Sept. 24-Oct. 2008. Reflections.

First, to conclude the narrative of time in India. I was up to 4:30 AM to pack for our 5:30 AM pickup. We were due to depart on the 7:20 Kingfisher flight to Delhi. According to Joel, JetAir, which I flew in 2006, has now become ridiculously expensive. In any case, we were worried about weight surcharges at the airport, but some creative accounting took care of that. Joel re-identified all the luggage for us, and we were off and away with a smattering up window seats amongst the group. It was pretty much clear and I had some spectacular views from my middle seat (737, 3 + 3 seating). Prince and drivers met us in Delhi and we whisked away in 3 vehicles in a death race to the Imperial Hotel. We made it there with 20 minutes to spare...an ocean of time for efficient eaters on a mission.

One is immediately put at ease by the liveried valets, gorgeous door-women, and wafting aromatherapy as one enters the grounds. After a false start in the (hot) outdoor garden, we were given a private little zone in the bar. Then, off to the buffet. Glass after glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, smoked salmon, almond croissants, fresh fruit, omlettes to order, well-done tea. Heaven! Then we drove to the Cottage Yes Please. A few bags originally planned for transport from Manali to Leh were brought to Delhi instead (personally, arranged by L.C.) due to the weather-related road closure. So we regained this gear, and also claimed a few bags left a month before at the Cottage Yes Please storeroom. Everything was in good order.

At this point, the group began to fragment and goodbyes began. M. took off for a 2-3 day "Golden Triangle" trip to Agra and Jaipur. The Kiwis and W. absconded to higher class digs at a nearby hotel although we met later at the Metropolis. L., P.S., and myself rented a triple day room for kinky shower fun. Joel went to sleep. The afternoon really marked my re-entry to ordinary life. I went to an internet cafe with all the modern conveniences and "worked" for a few hours. After a shower I spent my last few hours in India wandering in Paharganj. In contrast to some past time in this neighborhood, I felt completely at ease. It was not intolerably hot, and no one bothered me in the slightest. Once you get off the main drag, it is just typical India.

The trekking crew minus M. re-assembled at the Metropolis, and then at 6 PM, Joel, P.S. and myself left for the airport and home. The international terminal at Delhi is now quite tolerable with food service and clean bathrooms. The Continental flight was not full and left absolutely on time. My neighbor was an interesting young French Canadian woman who makes her living importing jewelry from Rajasthan and generally hangs out in India about half the year. Clearance of US customs in Newark was a snap, a joke really, and the last flight to Seattle was just long but no problem. Susan was right outside the door at the baggage claim area. Home...goodies brought out...superficial unpacking and gear cleaning...the beginning of the re-entry process.

My first "U.S." activity Friday morning was to go to second year Hindi at the University of Washington. A subset of the smart and cool young people from my first year class were there, all enthusiastic and embarking on another year of langauge study. Ah, how I wanted to join them. However, class is at a bad time of day, and it just didn't feel right to flake off from my regular adult life, again. It was an incredible privilige to attend a first-class Hindi program last year as part of the University of Washington's tuition exemption program for faculty and staff. As Krishna said to Arjuna, accept your dharma. I am not a young college student anymore. Maybe next year...शायद अगला साल। I am already forgetting my Hindi.

It is now about a week later as I finish this blog. The good memories from this trek and group will last for a lifetime. There were maybe 10 times during the course of the trek that I said to myself, to paraphrase, this is too hard, I can't make it, and if I survive I will never do this again. And there were an even greater number of timess that I thought, this is wonderful, and as soon as I recover I want to come back and do another trip. Everyone stepped up to the plate in more ways than one. Highs and lows were endured. Most people "let it all hang out" and were accepted with compassion and understanding. We got incredibly lucky with the weather. A tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes planning and accumulated Himalaya experience on the part of Joel, L.C., and all of our Indian staff were absolutely key to pulling off this long and difficult trip. Thank you all. And remember what happens on vacation stays on vacation. David

Sept. 23, 2008. Tour de Gompas.

Joel, another trekker and myself made the 8 AM meet-up time and walked up to Gesmo's for breakfast. Ah, another bowl of yoghurt and a baked goody. Gesmo's seemed to be one of the few restaurants still open and generally patronized by Western tourists. A few others slept in. M. and I left at 9 to visit a few monasteries. It was very pleasant to have L.C.'s uncle, Aingchuk, with us. He was the most careful driver I think I have ever had the pleasure of riding with in India. Two years ago, he drove the jeep that picked us up from Kharnak and brought us back to Leh. Between Hindi and English we were able to communicate just fine.

We initially traveled over slow back roads across the Indus and little bit east to Martho. Martho is actually a scenic, pleasant-seeming village that hosts a gompa, nestled up against the foothills of the Stok range. Apparently there are some short treks that start from here. We drove to the very summit of the gompa hill, got out and walked into the gompa proper. There was an ambitious expansion going on. A friendly monk showed us around; we were the only visitors, and then handed us off to a more senior person who showed us a few more rooms. The artwork was beautiful and there were a few young students about, but we did not witness any puja. After about an hour we drove to Stakna. This gompa is affiliated with some gompas in Bhutan, and according to Joel this dates back to a historical alliance in which Ladakh and Bhutan joined to counter Tibetan political influence. Stakna sits on an isolated hill closer to the Indus river and is not really associated with a nearby village. A solitary monk was conducting puja when we arrived but took time to host us after he was done. The artwork was over-the-top ornate with lots of Chinese style dragons and other decoration. Lots of rooms filled with identical statues surrounding a megastatue with the same motif. We were told there were 30 monks and 15 students, but didn't see anyone else. The architecture was a bit more unified and monumental than Martho, but the place seemed more of a museum than anything else.

