We did 3 passes trek with Thile about 5 years ago. We went in a private group, only me and my wife, and hired Thile and 1 carrier. It was the best decision we could do. Thile is a bit different from standard local guides, he is fluent in English and behaves in a European way, therefore what you agree on is valid, if you agree you will leave camp at 4.00 am, you leave at 4.00 am, no delays, no mess, no chaos, just like you were at home in Europe. We pretty much appreciated this.
At the beginning of our trekking, we had seriously bad weather and there were no flights to Lukla, we had to wait for few days, we even tried a car transport with no succes, but finally Thile managed to squeeze us to one and only plane, so we could get to Lukla.
We had very unusual requirements, I wanted to do all side trips (Cho Oyu base camp, Pokalde summit, etc.), plus we did all standard hikes, Goyko Ri, Kala Pathar. We had many spare days so we requested that we will be waiting in Gokyo Ri and Gorak Shep until the weather gest clear, so we could see all the summits around. In Gorak Shep we had to wait for 3 days, simply sleeping on the hotel or doing some side walks. All other groups arrived, climbed to Kala Pathar with no visibility, and then had to leave, because they had fixed timing. Not for us. We waited until we got totally clear sky. Thile was extremely, extremely flexible, that is something I need to highlight. And I mean flexible in west European way. We said we want to stay on Kala Pathar top for 5 hours and enjoy the views, so we agreed that he will walk back to hotel and wait for us, so we had the Kala Pathar summit only for 2 of us, since all other groups left after about 1 hour.
I wanted to climb to Pokalde summit, so we agreed that my wife stays at the tea house and we left in the middle of night, climbed directly to the Pokalde summit, enjoyed for few hours at the top, then we walked down back to tea house and continued trekking. Thile managed to change and postpone and rearrange all tea house or hotel reservations. Same with Cho Oyu side trip, I wanted to walk there from Gokio, so we walked in the morning, then watched Cho Oyu from super close for some time and walked back, while my wife stayed at the hotel. Im a former national level orienteering runner, and anywhere I pointed in map and said „ I want to climb here“, no matter if there was a path or you had to cross bushes and rocks, Thile was willing to go with me.
We had no limits, no time when we have to finish our lunch, there was no other people in the group waiting for us, and we didnt have to wait for anyone, we could change our plans day by day depending on weather, acclimatisation, and all other conditions. Thile was physically very strong, and the carrier was even another level, so this was also no issue.
Well, thats is, I can definitely recommned Thile as your guide, especially if you need flexibility and good language and want to avoid chaos and missunderstandings.
Martin and Hana(Czech Republic)