1997 A
97-A #1 In the military town of Bayi, Hamid emerges hairless from the Noble Lady Beauty Shop.
97-A #2 Left to Right: Troy, Bunny, Pasang and Gil with his newly acquired mojo Mohawk. (Bunny would rarely look at the camera.) The fading double rainbow in the background burned brilliant a few moments before indicating the passing of a high Buddhist lama.
97-A #3 Injecting an anticoagulant, leech bites can bleed for hours.
97-A #4 “Landslide Alley” The geologic instability of the Great Bend area rendered vehicular travel extremely dangerous.
97-A #5 The monks were spellbound by the photos of our 1995 Dorje Phagmo pilgrimage. Ani Rigsang, the tantric Tibetan nun, looks at the camera on the right.
97-A #6 Ian negotiating porter selections and daily wages with the head Bhakha Lama.
97-A #7 At the Bhakha Monastery, Ian becomes frustrated with the porters’ increasing wage demands.
97-A #8 Lining up at the Bhakha Monastery for a departing photo, many would not look at the camera. Standing in the back row on the right, Gil and Troy in white shirts, then Ian and the head Bhakha Lama (with yellow sleeves). Ani Rigsang, the tantric Tibetan nun, is on the far right of the back row.
97-A #9 Entering the jungles of Pemako brought back many painful memories.
97-A #10 Troy hiking the ice fields up to Su La Pass.
97-A #11 Left to Right: Pasang, Gil, Troy & Ani Rigsang on top of the Su La Pass. According to Ian, we were the first Westerners to hike this Pass since the British explorers Bailey’s and Morshead’s clandestine dash in 1911. 97 #11 Waterfalls were everywhere as we began our march towards the valley that would lead us to the Su La Pass.
97-A #12 There was water everywhere. Here Troy negotiates a slick two log bridge over a tumbling cascade. A slip would have been disastrous.
97-A #13 Arriving at the end of the day we found two porters and Ani Rigsang enjoying a cup of tea at Cabin Camp. It had been a long day with over 4,000 feet of climbing. Soon the others staggered in and the cabin was stuffed with bodies. Nobody minded – at least it was dry.
97-A #14 Hiking in the rain we descended from alpine glacier country to the tropics. We had Gore-Tex while our porters had simple sheets of plastic.
97-A #15 A severed chicken foot is a simple Lopa tribal toy. The young boy showed us with great amusement how pulling a tendon would cause the claw to contract.
97-A #16 It was a very steep descent with water everywhere. Here Troy and the porters cross a makeshift bridge.
97-A #17 Here Troy negotiates the tricky jungle slopes. Even though the village of Charasa was 2,000 feet below us, this portion of the trail headed steadily upwards.
97-A #18 The tribal women of Pemako were remarkable. In addition to their natural beauty, their strength and sure-footedness as porters was phenomenal. And their calm and even demeanor helped balance out the aggressive energy of the male porters.
97-A #19 The tribal women of Pemako could also be extremely seductive and beguiling.
97-A #20 This was Pemako in all its immensity and magic. Note the tiny porter crossing the stream at the bottom of the waterfall.
97-A #21 Our first glimpse of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Even from 2,000 feet above it looked daunting.
97-A #22 Gil and a Lopa takin hunter pose with flintlocks. These smooth-bore rifles looked like they were right out of the American Revolutionary War.
97-A #23 Troy scopes out our evenings camp – Charasa – 1,000 feet below.
97-A #24 At an elevation of only 4,100’ the barrack grounds of Charasa were sweltering hot and crawling with bugs and leeches.
97-A #25 A surprise visit from our 1995 porters. We are convinced Chimed Gompo saved our lives on that fateful expedition. Left to Right: Chimed Gompo (avoiding the camera), Troy, Lobsang, Gil & porter friend (avoiding the camera).
97-A #26 Dawa translates as Gil records the conversation..