After this we crossed back to the north side of the Indus to Thiksey. This is an impressive city on a hill, and really only the top part is open to tourists. Here for the first time we encountered some other visitors. There is a formalized entry with bathrooms, admission fee, even a restaurant, odd Tibetan/western medical clinic, gift shop, etc. Despite all that, it is an impressive place to tour. There is a multi-story high gilt Buddha constructed about 30 years ago, and also some very old images and interesting nooks to crawl around. Perhaps the best part for me was visiting the dining hall and being around when a bunch of 6-8 year old monks in training were taking a break. They "close for lunch" at 1 PM so we drove back to Leh for momos. At the old royal palace of Shey, there are some very old stone carvings by the side of the road that are worth a stop.

Our last afternoon was occupied with shopping in the Tibetan markets and just poking around town. I bought a few gifts but nothing special or expensive. The group met again at the Tibetan Kitchen for our last dinner. Anticipating our 5:30 AM departure, lights out early tonight.

Sept. 22, 2008. Cable bridge to showers.

With heavy hearts, we packed up and walked an easy 2 hours downhill to the cable bridge across the Zanskar river, a few miles south of Chilling. St. and I walked together and shared a few jokes. In 2006 the bridge was at Chilling. At that time, the road up the Zanskar terminated at the village. Apparently there were some inter-village disagreements about bridge revenues and the cable was cut. The new bridge is an Indian government enterprise and, I think, free. The Zanskar was actually pretty low and the cable crossing was pretty sedate. We waited for the horses and gear to cross and piled into two jeeps. The road actually seemed safe by Himalayan standards. First we drove about 30 miles down the Zanskar to where it meets the Indus, and joined the main Srinagar-Leh highway. The later was in amazingly good shape. It was actual blacktop with a lane marker down the middle. Joel said that it was heavily damaged by August 2006 flooding and got a significant rebuild. Interestingly the Zanskar and Indus were the same color this time with the Zanskar having a higher water volume.

We pulled into the Hotel Sheynam in Leh by mid-afternoon. My room was in the old wing. Just like 2 years ago, the old wing rooms had TVs but dodgey hot water, while the new wing rooms were the opposite. The hot water was still fine for a bucket shower, don't get me wrong. It was fun to walk around the town again, and Joel was right, there were considerably fewer tourists than in July. In fact our timing was perfect; most of the tourist-oriented businesses were preparing to shut down but still open. It got cool in the evening but outdoor courtyard restaurants were still fine with a down jacket. The Karmapa was staying nearby after being helicopter evacucated from the Leh-Manali highway. There was a perpetual traffic jam as pilgrims and well-wishers swamped the building. L. ended up recieving the blessing, and several of our Indian staff went once or more also.

The group went to the Ibex for dinner...table for 15. Our guides (L.C., St., T.) and kitchen staff (T, N, P, ?) joined us also. I can't say much for the food but the company was great. I recited my carefully written out, overwrought goodbye speech in Hindi, but St. didn't laugh where he was supposed to. The dinner tab was Rs. 500 a trekker including drinks and the Indian staff: very reasonable. The reality is that each and every one of our Indian staff probably spoke better English than I spoke Hindi. Oh well. Afterwards a select few trekkers and staff retired to the Hotel Sheynam garden for the after-party.

Sept. 21, 2008. Scenic Markha descent to Skiu.

Having faced the fact that we would not, in fact, be finishing over two more 5000 meter passes, we got down to business and dropped about 20 miles through the beautiful, cultivated, historic Markha valley today. I had been this way, uphill, in 2006, taking perhaps 4 days to slowly climb (for acclimitization) the route we followed today in the opposite direction. It was impossible to get lost and I, for one, really relaxed today and just enjoyed the walking and the scenery. I got a good night's sleep, making up for some sleep debt, and aside from some dry-skin cuts on my fingers and a persistent lip sunburn, feel great.

We passed many stupas and an interesting shrine composed of red-dyed sheep horns near a prominant rock outcropping. The weather improved, but the high mountains on either side of the valley were definitely covered in fresh snow. Up-valley, the gleaming mass of Kang Yatze (6400 meters) shone in the distance. There were a few river crossing and even civilized bridges but nothing very tough. We had a late lunch at a parachute cafe and arrived at camp about 5 PM. Once again there was a parachute cafe and a real privy. In a natural reaction to the previous evening, things were kind of subdued in the dining tent. We all knew this was the last night camping and I think we felt a little anticipatory sadness that the trek would be ending the next day. There are actually electric wires of some sort coming up to Skiu.

L.C. took off in the morning on his riding horse to arrange for our new pickup. His plan was to leave the horse on our side of the Zanskar, cross at Chilling, hitch a ride to Leh and hire some vehicles. Joel also sent a text on the satellite phone. We will see tomorrow how it all pans out. (Note: perfectly). Tonight we said goodbye to our horsemen, with a little Hindi speech and tips. They will be accompanying us to Skiu to drop off the gear, but will then turn around, ascend the Markha valley, cross Nimaling (we think) to the Leh-Manali highway and walk to Manali. I believe they will be paid for the project time for this trip on a per-day basis.

