Grant Tomlinson - Lutemaker
                      Renaissance and Baroque Lutes

 

 

 

 

HOME

SITE MAP

Instrument
Catalogue


Summary
of Prices

Biography

Terms & Conditions

Workshop
Gallery


Travel Log

Links

Website
Updated
2017/18

Trekking in the Himalayas
Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

Grant and I were fortunate enough to have a trekking holiday in Ladakh from June 14th to July 16th, 2008. Here are a few stories and photographs from our trip:

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


1. It’s high and it’s dry:
Ladakh is a high altitude desert region in northern India that lies in the rain shadow of the western Himalayas. It is one of the highest and driest (with an average annual rainfall of less than 6”) inhabited mountain regions on earth. Four immense mountain ranges run through Ladakh: to the south the Great Himalayan Range abruptly rises from the Indian subcontinent, followed by the Zanskar and Ladakh ranges. The Karakoram Range forms Ladakh’s northern border. Although Ladakh shares a close geographic, cultural and religious connection to western Tibet, it has been politically connected to Kashmir and northern India for more than a century.

The capital city of Leh, which is located in the Indus River valley, is at 11,500’ above sea level, and almost all of Ladakh lies above this elevation. We spent a week acclimatizing to the altitude (we could have used more time!) before starting our 16-day trek into the Zanskar Mountains: from Lamayuru to Lingshed, back partway to Phanjila, then on to Alchi via the Tar La (pass). The scenery was totally spectacular – amazing rock formations, narrow gorges and immense cliffs, majestic snow-capped peaks, long valleys, and lush oases with picturesque villages. We crossed 14 passes, three that were close to or above 16,000’ (and two of those we did twice!). This is a land of convoluted ridges and valleys; while averaging an elevation of about 13,000’, we hiked roughly 26,000’ up and 31,000’ down, over a distance of more than 100 miles. Some days it was really hot and dusty, other days overcast, one day it absolutely poured rain (see #12). But every day was wonderful!!!

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks 

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


Top of page

2. Our Crew:
Largely due to the amount of food and kerosene fuel we needed to take with us for 16 days, we ended up with a crew of 4 “support” people. Dorjay was our 21-year-old Ladakhi guide: easygoing, patient, good English, interested in Canadian life, knowledgeable about Ladakhi traditions and wonderful at connecting us with the locals. Gopal was our ‘chef extraordinaire’ from Nepal: he had a huge repertoire of Western, Indian and Nepali recipes, could make butterflies out of carrots (see #14), and bake a cake on a kerosene camp stove. Also a very fast walker (could catch up to us even if we left an hour before him). Dawa was our Tibetan horseman; great smile, sang quiet, gentle songs to his 7 horses all the time. And Tashi was our 17-year-old helper: shy, a great help with the horses, cooking, putting up and taking down the large cooking/dining tent. They were all wonderful people, fun to be with, so helpful, making the trek a thousand times easier for us. I think they got a kick out of us too – Grant was quite chatty with them (an effect of the altitude??), we kept apologizing for eating so little, and I persisted in practising our few Ladakhi phrases (“the food is very delicious”; “ where are the horses”?; “today we are going to….”)…

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks
Left to Right: Tashi, Dorjay, Dawa and Gopal

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


Top of page

3. The Ladakhis:
The local people we met on the trek were inquisitive, natural and friendly. Always interested in the binoculars and the camera. Away from the road, life is still very traditional, in dress, farming techniques, home life, in the monasteries. We were fortunate to have our guide Dorjay, who was able to connect us.

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks     Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


4. Irrigation:
Ladakh gets so little rainfall that the locals have become very skilled at using the glacial runoff extremely efficiently. They use a form of irrigation that diverts water from the river into a main channel, and then they manipulate “gates” of dirt to direct the water into whichever plot of land they want. Naturally they have to share the water with everyone else further downstream; they have very close, cooperative communities. We saw a micro-version of this irrigation at the Oriental Guest House in Leh, where the matriarch of the family managed an incredibly productive garden…

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


5. Bridal Procession:
Just before Photoksur, we encountered first an old man in traditional dress, then a younger man with what looked like a lampshade on his head, a young woman on a horse, a man with drums, and others. It turned out that this was a traditional bridal procession; the groom’s friends go to bring the bride from her village to the groom’s. The bride didn’t look too happy. Half an hour later we met one more man, a little drunk, lagging behind but still determined to get over the Sirsir La that evening… Dorjay told us that this was a window into old Ladakh, and quite a rare event to witness.