97-A #27 Like moths drawn to light, the heat seeking leeches would slither into the flame and die.
1997 B
97-B #1 The day’s climbing was hot – real hot.
97-B #2 Ken Storm decides to also split from the expedition and join us on our unpermitted dash to Pelung. His study and knowledge of the Pemako area would be key to our extraction and exploration efforts.
97-B #3 Troy and Ken Storm cross a cliff face over a primitive scaffolding on their way to Longlep.
97-B #4 Gil and Ken Storm get their first view of Longlep.
97-B #5 Arriving in Longlep late in the day, the few villagers welcomed us as family.
97-B #6 We were graciously offered a place to stay in Longlep. While waiting for dinner Troy & Ken Storm discuss possible escape routes out of Pemako. Our wet clothes can be seen drying in the background.
97-B #7 In addition to Stalin & Lenin, our host cabin sported a poster of the Kalachakra. In Vajrayana Buddhism this symbol represents the “wheel(s) of time” and is one of many of the tantric teachings and esoteric practices.
97-B #8 The view from our cabin’s glassless window was spectacular. The mighty Yarlung Tsangpo churns through the serpentine valley below.
97-B #9 Initially, cloudless skies escorted us on the trail back down to the river and the village of Gande.
97-B #10 A telephoto view of Kangla Karpo.
97-B #11 Two Gande boys with Kangla Karpo in the background.
97-B #12 Our “coincidental” 2nd encounter with Matuk was the key that unlocked the guarded entrance to Pemako’s forbidden inner gorge for our clandestine expedition.
97-B #13 We were such a curiosity in the sequestered world of Gande that the children followed us everywhere.
97-B #14 Our 2 young Tibetan Sherpas, Dawa & Bhim, hired local porters to assist in our escape from Pemako. We were a motley looking crew. Pictured: Back row left, Bhim, Troy and Dawa (hands in the air) with Gil on the far right. Many were wearing the scarves Gil passed out.
97-B #15 Matuk pointed out a tiny rock spire situated high on a cross-valley mountain shoulder (as seen in the top right of the photograph). This stone outcropping would play a pivotal role in our upcoming journey and in our lives.
97-B #16 With an average annual rainfall of around 25 feet, these uncharacteristically clear Pemako skies were a true blessing. Gil hikes down a grassy shoulder in the bottom right of the photograph.
97-B #17 While Dawa was negotiating with the porters we hiked down and explored the river. Here we were 8,000’ lower in elevation than we were when we rafted this same river three years prior - in 1994. Even at these lower elevations the “Everest of Whitewater” was earning its name.
97-B #18 With our porter dispute settled everyone jumped into action to set the lines and get us across the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the fading day’s light.
97-B #19 The immensity of the Yarlung Tsangpo River gorge made this late afternoon cable crossing a daunting task.
97-B #20 We had 12 people and a lot of gear to cross in the fading daylight.
97-B #21 The heights and churning waters below were daunting. See the lone porter at the top of the photo.
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97-B #23 Matuk looks on as Troy gets lashed to the pully for his cable crossing of the Yarlung Tsangpo river.
97-B #24 Photo taken in the middle of the crossing.
97-B #25 Troy is half way across.
97-B #26 This night hike brought us together as a group. The extreme circumstances allowed us to better recognized our shared human condition. This bond would grow tighter as our journey continued.
97-B #27 In Lugu we peeked inside a small home. It was filthy. A Lopa man and his son lived there and Gil gave the boy a glow-in-the-dark pen. He hung it proudly from his neck.
97-B #28 In Gogden we were offered a shrine room as a place to sleep. Here a thangka of the goddess White Tara was displayed prominently.
97-B #29 Two boys from Gogden. The locals were always so happy to see us.
97-B #30 Our porters Matuk, Brad Watts & Trashi Padi load up on yak butter tea in preparation of the day’s grueling hike ahead.