Sept. 20, 2008. We have an exit strategy.

Several years ago, the Dean of my medical school was killed trekking in Nepal by a heavy fall of snow. The story was that it just accumulated on the tents and suffocated the group. The snow that fell overnight was not nearly that heavy, and we had good 3-4 season tents. Nonetheless, I found the night a little scary due to the unrelenting snow. From my skiing background, I am a little paranoid about situations in which there is massive snow accumulation on upper, unseen (and unseeable) slopes. Just walking in valley bottoms can be unsafe in some conditions. We had moderately heavy snow and could expect a warm-up given the time of year, but at least it was not windy, so that upper slopes were probably not heavily wind-loaded. This was one of a few interesting times on the trek that, for me anyway, the line between making indepedent decisions regarding one's own safety, versus just relaxing and relying on our leaders to sort everything out, was tested a little. As I lay in the tent I recalled bad judgements I had made in the mountains, for example triggering a wet snow avalanche this June on Mount Rainier by insisting on hitting a steep pitch on a hot day a week after a 2 foot dump. At the end of the day you have to always keep thinking.

I periodically shook the snow off my tent and did not sleep too much. On at least 2 occasions, Joel and our Indian staff also personally shook the new snow off and also dug trenches around the tents to relieve any local obstruction of airflow. They really were on top of things throughout this snowstorm and the entire trek. By the morning there was about 12 inches of fresh snow, with ongoing precipitation.


We packed up camp and got going down-valley to Hankar. L.C. broke trail in the deep snow and steered a very safe course; he's probably been this way 20 times. We saw no evidence of big slides. We needed to make a final decision there about heading back uphill to Nimaling and a final 5200 meter pass, which featured a steep far-side descent, versus a long but safe exit down the Markha valley to Chilling on the Zanskar river. Maybe an hour out of camp, I managed to miss a rock during a river hop and face-plant into a 6-inch deep river. The irony was, my feet didn't even get wet, but I did bang up my left knee and was stunned into a depressed silence for awhile. Joel asked me what I thought about the route choice and I could only reply that I was not doing a lot of thinking. We did spot some impressive groups of blue sheep on the left-hand hillsides, apparently driven down from the high country by the weather. As we dropped, the snow got gradually less deep and we started to meet a few local people. One told of waist-deep snow at Nimaling, and this seemed to tip the final judgement towards the Markha valley exit. We continued downhill in easier terrain, past more and more signs of habitation, and passed through the village of Hankar. There is an impressive ruined fort above Hankar but no one had the energy to go up there. We continued down to Umlung and actually camped at a set camping area with a toilet building. There was a parachute cafe at which refreshments were again obtained for the evening for the pleasure of the usual suspects. Things were getting a little loud in the dining tent an a suggestion to quiet down was met with a spirited reply.

We later received some additional information about the effects of this snowstorm. It did close the Leh-Manali highway, a not unusual event for September. We heard rumors of some bad outcomes for "cyclists" on the highway but I don't have any independent confirmation of this. We did run into several groups in the Markha valley who basically changed their minds about continuing over a pass, turned around and re-traced their steps to exit at Chilling. We don't know if the French group we met below the Zalung Karpo La, having a sit-down lunch in their dining tent, ended up going up and over or not.

Sept. 19, 2008. Sneaking across Zalung Karpo La.

Danger. We crossed the Zalung Karpa La today in deteriorating weather. The ascent was certainly less effort than either the Kang La or the Char Cha La. We started climbing out of a defile immediately above Rubrang, but then there was a broad upper valley that gave a bit of a respite, and a long bare upper slope that allowed a reasonable view forward to what looked at first glance like the summit ridge. The total elevation gain was something like 750 meters, noticably less than that required for the Char Cha La. Even though the summit was a little higher (read out as 5170 meters on our fancy Swiss map and corroborated by GPS), by this time most people were not really bothered by the altitude. It started snowing shortly into the climb, lightly at first. W. and I tried to keep pace with T. and the kitchen staff on the upper stretches. I found that having another person in sight provided a scale factor that kept everything in perspective and made the effort seem less. We topped out on the false summit ridge in high wind, light snow and poor visibility. The true summit was another 5-10 minutes to the North, marked by prayer flags. After hanging about for a little while, W. and I decided to drop into the Markha drainage and find a more sheltered spot to wait for the rest of the group. So we missed the group summit photo. Sure enough, within a few minutes our horse crew and L. dropped down out of the weather, followed shortly by the whole group. By this time it was really snowing and everyone really moved, intuitively understanding the need to get down.

The Zalung Karpo La is actually a double pass. Three routes meet at the top: from Hankar, from Dat, and the side path we ascended from Rubrang. The true summit, shown at left, was the "meet up point" with my 2006 trip, which traversed from the Hankar to the Dat sides.

