Category Archives: Mountains

Mountains – Their serene and brutal abilities had been honed into me from years of climbing and wild escapades that began in Switzerland as a child. In the immaculate words of a Himalayan muleteer, “the mountains laws are unambiguous, honest and eternal”.

The Journey to Sho’La Pass – Part 2 – Sandalwood and Heat

What is eternally rivetting about the mountains is their ability to hold traces of what has come before on their surfaces, while simultaneously holding unimaginable power. Tucked away, under forest cover, within valleys, and particularly on the stone, the trails … Continue reading

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The Journey to Sho’La Pass – Part 1 – Horsemen Are Always Late…

Songjè the horseman is late. It isn’t unusual for this part of the world, but still the same, it is something that burrows its way into me. For moments it seems as though his absence will delay the entire expedition. … Continue reading

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Expedition: Shangri-La to sacred Sho’La Pass Begins

A team of five of us begin the trek from Shangri-La to the sacred 4,815 metre Sho’La Pass tomorrow via an old trade route that wanders along the Yangtze and Mekong Rivers.

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The Lion and the Descent – The Sacred Lakes in the Heights – Part lll of lll

Morning comes with smoke and the sounds of “pops” on my sleeping bag. The smoke is from our still-burning fire which Ngawa kept burning all night. Aniè has slept only intermittently and Ngawa worried about our old lion so he … Continue reading

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The Lost Route, Found – The Sacred Lakes in the Heights – Part ll

When a memory of a memory inevitably isn’t quite what one expected there is a kind of exasperation, a kind of disbelief that one cannot actually recall a place, a feeling, or even a person. It is hard to acknowledge … Continue reading

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Memory of a Memory – The Sacred Lakes in the Heights Part l

*This article will appear in Mandarin on North Face’s Quyeba.com adventure website in the coming week as part of our collaboration A seventy-year-old medicine man, two remote sacred lakes, and a journey Legends, like the people who carry the memory of … Continue reading

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Sacred Lakes Expedition – The Night-Before Departure

Picking up supplies today for the upcoming journey, I asked our resident elder Aniè – who will be leading the group – what I needed to pick up. His words were in very clear order: “Whisky, butter, tsampa, and pork … Continue reading

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Sacred Lakes Expedition – Led by a Memory

Preparations are in full mode here in Shangri-La to ascend to the sacred Tibetan high altitude ‘White&Black’ sister lakes, here in northwestern Yunnan. Known in ancient times as bodies of water where divinities resided, the lakes were consulted by locals … Continue reading

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November – Tea Horse Road, Jalamteas Event in Toronto – November 7th, 10th

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Mupa, Nyima, and Songjè – (Cloud, Sun, and Songjè)

The word for mist, clouds, and fog in many Tibetan regions is the same: mupa. Mupa is what engulfs us and sucks us all into itself and into a world of soft focused hues and biting wind. Rain slices in … Continue reading

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