom
- 1 nights hotel accommodations at Hotel Himalaya in Kalimpong
- All meals after arrival in India (breakfast on Day 3 to dinner on Day 16)
- Welcome dinner in Darjeeling and farewell dinner in Delhi
- All inclusive trek (all camping equipment - tents, sleeping bags, pads, toilet tent, kitchen tent, etc; all meals, all fee related to Sherpa leader, Sherpa camp team and porter; kerosene for cooking on trek, etc.)
- Kanchenjunga Conservation, Park camping & trekking fees
- All ground transportation within India 
- All service charges, baggage handling, transfers, taxes 
- Geographic Expeditions trek manager Sanjay Saxena or similar 
- Geographic Expeditions' Medical and Accident Insurance and Assistance Plan  

3. BHUTAN - Chomulhari Trek (from Paro to Thimphu): 

Group Size      Cost per person
18 +                $ 5755
16-17              $ 6165
14-15              $ 6745 

Single Supplement $ 300 

Internal Bhutan Air Costs; $ 750 (subject to change): Bangkok-Paro-Bangkok