Mt.Rainier

We are so fortunate to live with Majestic Mt. Rainier in our backyard. The mountain serves as one big playground for those of us who love the outdoors. As Phil prepares to lead a climb on Denali in Alaska, he and I have been hiking up to the 10,000' level on Rainer to a destination called Camp Muir. Then, he skis down and I walk and slide. I have never watched any hiker slide down Rainier without a huge smile, it is like being a kid again.

Ladakh Trek Conclusion & the Taj Mahal

Yesterday, we wrapped up our Trek. In summary, our team of 20 (11 camp staff, 9 trekkers, and 3 horsemen) hiked approximately 104 miles, the equivalent of four marathons with most days over an elevation of over 14,000'. Our high point was reached on the day prior to our final hike day on the pass of Marang La at 5,300 Meters or approximately 17,500'. The two toughest days physically included the preceding pass and one a few days earlier to Zalungkarpola at 17,000'. These two days required 8-9 hours of strenuous hiking.

Please check back in a few days for, "What did we see along the way" including Yak, Yak, Yaks, Mani Walls, Buddhas, Monasteries, Monks and much more. For now, here is our story of the Taj Mahal...

In 1631 Mumtaz, the emperor’s (Shah Jahan’s ) wife, died after giving birth to their 14th child. Out of despair, Shah Jahnan created her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. It took 22 years to build.

If you don’t know our story, in 1994 Phil was planning to propose to me in front of the Taj Mahal, but we did not make it. As highlighted in our book, Together on Top of the World, here is what happened in Phil’s words…

By the summer of 1994 I had hatched the plan for our engagement. That fall I would be leading a Himalayan trek in Sikkim, a once independent kingdom that was now an autonomous region of India. On the way in I was planning a stop at the Taj Mahal, and I thought, the Taj is the epitome of a man’s love for his wife; what better place to get engaged? So I asked Phursumba, a Sherpa friend who had been living in the States for many years, if he could help me with the arrangements.


“No problem, Sah’b!” Phursumba assured me. “From airport in Delhi to Taj Mahal one hour-and-half, two hours most. We meet you at airport, we have bus take you right to Taj Mahal, you spend the night, we drive you back next morning, you catch flight to Bagdugura, from there you drive to Darjeeling for your trek. No problem!”


So the itinerary was set, Phursumba made the arrangements, and when we boarded the plane in Seattle, I had a diamond ring in my pocket.


The bus had been crawling through the congested streets of Delhi for close to an hour when it became obvious that there was no way we would make it to the Taj in two hours. An hour later, when we were still in the Delhi outskirts, I could see we wouldn’t make it there before dark. “God, I hope it’s open at night,” I thought, “because we have a plane to catch tomorrow morning.” At 7:00 pm we pulled into the parking lot. It was pitch black. No sign of the Taj anywhere. We piled off the bus, the driver went to investigate and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. But a few minutes later the bus driver returned looking unconcerned. “Taj Mahal close at 6:30,” he said, “but no problem! You come with me!” We piled back in and he drove us a short distance to another building where two women in saris ushered us into a room filled with curios of the Taj. In the center of the room stood a four foot replica of the building. Delighted that the bus driver had wangled a special entrance for us, we sat down on the benches that lined the walls. The two women brought us cups of tea which, after the stifling heat of the bus, we drank gratefully. The two women smiled at us and pointed at the model, and smiled some more and pointed. Respectfully we all got up and admired the model for a third and fourth time. And gradually we understood: we Warren’t getting a special tour of the Taj; we had been brought to a curio shop to purchase souvenirs!


The next morning our flight left from Delhi at the crack of dawn. We were not on it. We had slept for four hours at our hotel near the Taj, then left at 3:30 a.m. for the drive to the airport. The return trip took even longer than the Taj-bound trip as we sat for hours without moving. Even in the middle of the night the temperature was 75 degrees. Hour-and-a-half no problem!...

We plan to visit the Taj tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed, we hope it is day light when we visit this time. It will be so exciting to see one of the “Wonders of the World”.

A Herd of 50 Yak and a Slip in the River

August 27, 2008

We hiked eight miles today and have two days left of major hiking. We are working toward our final big pass which will be over 17,500 feet. We've been climbing and sleeping at an altitude of 14,000 feet, which is the equivalent to the peak of Mt. Rainier in Washington.

A typical day includes tea at 5:30 a.m., breakfast at 6:00 and we're hiking by 7:30. We spend about 7 hours on the trail and are averaging about 20 kilometers per day. Then, we're at camp around 4:00 p.m., have dinner at 7:00 and are in bed by 8:00.

This morning, we saw a herd of 50 yak, but no people. We've been following the river, and unfortunately today I slipped on a rock and was sitting in the river with my pack and boots on. Needless to say, I was happy that today was a relatively short day of hiking!

We plan to reach our high peak of 17,500 day after tomorrow.

Update from India

August 25, 2008
We are now four days into our trek. We've done 40 miles of hiking and crossed a 17,000 foot pass yesterday - it was a strenuous and rewarding 9-hour day!

The best way to describe the scenery is a very high "Grand Canyon" type terrain. We've been walking along the river the whole way. The most interesting thing is that at the very top of the high peaks are monestaries that are hundreds of years old. It's amazing to see these great architectural structures at the very peak of these mountains!

