Immersed in a hotspring that is tucked within a mountain cave, sitting beside the venerable and irrepressible Dorjè Kandro. Just days before, we began the fifty-two day walk from my – then – home in ‘Shangri-la’ (Gyalthang) in northwestern Yunnan, to Lhasa along one of the main routes of the Tea Horse Road. Dorjè was a kind of Peter O’Toole of the mountains – elegant, naughty, strong in a way that very few mortals are strong, and utterly devoted. Notorious along much of our routing through northwestern Yunnan province for being able to calmly smoke a cigarette, sing (out of tune), take sips of firewater, and carry on a conversation…all while carrying 25kg’s up 45 degree slopes.
The Dorje and I take a moment to heal
He never did make the journey all the way to Lhasa, having had to turn back in Chamdo, Tibet, to help another team member and friend, Dakpa, return home after succumbing to sickness and dehydration. Dorjè featured heavily (in so many brilliant and provocative ways) in my book “The Ancient Tea Horse Road” and in fact easily warranted a narrative and book dedicated entirely to him and his exploits. Though he loved tea, he loved whisky more…and we loved him more still. Very much missing ‘the Dorj’.
About JeffFuchs
Bio
Having lived for most of the past decade in Asia, Fuchs’ work has centered on indigenous mountain cultures, oral histories with an obsessive interest in tea. His photos and stories have appeared on three continents in award-winning publications Kyoto Journal, TRVL, and Outpost Magazine, as well as The Spanish Expedition Society, The Earth, Silkroad Foundation, The China Post Newspaper, The Toronto Star, The South China Morning Post and Traveler amongst others. Various pieces of his work are part of private collections in Europe, North America and Asia and he serves as the Asian Editor at Large for Canada’s award-winning Outpost magazine.
Fuchs is the Wild China Explorer of the Year for 2011 for sustainable exploration of the Himalayan Trade Routes. He recently completed a month long expedition a previously undocumented ancient nomadic salt route at 4,000 metres becoming the first westerner to travel the Tsa’lam ‘salt road’ through Qinghai.
Fuchs has written on indigenous perspectives for UNESCO, and has having consulted for National Geographic. Fuchs is a member of the fabled Explorers Club, which supports sustainable exploration and research.
Jeff has worked with schools and universities, giving talks on both the importance of oral traditions, tea and mountain cultures. He has spoken to the prestigious Spanish Geographic Society in Madrid on culture and trade through the Himalayas and his sold out talk at the Museum of Nature in Canada focused on the enduring importance of oral narratives and the Himalayan trade routes.
His recently released book ‘The Ancient Tea Horse Road’ (Penguin-Viking Publishers) details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes, The Tea Horse Road. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire route stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas a dozen cultures.
He makes his home in ‘Shangrila’, northwestern Yunnan upon the eastern extension of the Himalayan range where tea and mountains abound; and where he leads expeditions the award winning ‘Tea Horse Road Journey’ with Wild China along portions of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.
To keep fueled up for life Fuchs co-founded JalamTeas which keeps him deep in the green while high in the hills.