The rest of the trek day is a bit of a blur as we dropped down to about 4400 meters in ongoing snow, with maybe a 1 inch accumulation by the time we hit camp. We stopped at the logical transition point to beginning tomorrow's planned ascent over the shoulder of Kang Yatze to Nimaling. However, there was already serious doubt among our leadership about the ability of the horses to negotiate the step side-hilling required for this route. We pitched the tents in worsening weather about 2 PM and hunkered down. By midnight, as I write this, there is 6 inches of fresh snow and Nimaling seems out. The total amount of snow is the key variable. Everyone's health is acceptable, but again footware and foul weather clothing are being tested to the max and not everyone has full-on mountaineering gear. Dining tent conversation as usual devolved to a fairly low common denominator, featuring M.'s story about her friend's animal husbandry duties in the pork industry. 1940's and 1950's British TV and especially radio theater were an endless source of fascination to certain guides and trekkers but left some of us shaking our heads.

Sept. 18, 2008. Transition back to high country.

Today was about an 7 hour stage up to the high green pastures of Rubrang. We started in gorge country, and again had innumerable river crossings interspersed with a few high traverses above the watercourse. Very gradually, the canyon walls grew smaller, and drew away from the valley, with meadows opening up on both sides. After a late lunch, we began to gain views to our left of high mountains and the region of Rubrang Pass, an alternate route into the Markha valley. The going got easier, but the kilometers really started piling up in the afternoon as we trekked through the landscape towards the distant mountains. The river cut a channel into a broad plateau, and we alternated between paralleling the watercourse on the steppe, and dropping down onto rougher boulderfields beside the river. I managed to fall and bang my knee today. I wore tennis shoes for a change but missed on a few river crossings and was unable to keep my feet dry.

Finally, we crossed a side stream entering from our left, ascended a little and arrived at the lush grass oasis of Rubrang. Showers were on offer in the toilet tent (!) and L. and I took advantage of this. High winds threatened to reveal all. The horsemen conducted an impromptu cricket match on a sloping ground. We had the second installment of P.S.'s smoked salmon tonight...yummy...but two trekkers chose to rest in their tents rather than join the feast. Dining tent conversation pretty much focused on yesterday's special cave; T., our head cook, and St. and T., our local guides, were the successful climbers. I think we listened to Orson Well's original radio broadcast of War of the Worlds in the dining tent this evening. The temperature fell very quickly as the evening wore on in a harbinger of things to come. Our camp was at about 4500 meters tonight or 15,000 feet. I don't really feel the altitude any more. A few health observations about the trekkers...remain private.

Sept. 17, 2008. Quintessential Jumlam day.

This was a relatively easy 5 hour day to Kharnak Sumdo. We started with more downhill, crossing the river myriad times in sandals. The current strength ranged from mellow to attention-grabbing but never scary. It was cool and cloudy, but not cold. The canyon was lined by incredible rock walls. There were 1 or 2 narrow stretches that added spice. We also passed the (in)famous cave of the stone lingam. For brave and accomplished rock climbers only! Lunch was at a major Sumdo; Joel had an attack of stomach, perhaps caused by cucumbers! After lunch, it was not far to our dusty camp, but it was little uphill. Our camp is actually on the same river that flows through Dat, an area I visit two years ago. So, in a sense, today marks the link-up to my former geography, sort of a book-end to my re-visit to the lower Miyar nala. There are 4 days left on the trek. One day of solid up and then a pass a pay for 3 days. We are at only 3700 meters and the next pass is ~ 5200 meters...hmmm, this speaks for itself.

6 PM. I am sitting in the dining tent trying not to fall asleep. Didn't sleep too well last night: 11 hours in the tent and maybe 4 hours asleep. This afternoon I brought out the cheese from Trader Joe's in Seattle that I have been carrying for 3 weeks: Wensleydale (in honor of Wallace and Gromit), an English blue whose label I can no longer read, and a generic "smoked cheese". We broke out the first two on plain crackers in the dining tent around 4. The Wensleydale had produced a tense gaseous excresence into it's bag, while the blue had undergone several metamorphoses. Sensory overload! P. was not feeling well but the rest of us blissed out. I retired to my tent, fell asleep, and promptly entered REM sleep and astral projected my soul to somewhere beyond Jupiter. Perhaps this is related to the early American comic strip, "Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend" by Winsor McCay, in which the protagonist has psychotic dreams after eating toasted cheese sandwiches. In McCay's work, politically incorrect ideas were allowed to sneak into print with the excuse that they represented dreams rather than reality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_of_a_Rarebit_Fiend). I woke up and gradually returned to reality: camping in a canyon in the Indian Himalaya, still comfortably unreal.

Sept. 16, 2008. Downhill all day.

Today was a nice day in the Jumlam. Not exactly bathing suit weather, but sunny and warm enough. Most people used their hiking boots today, so the path was one of jumps and leaps to avoid wet feet, rather than one of sandals and wet crossings. I yanked M. up from a splash-in on one occasion. Camp was cold as usual, and we were up and away by 9:15. The tail of the group was quite slow over the rough terrain. St. was a little sick today (stomach) but carried on like a trooper. The first sumdo (junction) we got to had a natural "horse" shape in the rocks quite high up above the valley bottom. This was really just an abstract pattern of whiter rock against the dark rock. After lunch the usual out-front group (W., M., plus/minus me) chased the horses, passing them and the resting and getting re-passed. Finally into camp by 2:30-2:45, in time for a bit of a wash-up. Camp is at a sumdo with a snow peak visible up the side valley. It is cramped but right by the river and very clean. Joel said they spent a day exploring up this side valley last year, hoping for good views, but just got wiped out in steep rockpiles. Today I am pretty healthy except for the upper respiratory thing, several days after stopping anti-bacterials. P. started azithromycin yesterday, having failed to improve on amoxicillin/clavulanate.

