Jeff Fuchs will speak at Beijing International Society speaking about the lost nomadic route of salt: “In Search of White Gold – The Ancient Himalaya Salt Route”, September, 8, 2011 here Tsa'lam - Nomadic Route of Salt Eternal Commodity, Finite Route #WildChinaExploreroftheYear2011 #Trek #HimalayanSaltRoute #Sustainableexploration #HimalayanTrade #HimalayanResource #Qinghai #Explore #Amdo #Salt #Tibettrade #Tsa #Tsalam #Tibet #JeffFuchs #NomadicRouteofSalt

A young nomadic boy in a rare moment of silent intent Gansa is no more – back to Xining and onto one of those bizarre 15 hour bus rides that become like their own little worlds. Bunk beds and cell phones everywhere and a populace of forty-five or so that either gets to know one another or tries very hard not getting to know one another. Michael ponders his new living quarters for the next 15 hours – a bunk that is 30 centimetres too short for a full stretch and a mere sliver

One of the many dreamscape tea vistas of Taiwan, where fogs permeate everything and wander at will Days of wandering the mountains and the sturdy nomadic corridors of Qinghai and Gansu have brought Taiwan’s world of lush Oolongs to my mind, though there are little external or obvious links…perhaps it is simply a ‘thirst’. Years have passed since my taste buds were last on the little island of volcanic greens and some of its famed tea offerings. But, this is what makes a bit o

Qinghai or for the Tibetans, Amdo – Michael and I have entered from the eastern Gansu border by that ‘everywhere’ mode of transportation in this part of the world, the bus. The struggle is as usual present; coming out of rugged, silent hinterlands and into a world of chaos and hordes where the mind has to cope with what is and isn’t essential…and much is very ‘unessential’. Michael waits one of our many waits for transportation Our collective intention is clear and we make ha

A sight and activity repeated twice daily – milking. Tibetan tents and compounds are usually erected facing east…and the rising sun Informality amongst nomads, and that feeling of immediate and informal acceptance comes from their own necessary and inevitable informality amongst themselves. Sickness, births, joy and efforts are shared in real time every day of every season. Bonds are strong and all is shared, and though disputes arise, the lines of communication are entirely

The calm force that is Songjem The man we pick up in Nyimalung has the calm eyes and weathered face that the mountains create and sculpt almost at will. Songjem is in his early sixties and his face and countenance have a lived in quality that seem universally recognized; appreciated for what it shows. We head south towards Gansu’s border with Sichuan. Somjem is one of those absolute necessities in any travels in this part of the world – a one-man source of tales, geography an

Michael and I are back in our beloved hinterlands driving deep into the nomadic territories of Gansu province. Continuing my travels into the frontiers to witness a very special way of life change. In this part of the world at least the frontiers are often both the most dynamic and the most remote – change and the modern world’s goodies come swiftly but seem at times to miss entire landscapes and valleys. Watermelons in this part of the world reign supreme – for good reason A

Click here for the article. For access to the full feature article you must sign up (free for the first two weeks). Enjoy with a cup of tea and a lick of salt. #TibetanQinghaiPlateau #sacredmountainsofTibet #Nomad #SaltRoad #HimalayanTrade #Qinghai #Amdo #Golok #Chinatravel #circumambulation #Tsalam #Expedition #Tibet #Mountain #Himalayas #JeffFuchs #mountains #Golog #kora #tibetantraderoute #AmneMachin #exploration

Early morning wind upon an Amne Machin ridge Looking at the sky we see fierce white monotones and wind’s power, below in front of us on the earth lies a different story. A last time for securing our gear on the yak. Our morning of departure An avalanche’s disintegrating power has rearranged the land in front of us. A brutal black surge of turned earth, stones and newly formed shaped forms that stretch kilometres across the valley. The results of an avalanche rearranging the l

One of the practical necessities of a journey in Mother Nature’s realm – a solar charger We are moving higher yet – moving into ‘higher than highlands’ on a sheet of ice that is perhaps 2 km’s wide. It blankets the valley with its wide, white grace giving the landscape a clean and almost clinical beauty. Winds run wild, streaking happily across these worn down valleys picking up minute shards of ice and snow and hurtling them around. Fire upon the frozen earth is the first pr

