Mountains Beyond Mountains: Through The Tibetan Region of Kham

These past few weeks have been nuts. Every day I’ve been confronted with new landscapes, wild colors, and a borderlands culture that I didn’t know existed in China. Between long miles, tall climbs, cold descents, illness and altitude, I’ve come closer than ever in my life to my own physical limits. I’m tired now. Fatigue has seeped into my bones, building up over weeks. I’m ready for a break from the road, and with only one more thousand-meter pass and 600km left in my tour of southern China, I’ll have one soon.

On the fundraising side, we’re getting close to our goal of raising $3,500 for 350.org. So far we’ve raised $3,000, but the deadline of December 1st is fast approaching. The money all goes toward the activist efforts of this great organization. Thanks so much if you’ve already donated. If you haven’t, every dollar counts! Please visit my fundraising page here.

I have some climate stories coming that I’m really excited about, from biogas in Kunming to environmental impacts of fossil fuels in Oakland, CA (a guest post from a classmate at Whitman), but for now I’ll offer photos and a few anecdotes from my time in the Tibetan region of Kham.

The road started out beautifully: Smooth pavement, solar-powered lighting, and a view to glaciers above.

Perched at the top of one of Yunnan’s deep, biodiverse valleys was this small temple

I think I passed through at just the right time. The fall colors were out in force, set on the backdrop of evergreens

One of (slightly too) many tall passes, this section of road represented about 60% of the day’s climbing. Luckily, passing cars are generous with their snacks, water and encouragement.

IMAG0120 — …And a picture of the road for that day’s ride. No more smooth asphalt, just dirt and rocks. I was riding well after dark that day.

The view from the valley the next day (a much-needed rest day)

A Tibetan family welcomed me in and served me lots of Yak butter tea, fuel for cold winters and exertion. These houses are warmed by wood stoves. The walls are two feet thick and incredibly insulating, and the chimney generally runs up the inside of the wall to heat the second floor sleeping spaces.

Stone-carved Tibetan script, part of a roadside stupa

IMAG0133 — Farther into rural China, renewables are more common. Solar-powered water heaters are incredibly common in Yunnan, where cloudy days are rare, and some homes (like this one) also produce electricity from small panels.

Any transportation engineers out there? This is my first time seeing a loop like this in a road for the sole purpose of keeping the grade low. There were 3 of them in this road, though I don’t know why you’d choose them over switchbacks. Especially in an area prone to earthquakes.

Hester atop the plateau, approaching the highpoint of the tour

Prayr flags atop the “gateway to Kham” pass

A mountaintop temple at the entrance to Kham

Light and color on the descent. Some area residents I talked to say they haven’t noticed a big change in the climate, but that there is less snow on the mountains now than before. Glaciers are melting faster in Tibet than in most other parts of the world, with some estimates saying that 82% of the regions glacier ice has melted in the last 50 years. Water shortages are already leading to rising tensions in the region, and will likely have severe effects on farming and hydropower in future decades. http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat10/sub66/item1732.html http://www.downtoearth.org.in/interviews/tibetan-landscape-may-soon-disappear-48820

5 thoughts on “Mountains Beyond Mountains: Through The Tibetan Region of Kham”

Hi Forrest,
Thanks for keeping us up to date with your wonderful pix of such dramatic scenery. I’m impressed with the apparent savagery of those mountains. Also found that switchback-on-stilts an intriguing solution as a shortcut to avoid what must be several miles of hacking road out of steep hillside.
But no wonder you’re tired after climbing dirt roads to over 15,000 ft. ( I think of elevation in feet because I remember puffing a bit when skiing at about 12,000 ft when I was a guy your age in Colorado.)
We’re looking forward to your return in December — discussed Christmas arrangements with your folks when we were there for dinner last Saturday.

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fqwatkins says:

November 5, 2015 at 10:47 am

Thanks for the comment! The only thing that really concerns me is that these roads seem like they could be more susceptible to the earthquakes that this region is known for. Perhaps not if you take landslides into account, but I’d be curious to know more from an engineering perspective

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