It is hard to believe that in 10 days I will be home.

Sept. 15, 2008. Char Cha La aerobics.

We awoke to a dawn rain that changed to snow. Fortunately, it stopped as quickly as it started and left the air cool and clean for our ascent of the Char Cha La. We left camp about 9 AM and immediately started on the unrelenting uphill. Literally every step from camp to pass was up. W. and A. led the way; I was pushing as hard as I could but could only manage a 3rd place, well behind those 10 years or so my senior. I think it took about 3 hours to knock off the 1000 meter gain to a high point of about 16,100 feet (4950 meters). L. and J. brought up the rear today. Shortly after they hit the top, we dropped into the upper Jumlam proper. This involved a bit of a hairy traverse above the young river. There was an interesting juxtaposition between brown and grey rocks. We had lunch in a beautiful spot maybe 20 minutes below that pass that was considerably more sheltered. Camp was in a big broadening of the valley at about 4500 meters. A small group of blue sheep approached the camp along the valley bottom and M. and I walked out to meet them; waiting in camp would likely have resulted in getting just as close.

Sept. 14, 2008. Back on the trail.

Today was not a very hard day on the trail. We left "horse piss camp" about 9 and partially re-traced the track A. and I had taken to Zangla village yesterday. Turning off, we trekked behind the prominent ruin of Zangla fort and looked back to the village. A subset (M., W., and I think J. and myself) essayed the moderate uphill to the fort proper. We met a couple of Hungarian volunteers who were working with local materials and a couple of older Zanskari's to restore the fort or at least forestall additional damage. They were making bricks on site and rebuilding a few walls. The Hungarian staff spoke good English and we gossiped about fund-raising and the cooperation and interest, or lack thereof, of the local Zanskaris in their cultural heritage and in supporting the restoration. The Hungarian connection had to do with a pilgrim and scholar from Hungary who had spent considerable time in the area in the 1800s. On the way up we had passed our Hungarian contact from the bus debacle on the 12th...karma! In any case, we went into some of the inner rooms of the fort and I for one was completely blown away by the quality of the art and statuary inside. Far better than I expected from the tumbledown exterior. The place really is a treasure.

After descending and re-joining the group we initially traveled along an irrigation canal, and then entered a proper canyon. We preceded gently uphill for a couple of hours, crossing the river perhaps 30 times in sandals (or boots for the Kiwis). We then camped at the "Y" junction where two streams tumbled out of steep upper valleys and joined. The camp was small and cramped, but nice and forested compared to the ice camps of the Miyar nala. The elevation is about 3900 meters and we can only get a vague sense of tomorrows route to the Char Cha la (4915 meters).

Sept. 13, 2008. Restful rest day at Zangla.

First, to recap Sept. 12. I slept well on the 11th and as noted my health turned the corner by the morning. It was a relatively short and easy day, perhaps 6 hours of steady descent to the roadhead. The lower part actually featured a trail. T. led out in front and M. and I pushed down behind him. Not counting A. who sped down with the porters. Great weather. We passed a few large animal shelters just prior to hitting the road, on a major, impossibly blue river.

Our porters had arrived first. They were set to walk up-stream, across a high pass and eventually to the Keylong area of Lahaul and after that to Manali. Our fate was to travel down-stream on a bus to Padum, the administrative centre of Zanskar, and then across the main Zanskar valley to our camp near the village of Zangla. So...goodbye to the porters. I gave a little speech in Hindi starting with the politician's neutral word भाईयो ("brothers") in the vocative case...handy when you are not sure what level of politeness to use, and don't want to offend. The porters were paid by Joel and got a tip from us. Our सामान (saman, luggage) was loaded onto the roof of a big bus. Then, at the least minute, Joel asked for some help with a porter with a health complaint. Let's just say it could have been related to some professional ladies. In the end the porters wanted to take off and not wait for our medications to get unloaded from roof. Something about visiting a chemist for some दवा (medicine) in town. But, they were headed uphill, away from civilization.

The bus trip was across typical Himalayan roads (that is, frightening). We stopped in Padum for a snack, alcohol (for those inclined) and email opportunity. I ran into a group of American "gap year" students at the cybercafe, carefully and slowly grooming their Facebook pages. In the end, an hour got me 1 or 2 emails. It was fun to see a bunch of 18-20 year old Americans, mostly from Vermont and New Hampshire prep schools, adapting to tourist life in the Indian outback. They had a Ladakhi guide and also an older (late 20's) American shepherd with them. At the email joint, a local kid walked in with a plain brown bag and surreptitiously placed it on the counter. The proprietor took a look inside and I got a glance also: a very plump, nice looking 12-14 inch long white fish with a prominent yellow stripe down the side, still obviously alive! 100 Rs was exchanged and the fish swept behind the counter for dinner. Padum is technically a dry town that has a quite a long Shiite Muslim heritage. I have read that they historically looked to Lucknow for cultural leadership (rather than directly to Iran). However, Indian military staff get a rum allotment, and the material ends up on the market somehow or other.

