In the footsteps of Joseph Rock 重走洛克路

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Tibetan pilgrim woman on Kawa Karpo circuit, Oct 2012

Tibetan pilgrim woman on the Kawa Karpo circuit, October 2012, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Taken with Rolleiflex 3.5F and Kodak Ektachrome E100G. I think this was on Day 3, after we had tackled the Doker La.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Dali Cangshan summit ridge

Dali Cangshan summit ridge, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Interlude:this is a pic I shot on the summit ridge of the Cangshan range above Dali. It use to be a right old slog to get up here - we hiked up in 1991 and it was awesome. In Oct 2012 I went back and this time was able to take the new cable car all the way to the top (or at least to that Alpine Resort you can see in the background). Still a brilliant place - around 4000m.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Looking down into Tibet from the Doker La

Looking down into Tibet from the Doker La, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Just over the steepest bit! Taken with a Bessa R2, Summicron 35mm lens and Ektachrome E100G.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Bessa R2, Tele-Elmar 90mm and Ektachrome.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The trek that my kids did ...

Scanning a few pics of the Kawa Karpo kora (well half kora ...) - including some of my teenage sons who did the trek with me back in October ...

Didn't they do well?

Monday, December 24, 2012

The Doker La

Doker La, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This is the first of my (many) pics from the Kawa Karpo outer kora - just a rough scan with a cheap Canon 8000F scanner - hoping to get my Epson working soon. Pic taken with Rolleiflex 3.5F and Ektachrome.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Kawa Karpo kora - want to see some amazing photos?

Unemployed and rather skint at the moment, which is frustrating when I have about 20 rolls of 35mm film and a similar number of 120 format rolls of Ektachrome from the October Kawa Karpo kora that still have to be developed.
While I'm waiting to visit CC Imaging in Leeds, have a look at these great pictures by Peter Jost - who did the full kora at the same time as me, but with a group of fellow Aussies.
There's another album of amazing photos from the same kora taken by our other trek mate Darren Farley (from Calgary). Some great portraits there of the many pilgrims we met along the way:

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Dali Cangshan - wish I was here!

Dali Cangshan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

It's cold and grey in the UK.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

New website! www.josephrock.net

I've now registered the domain www.josephrock.net for this site, so people in China (hopefully) will also be able to read the articles (blogspot sites being blocked by the Great Firewall).

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Yes! I 'did' the Doker La!

Just back from China, after completing half of the Kawa Karpo outer kora. Crossed from Yongzhi near Deqin to the Nujiang at Abing. Didn't compete the second half due to blisters and other factors (lack of time and money). However, the five days I did spend on the trek were amazing. Had perfect weather and saw some great scenery. And even more amazing, bumped into last year's Yading trek partner Peter on Day 2, while camping just below the Doker La. Had a surreal meet up with him and his three fellow Aussie trekkers at breakfast after unwittingly camping right next to each other!

Crossing the Doker la was fantastic - not quite as hardcore as I expected to get up there - but super scary steep going down the western side! I nearly bottled it when I first saw how steep it was but my guide shamed me into continuing and literally held my hand over some of the worst and most exposed sections of the track. And ironically, after spending years wondering what it would like to be up there, I spent only a few moments on the actual pass as it is a knife edge and smothered with prayer flags - not a place you can linger and soak in the atmosphere.

Overall, I found the trek to be quite tough in some ways - lots of up and down, and yet I trekked with a Canadian guy Derren who managed to do it in sneakers with just a sleeping bag, a sheet of polythene and an umbrella! I needn't have brought the tent (or even the stove) as there are pilgrim way stations at regular intervals along the kora which all have primitive shelters, shops and hot water.

More updates soon when I get the photos developed.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

My book "In the Footsteps of Joseph Rock" is now online

Please see the index on the right - you can click to see the whole book (10 chapters, one for each of Joseph Rock's expeditions), or you can click on individual chapters. Hosted by Scribd. Let me know what you think.