<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203b79c7e80680e0b2821jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="695"/><figcaption>Tsering Sumjok Gurung with German plastic surgeon André Borsche (left) and Peter Hinze (right). Borsche had treated her childhood injury at the Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital in Kathmandu. All photos courtesy: PETER HINZE</figcaption></figure>Last November, in the waiting room of a hospital in Bad Kreuznach in Germany, Tsering Sumjok Gurung caught glimpse of a familiar face.The tall man with graying hair and moustache was wearing a white coat over a yellow jumper. He was none other than plastic surgeon André Borsche who had treated her horrific childhood burn injury at the <a href="https://www.skmt.org.np">Sushma Koirala Memorial</a> Hospital in Kathmandu ten years previously.“It was an emotional reunion for both of us,” Tsering, now 23, remembers. “He was very friendly and wanted to see how my injuries had healed.”Tsering was 18 months old that summer when her family made the annual migration up to high pasture to graze their yaks. One day, while her mother was tending the livestock, Tsering fell off her crib right into the fireplace. She was badly burnt on her back, and right arm.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/A-burning-desire-to-help,881">A burning desire to help</a>, Kunda Dixit<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203ba9c7e80680e0b2822jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="308" height="462">There were no doctors in her village of Bhijer, so she was treated for the next four years by the local <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/I-am-an-amchi,3349" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">amchi healer</a>. This kept her alive, but the skin on her right arm was fused with the torso. All her childhood, Tsering was carried around in a doko bamboo basket.“Burns are common in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dazzling-dolpo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dolpo</a> because home life revolves around the kitchen fire,” says Tsering. “I was lucky.”Despite being painful to move around, Tsering started going to school in Bhijer and excelled in studies. In Grade 2, a group of wealthy American and Swiss trekkers visited the school that they had supported. They noticed Tsering, examined her injuries, and helped bring her to Kathmandu for school and treatment. Over the years, the two families have also funded a hospital and a cheese factory in the village.Tsering used to watch her classmates in Kathmandu run and play, or dance in school programs, but could not participate because of her injury. She was eventually admitted to the Sushma Koirala Hospital, which is supported by INTERPLAST-Germany, where André Borsche and his team performed five major operations with reconstructive surgery. Every week, she had to make a painful bus ride from her dorm in Boudha to the hospital in Sankhu for physiotherapy and follow-ups.She missed many classes, but she made up for it by reading books which inspired her to become a doctor, so she could serve her community in Dolpo. Not able to afford higher education, in 2017 she started working as a hostel warden at a school in Chobar.That is when she met German journalist Peter Hinze who was researching his first book on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Himalaya-Trail/dp/3957281377" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Himalaya-Trail/dp/3957281377&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1641892465582000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3DjWYFudXKEdEQ0H4UlQmW">The Great Himalayan Trail, </a>and Tsering later travelled with him to Upper Dolpo to make a film with herself as the lead character.Tsering was back in Bhijer for the first time in ten years, and her family and neighbours were surprised how much she had grown and changed. Her injuries were not visible anymore, and no one could believe that a little girl who had such terrible injuries would be so transformed.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18771#.Ydv72C8w3u0">Lending a hand</a>, Nepali Times“I met the right people who helped me get treatment otherwise my life would have been different,” Tsering says. “Even now, there are many children in my neighbouring villages who are not as fortunate.”The film project was cancelled because of the pandemic, but Hinze converted the research into the book 100000 Schritte zum Glück about Dolpo, and invited Tsering to Germany for the unveiling in November. The book made it to number 4 on Amazon's best seller list in Germany.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203bd9c7e80680e0b2823jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="242">And he had a surprise in store – a meeting with the surgeon who had treated her in Kathmandu all those years ago. It was an emotional and joyful reunion.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203bf9c7e80680e0b2824jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"><figcaption>Tsering Sumjok Gurung and Peter Hinze with Tsering's family in Dolpo.</figcaption></figure>“This was one of the best days in my 26-year career, when I could see the wonderful result of our charity work,” said André Borsche.Tsering was equally happy: “I made it from my family stone hut in Bhijer to the hospital in Germany to meet the surgeon who changed my life.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-acid-attack-survivors-find-a-saviour/">Nepal’s acid attack survivors find a saviour</a>, Sabina Devkota<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203c19c7e80680e0b2825jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="1000">In the hospital, Borsche examined her burn scars and was satisfied with how well her back had healed. He suggested one more operation, but Tsering refused any more treatment.“I am over medical procedures for now,” Tsering told Nepali Times on her return from Germany. “After all those surgeries, I am put off by the sight of blood. I don’t want to think about the pain afterwards. For now I think I am ok.”These days, when Tsering is not busy with her full-time work at the Chobar school, she helps Hinze with Project Dolpo, a private initiative to help those who need assistance in her home district. She gets frequent calls from families in Dolpo who are in distress.Says Hinze: “I think this is a motivating story about a girl who never gave up, and who trusted herself. It shows how when help gets to the right people, the underprivileged and the almost forgotten, it can make a big difference to their lives.”This past week in Kathmandu, Tsering has been busy taking a seven-year-old boy from Dolpo who was also badly burnt with boiling water, and was brought to Kathmandu for treatment. Tsering has been taking the patient to the burns hospital in Kirtipur for medical attention.“It happened to me, and now to this boy. These accidents occur so frequently and Upper Dolpo just does not have the facilities to treat burn injuries,” says Tsering.For now, she wants to complete her education and ultimately return to Dolpo: “I feel it is my responsibility to give back to my community. The only way my village is going to develop is when young people like me get educated, and head back to help others like us. There is so much to do.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-prolonged-trauma-of-acid-attack-survivors/">The prolonged trauma of acid attack survivors</a>, Laxmi Basnet