97-B #31 In Gogden the village chieftain proudly shows us his flintlock rifle. There were three such rifles in the village.
97-B #32 Uncharacteristically clear skies shine on Troy and the chieftain’s flourishing marijuana crop.
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97-B #34 The ongoing collision of two continents created seismic geologic instability and constant landslides.
97-B #35 Negotiating the many landslide areas was hard on your body as well as your nerves.
97-B #36 The steep climb out of the Yarlung Tsangpo gorge to the Tsebung La Pass was two vertical miles in elevation.
97-B #37 Cresting the Tsebung La Pass we had our first view of the 23,891 foot high Gyala Peri Mountain. Standing on the Asian continent, it was only 13 miles away from the 25,531 foot high Namcha Barwa Mountain situated on the Indian continent.
97-B #38 Matuk ceremoniously offers three full prostrations and then beckons us to follow.
97-B #39 Takin skulls adorned mossy grottos along the shrine site.
97-B #40 An unnoticed crack in the stone led us to the inner sanctum of Tsebung “Million Lives”.
97-B #41 Gil and Matuk. The Tsebung “Long Life” ceremony included carving a notch in a stick for each year you have been alive.
97-B #42 Troy emerges from the birth canal of Mother Earth. 97-B #43 As we emerged from the womb of Mother Earth the storm abated and the skies miraculously cleared affording us unique views all the way into India.
97-B #44 Our telephoto lens captures a distant peak manifesting from the clouds (see top of photo).
97-B #45 The Dorje Phagmo Mountain – our guidepost into the Inner Gorge.
1997 C
97-C #1 Leaving the trail, we climbed up into the unknown.
97-C #2 Our porters were anxious. Entrapment by monsoon clouds was a constant threat.
97-C #3 Hacking our way through the entangled rhododendron thickets slowed our progress and zapped our energy.
97-C #4 The geologic exposure was frightening. See Troy in the foreground on the bottom right and the porters dotting the top of the hill in the upper left.
97-C #5 Hiking on the edge of the rhododendron thickets was easier going. But the risk of a landslide and an endless fall was also heightened.
97-C #6 Our porters gain the ridgeline.
97-C #7 Fresh evidence of landslides and earth fissuring were everywhere.
97-C #8 On the steeper sections we were reduced to crawling on our hands and knees.
97-C #9 The higher we climbed the more spectacular the Himalayan views. Gil in photo.
97-C #10 As the mists got thicker and thicker our group spread out.
97-C #11 Every now and then the clouds would part and we would, with relief, see our porters traversing the same ridgeline.
97-C #12 Who was this apparition manifesting from the clouds? With no pack he wasn’t one of ours.
97-C #13 When the clouds lifted we saw our porters scattered all over. Note Troy and Ken in foreground and some of our porters in the top left on the distant ridge.
97-C #14 Suddenly the apparition, with his flintlock, charged us.
97-C #15 “Mystical Warrior from the Mists” Our guide for the next leg of our journey.
97-C #16 Our porters were truly people of the earth. Here they are breakfasting after a long rainy night. Their plastic rain cover lies nearby.
97-C #17 Namcha Barwa - 25,531 feet
97-C #18 Konlakarpo - 23,733 feet
97-C #19 Gyala Peri - 23,891 feet
97-C #20 The Konlakarpo peak (Sanglung) on the Indian continent, looms large on the left of the photograph. The Namcha Barwa peak, also on the Indian continent, is the pyramidical peak just to the right of Konlakarpo. The Gyala Peri peak, on the Asian continent, is situated on the far right of the photograph. Between Namcha Barwa and Gyala Peri lies the deepest gorge in the world. With these landmarks revealed we knew how to find our destination. The uncharacteristically clear weather allowed these to be the first photographs ever taken from this vantage point. The spirit of Pemako was with us.
97-C #21 We were miraculously granted clear weather and unprecedented views.
