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Spring 2019 – Part 2 – Solukhumbu – The Spires and The Everest Three Passes Trek

Jun 29, 2019
4 min

Spring 2019 – Part 2 – Solukhumbu – The Spires and The Everest Three Passes Trek

The second part of our journey took us from the high arid zones of Mustang right into the rumbling, high spires of Solukhumbu. The lands of the Sherpa people, the Rai people and names like Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam. More people, more lunacy certainly, and more of the human realm as we came right at peak climbing season. This post is more of an assortment of images with some thoughts and quotes than any kind of attempt at a narrative. Our journey took a counter-c

Mustang Spaces 4 – Lo Gekar and Kunga

Jan 14, 2019
7 min

Mustang Spaces 4 – Lo Gekar and Kunga

Abu is chatty. Not prone to overly long sessions of speaking, Abu, when he is talking, usually has something to expel and it is always a treat watching it begin to emerge. Weeks in and heading west out of old Samzong to Lo Manthang, with our caravan of two and four-legged ones spread along a weaving line, Abu is going on how “the valleys need to talk to one another and they need to share”. His energy is ‘up’ and his eyes glow with some sort of inner force of conviction, which

Himalayan Pashmina – The Journeys That Wool Took

Apr 2, 2018
1 min

Himalayan Pashmina – The Journeys That Wool Took

Outpost Magazine just revisited a story I wrote about a series of trade routes that brought Pashmina wool from high in the Himalayas down into the market towns. Story is here. A portion of a trade route that linked Ladakh’s corridors with regions further south. Pashmina, salt, and anything with value that could be packed was hauled along the route. Along with salt, resin, and of course that wonderful stimulant fuel, tea, Pashmina was another of the commodities that allowed no

Glacier Melt – Nomad Streams

Oct 15, 2015
6 min

Glacier Melt – Nomad Streams

The long ridgeline of sediment and stone from a glacier has made a wall beside our trail. Known as an esker it is a thing of power and sculpted magnificence. Accelerating – and then retreating glaciers – have left stone and deposits of sand and grey as some of the only evidence of their wanderings. It is such lakes (calm as they might appear) that often develop into danger lakes that have the ability to burst sending a vertical tsunami downwards. We are leaving Bara Shigri af

Asses, Water, and Footprints

Sep 15, 2013
4 min

Asses, Water, and Footprints

‘That’ Wild Ass…. Wild Asses exist. One long muscular creature stands in front of the shimmering surface that marks the legendary Tso Moriri lake. The one Michael and I stare at on the flat surface is a muscle-laden thing that doesn’t look at all worried that our little troupe is moving across its terrain. In fact, the way he saunters along I imagine he is swishing his hips a bit from side to side. There is a bit of attitude from this ass. Michael leads our team across an exp

Expedition ‘The Route of Wind and Wool’ – Getting There

Aug 1, 2013
3 min

Expedition ‘The Route of Wind and Wool’ – Getting There

A trader once said that there was no point thinking too much about how one would spend his money when he was only half way to his destination to trade. Too much could happen, the fates could decide an alternative ending, or sometimes simply the sense of expectation could destroy a dream before it arrived. At Hong Kong’s brilliant terminal 1 with lots of colour…onwards. Thanks Edna This trader was a veteran of Himalayan travel and trade and knew well that the world of mountain

Songjè and a Sacred Lake – Part l of ll

Oct 7, 2012
6 min

Songjè and a Sacred Lake – Part l of ll

Bells chime through the wet air and the odd manic high-pitched wail of urging in Tibetan rips over the grassland. Plodding through the pine and spruce are the sagging, deflated bodies of mules lugging packs that dwarf them. Their day thus far has been a crushingly long one. Light beige coloured hats appear too, and the bodies beneath them lithely take in steps, stalking along in between the ten mules. They are the muleteers and what a sight they and the mules make. Someone ev

Jul 28, 2012
1 min

Kindle Ebook of my “The Ancient Tea Horse Road” coming soon…

Dorje, the man who was such a potent and entertaining part of the book, is soon to find an updated version of himself available for all to see, smell, and feel on Kindle At long last a Kindle version of the book will be available (within the week), and some of the characters, including the above ‘goat of the mountains’, Dorje, will find a wider audience for his audacity. Another more image-heavy version is also being created for iPads and will be available in the coming month

A Tea fit for a Trek

Feb 12, 2012
5 min

A Tea fit for a Trek

When selecting a tea for a mountain journey – and for every mountain journey there must be a tea – there is always a moment, a question: “which tea(s) for this particular trip?” The final selection signals not only a love for that particular tea, but it infers that I can live without all of the others that sit in chunks, cakes, and tight little nuggets within my treasure chests (which are simple cardboard boxes) here in Shangri-La. One of my precious boxes of tea - an organiz

Ascend to End

Dec 16, 2011
7 min

Ascend to End

Looking northwards where all things begin - the mountains Traders, pilgrims – travelers, who utilized their legs and lungs through the mountain corridors of he Himalayas often tell tales of the mountains’ ‘natural order’, of the inevitable paths that lead and have led through the walls of stone. They defend the mountains and speak of an often brutal balance; there is and always has been a kind of fateful confidence that the ‘high’ lands are full of answers. Rocks, clouds and

A Beast, A Saint and Perpetual Movement

Nov 12, 2011
6 min

A Beast, A Saint and Perpetual Movement

Drolma's energy and abilities to create from nothing a sumptuous meal, made her one of our saints It is about movement. This circle of faith is about a punishing regime of movement, with integrity, a light heart and commitment thrown in to the mix. The most stunning benefit on top of all of it for Michael and I is the outdoor element…every hour of every day is set in swaths of natural splendor, smoke and wind. The senses are engaged every second of the day, and this in turn s

A Rock and The Pass

Nov 9, 2011
6 min

A Rock and The Pass

The first night of sleep is under an enormous rock which overhangs our informal outdoor space. A huge sacred rock covered in money, inscriptions, prayer flags and offerings. Pilgrims study it and raise up their eyes to it in wonder. This is our camp and at first it seems ostentatious and a little presumptuous, but as Kandro points out, “it is covered”. Our little camp beneath a sacred rock with Tseba, Drolma and a yet to be prepared dinner Our camp selected by Kandro, sits b

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

Preparations…and Expectations of the Salt Road Expedition

Apr 29, 2011
2 min

Preparations…and Expectations of the Salt Road Expedition

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

Shika Mountain – The Forgotten Guardian II

Mar 9, 2011
2 min

Shika Mountain – The Forgotten Guardian II

A storm moves into the valleys prefaced with ferocious winds Kilometres behind Shika landscapes become smudged white paintings – with a soundtrack of seething gusts. It is not only the increase in altitudes that seem to strengthen the storm. It is the journey leading further into the remote valleys. Temperatures drop and the mountains’ ever-present companion, the wind (loong in Tibetan) throbs and hums. At over 4,000 metres the precious temperatures drop without considerati