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Tsering Sumjok is all right

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f2c9c7e80680e0af44fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1802"/><figcaption>Manang. Photo: NABIN LAMICHHANE.</figcaption></figure>Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding areas experienced rains from Tuesday night with moderate snowfall in Chandragiri and Pulchoki in the outskirts.Heavier snow has blanketed the mountainous districts of Dadeldhura, Doti, Baitadi, Bajhang and Darchula, as well as trans-himalayan Dolpo, Manang and Mustang, while vehicular movements in different sections of the Tribhuvan, Bhimdatta and Jayaprithvi highways have been obstructed by snowfall.The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has predicted rain into Wednesday morning.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f309c7e80680e0af450jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1600"><figcaption>Myagdi. Photo: SONTOSH GAUTAM.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f339c7e80680e0af451jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="854" height="481"><figcaption>Lukla. Photo: RAJENDRA B. SINGH.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f359c7e80680e0af452jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="816" height="612"><figcaption>Bhojpur. Photo: YUVRAJ BISTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f379c7e80680e0af453jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1353" height="902"><figcaption>Bhaktapur. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f3b9c7e80680e0af454jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1304" height="870"><figcaption>Bhaktapur. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f3e9c7e80680e0af455jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1107"><figcaption>Chandragiri. Photo: ACHYUT REGMI.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f419c7e80680e0af456jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1350"><figcaption>Doti. Photo: BIMAL BAHADUR BISTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f449c7e80680e0af457jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1350"><figcaption>Doti. Photo: BIMAL BAHADUR BISTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f479c7e80680e0af458jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="450"><figcaption>Simkot. Photo: DANE BOHARA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f499c7e80680e0af459jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1350"><figcaption>Humla. Photo: DANE BOHARA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f4d9c7e80680e0af45ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1834"><figcaption>Jajarkot. Photo: HEMANTA KC.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f509c7e80680e0af45bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="454"><figcaption>Rasuwa. Photo: HIMNATH DEVKOTA.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f539c7e80680e0af45cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="2112"><figcaption>Jajarkot. Photo: HEMANTA KC.</figcaption></figure>

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Nepal lashed by winter rain and snow

October is buckwheat harvest time in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dazzling-dolpo/">distant highlands of Dolpo</a>. In the village of Tso, Namdak Sangmo watches other women from her village fling their sickles, stoop over to sling the sheaves on their shoulders, and bring the crop in. Sangmo, 68, does not have her own crop to harvest because she does not have any land anymore. Her riverside terraces were washed away by a flash flood in 2012, and another one in 2019 destroyed what was left, leaving a barren boulder-strewn slope. “It was a raging torrent, and it came down suddenly and swept everything in its path, I do not have any land left to farm,” says Sangmo. She is not the only one, almost half the villagers in Tso lost their standing crop and fields when a wall of mud and boulders raced down from the slopes of the 6,883m high Mt Kanjiroba that towers over the district. Scientists have not drawn a direct correlation between the climate crisis and extreme weather events like this, but they say there is evidence that droughts, record downpours, and erratic monsoons in the Himalaya are a result of a hotter atmosphere. This year’s monsoon has seen freak downpours and unprecedented rainfall in the trans-Himalayan regions of Nepal. Unseasonal rains this week unleashed deadly floods and landslides, especially in western Nepal. The Himalayan mountains are warming between 0.3-0.7°C faster than the global average, causing glaciers to shrink, snowlines to recede, and increasing the danger of floods when expanding glacial lakes burst. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18e39c7e80680e0ac7edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"></div> Sangmo remembers well that September day two years ago. “It had rained non-stop for two days, and suddenly we heard a big roar from up the mountain, my brother-in-law told us to run,” she recalls. There was unusually heavy rain where snow used to fall, and the fragile moraine ridges below Kanjiroba just dissolved, sending the debris flow racing down to the village below. A similar flood in June on the Melamchi River damaged Kathmandu’s water-supply project, Nepal’s most expensive infrastructure scheme. In Manang, a trans-Himalayan valley north of the Annapurnas, there was record-breaking rainfall that unleashed deadly floods. “There is more and more evidence that extreme rainfall events are caused by climate change, and these trigger sudden floods that destroy farms and settlements downstream,” says Arun Shrestha, a climate specialist with the River Basins and Cryosphere division at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). There has not been enough study to determine if the Dolpo flood was <a href="https://www.dhm.gov.np/uploads/climatic/467608975Observed%20Climate%20Trend%20Analysis%20Report_2017_Final.pdf">caused by a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF)</a>, or just extra-heavy rainfall on sediment deposits in high mountain valleys, but the result was just as devastating. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18da9c7e80680e0ac7eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The tongue of the glacier below Kanjiroba from which the floods came down.</div> A recent Himalayan <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-glacial-lakes-in-danger-of-bursting/">Glacial Lake Inventory</a> by <a href="https://www.icimod.org/event/glacial-lake-inventory-launch/">ICIMOD </a>and UNDP mapped 3,624 new glacial lakes on Nepal’s main river basins and found that 47 of them could <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/more-himalayan-tsunamis/">burst at any time</a>, with the risk of catastrophic flooding down valley. Of these, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-glacial-lakes-in-danger-of-bursting/">25 lakes are in Tibet,</a> but flow into tributaries of Nepal’s main rivers. While communities in Nepal have historically learnt to reduce risk from these floods by not settling along riverbanks, new poorly-designed roads, settlements and infrastructure are vulnerable to these climate induced disasters. While GLOFs can happen at some point in the future, weather extremes caused by the climate crisis have already unleashed a creeping disaster in Himalayan villages like Tso. This year, a 7-month <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/no-smoke-without-fire-2/">winter drought led to wildfires</a> and floods in Dolpo, displacing farmers, and forcing them to migrate. As <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Shey-Phoksundo-may-soon-become-a-bus-park,3975">Dolpo is connected by road</a>, most men have left rural areas for work in the cities or abroad to supplement their income, and it is the women who stay behind who bear the brunt of the impact of climate change -- the drudgery of having to walk farther for water, or suffer from failed harvests. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18dd9c7e80680e0ac7ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Massive flashfloods in 2012 and 2019 that came down from Mt Kanjiroba washed away fields and homes in Tso village.</div> “Climate change adds to the extra load of women in rural areas because of unpredictable rain, floods droughts and springs going dry,” says <a href=".%20https:/www.icimod.org/team/abid-hussain/">Abid Hussain</a>, of the Mountain Agriculture and Livelihood division of ICIMOD. Most of Nepal’s subsistence farmers are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and <a href="https://www.thestatesman.com/world/women-participation-in-agriculture-is-highest-in-nepal-1502659946.html">83% of the country's women are fulltime farmers</a>. Namdak Sasngmo’s husband died 15 years ago, and her children are married. Without her fields, she finds it difficult to take care of her family. Nepal’s central or local governments should be helping her, but there has been no compensation for the loss and damage. Without her fields, with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/trekking-to-save-nepals-snow-leopards/">no income from trekking tourism</a> due to the pandemic, and a decline in the yarsagumba crop, Sangmo is worried. Left to fend for themselves, she has fallen back on her faith in the Tibetan animist belief system that has deep reverence for the mountains as divine creations that have their serene and destructive sides that need to be appeased through prayer and good deeds. “We may have angered the gods of Kanjiroba with our deeds,” says Sangmo.“We made the river impure and many outsiders came and polluted the lake.” <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18e09c7e80680e0ac7ecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Namdak Sangmo, 50, harvests buckwheat in a neighbour’s field because her farm was washed away by the flood.</div> To prevent future calamities, the monk at the local monastery, Khenpo Lama, performed a ritual to appeal to Mt Kanjiroba with a shebchu at a small stupa with offerings of buckwheat and barley. Sangmo believes it worked, because “everything has been quiet on the mountain after that”. From his monastery, Khenpo Nyima himself has noticed the change in weather, and the snow retreating higher and higher up Kanjiroba. Although he does not connect this to the global climate crisis, he is convinced outsiders are to blame. “We have seen the mountains changing, and that is because there are more and more outsiders coming here and they are desecrating nature,” he says, looking up at the icy tongue of a glacier below Kanjiroba, the top of which is veiled in monsoon clouds. He says the modern world has also changed the traditional ways in Dolpo. Local people no longer rely on dorima that determines the schedule for planting, harvesting, and the timings for taking yaks and goats up to high pasture. “They also do not put up prayer flags in the yulsa every year, and this has displeased the gods,” Khenpo Nyima adds. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18e39c7e80680e0ac7edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"></div> However, the local government and the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-shey-phoksundo-in-nepal,3596">Shey Phoksundo National Park</a> are not relying on prayers to protect citizens here. They built an embankment along the river after the 2012 flood to shield Tso’s village and farms, but it was washed away in the second flood in 2019. “We may need a bigger budget to build a proper wall that will save the village the next time there is a big flood, I am trying to convince the municipality authorities, but we need more help,” says Nima Lama, the ward chair. However, studies have shown that people in mountain regions across the world have been adapting to the changing climate without knowing why it is changing, and using local belief systems and traditions to do so. <a href="https://phys.org/news/2019-06-mountain-dwellers-glaciers-climate.html">Anthropologist Ben Orlove of Columbia University’s Earth Institute</a> interviewed people in locales including the Peruvian Andes, and found that while villagers were aware of the changes, they were adapting to them without necessarily linking it to climate change. Orlove proposes framing the ‘climate change’ narrative as a need for ‘community change’ so the focus is on how villagers can benefit from the measures they take to adapt to lack of rain, water shortages, or flood-prevention embankments. That appears to be already happening here in Dolpo, an arid trans-Himalayan region of Nepal where people are falling back on a sense of community and traditional belief systems to cope with the impacts of the climate crisis. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18e69c7e80680e0ac7eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Yarsagumba is a fungus that grows on a caterpillar, and is harvested in spring in the Himalaya. It is in high demand across the border in China.</div> The climate and ‘Himalayan viagra’ As the climate crisis impacts on the pastoral lifestyle of the people of Dolpo, the women who remain in the remote villages have started relying more and more on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-yarsa-picking-time/">yarsagumba, the caterpillar fungus</a> that is prized in Chinese medicine for its supposed aphrodisiac properties. These days, it is mainly women who climb up to the high slopes where the fungus pokes out of the ground after snow melts in spring. They harvest the yarsagumba and sell it to middlemen who in turn sell it to wholesalers at the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/new-high-way-to-dolpo/">Chinese border, 4 days walk to the north.</a> However, a combination of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya/">unseasonal snowfall</a>, long periods of drought and warmer weather is affecting the yarsagumba, too. Schools in Dolpo close at yarsa harvest time so students can accompany parents to the pick the fungus, but this year they have returned empty-handed. “We went up in April, but the yarsa was not fully mature and it was soggy, there was nothing to pick,” says one student, Sangmo Lama. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18e99c7e80680e0ac7efjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">With her trekking income gone, and farm washed away by floods, Namdak Sangmo used to depend on yarsagumba picking. But even the growth of the fungus has been affected by weather extremes caused by climate change.</div> While over-harvesting in the past has been one of the reasons for the decline in the yarsa crop, it should have revived in the past two years when the pandemic reduced the numbers of pickers. That lends support to the theory that a warmer Himalaya is also affecting growth of the valuable fungus and contributes to the end of the yarsa <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/yarsagumba-dispute-dolpa,1424">gold rush</a>. Local people who relied on tourism and livestock for income had <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18321#.XnOPvS2B3-Y">earnings from the fungus</a> as a fall back. Now, that option is also gone. Yarsa made up more than half of the annual income of an average Dolpo household. While the fungus is sold for only Rs5,000 per kg to the Chinese traders at the border, it can fetch as much as $75,000 per kg in Shanghai. After she lost her fields to the glacial floods, Namdak Sangmo of Tso village used to rely solely on yarsa income. She used to collect at least 100 pieces of fungus in the past, two years ago she found only six pieces, and this spring none at all. “Without yarsa what do we eat? How do we survive? The mountain was angry and took away my fields, there is nothing to do but pray,” says Sangmo, as she sharpens her sickle to help the other women in their buckwheat fields. This report was supported by the Road to COP26 campaign implemented by the British Council and funded by UKAID.