97-C #22 With the 23,891 foot Gyala Peri in the center, Troy scopes out the guardian protector’s Dorje Traktsen Mountain on the left. This would be our gateway into the Inner Gorge.
97-C #23 Mesmerized by the mountain, our porters revolted and refused to continue. They understood that this was the guardian protector’s gateway into the Inner Gorge. To take Westerners into this most sacred place would incur the wrath of the local spirits. In this photograph Gil attempts to convince the porters to continue. His pleas, offers of more money and cajoling fell on deaf ears.
97-C #24 Our Buddhist shaman guide’s mystical dream the night before assured the porters that we could continue up and over the sacred mountain without incurring the guardian protector’s wrath. This would be our gateway into the Inner Gorge. In this photograph Matuk and the others debate the surest route of ascent.
97-C #25 In this photograph the porters can be seen as tiny specs on the ridge approaching the formidable Dorje Traktsen Mountain.
97-C #26 Troy readies to ascend the almost vertical slope up Dorje Traktsen. Porters can be seen inching their ways skyward.
97-C #27 Without ropes the exposure of this climb was daunting. Here we stop and take a break. Dawa is in the green shirt.
97-C #28 Gil approaches the summit of Dorje Traktsen.
97-C #29 Our Buddhist shaman guide, likewise, reaches the summit of Dorje Traktsen.
97-C #30 On top of Dorje Traktsen our porters got a “bird’s-eye-view” of the region they lived in but had never seen from this vantage. Dawa is in the green shirt with our Buddhist shaman guide to his left in the photo and Bhim to his right. Matuk points from the tip of the hill.
97-C #31 We were in awe at the views revealed to us.
97-C #32 The sheer grandeur of Pemako was an acute lesson in the transiency of continual process. Troy is in the left hand bottom comer of the photograph.
97-C #33 The porters were ecstatic to be on top of the mountain. In this photograph Matuk points our way down and into the long-sought Inner Gorge.
97-C #34 We were provided an unprecedented view into the Inner Gorge. In this photograph a porter marvels over the use of Troy’s binoculars. Bhim is looking at the camera.
97-C #35 Readying to descend into the Inner Gorge, Troy confers with our Buddhist shaman guide as to which route to take. Unfortunately, our hunter guide from the mists had never been this far out of his territory and could offer no advice. We would have to proceed on intuition alone.
97-C #36 With the clouds moving in, we began our long descent down Dorje Traktsen.
97-C #37 Our porters were rock solid as they descended into unknown territory.
97-C #38 Sooner than expected our Buddhist shaman guide called a halt to the day’s march. He said the weather was too unstable to continue that late in the day.
97-C #39 We pitched our tent on the platform constructed by one of our Gogden porters. The porters camp is below.
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97-C #42 Our porters’ camp. There was magic afoot as we all knew we were on the adventure of a lifetime.
97-C #43 With clouds moving in and out we proceeded to climb. In this photograph our porters can been seen in a tiny line on the left.
97-C #44 Gil and Ken look on as the porters gather crystals. They called the stones, “Vajrayogini’s tears”.
97-C #45 We were startled to find that Buddhist pilgrims had traveled this way many years before.
97-C #46 Another hunter manifests from the mists.
97-C #47 The hunter’s name was JamYang. We nick-named him the Gentleman Hunter.
97-C #48 JamYang knew the way to a large waterfall. We negotiated a price and he agreed to guide us.
97-C #49 The clouds briefly lift and we see our porters scattered in the background. With JamYang’s help we had located the elusive Sechen La Pass. Here, Ken, JamYang and Troy (on the right side of the photograph) celebrate reaching this long-sought landmark.
97-C #50 With JamYang’s guidance we were finally able to reach the Sechen La ridge which led to the pass. With the constant severe and unstable weather conditions, the porters wanted to descend into the gorge as quickly as possible.
97-C #51 With the swirling could movement the massive Himalayan landscape was displaying itself like an I-Max movie.