We re-boarded the bus at 5:30 with a few local kids and खास दोस्त (khas dost, special friends) of our cook staff (? one in in every port). There was a political rally in the area and transportation was in short supply, leading to some delicate Hungarian negotiations. On the drive to Zangla, we had to stop to re-pack the luggage on the top of the bus as it was piled up too high to clear some bridge cables. Finally, towards dark we arrived at "horse piss camp". This was a large expanse of grass on the Zanskar river near Zangla. Beautiful, but animalistic. We met here our 21 horses, and horsemen (4) for the second part of the trip. Certain indulgences ensued in the dining tent that night that are better documented elsewhere. The night was also marked by A.'s departure at about 3 A.M. He was to leave the group to return to work. For A., a very long jeep trip to Leh will be followed by a flight to Delhi and home.

Today (the 13th), 6 of the remaining trekkers and L.C. went on a monastery tour of Zanskar. Joel was not feeling too well, got up late and then heroically worked on the solar chargers. My iPOD nano (old model) was able to catch a nearly full charge off the small green solar charger (see picture) in 60-90 minutes. Lithium AA cells did me fine for my Sony digital camera. Those people with proprietary batteries were slaves to the recharger. Because sun and time were at a premium on this trip, their cameras were not always charged and ready, unfortunately.

The main group caught the local bus up on the road above camp about 9 AM, and as I understand after breakfast #2 in Padum, rented a jeep and visited 3 gompas. Highlights included W. buying a "yellow hat" and participating in a puja. They returned about 6:30 PM, too late to order custom pizzas but not too late to eat. Most people had some laundry done today too. A. was not, I think, feeling too well today, and I was just lazy and I've seen plenty of monasteries before. A. and myself chose to laze around camp all morning, reading and eating. I think yesterday or today was A.'s birthday.

In the afternoon, A. and myself had a lazy uphill walk to the village of Zangla. The area is literally closed off to the outside world for 8 months of the year and is connected by on tenuous road at other times. While we saw big satellite dishes, our trekking group was not getting cell service, and the locals told us that only one channel of Indian state TV was available. Certainly, the email was on a very slow connection. The locals were threshing barley in circular areas in which 5 or 6 yaks/cows were roped to a central axis. The animals would walk over the grain. We saw a bunch of tourists standing around on the roof of a white-washed building. After thrashing around asking for the door in Hindi, we found a pathway in and then St. popped his head out of a window. St. was our Zanskari guide and was in the village visiting his mother. The white-washed building was the royal palace. "King" of Zangla invited us into his house for tea (both the salt/butter and sweet varieties) and cookies. We met his wife, 3 of his 4 kids, his mother, and also his brother, who perhaps has epilepsy or a similar disorder and is on medication. He sat quietly, sewing. The palace gompa had books, tankas, mask, wood carvings, etc. We left Rs. 500 towards restoration. The "King" seemed bright and even knowledgable and concerned about Zangla and we communicated the best we could in Hindi/English. Then, tea and cookies again at St.'s house. His cute niece was sleeping away. I tried and failed to diagnose the problem with Ts.'s digital camera. We skipped the nunnery, left about 3 to go back to the camp, and had a shower. How glorious, if temporary, to feel clean. Things were a little more subdued in the dining tent that night although not queiscent.

Sept. 11, 2008. Crossing the Kang La.

High pass day! Miyar nala! Kang La-5450 meters! We had perfect weather. After another night of fitful (crap) sleep with a few perambulations, at 5050 meters, we were up at 5 AM for a shady, bitterly cold 7 AM start. Second straight night camped on the ice. Everyone was very high energy during the day. One trekker was feeling a little weak but had a normal neurologic exam; they got a pack-carry assist on the uphill, maintained high spirits and did fine. One slight oddity was passing a solitary bone lying high and dry on the snow that did look more than a little like a human radius (lower arm). I was too spooked to really hunker down for a close look. In addition to the "Swedish woman in the crevasse" we had also heard about the "body of a sadhu" supposedly up near the pass somewhere.

The route finding by T. and L.C. was amazing. We covered about 400 meters vertical over about 4 hours on the uphill from camp to the pass. Occasionally we waited a bit while the way was sorted out, but basically we kept moving. The perfect weather helped a lot. Many of our Nepali porters had supposedly been up and over already this season. The porters passed us (the trekkers) about 2/3 of the way up on the ascent. For the lower portion, during which the trekkers were out front, T. was the first route-founder. We wove around crevasse fields and picked our way up looker's right of the glacier to negotiate a lower icefall. In this section, we strayed partially onto rocks where a steep face formed the right margin of the glacier. For the crux (upper) portion, after the porters passed us, L.C. lead out front to guide the porters, while T. stayed with us at the front of the trekking group. The little personal two-way radios that one sees at ski areas, etc. in the US were brought out for really the only time on the trek, and used sparingly by Joel and L.C. to stay in touch. L.C. led the porters on a long leftwards end-run around a crevasse field and then a big right turn to the pass. The trekkers followed shortly thereafter. When we reached the pass we could easily see the porters dropping the north, descending glacier to Zanskar. We stepped over many crevasses. The snow of the last several days ranged from 0 to 6 inches deep. It made everything white and provided good purchase for our boots and shoes; there was little slippage and crampons were not even remotely needed. On the down side, the new snow might have obscured some crevasses. Those that we saw were not tremendously deep or frightening.