Climate change is a disaster in the Nepal Himalaya

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb989c7e80680e0802d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1991" height="1000"/><figcaption>Screen capture of camera video of snow leopard on the trail above Phoksundo Lake.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb9b9c7e80680e0802d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1503" height="1000"><figcaption>The snow leopard’s magnificent home range at Phoksundo Lake at 3,589m was partially frozen this winter. Photos: Sonam Choekyi Lama and Tshiring Lhamu Lama</figcaption></figure>It is morning here at 4,000m, and an overnight blizzard has left everything white. All around us, the outlines of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/stairway-to-heaven" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/stairway-to-heaven&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603498371749000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHo2wNhSXjUcrsOjdnF3LM99ixRwQ">mountains of Dolpo</a> have been softened by new snow. Below, Phoksundo Lake is partly ice-covered.The snow has made it easier for us to look for snow leopard tracks. These cats are elusive enough, but their fluffy camouflage makes them hard to see even if they are nearby.‘That the Snow Leopard is, that it is here, that its frosty eyes watch us from the mountain -- that is enough. And in the not-seeing, I am content.’ These lines from <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/peter-matthiessens-the-snow-leopard-in-the-age-of-climate-change" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/peter-matthiessens-the-snow-leopard-in-the-age-of-climate-change&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603498371749000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG6Fj-RogthCKWhh5f0FH9EFXe9Iw">Peter Matthiessen’s classic The Snow Leopard</a> echo in my mind, and make me curious: what does this creature that is so hard to see look like?<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb9f9c7e80680e0802d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Spot the snow leopard. This elusive cat is as well camouflaged in snow as it is in rock.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdba29c7e80680e0802d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1502" height="1000"><figcaption>Locals at Polam in Dolpo with their livestock. Unless herders see the benefit of snow leopards, they will not protect them.</figcaption></figure>It is the philosophical Zen-like idea of the ‘not-seeing’ that holds such symbolism in Matthiessen’s book. Its powerful description of the animal that is there but not there, that you look for but cannot see. It reminds us of our own ephemeral presence in the eternity of nature, of being here today, gone tomorrow.Like the tracks on the snow that indicate that the being is nearby, its proof will be erased soon enough with the warmth of the sun. All that will remain is the memory of our presence, and the flash of fur on an icy crag.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdba69c7e80680e0802d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Thasung Tsoling Monastery on a cliff overlooking Pokhsundo Lake.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdba99c7e80680e0802d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1001"><figcaption>Tshiring and Pamma Gurung returning to camp after tracking snow leopards.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbac9c7e80680e0802d8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1503" height="1000"><figcaption>Tshiring setting up a camera trap on the trail above Phoksundo Lake in February.</figcaption></figure>The snow leopard is one of the world’s most elusive and rare cats. It is sparsely distributed across 12 countries in Central Asia and the Himalaya, admirably adapted to its high and rugged range at elevations of 3,000-4,500m.The snow leopard has become not just a professional quest for my sister <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/Shey-Phoksundo-national-park-may-soon-become-a-bus-park,1036" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/Shey-Phoksundo-national-park-may-soon-become-a-bus-park,1036&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603498371749000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFRi8546yfWBbOYJHE6cWP_BvQAOw">Tshiring Lhamu Lama</a>, but also a personal journey. She is a Snow leopard researcher and conservationist, and founder of <a href="http://www.snowleopardjourneys.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snow Leopard Journeys</a>. As luck would have it, she invited me to join her to spend three winter months earlier this year in our birthplace of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-shey-phoksundo-in-nepal,3596" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-shey-phoksundo-in-nepal,3596&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603498371749000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEF34FMwZAW9fG7i8au2vSzokXvgg">Phoksundo</a> to document her research, and to plan for a Snow Leopard Conservation Trek next year.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbaf9c7e80680e0802d9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Snowbound Phoksundo village, where my sister Tshiring and I were born.</figcaption></figure>There is an easier way to see a snow leopard: through camera traps that we installed. But there is nothing to beat the sight of a snow leopard in the flesh. It was after a month of stalking and tracking that I had my first encounter on 28 February.The coronavirus pandemic had spread from China to Europe by then, but up here in remote Dolpo, we had no idea. I was alone, scanning the ridges and checking up on the motion-detection camera inside a small cave.It was 6pm and already getting dark when, right at the entrance to the cave, was a large cat that looked like a furry cloud trailing a long curly tail. We were face-to-face. The leopard was as surprised to see me as I was. My happiness at seeing this apparition overcame my fear. Was it real? Was it an illusion? Did I really see it?In slow motion, I stretched my hand to grab my camera. The leopard noticed my movement, and leapt away noiselessly, disappearing up into the cliffs above. I did manage a grainy photo as it bolted off – visual proof to myself that I had actually seen what I had just seen.We sighted snow leopards four more times this winter. I will never forget its haunting yowl echoing from the cliffs overlooking Phoksundo Lake. Even when we did not hear it, the leopard’s ghostly presence was all around us. It would pass through our village, marking and depositing scat, but it would disappear before we noticed it was there.“It looks like he is challenging us, teasing us, playing hide and seek,” Tshiring said.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbb39c7e80680e0802dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2962" height="1500"><figcaption>A snow leopard with a blue sheep that it just hunted.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbb69c7e80680e0802dbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1516" height="1000"><figcaption>Camera trap image of a snow leopard with a nylon rope around its abdomen from a snare laid by suspected poachers. And another cat on a nocturnal prowl (below).</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbb99c7e80680e0802dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="416"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbbc9c7e80680e0802ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="412">My sister has been to every corner of Dolpo, where even our locals have not yet been, to research snow leopards. We were all inspired by <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-shey-phoksundo-in-nepal,3596" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">George Schaller</a> and Peter Matthiessen, who passed through our village of Phoksundo in 1973, long before either of us were born. Schaller’s study of the blue sheep and Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard have been the inspiration for Tshiring’s conservation work. In 2016, she joined Schaller’s team which was retracing his 1973 trip, and had a chance to carry forward her study into snow leopards.“Throughout my research in Dolpo, our people would ask me why we need to save these predators that kill our yaks and sheep, and which do not give us any milk or food,” Tshiring tells me. She tried to explain to the herders the importance of maintaining the ecological balance of these mountains, and how the snow leopard is at the top of the food chain.She has seen two snow leopard cubs being dragged out of the lair and killed, and we have a camera shot of another snow leopard trailing a nylon rope from a trap around its waist. This has given her work even more of a sense of urgency, and she is convinced that snow leopard conservation can only happen if the local communities are involved in protecting the animal.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiIwR3LeEtM&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;fbclid=IwAR0EVujKi0ZU2XHo32PDtpnVTm9jr3MwVK0WjFt2OLbfd4ZHvFKgNN9l1SoThey may be convinced about helping protecting the animals if they see benefits from its conservation through <a style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bon-voyage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildlife tourism</a>.  Trekking is becoming the mainstay of Dolpo’s economy now, even though this year there have been no tourists and no income because of the Covid-19 crisis.But for next year and beyond, Tshiring is convinced that the Snow Leopard Conservation Trek to Phoksundo Lake can <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dazzling-dolpo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attract premium tourists</a> from all over the world, bringing jobs and income to locals. This, in turn, will convince them of the value of protecting the habitat of the snow leopard in Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/new-high-way-to-dolpo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">largest district bordering the Tibet Plateau</a>.Last winter, our main aim was to engage and involve local herders through employment opportunities which might change their perception about snow leopards into the protection of these magnificent cats. Snow Leopard Journeys will not just create jobs, but also plough 10% of its income for further snow leopard conservation work by sustaining herder livelihoods.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbbf9c7e80680e0802dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Our snow leopard research team (left to right): me, Pamma Gurung and my sister Tshiring in our home village of Phoksundo.</figcaption></figure><a href="http://snowleopardjourneys.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snow Leopard Journeys</a>info@snowleopardjourneys.com+977-9849623399

