September 26, 2013
Adam called on the sat phone to report they made it over the 17,400 foot pass and have now descended to 14,200 feet at Shey Gompa, built in the 11th century. Along the way they saw Himalayan blue sheep and have clearly now entered a more arid (Tibet like) geographical area. Some people may recall that Shey Gompa was visited by Peter Matthiessen and biologist George Schaller in the 1970’s and written about in Matthiessen’s famous book The Snow Leopard. Adam says that they have only seen one other trek group, from France. Otherwise, they have encountered zero other trekkers in the area. Tomorrow they will take a rest day and explore the “Crystal Mountain” area around the Gompa.
Eric Simonson