Achieving the pass at about 11 AM was a tremendous high point. Hugs and photos all around. The sky was crystal clear and we were surrounded by peaks and glaciers. To the north-west, the glacier (?unnamed) we were to descend dropped steadily into the brownness of Zanskar. Seemingly straight ahead, a very crevassed glacier continued for what seemed like several more kilometers, and at least several hundred meters more vertical rise. A map lists at least one 6200 meter peak in this general area. In reality, the Kang La is kind of a side exit off the Miyar glacier into Zanskar, with the main uphill energy continuing onto this large icefield. No one seemed to know much about the terrain up in that direction. In all, we hung about for about 30 minutes on top. A. as the youngest helped string up some fresh prayer flags.

The upper part of descent, on north-northwest facing slopes, had literally 5-10 inches of light fluffy powder overlying the glacier. A. and myself were lusting for skis. As it was, the snow was deep enough that it was pretty slow going. The risk of crevasses enforced a fairly single-file approach. We finally stopped for lunch about 1:30. By this time, exhaustion was definitely beginning to set in. After lunch, more glacier and more glacier. Finally, we got to the usual terminal moraine, a foreshortened but nonetheless equally complex version of the toe of the Miyar. After leaving the glacier and more descent, we got to the junction of our side valley and the route to the Poat La. Looking up that valley, we saw incredibly jagged snow peaks and no obvious pass. Then we had 2 more hours of mind-numbing yet attention-requiring no-trail descent over boulderfields, wild streams, grassy hillsides, etc. etc. to camp. As we approached camp I felt progressively more and more feverish, and had pretty much melted down by arrival. Blessedly, my tent had been set up by our hardworking staff (L.C., St., and T.). Fortunately, camp was down at 4300 meters. We got into camp at 5 PM, making it a 10 hour day.

Medical note. I did find that clearing a little sputum from deep in the chest on this afternoon was followed by a rapid lysis of the fever. This presaged my recovery from the febrile respiratory syndrome. At most I had a touch of purulent bronchitis, and certainly not pneumonia. For those inclined to clinical medicine, I now believe in the pulmonary phenomenon of "mucous plugging". A small amount of inspisated secretions can block a small/medium airway and lead to downstream atelectasis and inflammation. I don't think that the 3 days of amoxicillin/clavulanate or 5 days of azithromycin that I took really did anything for me. After today, (not before, interestingly) I had a strikingly secretory, localized rhinitis. While the drippiness was inconvenient and embarrasing at times, it was much better to be runny than to be plugged up with a "dehydrated" sinusy head cold. The old surgical saw, "pus must drain", is very true. The respiratory syndrome seemed to move rapidly through the group, effecting some more than others. The hardest hit trekker had a sort throat for literally more than 2 weeks, despite anti-bacterials. Most respiratory infections are spread hand-to-hand, rather than by droplets or aerosols. We really tried with alcohol-based hand cleanser, etc., but many food items were finger food, and the quarters were close.

Sept. 10, 2008. Up a long Himalayan glacier.

The Miyar glacier is readily visible from space and is a bit of an anomaly in this part of the Indian Himalaya. It is situated on the south side of the Great Himalaya range. As such, it is separated from the Deccan plateau and the monsoon by preliminary ranges such as the Pir Panjal and Dhauladar. Nevertheless, Lahaul seems to attract a lot of moisture, supporting long valley glaciers such as the Miyar. It's total length is perhaps 15 miles. Today, we trekked for 7-7 1/2 hours uphill in perfect weather. Tonight we are camping at about 5000 meters. This seems too high for comfort and our rate of ascent somewhat violates the usual recommendations about acclimitization. However, we have had two rest days so far, and I suppose this high camp will lead to a shorter day tomorrow. No one seems to have anything resembling HAPE or HACE and spirits are generally very high, given the upturn in the weather.

There was the usual 1/2 - 3/4 of an hour confusion setting up the tents on arrival. We beat the porters (barely) to camp. A. has agreed to let me use his double wall tent tonight...nice. I actually slept great last night courtesy of xxx. Now I need to pound fluids. P. and A. were slow but nobody is really slow; M. and W. are rockets. I was 3rd into camp. I have occasional thick sputum but overall feel OK albeit dirty.

Really unbelievable scenery all day today. There are large mountains, perhaps 5500-6000 meters, lining both sides of the Miyar glacier. They feature a mix of big blank vertical walls and tremendous piles of debris and rockfall. In between these features, there are many side glaciers, of both the steep hanging and river of ice varieties. Looking down-valley, we can see the 6000 meter peak Menthosa, located about the village of Urgos and our trek starting area. As we look uphill from camp, we see a white horizon and distant rock peaks that must delineate the general region of tomorrow's pass.

Sept. 9, 2008. Chaotic transition onto the ice.

We ascended for 8 long hours to 4660 meters. There was a very tiresome ascent of the terminal and then lateral moraine. The glacier appears to be retreating and the ablation zone was long (miles long) and complex. The first picture shows T., our local Lahauli guide, with portions of the snout of the glacier behind him. There really is no single terminus, more of a morass of pools, debris piles and exposed ice mini-walls. We first crossed over what might be termed the lower toe of the glacier, and then ascended loose rocky hillsides on the looker's left of the glacier. After a long time paralleling the glacier on rocky and grassy slopes, we had a dangerous descent back to the glacier. L. had a bad wrist that prevented full balancing use of one arm, and as a consequence she really banged a shin.

