Tag Archives: Shangri-La

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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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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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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Doctor ‘Mountain’ and the Temple – Part ll of ll

With the doctor behind me, but very much still in the mind, I head north towards this “little temple on a mountain”. His words about the ills of the mind resonate but my philosophy has always been, ‘as long as … Continue reading

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Doctor ‘Mountain’ and the Temple – Part l of ll

  Within a valley west of Shangri-La’s vaunted title and grasslands, over the Shika range of mountains, around 40 bends, heat rages even as autumn and winter start to claw their way into the geography. It is a region that … Continue reading

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China Radio International interview with Jeff Fuchs

Vincent Zheng of China Radio’s “Voices from Other Lands” interviews Jeff on the Tea Horse Road’s many strands and influences: http://english.cri.cn/8706/2012/03/15/2422s687070.htm

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Ascend to End

  Traders, pilgrims – travelers, who utilized their legs and lungs through the mountain corridors of he Himalayas often tell tales of the mountains’ ‘natural order’, of the inevitable paths that lead and have led through the walls of stone. … Continue reading

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Shika Mountain – The Forgotten Guardian II

Kilometres behind Shika landscapes become smudged white paintings – with a soundtrack of seething gusts.  It is not only the increase in altitudes that seem to strengthen the storm. It is the journey leading further into the remote valleys. Temperatures … Continue reading

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