We've gone from 88 degrees to freezing, and everything in between. The locals are harvesting wheat right now. There are no roads, and everything is done by hand. The scenery is beautiful and we are all having a great time!

Greetings from Ladakh

August 16-20, 2008

As I closed the front door to our home to head for the airport, I realized for the first time in a long time I had no laptop, Treo, or cell phone in my bag. What a relief, what a feeling of freedom. Of course I knew I could access the internet from some internet cafe for the first few days, but once we hit the trail, I would have little connection to the rest of the world.

After 24 hours of flying – Seattle to Chicago to London to Delhi – we finally landed in Delhi and were certainly ready to do some hiking. After spending a day in Delhi, we flew to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, 11,500' above sea level.

Ladakh is a high elevation desert. The region is frozen for eight months a year and scorched for four. Rainfall is same as in the Sahara. Ladakh is located in northwest India in the region of Jammu and Kashmir bordered by the great Himalayas and Pakistan and Tibet. The people are a mixture of Buddhists and Muslims.

So far we have visited three monasteries: Thiksey, Hemis, and Shey. Thiksey (or Tikse) is Ladakh's best known Gompa, built in the 15th Century. The monastery is much like the Potala palace and offers very good views of the Indus valley. It is famous for the two-storied statue of Maitreya Buddha, whose eyes are featured in many book covers and postcards. Hemis is the largest functioning monastery of Ladakh. The monastery has interesting temples with giant statues as well as old Thangkas (painted scrolls).

We also took a walk up to the Leh Palace, built in the 17th century AD. It is a nine-story palace that is now deserted.

This morning I woke up to the chanting from the nearby Mosque and dogs barking and howling. At 6:00 a.m. everything else was quiet. I snuck out of our hotel room (at the Lotus Inn) in an attempt to not awaken Phil. Determined to write a bit in my journal, I headed for the sitting room. In the lobby were two sleeping bags where staff was sleeping. In the sitting room, two more hotel staff were asleep. Feeling like a pest, I went for a walk.

As I headed down the narrow pot holed road, I came upon the water truck. Two men were filling their barrels which rode on top of a three-wheel, wooden platform, similar to a flat wheelbarrow. Once full, they took off full speed down the hill to town. The fastest man was running his water barrel and using his feet as brakes when he needed to slow down. When there is no running water this seems like an effective process.

As I continued down the road, I saw neat piles of trash on the side of the road. Each pile would have wild dogs and cows eating breakfast. Because of religious beliefs, the people of Ladakh will not kill a dog. Hence, you will see wild dogs everywhere. And at night, there is continuous barking. To assist in alleviating the problem, they have begun to sterilize the dogs but then release them back to the streets. A little further down, there were women sweeping the roads and dirt side walks with homemade brooms. The world around, mornings are such a refreshing time of day.

We are off to begin our trek with no access to email. I am looking forward to hitting the trail - it will be just me, the backpack on my back and conversation with our team mates. I have learned to love sleeping in a tent on these treks and climbs. At night, it is cool or cold, dark and silent in the mountains. After a workout of hiking all day you crawl into a comfy down sleeping bag. Because there is not much to do after it gets dark and we awake after the sun is up, sometimes we sleep for 9-10 hours. We sleep so deep in this environment. Sometimes I can't wait to go to bed because dreams at altitude can be so vivid and real. I tell Phil, "goodnight I am going to the movies."

More in a few weeks.

Sue

Ladakh Expedition

Today I am heading for Delhi to meet up with Phil and our team.. Phil is in Russia, he just led all of his 11 climbers to the summit of Elbrus—the highest mountain in Europe. By the way, Elbrus is located very close to the current conflict on the border of Russia and Georgia.

To get ready for the trek, I have been hiking as time allows. We enjoyed taking Phil’s nephew and brother-in-law to the top of Rainier a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful but windy day at the top. With this climb, I thought I was kind of cool with 17 summits of Rainer only to be reminded it was Phil’s 432nd summit. But then again, some of us have to work for a living :>).

Following is an overview of our Trek courtesy of our partner, RIMO Expeditions:
RUPSHU - THE CHANGTANG PLAINS

A wonderful route, not often frequented because of its restricted sections, this trek offers a very different landscape as you approach the high Tibetan plateau. Lush meadows, vast grazing grounds, natural springs and lakes make it the ideal haunt for the nomadic Shepherds (Changpas) who live here. Chances are that you may see wild donkey (Skyangs) which roam these high plateaus. The trek, covering ground between 14,000 ft. to 16,500 ft., promises to be a fascinating experience.

Flying into Leh at 11,500 ft., we spend time taking short walks and visiting some famous and ancient monasteries. This also gives us needed time to acclimate. Beginning our trek at Chilling in the Indus Valley, we go southwards for 11 days, crossing passes of 5,000 meters and more with each one offering wonderful and panoramic views of the mountains and valleys through which we travel. Passing through rugged terrain rarely traveled, we pass through several nomadic settlements, too - and we will have the unique opportunity to witness the way of life in a region which has remained unchanged for centuries.

Ladakh terms you should know….

Ladakh, land of the high mountain passes
Buddhism is Ladahk’s principle religion
Monasteres are known locally as Gompas

Ladakh & The Taj

Our next adventure is to trek in Ladakh, India in August and take a side trip to see the Taj Mahal.
Please check back for updates on this trek. More to come soon.