Thursday, December 21, 2006

Charlie Fowler, missing in Kham


Charlie Fowler, originally uploaded by jiulong.

World class mountaineer and guide Charlie Fowler has been missing since last month, somewhere in Kham. He was last seen with his climbing partner Christine Boskoff In Litang, from where he sent an email saying they were considering going to the Genyan range in W Sichuan or to Deqin in Yunnan to try climb one of the minor peaks of the Kawa Karpo range. There is also an unconfirmed report of them being seen near Yangmalyong north of Batang.
They may have met with a climbing accident or have been done in by some local people, who are often not happy about outsiders trying to climb their sacred peaks.



UPDATE: Charlie apparently died in a climbing accident on the Genyen mountain. His body was recovered by a team of American and Tibetan climbers, with little help from Chinese authorities:

(From the Montrose Daily Press)

[Search party leader] Ted Callahan called Litang police's insistence the area had already been searched "patently false."
The e-mails had suggested early on that the climbers might be on Genyen.
"They had been disregarded because local police in Litang claimed they searched two different (peak) entrances. The police claimed around Dec. 13 they sent in teams and hadn't found any sign of them. It's patently false," Callahan said.
Monks from a nearby monastery distinctly remembered seeing Boskoff and Fowler, even the date, because it coincided with a Buddhist festival.
"At the end, the Chinese press was claiming they (government) had sent the teams up that discovered the body and had deployed planes and helicopters," Callahan said. "We must not have noticed those."
And, he said, officials later had to retract their claim of having sent 200 searchers. "Not even the Chinese media would believe it." Even so, Callahan alleged, the Litang authorities were demanding some reimbursement for their minimal efforts and were blaming the U.S. Consulate for holding them back.
"We're fine with them taking credit, but we're not willing to finance their blandishments," Callahan said.
"The support we got from the Chinese came entirely from the climbers who were assisting us in the search. They worked tirelessly and were devoted to it. But officially, we didn't receive much (local) assistance. ...There was always pledges of support coming from the higher levels, but it never materialized into any tangible support."

Kangwo Shan, Jiulong, Sichuan


Kangwo Shan, Jiulong, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

I may have posted this before, but this is the view of the 'Druderon Pass' that Rock described on his voyage between the Yalong valley and Jiuong, while on his way to Gongga Shan from Yunnan. It is now known as Kangwo Shan and has a tarn known as Kangwo Hu.

Mongdong temple, Yalong canyon, Sichuan

Flintlock rifle, Sanyanlong, Sichuan

As seen in Sanyanlong, Jiulong county, Sichuan.

Flintlock rifle, Tibet (Sichuan)


Flintlock rifle, Tibet (Sichuan), originally uploaded by jiulong.

As seen in Sanyanlong/Shantien, Jiulong county, Sichuan

Roni/Lawaling, Jiulong Sichuan


Roni/Lawaling, Jiulong Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This is the hilltop village en route to Mongdong and Maidi Gangga/Chang Haizi in Jiulong couty, Sichuan

Sunday, December 03, 2006

夏诺多吉 Chanadorje, Yading



Chanadorje, Yading, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Shenrezig, Yading


Shenrezig, Yading, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Chonggu Si temple, Yading


chongu2, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Zhamei Si temple near Lugu Lake (Yongning) Sichuan

Scanned from a neg nd touched up with Photoshop.