Today's track really exemplified one of the more remarkable aspects of this trek: the need to constantly pay attention. A turned ankle or dinged knee could have had really unpleasant consequences. Therefore, constant visual and mental focus was required. See L.'s general demeanor in this photo. I remember at one point wondering what would happen if I relaxed for a step or two. Sometime later (maybe days later) I tried this and promptly tripped and stumbled. Certainly there were portions of the trek with trails, tracks, or easy going, but by and large the footing was tricky. Many of the boulderfields gave the impression of virgin rock, with random movement from small or large stones at unexpected intervals. Those with strong ankles and good balance had an advantage.

After gaining real white ice, we ascended about 90 minutes on the glacier proper to camp. As usual, when I first spotted the tents I thought they were impossibly far away and that I would never get to them. At least it was easier going just trudging up to the horizon. Tonight we are camping on snow/ice and I have a single wall tent. It is cold as s)(*% and the tent stakes do not want to hold. However it is really beautiful and weather is good. I feel tolerable. Last night I had a nightmare in Hindi, was "stuck" in the langauge and and after this could not get back to sleep!

Sept. 8, 2008. Non-restful rest day.

My diary says s*&$( day. Today was a rest day at 4000 meters at the toe of the Miyar glacier. We awoke to 1-1.5 inches of snow on the tent, and on my (*&(*&% tent it weighs down heavily and is not shed. I started azithromycin yesterday and had a tight feeling in my chest all night and could not sleep, and also a dry cough. Today the cough persisted, and was a tiny bit productive. No obvious fever. On the positive side I rinsed some clothes and cleaned up a bit. Tomorrow is supposed to be 6 hours up on the looker's left side of the glacier (as one faces the toe); two hours up on rubble and then 4 hours on the glacier. At least I am breathing comfortable lying flat and my O2 sat is ~ 90% with pulse about 70.

5 PM. My throat is sorer than ever. I may start Augmentin in addition as it seemed to work for L.

Sept. 7, 2008. To the toe of the Miyar glacier.

6 AM. I felt poorly at bedtime last night: cold and headachy. Tylenol worked and I slept OK. This morning, the weather is good for a change and I don't have a headache. The planned stage is 5 hours or so today. My camera is working again. Another trekker is on antibiotics for their "chest". L.'s throat is better very quickly. Perhaps I should carry my down jacket today in my day pack. One lesson...don't leave the hydration bladder outside at night: it can freeze. My O2 sat was 93% and pulse 70 last night: good.

6 PM: good day. We left camp about 8:30 AM. The weather was decent and cloudy glacier and peak views. We got to camp about 2:30 PM, with the porters dragging in later. We set up our tents. I took a tylenol about 11 AM and that seems to have prevented an incipient headache from worsening. Not much real elevation gain today. It is about 4000 meters here. We will have a rest day tomorrow. O2 saturation 89 to 90, with heart rate good and low. W. and L. are generally healthy. It rained a bit in the afternoon. I am dirty but otherwise OK. There are amazing, spectacular peaks all around and I am listening to tunes on the iPod.

We passed some major expedition tent ensembles later in the day, just before our campsite. We passed some guys cleaning their underwear. Turns out they are Italian and this fits their black undies. There was a whole phalanx of deluxe tents but no one was home. Some locals told us there were five expeditions in the area including Koreans. There are sheer rock walls everywhere around here that look attactive for big wall climbers. Up at our camp, there is a small set of tents for a couple..we think they are Russians.

Here is a Wikimap image of the toe of the glacier and a link to a larger map you can look around on. The link opens to center near the junction of the Chandrabhaga river (running basically right to left) and the Miyar nala (running "up" to the north). You can move "up" to the glacier, look along it's length, etc. The Kang La is also marked, and the descent glacier is the short one running due north to very slightly northwest.

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=32.763315&lon=76.739845&z=12&l=0&m=a&v=2

Sept. 6, 2008. Onward into the fog.

We walked uphill 3 hours in the driving snow. Upon awakening there were odd, very low clouds hovering just above the ground and then upper overcast. As we got started hiking the snow started. It was a real test of outdoor gear, with wet snow just below freezing, and M.F. for example got pretty cold and wet. With extra clothing and a rapid change of clothes upon arriving at camp she did fine but this indicates possible clothing challenges in the future. We stopped 1 hour short of the planned camp. So, a long day tomorrow, perhaps a 5 AM get-up. We will see about the high pass. I am sitting in the tent relaxing after lunch.

4 PM: my camera is broken. Peter has a backup he can lend me. It has a proprietary battery that may be rechargable. It snowed all morning, and is snowing off and on now. My camera did get moisture in the case and I have given it to L.C. to dry out (armpit technique). Maybe it will dry out and reboot. (Of note, it did dry out and re-boot, and performed well for the rest of the trip. Moral: condensation and moisture can be bad for lower-end digital cameras). Tomorrow is supposed to have bad stream crossings and to be pretty easy. Today's going was actually pretty easy, in truth. I should not feel too sorry for myself. L. has a sore throat and started antibiotics. W. has a health challenge and is on medication, and some people's gear is not up to snuff. My gear did pretty well today. Another delicious dinner courtesy of T and the rest of the kitchen crew.