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks     Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


Top of page

6. Monks in their spare time:
In Lingshed, we set up our tent on the cleared dirt area that was a campsite. On returning from a walk, we found a lively group of young monks having a full-on game of cricket in the campsite, patiently avoiding the obstruction of our tent.

Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

The monks in many of the monasteries were pleased to have an opportunity to look through the binocs. One told me he was looking at all the little novice monks more than a mile away who were washing all their robes in the Indus River!

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


7. Campsite visitors:
Whether we could communicate or not, quite often people just came to hang out with us at our campsites. On one occasion a man arrived with about 20 donkeys and 3 little boys, who proceeded to dance and jump around and do whatever they could to get our attention (and take their picture).

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks 


Top of page

8. Campsites:
Some of our campsites were so picturesque -- by a glacial stream, in an alpine meadow, yak herds over the hill, breath-stopping views of cliffs and peaks. Others, particularly the Dead Donkey campsite, were not so attractive (Dorjay and Dawa deserved a medal for dragging the carcass out of smelling distance)…. (It didn’t merit a photo, but this one, before the Hanupata gorge, did.)

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


9. Ladakhi cafeteria:
At one remote site, after we’d pitched our tent, Dorjay asked Grant, “Would you like to go to the Ladakhi cafeteria?” Convinced that something had been lost in translation, Grant followed him, up the hill and over a little rise: sure enough there was a large canvas tent stocked with cold pop (most important), packages of Maggi noodle soup, candy, soap…..

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


10. Nearly tentless:
The poles were in place, the tent was up, but it wasn’t fastened down when Grant moved to try to catch a photo, I turned around, and a mighty gust of wind flipped the tent three times. I managed to catch the darn thing just before it went over a 50’ cliff – we probably could have retrieved it but it would have been ripped to shreds….


11. Memorial for our friend Mike Frastacky:
At the top of the highest pass, Sengi La (The Lion Pass), we hung a string of prayer flags for Mike. They’re the second row from the top. He would have loved that country, and would have been really pleased that we were there, thinking of him.

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


Top of page

12. Tar La:
We encountered the pass called Tar La on our third to last day of trekking. It is 15,900’ but the challenge was that we were starting from 12,000’ (at the Dead Donkey campsite) and would be descending to about 11,000’. As Grant said, it was like doing the hike to the Lions (in Vancouver) but starting at the top of Mt. Robson. About 500’ from the top it started to rain, and by the time we reached the pass it was pouring, the clouds were so low we could hardly see the trail, it was freezing, and we were soaked through, having not brought our usual gear (getting cocky with all the passes? It had been a hot clear night before….). Of all the situations in our trek, this was the one that could have gone most wrong.We decided to wait for the others and as we were descending a little way to find shelter, the rain stopped and we were actually able to start drying out. The visibility improved, the rest of our crew and the horses arrived, and we headed down the valley in fine spirits.The rain continued intermittently; this was our only really wet day (and who knew that it could rain so hard in Ladakh??!!). So wet – our packs were soaked, including Grant’s travellers’ cheques, plane ticket, headlamp and camera bag… When we were stopped for a quick lunch at a break in the downpour, we heard a muffled roar and turned to see a dry riverbed become a flash flood of muddy water. It changed the colour of the entire river when it merged, and didn’t clear until an hour later. Wish we’d got a picture of that!

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


13. Hospital visit:
I got a bad bout of gastritis/food poisoning my first night in Ladakh (from a meal in Delhi or on the plane) and ended up visiting the hospital in Leh the next morning to get an injection of Ondansetron to stop the vomiting. Although I didn’t see the “foreigners’ ward”, there were pretty basic facilities: they’d run out of nasal prongs for the oxygen so I had to hold the blunt end of the tubing up to my nose, they opened the valve on the O2 tank with a crescent wrench and a rock, and then used the crescent wrench to break open the vial of medicine. The doctor did a thorough assessment though, had a really nice manner, and was very interesting to talk to about local health care (seeing a rise in “rich man’s diseases” like diabetes, stress and hypertension). Here she is with me and my little bucket…

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


14. Culinary experiences:
After that first bout, the food was great. We’d both lost our appetites as an effect of the high altitude, but what was provided by Gopal on our trek was more varied and adventurous than I cook at home. On two occasions, Dorjay approached the local people near our campsite and came up with (1) fresh yak curd (like yogurt) (the yaks were right there up the hill) and (2) fresh goat meat (we had an amazing goat stew). Despite sitting on the ground in the cook tent for our meals, we had our food elegantly presented – see the radishes shaped like butterflies, carrots like periwinkles, and we had swirling cucumbers and tomato roses as well! Gopal made us a “Happy Ending Trek” cake for our last dinner together… Grant enjoyed butter tea at the Lingshed monastery, and added tsampa (roasted barley powder) to it just like a local when offered at the nunnery (all too salty, oily, and pasty for me!).