Zhamei Si temple near Lugu Lake (Yongning) Sichuan

Zhamei Si temple near Lugu Lake (Yongning) Sichuan

Scanned from a negative

Zhamei Si temple, near Lugu Lake (Yongning) Sichuan

Friday, December 01, 2006

Old Tibetan fellers near Lawaling, Jiulong

Old Tibetan fellers near Lawaling, Jiulong

Looking down towards the Yalong river

Rooftop corn


Rooftop corn, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Shantian chillies


Shantian chillies, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Flintlock rifle at Sanyanlong


Flintlock rifle at Sanyanlong, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Lawaling Tibetans or Pumi


Lawaling Tibetans or Pumi, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Lama at Sanyanlong, Jiulong


Lama at Sanyanlong, Jiulong, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Scanned from a negative

Zheduo Pass, Kangding


Zheduo Pass, Kangding, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Scanned from a negative

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Minya Konka [Gongga Shan 贡嘎山] trek map

n 1929 Joseph Rock made a expedition from Lijiang to the then unclimbed and unsurveyed peak of Minya Konka. He was very impressed and wrongly estimated it to be higher than Everest. You can now do the same trip as a week long trek out of Kangding. The route is Lao Yulin (老愉林, hire horses and guide), then up to the Djesi La [加则拉, camp], over to Yulongsi [玉龙西, overnight] then over the Tsemi La pass (子梅拉)and via Tsemi to the Konka Gompa [贡嘎寺, temple] where you get great views of the mountain and can stay with the solitary monk at this tiny temple. On the way out you can go via Muju and Liuba (六巴)and catch a bus or hitch back to Kangding via Shade, Xinduqiao (新都桥/沙得)and the epic Zheduo Shan Pass.
Here's Joseph Rock's map of the same area from 1929. Kangding was then known as Tatsienlu:
map konka

Minya Konka [Gongga Shan] trek map

This 3D map from Google Earth shows the trek you can do from Kanding via Lao Yulin over the Djesi La pass to Yulongxi then over the Tsemi La pass to Tsemi and the Konka Gompa (temple) at the foot of the mighty Minya Konka (Gongga Shan). You can exit via Muju and Liuba and take a bus or hitch from the turnoff, back to Kangding via Shade and XinduQiao.

Minya Konka [Gongga Shan] trek map

This 3D map from Google Earth shows the trek you can do from Kanding via Lao Yulin over the Djesi La pass to Yulongxi then over the Tsemi La pass to Tsemi and the Konka Gompa (temple) at the foot of the mighty Minya Konka (Gongga Shan). You can exit via Muju and Liuba and take a bus or hitch from the turnoff, back to Kangding via Shade and XinduQiao.

Minya Konka 3D map of view from the Tsemi La (次梅拉)

This 3D image from Google Earth shows the trek you can do from Kanding over the Tsemi La pass to Tsemi and the Konka Gompa (temple) at the foot of the mighty Minya Konka (Gongga Shan). You can exit via Muju and Liuba and take a bus or hitch from the turnoff, back to Kangding via Shade and XinduQiao.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Looking down from Mundon to the Yalong canyon

A Google maps image of this place:
Early morning at Mundon (Mongdong), Yalong river canyon, Sichuan

Which is at: 28°42'30.59"N; 101°15'21.83"E

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

En route to MInya Konka

En route to Minya Konka
This is looking down from the Djesi La, back towards Lao Yulin and Kangding.

Erlang Shan tunnel entrance [western side]

Erlang Shan tunnel entrance [western side]

Traffic jam near Ya'an

Traffic jam near Ya'an

The road to Erlang Shan

The road to Erlang Shan, near Luding

Looking down from Erlang Shan tunnel to the Dadu river and Luding

Looking down from Erlang Shan tunnel to the Dadu river and Luding

Erlang Shan, between Kangding and Chengdu

Chengdu "Tibetan-town"


Chengdu "Tibetan-town", originally uploaded by jiulong.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Joseph Rock's old house, Yuhu (Nguluko), Lijiang

Monday, October 30, 2006

A video of Chongu Si (temple) at Yading (Konkaling)

This is a video I took about three years ago of a monk chanting at the tiny Chonggu temple at the Yading nature area in Sichuan. These three sacred peaks are the ones that Joseph Rock referred to as the Konkaling or Konka Risumgomba peaks.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Lamsa celebrate the ascension of Tsongkapa at Choni (Jone) Gansu