Alex's Asian Adventure

Okay, so I now have a bit of time to actually write in the blog instead of rushing off for dinner. I've been keeping a paper journal of the trek and I'll probably reproduce it electronically (edited for content!) to allow others to live vicariously through me.

The trek was 21 days of actual walking, starting at Darcha (near Keylong) in Himachal Pradesh and ending in Panjila in Ladakh. We were supported by 6 crew (guides, cooks and helpers), 7 horsemen, and 37 horses and ponies to carry the gear. Plus, there was Kim & Joel to lead everything. We crossed the main Himalaya barrier by way of the Shingo La (5100m or so), went down into Zanskar, the Land of White Copper, crossed Zanskar into Ladakh through the Takti La, and ended up in Leh, the old capital of Ladakh. On the way, we climbed over 8 passes, all but one of which were at least 4600m and three of three of which were above 5000m. We went through Zanskari and Ladakhi villages, interacted with the locals, drank lots of chai, and soaked in the Himalayan culture.

The trek is impossible to adequately describe in a few short sentences. You are surrounded day & night by stunning mountain scenery - snow-capped peaks, glacial moraines, remote villages. You wake up in the morning, unzip your tent door, and have to do a double-take because you're staring at a sunrise over multi-coloured peaks or a snow-capped mountain range or something. And the day just gets better from there. After a day of trekking, you come to camp, set up your tent, and eat a gigantic dinner in the dining tent.

This is not to say that it's all fun & games. There are a lot of strenuous walking days, and a lot of very scary exposed terrain. For instance, when we walked through Bear Valley we had to cross a steep skree field, with practically no trail, over a river. A slip on the skree and no self-arrest would likely be fatal, as you bounce down the skree, over some rocks, and into a shallow river. And, the trail is totally safe (ie, most of the time) you're often walking uphill, climbing over a pass, huffing & puffing. If that wasn't enough, lots of people on the trip suffered from some sort of ailment, be it altitude, indigestion, a cold, or a stiff, painful & immobile back. By the end of the trek you are tired, your body has been through a lot and you need a rest.

I'm back in Leh for two days of rest, shopping and mental prep for the climb of Stok Kangri, the biggest peak in the area at 6123m. I can see it from town: snow-covered and dominating, by far the most impressive pile of rocks near town. I leave in July 1st with Lobsang (one of the guides, a first-class shit-disturber, and an incredibly strong climber and guide), and we'll spend three days going up & down the peak. I should be back in Leh on July 3rd to celebrate my first 6k peak. Then, it's a quick saunter to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and then back to the real world in Toronto. Sometime after that I'll retype my journal with day-to-day details of the trek for those who want to see. If you do want to see, please post a comment saying so.