Trekking to save Nepal's snow leopards

https://youtu.be/ZBGnZ7H7l_kThe yarsa gumba harvesting season this year coincides with the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/what-is-novel-about-the-novel-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coronavirus scare</a>  and as rumours spread about its supposed medicinal properties, there could be a run on the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/overharvesting-yarsa-and-income,1546" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over-extracted Himalayan fungus</a> this year.Furthermore, with the spring trekking season wiped out by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/global-thinking-and-local-action-on-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19 epidemic</a>  local people dependent on tourism income will now have to fall back on <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18321#.XnOPvS2B3-Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earnings from a fungus</a> that fetches high prices across the Himalaya in China.The highest-quality yarsa can fetch up to $70,000 per kg in China, and its collection each mid-May to mid-July can account for between 65% and 100% of a picker’s annual income. But the profits can be both a blessing and a curse.The additional income helps pay for food, education and support for aging parents, and donations to local monasteries. But the harvest season also brings an influx of tens of thousands of people each spring to Nepal’s fragile alpine ecosystem in a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/yarsagumba-dispute-dolpa,1424" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stampede that looks like a gold rush</a>.Whole hillsides of slow-growing juniper are cut each year for fuel in Dolpo and Tibet, and there has been an increase in wildlife poaching, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/everest-fights-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">litter and garbage</a>  and free-range defecation. There has also been an increase in alcohol and drug consumption, conspicuous consumerism, the loss of traditional cultural values, violence, and even occasional murders.But here in <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/high-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Barun Valley</a> the impact of the yarsa season is more benign due to closer engagement of the local community. The Barun is a beyul, a sacred valley blessed by Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century as a refuge for the faithful in times of stress. The landscape is dominated by the spectacular rock face of Shiva Danda, where three caves look like the eyes and nose of Lord Shiva. Each summer, pilgrims undertake the difficult and dangerous rock climb to the caves.There is also a pigmented cliff at Riphuk which pilgrims believe is a painting of a snow leopard by Guru Rinpoche. Ama Buchung is a rock massif in the shape of a pregnant woman, known for granting the gift of children to the devout. There is also the sacred Seto Pokhari glacial lake near Mt Makalu base camp.The main difference between the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19381#.XnOPwi2B3-Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yarsa harvesting season</a> in the Barun and in western Nepal is terrain. While much of the yarsa in Dolpo are on rolling high-altitude meadows, in the Barun the fungus grows upon precipitous slopes dropping thousands of metres to the valleys below.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b792c9c7e80680e0646e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"/>Mt Makalu (8,485m) towers over the sacred Seto Pokhari glacial lake.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b792f9c7e80680e0646eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="608">Young yarsa harvesters comb the slopes high above the Barun River. Photo: TSERING SHERPAConversations with Makalu-Barun National Park officials, lodge owners, yarsa middlemen and harvesters showed that there are about 3,000 people who come to collect the fungus here every spring. Unlike in other regions in Nepal, they do not leave behind much trash, carry in their own fuelwood, and cannot remember any violence.Sherpa families from Tashigaon have been camping and harvesting yarsa here for years. Young men from Seduwa sleep in teahouses in the Valley and hike up 1,500m to the meadows each morning to pick yarsa. There are laughing school children on holiday, and everyone seems to have a good time.The main reason for the peaceful, non-competitive atmosphere is that the quality and value of yarsa in the Makalu-Barun region is not as high as that from Tibet or Dolpo. In 2016, a kilogram of Makalu yarsa fetched only $4,800 from the local middleman, as compared to $21,120 for the famously large, yellowish, and pungent smelling Dolpo yarsa.Furthermore, instead of representing up to 90% of a family’s income as it does in Dolpo, yarsa harvests here yield the same income as portering, raising livestock, lodge management or work at Makalu Base Camp that paid $20 per day. With the collapse of trekking this season, however, there could be more pressure.In the Barun Valley, yarsa has been just one more source of income in an already diversified economy. Income from yarsa has just not been worth fighting over.More importantly, villagers, the Buffer Zone Council, and the local government have developed a system to manage yarsa harvests that is fair and equitable.As a result the stunningly beautiful but fragile Barun Valley ecosystem remains largely undisturbed and intact.<h2>Yarsa gumba merchandise</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79319c7e80680e0646ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1034" height="522"><a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/regulation-of-yarsa,1547" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Products containing yarsa gumba extracts</a> have become increasingly popular due to the fungus' purported health benefits. Yarsa is known to some by the nickname ‘Himalayan viagra’, and most commercial products that make use of it emphasise anti-aging and libido-inducing qualities. In China yarsa is even added to whiskey and cigarettes.Yu Chun Mei Cordyceps is a China-made skin cream (above, left) that claims to fight skin-ageing and eliminate wrinkles, black spots and pimples. The day-and-night cream claims to be made from 100% natural ingredients and is sold in various countries in Asia.Probably the most widely found product to use yarsa gumba extract is tea made from the fungus, of which the varieties are many (above, right). Manufacturers of the teas claim that they treat fatigue, sickness, kidney disease and low sex drive.Some bars in Kathmandu serve aged aila infused with yarsa gumba, which gives the spirit a tangy aroma that competes with the smell of the alcohol. A manufacturer in Nepal even markets yarsa gumba capsules as a ‘health supplement.’<h2>YARSA-NOMICS</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79349c7e80680e0646ecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2144" height="580">Yarsa gumba has been used by the Chinese for hundreds of years to treat a variety of illnesses, and its more recent reputation as an aphrodisiac has added greatly to its marketability. Wealthy Chinese also use it in soups and tea as a status symbol when serving favored guests.Yarsa gumba, translated from the Tibetan as ‘summer grass winter worm’, carries the scientific name Ophiocordyceps sinensis. It is one of the most valuable medicinal fungi in the world and grows in Himalayan valleys above 4,000m from western India to Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79379c7e80680e0646edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="438" height="582"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79389c7e80680e0646eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There are more than 200 species of Cordyceps (short for Ophiocordyceps) fungus worldwide, and in Nepal they parasitise the bodies of ghost-moth larva that live on the roots of alpine wildflowers found high up in summer yak pastures.Once contact with the larva is made, the fungus remains dormant for about four years, after which it begins to slowly consume the larva’s insides, leaving behind a shell that looks like a mummified caterpillar. The little mummy larva then slowly shifts its body to point upward toward the surface, after which a black ‘stromata’ grows from its forehead and emerges as a fruiting body 4cm long.It takes sharp eyes to find these pointed, black, stem-like mushrooms, and young children, with their keen eyesight and low proximity to the ground, are by far the most successful collectors. The stromata is ever-so-carefully pulled upward using forefinger and thumb to reveal the entire yarsa gumba body, which is then cleaned, dried, and stored in cloth bags.According to anthropologist Geoff Childs, the introduction of yarsa gumba harvesting since legalised by the Nepal Government in 2001 has ‘…contributed to economic and environmental transformations across the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayan region...than any development scheme could envision’.Alton C Byers, PhD is a mountain geographer at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, (INSTAAR) University of Colorado at Boulder. In the mid-1990s, he worked as co-manager of the newly formed Makalu-Barun National Park. His recent paper on yarsa gumba harvesting in the Barun Valley is published in the journal Himalaya (v. 39, number 2)