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


15. Nunnery:
There aren’t many nunneries in Ladakh (compared to monasteries) but we visited one in Lingshed. We happened to arrive just before lunch and they offered to share their meal with us – had a great lunch of rice and dhal (and Grant had the butter tea). Quite a few novices, as young as about 8, and they all seemed in good spirits (giggling among themselves)…

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


Top of page

16. Spiritual enrichment:
The monasteries in Ladakh are living examples of the ancient traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, which most Ladakhis practise. Unlike in Tibet, these monasteries are intact, some dating back to the 11th century, many from the 14th to 16th, and most of the ones we visited are still very active, with many families still designating one son to become a monk. The statues, frescoes, wall hangings and other decorations are colourful, elaborate, evocative and emotionally powerful. We attended a meditation/prayer session in Lingshed with the monks reading the prayers, chanting, drumming and ringing bells, with a very young monk continually filling their saucers with butter tea. On our last full day in Ladakh we were very fortunate to be able to go to a traditional festival in Hemis of masked dancing monks, accompanied by the Tibetan long horns, cymbals, shawms and drums. Alchi, established in the 11th century, is a unique monastery in terms of the style of its art, and it was also a favourite. The men with us on the trek considered Buddhism a core element in their lives. We had a funny communication with Dorjay, who said “Dawa [our Tibetan horseman] always says “Om mani padme hum” [the most common Tibetan prayer] and has a beer before he sets out on a trek.” We said, “A beer? You mean like chang [the local beer}, or a bottle of beer???” “No, no, a beer!” “You mean chang??” Finally we figured out that Dorjay was saying “preer” (“prayer”)!!! Ooooohhhhh…..

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks


17. Dodgy Delhi:
When we flew back to Delhi from Leh, we hit the monsoon season of 40 degrees and humidity like a sauna. With that, the noise, the pollution, the insane traffic, the unbelievable numbers of people, and the abject poverty that is everywhere, we just wanted to get out of the city as quickly as possible. The traffic is absolute chaos: you might see two auto-rickshaws (3-wheeled tuk-tuks), a motorcycle with a family of 5 on it, and a truck, all squeezed into two lanes going in the same direction, blaring their horns trying to weave through the steady stream of vehicles. On the highway, we saw cows, a camel pulling a cart, a cyclist in the rain with a plastic bag over his entire head and face, a truck coming towards us in our lane in the wrong direction, people hanging out the back of vans…. Ahead of time, we had planned to escape by hopping on a train to Bharatpur, a city about 200 km south of Delhi where there is a world-renowned bird sanctuary. But getting a train ticket was impossible! People told us there weren’t trains, they left from different stations, they were all booked up, even at the train station they waved us off to another line, closed their wicket and wouldn’t answer even a single question. We were directed by official-looking people to take a taxi to “the Tourist Office” (there are dozens of them around the train station, so this or that one was probably owned by a relative), where they tried to sell us taxi-driven packages to the Taj Mahal… Exasperating!! Finally we just gave in; got a taxi to Bharatpur for $125 US – and a train ticket back for $5 for the two of us!! (And the train was great – direct, only 3 hours, comfy seats, 34 fans in each coach…) I think a lot of the discomfort with the Delhi situation is the guilt about knowing you have so much, when the people there are living at an incredibly low standard with no opportunity for advancement, and there’s so little you can do about it. I can understand that people try to take advantage of you because it’s their only chance. But apparently Delhi is known particularly for being “dodgy”, and we can vouch for it! [Delhi was too insane to even take pictures]. But the bird sanctuary was a relief (despite being in its low season, we saw 64 species), though the heat was almost unbearable.


We had a really incredible experience in Ladakh, from the stunning scenery, to the interactions with the Ladakhi people, to the spirituality of the mountains and the monasteries. We would have stayed longer if we could, and would go back anytime. Thanks for sharing our stories!

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks

 Ladakh 2008 - Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks
 At the Sengi La, the Lion Pass (16.070 feet).


Back to travel page Top of page