On his first trip to Muli in 1924, Joseph Rock caught a tantalising glimpse of a distant trio of mountain peaks to the west, known as Konkaling or the Konka Risumgongba peaks.
This trio of mountains of around 6000 m in height, are now part of the Yading Nature Park.
It took him another four years to organise an expedition to the three peaks now known as Chenrezig (Xiannairi), Jampelyang (Yangmaiyong) and Chanadorje (Xianuoduoji).
He set out from Muli in March 1928, and his exploration of the Konkaling region continued through the summer until September. He did a circuit of the three mountains, during which time he met a bandit leader with a brutal reputation.
He also spent time at the Chonggu monastery and pondeered on the isolation of the place. Quite ironic that his description of the place has now led to its massive popularity, with more than a million visitors a year.
His article about the journey: Konka Risumgongba, Holy Mountain of the Outlaws, appeared in the July 1931 issue of National Geographic.
The article was accompanied by many black and white photos and also some ‘natural colour’ photographs taken using the Autochrome process.
I will post the original article here with AI colourised versions of his B&W photos, plus some AI enhancements to his oversaturated colour images, to make them more realistic. I’ve also posted a few modern day photos that I took of of the same places.
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