It's yarsa-picking time

Here in Dho Valley, in the arid mountains of northwestern Nepal, the only sounds used to be tinkling yak bells and the flapping of wind on prayer flags. Now, there is another one: the throb of internal combustion engines.
Chinese motorcycles roar down the dusty trails of once quiet Dho, and the growl of an excavator can be heard from across the valley. It will not be long before the Sumo pickups arrive from the district headquarter in Dunai, which itself was recently connected to Nepal’s road network.
During his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/president-xi-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank">state visit to Nepal last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping</a> said Nepal would go from being landlocked to‘land-linked’, and promised to help build better road access across the Himalaya from Nepal to China. This is what ‘better connectivity’ looks like here at ground zero in Dolpo.
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One of Nepal’s priorities for trans-Himalayan connectivity is the Kali Gandaki Corridor from the Tarai, through Mustang to the Korala checkpoint at the Chinese border. The new road from Marim Pass on the Tibet border to Dunai has now reached Dho and Chharkha.
On parts of the road that are already motorable, motorbikes &nbsp;noisly overtake trekking groups spewing clouds of dust as they climb the trails. Neither the trekkers nor lodge owners are happy.
“They go so fast, they are noisy and irritating. It is dangerous for school children and older people — it will kill someone one day,” grumbles Tenzin Gurung, a monk at the Sitcho gomba.
Across the road however, a younger trader is excited about the road since it will provide easier access to the market and bring down the cost of food.
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Such ambivalence has accompanied Nepal’s rapid road-building spree in other parts of the country like <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nation-road-from-nowhere-to-nowhere,549" target="_blank">Tsum</a>, Manang and Mustang. But perhaps nowhere has the change from no-road to road been as dramatic as here in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dazzling-dolpo/" target="_blank">Dolpo,</a> which was the last district in Nepal &nbsp;not linked by road.
Over on the other side of Mo La pass, at 5,021m, an excavator is clearing a switchback down the rocky slope that follows the trekking trail, which itself followed the ancient trading route from Dolpo to Mustang.
Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bon-voyage/" target="_blank"> Bon voyage,</a> Sonam Choekyi Lama
“The weather is challenging, it is windy and cold on the pass, and we have to bring the diesel up by mule from Mustang,” says excavator operator Padam Bahadur.
Those who own lodges and depend on trekking groups for income are opposed to the road. Even if it is built, they say it should not destroy the traditional trading routes and trekking trails.
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Says Sonam Lama, an architect who fought a losing battle to prevent the road to his native Tsum Valley: “These hiking trails should not be replaced by roads. We should try to find an alternative motorable road.”
The dozers are also ploughing across holy chorten and mani walls. The excavator driver, who is from Piuthan, says he had to “relocate” a mani wall because it was obstructing the road alignment determined by the surveyor.
Read Also: &nbsp;<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/stairway-to-heaven" target="_blank">Stairway to Heaven</a>, Kunda Dixit
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Villagers in Chharkha ask why Dolpo should not follow the example of Kagbeni, where the road to Lo Manthang bypassed the old cobble-stone streets of the town to preserve its heritage. Indeed, Dolpo seems to be making the same mistake as other parts of Nepal.
With little oversight by local or national governments, it looks like change is too big and too quick for Dolpo to handle.
“There is no reason why the road had to follow the trekking trails, go through the villages and destroy our holy shrines,” says Ramprasad Sherchan, owner of the Muktinath Hotel in Kagbeni. However, Sherchan now sees potential for more trekkers going to Dolpo via Mustang since the district will be more accessible.