97-C #52 From this vantage, Troy could had a bird’s eye view of the deepest canyon in the world. The perpetually cloaked Inner Gorge was beginning to reveal itself as the veils of clouds were lifted.
97-C #53 As the mists lifted we could clearly see the Yarlung Tsangpo River left but what was going on down on the right?
97-C #54 Ken Storm films the Yarlung Tsangpo River as it flows between Namcha Barwa Mountain situated on the Indian continent and Gyala Peri Mountain on the Asian continent. Ken had dreamed of this moment for years.
97-C #55 It looked like an “S” turn on the bottom right. Was the river flowing back on itself?
97-C #56 Were we looking at the “Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra”?
97-C #57 The sun was blazing hot as we relocated our porters in the seemingly impenetrable rhododendron thickets. Earth fissures posed a constant threat, well concealed under the thick underbrush. In the photograph Troy is in the foreground and the porters are on the ridge in the middle.
97-C #58 In the waning light we had a magnificent view of what Ken Storm convinced us was the “The Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra”.
97-C #59 With our camera’s telephoto lenses we could clearly see the pleated geography of two colliding continents. It was this unique twisted formation that kept the Falls hidden for so many years.
97-C #60 The porters camp nestled under the overhang of a giant boulder.
97-C #61 Our tents were set on the most level area available – the top of a house-sized boulder. Our porters camped below.
1997 D
97-D #1 Awaking early, we knew we had an exciting day ahead. The views from our perch were mystical. Magic was afoot.
97-D #2 As we worked our way further and further down into the gorge we could mark our progress by eyeing the slopes on the opposite side of the river. Here Gil looks upriver.
97-D #3 With a clear view of the Falls, Ken Storm insisted we proceed north for another view angle.
97-D #4 As we worked our way horizontally down the gorge we got an unobstructed view of Rainbow Falls (center) with the Hidden Falls just around the corner.
97-D #5 Ken Storm could recognize Rainbow Falls by the large boulder at the Fall’s pour-over on river right (bottom left of the photograph). It was the same boulder as featured in Kingdon Ward’s 1924 photo of Rainbow Falls. Ward and Lord Cawdor got to within – what they estimated at – 2,600 feet upstream from the Falls and photographed their discovery.
97-D #6 Convinced we had located the “Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra”, we estimated the Falls height at 110 feet.
97-D #7 Our porters were exhausted. But we still had a dangerous 3,000 foot climb back up to camp.
97-D #8 Having completed the “The Rainbow Traverse of the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River” we were on an explorer’s high. We had penetrated Pemako’s fabled Inner Gorge and photographed our discovery of the “Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra". A visceral sense of interconnectedness pervaded our group. We were family. Here Trashipati (far right) clicks the auto shutter release for this photo. Next to him is Gil (kneeling) then Troy with the Buddhist hunter shaman kneeling to his left. Behind Troy is Matuk with Jamyang looking over Matuk’s shoulder.
97-D #9 Troy gives our porters a geography lesson. (Left to Right) the Buddhist hunter shaman, Troy, Matuk and Trashipati.
97-D #10 It was an afternoon of camaraderie and joy as Hominid Man and Matuk laugh out loud at the other porters’ antics.
97-D #11 The porters were transfixed by Troy’s small book of photographs from home. Here our Buddhist hunter shaman is looking at the Kentucky State Capitol building. Our guide JamYang is on the far right.
97-D #12 While our Buddhist hunter shaman held the photo book, Matuk used Troy’s binoculars to see who was inside the building. Their innocence was priceless. It was an afternoon we will never forget.
97-D #13 We watched the fading light in the world’s deepest canyon.
97-D #14 We hiked the ridgeline for hours. The trail improved and we began seeing prayer flags as we neared Payu.
97-D #15 Our hike along the ridge seemed to go on forever. By this time everyone was ready to go home.
97-D #16 The misty forests seemed surreal.