So often it is the elders who remember tales through their time spent recounting orally the comings and goings of the past. Here Amne Machin is a backdrop of life. Breakfast often brings realizations – some stimulated by the first thoughts of the day and others brought to life from without. Tucking into bowl after bowl of milk tea this morning comes with a nugget of information imparted almost casually, which reminds me very clearly of what is key to this journey. It has to d

We awake with a shudder to mountain cold and the realization that something has changed overnight regarding our ‘team’. Clear air with a hint of blue in the sky as dawn gives way to day waits…. while by the fire a strange figure coaxes more heat from the coals. Our canine friend is stretching out his little limbs to rid them of cold. The larger mastiffs have all disappeared – home I guess. It is the figure near the fire that holds me as I emerge from our tent. Where is our gu

Our two yak stand still in the blowing white snow; around them there is nothing to suggest a specific time-period and looking at their ice-encrusted wool I imagine a time long ago when gas-spewing, noise machines on wheels hadn’t yet taken over – where movement on land required the foot or hoof. Here, now, in this blowing snow beneath a mountain it is remarkably easy to imagine this time. Amne Machin is just over on our right behind veils of snow and wind. The yak stand befor

Amye Maqen (Amne Machin, Anye Machin) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amne_Machin), the stout, the muscular, and for much of time, the utterly hidden from the outside world…our first glimpse of it is of a snow capped wonder that appears far closer than it is. There seem to be as many ways of spelling it as their are potential descriptives. Neither wind blown sand nor a haze can obscure its brilliant bulk. It seems to hang from the sky as we come in from the northwest towards th

#HimalayanSaltRoute #Nomad #HimalayanTrade #ancientsaltroad #Nomads #Qinghai #Amdo #sacredmountains #Golok #Himalayansalt #MichaelKleinwort #Salt #circumambulation #Expedition #Himalayas #JeffFuchs #Golog #tibetantraderoute #AmneMachin

Jeff coddles some white gold At first it is a glimmer, nothing more than a reflection that I think might be there. Shimmering heat already ripples in the morning air blurring my sightlines.  Michael’s eyes are creased studying the same spectre that I see…he is making a humming sound as if to speak and my veins are chocked with blood. Tsa (salt) and its ancient home are close and that sense is within both of us. Tsam Tso - Salt Lake, at last We are about 40 kilometres west of

We are hunting a ghost, ghosts in fact it seems. The Salt Route that hasn’t been documented, this Tsalam that I have dreamt about and that we now seek is becoming akin to chasing vapours, or trying to track windblown sand. My western notion of a ‘route’, the idea of one single ‘route’ being the Salt Road has been annihilated. I should have known better than to assume any one path, road or route can be omnipotent upon the mighty Tibetan Plateau. The essence (which I’ve tempora

We have moved further southwest near Da Re (Darlag), from Maqen towards the badland-borders with Sichuan province, less than one hundred kilometres from Serthar. We’ve arrived to a town that sits squeezed along the Yellow River wedged in between auburn coloured valleys. Our travel thus far has been the moving equivalent of the Russian Doll concept – one doll is opened up to reveal another smaller doll, and so on. In our case it is one small town leading to another smaller com

Before anything happens on our expedition, one has to actually get one’s body to the site– and this journey is often an adventure in itself. Michael will be following me a day later in Golok while I organize, coordinate and socialize a bit with old friends. Departure Jammed into a 4×4 in the early morning, when senses and moods are muddled, you wait to see who is along for the journey. All is well as my companions are all from Golok and in good spirits, returning home after t

Mountain Warmth Time is always the great and constant editor and time winds down to the actual departure date of the Salt Road (Tsalam) journey. One can prepare gear, the body and the mind but that first blast of wind in the face from the heights in a blink obliterates everything but the ‘now’. The landscapes we will enter on this journey have their own stories and their own fierce abilities…but I inevitably imagine entire caravans passing through these lands being ushered by