New High Way to Dolpo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZCkbAzZU4c&amp;feature=youtu.beAn assortment of French cheeses, appetisers and wine sit atop a stately table adorned with a purple tablecloth against the backdrop of snow-capped Himalaya and clear blue skies.For the locals and travellers nearby more used to the dal bhat trek staple, this is a sight to behold. Tibetan bread and simple dishes dominate meals above 3,500m, but for an increasing number of trekkers, eating well goes with walking well.One of the agencies is <a href="https://responsibleadventures.com/nepal-tours/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Responsible Adventures</a> which has since 2007 been a pioneer of ‘gourmet trekking’, elevating hiking cuisine from modest meals to epicurean delicacies.Owner and certified foodie <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/teeing-off-on-a-trek-why-not/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raj Tamang</a> wanted to give a new dimension to his boutique treks when he moved to Nepal from Singapore in 1988. He had a vision for trekking that involved delicious and nutritious food.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-superfoods-of-the-andes-and-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The superfoods of the Andes and the Himalaya</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/much-more-than-dal-bhat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Much more than dal bhat,</a> Anil ChitrakarDespite having no professional culinary education, he learned from people he met from around the world, experimented with continental flavours, improvising with ingredients and creating palatable dishes with local foods.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f049c7e80680e056dffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"/><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f079c7e80680e056e00jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f0a9c7e80680e056e01jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f0e9c7e80680e056e02jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125">All the trekking chefs at Responsible Adventures are trained by Tamang himself, and they have learned to make Thai red curry with local ingredients, hummus with whatever is available, and rough and tumble cakes on the go.Trekkers have learnt to always expect the unexpected in Nepal, but one aspect of the experience that remains constant is the piping hot ayurvedic drink that is given to trekkers every morning. According to Tamang, this elixir of water, turmeric, honey, apple cider vinegar and lemon has anti-inflammatory and energising properties that powered trekkers throughout the day.Besides this magic concoction, every meal is a surprise and trekkers only know what they will be eating when it is served. Breakfast might be cereal and porridge sprinkled with chia or flax seeds, nuts and honey, and roti or chapati with organic peanut butter. And while other trekkers have the option of mostly hard-boiled eggs and a cup of watered down tea, clients of Responsible Adventures get eggs to order and hot cups of freshly brewed coffee.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f119c7e80680e056e03jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="393" height="377">The smell of ground <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Nepali-specialty-coffee,4106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coffee</a> beans at the break of dawn on the banks of <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/stairway-to-heaven" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Phoksundo Lake</a> (pictured above) beckons even the heaviest of sleepers towards the French press. Then come waffles with goji berries at 4,000m, which is probably a world altitude record.For lunch and dinner, clients may get maki sushi with avocado and topped with sweet potato, which could easily be mistaken for salmon. Other menu items include mac n’cheese, pasta, pizza, Thai curry, falafel, soup and even desserts like apple pie or cake.A cheese platter featuring Danish blue, camembert and brie, and cold meats, olives, local proteins dressed with cream and mustard sauce, and salads packed with super foods are also served.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f119c7e80680e056e04jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1429" height="985"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f159c7e80680e056e05jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1034">“We work hard to provide our clients with a Rolls-Royce experience at the price of a Toyota Corolla,” says Tamang.Responsible Adventures’ boutique treks are customised according to the trekkers’ fitness levels and preference, but each one, despite having the same route, offers a completely different experience.Tamang also takes hikers to a hidden gem in eastern Nepal that is off the beaten trek. Although he wished to keep the location a secret, fearing the arrival of hordes of tourists, he reveals, “That place is real Nepal, a Nepal that existed before trekking.”Tamang calls his treks glamping (glamorous camping) which means that even in remote areas, there are showers, toilet tents, kitchen and sleeping tents. Other memorable treks include paragliding from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/go-take-a-hike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mardi Himal</a> to Pokhara, jamming with Polish trekkers in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bon-voyage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upper Dolpo</a>, and arranging traditional Gurung dresses for a group of Singaporean girls.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f199c7e80680e056e06jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Such luxuries do not come without challenges. Responsible Adventures faced an egg mishap when a mule carrying a trip’s load of eggs fell into the Bheri River. A client’s unexpected allergy was thankfully discovered on time.Each trek is a discovery, and although there is no gain without pain, Tamang tries to make it as memorable as possible: “All the trekkers have to do is walk and enjoy the scenery, observe and absorb the beautiful environment around them.”

Satisfying trekker appetite for adventure

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a40059c7e80680e04a5f9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1047"/><figcaption>The other-worldly beauty of Phoksundo Lake at 3,660m. All photos: BHARAT BANDHU THAPA</figcaption></figure>The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2018/01/24/snowed-in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unprecedented blizzards</a> this year in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/Stairway-to-heaven-Dolpo-trek" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dolpo</a> and other trans-Himalayan districts have affected spring-season trekking. Most high passes in Dolpo, and between Dolpo and Mustang, are still blocked by heavy snow, with many trekkers turning back or taking longer alternative routes.With better road and air access, Dolpo has seen a spike in trekkers, with <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-shey-phoksundo-in-nepal,3596" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shey Phoksundo National Park</a> registering 514 visitors this past year. And with motorable roads opened on popular trekking routes, visitors are venturing further afield.“Most trails in Upper Dolpo are still closed because the high passes got heavy snow, and even local villagers have not returned to their villages in Saldang,” says trekking guide Norbu Lama, who says two Czech trekkers could not even cross Baga La (5,170m) recently because of snow. “I am taking one group this coming month, but worried about which route to take since almost of the passes are closed.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a40089c7e80680e04a5fajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="791" height="835">There is said to be avalanche danger, and melting snow has made rivers rise to levels usually seen only in July-August. Says Tashi Lama in Ringmo: “Right now all the passes are snowed in, but with the temperature going up, we expect them to reopen soon.” That will also coincide with the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/regulation-of-yarsa,1547" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yarsa</a> picking season.Trekking routes to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10912#.XNEjnOUza71" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upper Dolpo</a> all have to cross numerous passes above 5000m, like Shey La (5,010m), Kanga La (5,360m), Baga La (5,310m) Numa La (5,310m) or Ghami Pass (5,310m) (see map). Kanga La is the most trodden route, but this season has been blanketed by heavy snow.For those who do not want to cancel plans, there are alternative routes. Or it may also be worthwhile just trekking up to the stunningly beautiful Phoksundo Lake (right) and exploring the surrounding mountains.For adventurers who still want to trek up to Saldang and Bijer, there is also the route via Dho, Shiman, Tinge, and with rising temperatures in Choi La and Sagar passes are now open.The new road up to Triveni to the south and the upgraded airfield in Jufal means there are now more Nepali and foreign visitors here. Ringmo has eight new guest houses, and there is a lot of anticipation ahead of the Dolpo Festival in the Dho Tarap Valley, 10-14 September.“In these past months, the number of tourists was fewer than last year because of the weather, but the flights have resumed and they are full both ways, says Dilip Karki of Tara Air in Nepalganj, the takeoff point for trekkers to Dolpo.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a400b9c7e80680e04a5fbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="761"><figcaption>Mt Dhaulagiri looms over Central Nepal on the flight from Nepalganj to Jufal airfield.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a400d9c7e80680e04a5fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Spring has arrived along the Thuli Bheri River, but high passes are still snowbound.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40119c7e80680e04a5fdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="992"><figcaption>Ringmo Village from above. Ringmo serves as a Base Camp for treks to Upper Dolpo</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40159c7e80680e04a5fejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="811"><figcaption>Kaike Village loacted near Jufal airfield</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40189c7e80680e04a5ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1124"><figcaption>Kaike children out to welcome visitors.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a401b9c7e80680e04a600jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="823"><figcaption>Dolpo is getting into the mood for the Dho Tarap Festival in September.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a401e9c7e80680e04a601jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="874">Sonam Choekyi Lama in DolpoPhotographs by Bharat Bandhu Thapa