97-D #17 Finally our long-sought hamlet of Payu.
97-D #18 After a long day of hiking Gil takes a rest while the others prepare for pay-day.
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97-D #20 We were squarely back in leech country.
97-D #21 When the clouds lifted we could see waterfalls like sky-born ribbons cascading into the Yarlung Tsangpo.
97-D #22 Seeing Zachu on the other side of the canyon gave us our bearings. We had been there in 1994.
97-D #23 Dropping into the gorge we could see our bridge far below (bottom left of the photo) and our trail traversing up the other side. Zachu is in the saddle on the top third right of the photo with the earth slide next to it. We had a lot of climbing ahead.
97-D #24 Our bridge crossing of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.
97-D #25 The hanging bridge on the Po Tsangpo River.
97-D #26 Back at the Leaping Rat Lodge we had a great feeling of accomplishment. Little did we know there was plenty of adventure still to come.
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95-A #4 Watching bodies burn at the Pashupatinath Temple funeral pyres in Kathmandu on the edge of the Bagmati River.
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95-A #11 Slogging through the logging town of Tumbatse, not much had changed in 13 months.
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95-A #18 At the Bhakha Monastery the local Monpa tribal people weave their own backpacks.
95-A #19 At the Bhakha Monastery. Left to Right: Todd Gillenwater, Christiaan Kuypers, Mr. Zang (seated in army camouflage), Mr. Gunn, Troy Gillenwater & Oy Kanjanavanit. Note nobody is swallowing the rancid Yak butter tea.
95-A #20 A lukewarm dinner at the “Carnage Cafe”. When we got back to our dumpy room Troy asked Todd, “Did that dinner taste a little weird to you?”
95-A #21 “Surreal” is the only way to describe a roller skating rink in the squalid frontier town of Pome.
95-A #22 The Communist Chinese forbade the Bhakha Buddhist monks to travel with us. Ian Baker counts the group’s cash. Certainly a bribe will change their minds.
95-A #23 The head Lama of the Taksham Monastery bore a remarkable resemblance to Yoda.
95-A #24 At the Taksham Monastery (the, “Tiger Skin Monastery”) we found a most unusual mural depicting five tigers devouring a corpse.
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95-A #30 The enigmatic Kaba Tulku (the “Cloud Lama” ) with his tell-tale Red Hat. This represents his adherence to the Nyingma or “Old School” sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The ethereal Lama was to become an integral part of our pilgrimage and the mystery of our journey.
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95-A #32 Double loads equal double pay. Here our “Gentle Giant” carries over 120 pounds.
95-A #33 Finally we were hiking! Our group moved as a multi-legged centipede wending its way along and across the glacial spillway.
95-A #34 Soon the climbing began. At first I felt bad – me carrying 25 pounds and the porters carrying from 60 pounds to double that. I soon got over it. That is what they are trained and paid to do.
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95-B #5 The porters played with the bear’s head throughout the night hoping to embody its spirit. They kept the head for several days.
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95-C #24 The Jolly Lama and his young attendant join Scarface at a holy boulder. Photo by: Christiaan Kuypers
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95-D #5 We finally found a fallen log where we could inch our way across the rushing waters.
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95-D #9 Troy shares photos from home with an older lama. His left hand and all his fingers had been severed by Mao's "Red Guard".
95-D #10 Rang Rig Gyapo the "King of Self-Awareness” is a rare wrathful emanation of Padmasambhava.
95-D #11 A Garuda, representing the consciously awakened mind, hovers above the "King of Self-Awareness”.
95-D #12 The Old School of Tibetan Buddhism ingeniously incorporated many animistic traditions of the indigenous Bön religion seamlessly into its theology.
95-D #13 With our military escort, Mr. Zang, gone we could freely hand out our coveted Dalai Lama photographs. Here Gil hands several out to the porters.
95-D #14 The love and reverence they have for “His Holiness” is difficult to describe.
