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JF

Feb 28, 2016
1 min

Nomad’s Fine Food – Air-Dried Yak

Tibetan styled air drying. Slabs of yak meat hang in a nomad’s tent letting 4500-metre air and wind dry one of the vital protein sources for families in the Himalayas. Yak have long been one of the essentials for the very highest of high-residents, providing sustenance, cloth, mobile transport and tools. In the words of Omu (pictured), “We wouldn’t be able to be nomads without our yak”. The nomad ways are a combination of ultimate pragmatism with a touch of the otherworldly,

Nov 14, 2013
1 min

The Himalayas’ Guardian of the Pass

The face of Lhamo, 23, of Ala Dhotok (Stone Roof) at over 5,000 metres in Eastern Tibet. Her ‘community’ deep within the folds of the Himalayas involved nothing more than a loose trio of yak wool tents that rippled with wind. As our team passed within site on our way to cross the Nup Gong Pass, Lhamo insisted that we sit and fortify ourselves with tea and a fires’ warmth. Her home, belongings, yak, and family – all of the necessaries – were within easy reach at all times. Her

Slips and Stones…

Nov 24, 2011
6 min

Slips and Stones…

Mornings can ease in or they bump in. I wake in Gebo and have somehow managed to roll not only off of my matt but make it a good three metres from where I first lay my head the night before. The night was not one of the better in terms of rest and I wake in one of those very human but deadly conditions known as the ‘don’t-even-speak-to-me’moods. The night’s unfortunate events included hours of scurrying bodies throwing themselves every which way above, beside and under our sl

A Nomadic Mountain and a Yak God – Genyen and Brongri

Oct 21, 2011
5 min

A Nomadic Mountain and a Yak God – Genyen and Brongri

One of the memorable faces that reside close to five kilometres in the sky near Genyen Brongri is a mountain god that is only called upon when nomadic disputes have reached a level when they cannot be solved by the mortal will. It should be noted that the Tibetan nomadic mortal will, whether in pursuit of good or not, can be a very substantial force of nature. Brongri’s invitation to settle is only issued when things have reached an untenable level…when blood ‘letting’ is an

A bus, A Cherub and More Hills

Aug 25, 2011
6 min

A bus, A Cherub and More Hills

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

The Way of Heights

Aug 6, 2011
3 min

The Way of Heights

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

Jul 3, 2011
1 min

Jeff’s article in the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) on the Salt Road Expedition

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

Amne Machin Farewell – A Descent

Jun 6, 2011
4 min

Amne Machin Farewell – A Descent

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

The Fight and the Turn Right – Amne Machin

May 31, 2011
6 min

The Fight and the Turn Right – Amne Machin

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

Yak ‘Beauty’ and a Switch – Mountains’ Tales

May 29, 2011
7 min

Yak ‘Beauty’ and a Switch – Mountains’ Tales

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

Amne Machin White and A Travelling Circus

May 27, 2011
6 min

Amne Machin White and A Travelling Circus

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

Amne Machin – A Rush of White and a Kora

May 23, 2011
5 min

Amne Machin – A Rush of White and a Kora

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

Tsalam – The Ancient Salt Route

Apr 9, 2011
2 min

Tsalam – The Ancient Salt Route

The Route of White Gold When: May, 2011 Who: Jeff Fuchs, Michael Kleinwort Where: Southern Qinghai (Amdo) One of the ancient world’s great and unheralded trade routes was the eastern Himalayas’ Tsalam, or Salt Road. Known to many Tibetans as “The route of white gold”, much of its desiccated remains rest at close to 4 km in the sky upon the eastern Himalayan Plateau. Traversing some of the planet’s most remote and daunting terrain, the Tsalam passed through the snowy homeland