ladakh 2012 - eighteen days at altitude.

I still can't believe that less than a week ago I was at an altitude of 6000m in the Himalayan Mountain region, taking ice cold river showers and sleeping in tents and wearing the most unfashionable hiking gear you will ever see. Now I'm back, safe and sound in the comfort of my own home (back at sea level - no more altitude sickness!), with hot running water on demand, lovely home cooked food and all the luxury of high speed internet. From the 17th of June till the 7th of July, I was lucky enough to travel all the way to the sprawling mountains of India along with 50-60 other people in my grade. We did a huge variety of things and it was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Here's a little bit about what we did:
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1. Lamdon School Homestay

pictures of lamdon school by isabel

Our school has a very close relationship with Lamdon School, the best school in all of Ladakh. With the financial help of our school, Lamdon School has grown from a tiny establishment with a few hundred students to a multi-building campus with an impressive student body of 1800, not to mention the 9 additional satellite campuses of Lamdon School that have been opened around the Ladakh region. Our relationship with Lamdon has always proved to be mutually beneficial in the form of an age-old tradition: the 2 night Homestay. 

My best friend Isabel and I partnered up for this leg of the journey, and we packed our bags  for an experience we'd never forget - yet we knew nothing about. We were posted off to go live with a local Ladakhi family; the family of a Lamdon student! It was such an exciting opportunity and I don't think I've ever been fed so much in my life. We lived in their small but absolutely beautiful house, and our Lamdon buddy Sonam was the loveliest girl ever (see a picture of her AMAZING room below!).

(from left to right): Sonam's mom, Isabel, Sonam, Stanzin (Sonam's sister), and Sonam's cousin

9 Day Markha Valley Trek

At the top of Ganda La Pass (5800m in altitude!), marveling at the priceless view (and taking our shirts off....?!)

view from the trek on day 1 - we had NO idea what we were in for.

on one of the practice hikes around leh, ladakh's capital

one of the beautiful inland lakes, up about 4000m in altitude!

isabel and i having hot chocolate in our tent on day 2 - a freezing morning!

 one of the many stunning views we had - check out those snowcapped peaks!

 kim and i lookin' fly!

 the view that i woke up to (literally; this picture was taken from inside my tent!) on the morning of day 5.

ganda la pass

isabel and i before the trek on day 2!

The 9-day trek through various parts of the Indus Valley and the Markha Valley was one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It required not only a huge amount of physical agility and fitness, but a phenomenal amount of psychological strength. Believe me when I say this: Life during those 9 days became so much easier when I realised that putting a smile on my face and having a positive attitude was half the battle won. We walked for up to 12 hours each day, completely unaware of the weather circumstances we'd have to face on any given day. Ladakhi weather is truly bipolar; it could hail for an hour, stay sunny for lunchtime and then rain until dusk (which it did), and we'd have to be prepared to deal with such huge weather extremes. We walked up mountains and then down again, rolled up our pants to cross rivers (I'm guilty of taking the easy way out and piggybacking some of my larger guy friends!), and in a certain extreme circumstance, we even got down on our asses and slid down a fatal vertical slope. At the end of it, we were all in serious need of a good scrub in a hot shower, a huge meal and a proper bed - and thankfully, that's exactly what we got. 


Being away from the city and all it's superficial distractions for 18 days was more cleansing and refreshing than I ever imagined. To strip our lives down to the bare minimum and only use/take what we really need left all of us a great deal more humble, more content, and more appreciative of the immense luxuries that are readily available to us at home. I never thought I'd say that not showering for 9 days straight would be beneficial in any way, but I learned so much during our time in Ladakh and the memories I made there will stay with me for the rest of my life.
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Hope everyone's having a beautiful summer!

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