95-D #15 Our distribution of the Dalai Lama photos gained us great status at Rinchenpung. They truly were “spiritual currency” in this remote frontier - forgotten by time.
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95-D #29 Though beer and high doses of Flagyl don’t mix – we couldn’t resist. (Flagyl was our drug of choice for treating parasitic infections and amebic dysentery. We were popping the pills like M&M’s.)
95-D #30 At just over 2,000 feet in elevation the jungle heat was stifling. Bepuk lies in the background. Close examination of the photo shows the Doshong River flowing aqua green into the muddy Yarlung Tsangpo. We would cross the Yarlung Tsangpo and follow the Doshong Valley up to the 15,300 foot high Doshong La Pass – our gateway out of Pemako and on to the village of Pei.
95-D #31 Early outside of Bepuk we encountered a local Lopa tribal woman carrying ferns.
95-D #32 Close examination shows the “Liberation Bridge” and its shadow cast on the river in the left of the photo. The aqua green Doshong River flows in from the right.
95-D #33 The Doshong River.
95-D #34 Our trail virtually “tunneled” up the side of the canyon.
95-D #35 Close examination of this photo shows Troy on the trail in the far distance with his arms raised high.
95-D #36 Our well traveled trail led us by a few Lopa homes. There was a simplicity in their primitiveness we found alluring.
95-D #37 Little by little our climbing took us above and out of the stifling heat.
95-D #38 Pemako is a magic place.
95-D #39 Troy looks up the Doshong Valley. Our pass out of Pemako was a half mile above us.
95-D #40 Setting camp for our last night in Pemako.
95-D #41 Wet and cold at the “Doshong La Base-Camp”, we were ready to leave Pemako.
95-D #42 Here the climbing to the Doshong La Pass began in earnest.
95-D #43 Todd moves on ahead.
95-D #44 Todd filters water as we climb higher into the mists.
95-D #45 Chombi (shirtless) and fellow Sherpa climb on by. These guys were tough!
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95-D #48 Porters inching their way up the Doshong La Pass.
95-D #49 Gil & Todd working their way up to the Doshong La Pass.
95-D #50 There was too much water in the streams to be close to the Pass?
95-D #51 Visibility was difficult as Todd disappeared into the clouds.
95-D #52 Precarious hiking in the ice fields.
95-D #53 The porters push on. It was near here that we saw the dead man.
95-D #54 Troy poses for a quick picture on the Doshong La Pass.
95-D #55 Leaving Pemako was just as dramatic as entering it three weeks earlier.
95-D #56 The road! Todd & Troy relish in the moment.
95-D #57 The end of the Pemako trail.
95-D #58 Todd, Gil & Troy. The outpost of Pei. Finally civilization!
95-D #59 In the village of Pei, Chombi Sherpa (right) had the thankless job of calculating porter wages. When nobody was around, Troy, Todd & I gave Chimed Gompo (middle) a large tip. He literally saved our lives.
95-D #60 As we ready for the long drive back to Lhasa, Christiaan has a celebratory smoke and entertains the residents of Pei with a juggling act.
95-D #61 Gil can’t stop smiling. “We made it. We made it. We’re finally out of Pemako!”
95-D #62 High on a hill just outside the town of Tsethang, sits Tibet’s oldest fortress/castle - Yumbulakhar.
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95-D #66 Left: Raktayamari & Vajravetali - Yab (father)-Yum (mother), Middle: (to follow), Right: White Tara
95-D #67 Eating in an actual restaurant. We were all smiles.
95-D #68 Known for serving American style food, we dreamed of eating at Mike’s for a month. Our breakfast lasted for two hours and ended with hot fudge brownie sundaes.
95-D #69 Still not feeling that well, Todd gets some fresh air atop our Hotel Marshyangdi overlooking Kathmandu. Later that evening he would have a severe intestinal relapse.
95-D #70 Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and an unforgettable lesson in Buddhist Dependent Origination & Emptiness.
