Departure date looms, white falls from above
One of the little towns that border our departure point
With three more days to go until departure on the Kawa Karpo expedition we’ve had a more than intense dump of snow from above, turning our town into something I wish it would be all year round: almost perfect.
We will leave the valley close to hear heading west
Beautiful as it is, it does add an edge and that natural wonder of unpredictability to our departure. What comes down hard here, will be coming down far more intensely upon the mountain passes that await us.
The way west on a day that does not relent
We will leave from a small “v” of a valley heading west out of the highland valley of Shangri-La (known to Tibetans as Gyalthang). Walking out to the area of our departure point, the entire floor of the land is a white sea, with only a few scattered yak hoofs dotting the floor.
And it clears briefly. One of the wonders of any day in the heights is that a change in the elements can come in minutes
The snow has in its eternal and rather welcome way muted all of the world’s sharp noises, barring the loyal canines.
Houses, mortals, four legged creatures and those that fly all welcome some white back...at least for the moment
Regardless of the departure day’s weather, the white brings a welcome reprieve from the dry sand coloured days. For myself it bodes well for a expedition through the mountains.
As the old traders of the Tea Horse Road used to say, “everyday begins and that is all you know when you wake up”.