Dazzling Dolpo

The Mardi Trek is so wild you don't want to brag about once it is over so it remains that way<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710114/6368ca069c7e80680e02f2e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="931"/><figcaption>Pics: Sewa Bhattarai</figcaption></figure>The conundrum of writing about a tranquil place not yet discovered by mass tourism is that you become the reason it loses its tranquility. Tourism worldwide has a tendency to despoil a place by ‘discovering’ another new <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Badimalika-a-ridge-too-far,3328">untouched destination</a>.Many trekkers are now coming to Nepal to get away from places where all you see are other trekkers. More and more, they are going for off the beaten treks to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/koshi-tappu-to-kangchenjunga-vertical-university,2886">Kangchenjunga</a>, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Dolpa-Nepal-preserve-pristine-remoteness,1632">Dolpo</a> or <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/swiss-photographer-chronicles-district-transformed-by-human-development">Rolwaling</a>. The Prime Minister is launching a tourism campaign from Rara Lake on New Year’s Day. Who is going to tell him that it may not be such a good idea?<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710114/6368ca099c7e80680e02f2e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934">One of Nepal’s hidden gems has always been the Mardi Trek. In fact for many years, those who went on it did not share their photographs, and did not brag about how stunningly scenic the trip was because they did not want hordes of tourists descending (ascending) to its knife-like ridge that forms the southwestern spur of Mt Machhapuchre.Mardi (rhymes with ‘muddy’ not ‘hardy’) is indeed more out-of-this-world than all other other-worldly places in Nepal, or the planet. It has unbroken vistas, big sky, solitude and wilderness. And the surprising thing is how accessible it is now from Pokhara.If you start from Dhampus, the Mardi route first follows the Annapurna Circuit for a short bit, then strikes off at Pitam Deurali (2,050m) into and up a ridge ablaze with pink rhododendrons in this season. You walk on a carpet of petals through a fragrant forest.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710114/6368ca0c9c7e80680e02f2e7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933">It takes four hours to reach Forest Camp (2,500m) where there are supposed to be tea shops, but it is deserted. Unlike other popular trekking trails, the tea shops here are spaced more widely and since food has to be portered in, it is more expensive.But there are signs that things may change soon. In anticipation of the growing popularity of the Mardi Trek, new rest houses are going up at a rapid pace. The lodges are all recently built, still smell of fresh wood and don’t even have names or menus yet. You just hope the new blue tin roofs do not photobomb the sweeping view of the Annapurnas.Locals say it never rains on Mardi Ridge, it pours. Or, it is snow and hail. True to form, there is a terrific hailstorm that morning at Forest Camp. At Low Camp (2,970m), the clouds open up just enough to offer a magnificent view of Mt Machapuchre, blanketed in fresh snow (pictured).Badal Danda lives up to its name, with clouds obstructing the view. Snow starts falling by afternoon in light swirls and by morning it covers the trail. The narrow trail hugs the cliff on one side with a sheer drop on the other, the rhododendrons are now deep red, looking like shining drops of blood on the snowy slopes.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710114/6368ca0f9c7e80680e02f2e8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="562" height="1024"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710114/6368ca129c7e80680e02f2e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934">High Camp (3,550m) is above the tree-line, and the trail along the ridge becomes even more precarious en route to Viewpoint which doesn’t offer any views by afternoon because of billowing mist. Mardi Base Camp (4,500m) is another two hour climb, but for that you will need climbing gear.If you don’t want to return the way you came, there is a straight descent down the slope to Sidhing (1,700m) from where there are jeeps to Pokhara, there is also a trail further down to Lwong or Lumre.A few wilderness areas in Nepal are so easy to get to, and offer in a microcosm the sheer verticality of the country as you climb from sub-tropical to Alpine and almost Arctic in four days. The unsurpassed view is a bonus.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Get-off-the-beaten-trek-Nepal,4035">Get off the beaten track</a>, Sian Pritchard-Jones and Bob Gibbons<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/stairway-to-heaven">Stairway to heaven</a>, Kunda Dixit

Go take a hike

<figure><img width="616" height="442" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/636516589c7e80680e02c20cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photos: Duksangh Sherpa</figcaption></figure>Dorje Dolma was ten when her mother detected a lump in her back. Her father was a Tibetan healer, and took her to Kathmandu where her condition was diagnosed as advanced scoliosis.That month-long journey on foot from her remote village in Karang of Dolpo to Kathmandu across treacherous mountain trails and blizzards is still vivid in Dorje’s mind.When they got to Kathmandu, there was little food and money and few to help them. People did not want to rent rooms to a family from Dolpo, and little Dorje ended up begging in Boudha.As fate would have it, Dorje landed up at Rokpa House in Boudha where the founder, Lea Wyler, helped her go to school. Even as a child, she instinctively knew the importance of education. Dorje was soon adopted by an American family and taken to the US for four operations to correct her spine.It was while in the US, at age 15, when her German grandmother strongly encouraged her to start writing a book. It was this belief that has made her the woman she is today: an artist, author, teacher, and above all, a humanitarian.Dorje Dolma's book <a href="https://sentientpublications.com/shop/books/yak-girl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YAK GIRL: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal</a> is memoir of her early childhood in Upper Dolpo. She remembers growing up amidst snow capped peaks, tending yaks in the high pastures and taking care of her siblings. <figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/6365165a9c7e80680e02c20djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Dorje with her parents and sisters.</figcaption></figure>In her book, Dorje takes us to Dolpo's otherworldly setting with a deeply personal insight into the culture and daily life of a place that is the farthest you could be from the modern world: no electricity, no cars, no schools or hospitals.She recounts encounters with the wild wolves and snow leopards while protecting her yaks. Laced with humour, beauty, depth, sorrow, pain, courage and strength, Dorje’s book is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Her courage, strength, resilience and gentle approach towards life despite its crude challenges, reminds us of the importance of never losing hope.Dorje graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado, worked as a teacher before taking up where she had left off at age 15 with her book. Writing the stories of her life has helped Dorje process her life so far, the remarkable blend of multiple cultures. She belongs to two different worlds, and being  a daughter of completely different sets of parents, writing has helped her process her experiences, balance the polarities and has allowed her to meld the two distinct worlds to come together to form her own unique world.It has been 20 years since Dorje left Dolpo for medical treatment, but very little has changed in her homeland. Dolpo still does not have proper health facilities and people have to travel long distances to go to school."People in Dolpo don't want to leave, the land is majestically beautiful, but they need to get out for education or health," says Dorje, who plans to build a clinic in her village. Part of the <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/YakGirl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proceeds</a> of her book will go towards the <a href="http://www.dolpotulku.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dolpo</a> Tulku Foundation. Yak Girl was released in the US in January and will soon be available in Nepal this month at Pilgrim Bookshop.Dorje spoke of her life and book at the Siddhartha Art Gallery last week, followed by the screening of a Dutch documentary The Only Son which is about Dorje’s family and the challenges of modern and traditional ways of life.The book launch was followed by a three-day exhibition of <a href="https://www.dorjearts.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">artwork</a> by Dorje, her sister Sumchog Kersbergen and her uncle Tenzin Norbu, a celebrated Dolpo artist.

dolpo