95-D #71 & #72
95-D #73 Three very strong shots of tequila were in order upon landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. We were home!
97 #125 The clouds briefly lift and we see our porters scattered in the background. With JamYang’s help we have located the elusive Sechen La Pass. On the right, Ken Storm, JamYang and Troy Gillenwater (on the right side of the photograph) celebrate reaching this long-sought landmark.
97 #126 With JamYang’s guidance we are finally able to reach the Sechen La ridge which leads to the pass. With the constant severe and unstable weather conditions, the porters want to descend into the gorge as quickly as possible.
97 #127 With the swirling cloud movement, the massive Himalayan landscape is displaying itself like an I-Max movie.
97 #128 From this vantage, Troy Gillenwater has a bird’s eye view of the deepest canyon in the world. The perpetually cloaked Inner Gorge is beginning to reveal itself as the veils of clouds are lifted.
97 #129 As the mists lift we can clearly see the Yarlung Tsangpo River on the left but what is going on down on the right?
97 #130 Ken Storm films the Yarlung Tsangpo River as it flows between Namcha Barwa Mountain situated on the Indian sub-continent and Gyala Pelri Mountain on the Asian continent. Ken has dreamed of this moment for years.
97 #131 It looks like an “S” turn on the bottom right. Is the river flowing back on itself?
97 #132 Are we looking at the “Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra”?
97 #133 The sun is blazing hot as we relocate our porters in the seemingly impenetrable rhododendron thickets. Earth fissures - well concealed under the thick underbrush - pose a constant threat. Troy Gillenwater is in the foreground and the porters are on the ridge in the middle.
97 #134 In the waning light, we have a magnificent view of what Ken Storm convinces us are the “The Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra”.
97 #135 With our camera’s telephoto lenses we can clearly see the pleated geography of two colliding continents. It is this unique twisted formation that has kept the Falls hidden for so many years.
97 #136 The porters camp nestles under the overhang of a giant boulder.
97 #137 Our tents are set on the most level area available – the top of a house-sized boulder. Our porters camp below.
97 #138 Awaking early, we know we have an exciting day ahead. The views from our perch are mystical. Magic is afoot.
97 #139 Gil Gillenwater looks upriver. As we worked our way farther and farther down into the Gorge, we can mark our progress by eyeing the slopes on the opposite side of the river.
97 #140 With a clear sight of both Rainbow Falls and Hidden Falls, Ken Storm insists we proceed north for another view angle.
97 #141 Instead of walking across the wet and slippery homemade bridge like the porters do, we opt for the more stable “butt-slide” maneuver. At this point we aren't taking any chances.
97 #142 As we worked our way horizontally down the Gorge we get an unobstructed view of Rainbow Falls (center) with the Hidden Falls just around the corner.
97 #143 Ken Storm can recognize Rainbow Falls by the large boulder at the Fall’s pour-over on river right (bottom left of the photo above & bottom right in the photo below). It is the same boulder as that featured in Lord Cawdor’s 1924 photo of Rainbow Falls. Kingdon Ward and Lord Cawdor got to within – what they estimated to be 1,800 feet upstream from Rainbow Falls and photographed their discovery. They never saw what lay just around the corner – Hidden Falls.
97 #144 Lord Cawdor’s 1924 photograph of Rainbow Falls shows the same boulder that Ken Storm pointed out to us. Close examination of Lord Cawdor’s 1924 photo (97 #144) and our 1997 photo (97 #143) also shows the same cliff markings where the river slams into the wall before its 90-degree turn into Hidden Falls. Stopped at river level in 1924, Kingdon Ward and Lord Cawdor never saw Hidden Falls.
97 #145 Convinced we have located the “Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra”, we estimate the Falls height at 100 feet.
97 #146 Today’s aerial photography allows a bird’s-eye view of the tectonic upheaval experienced in this section of the Inner Gorge. In several places tremendous geologic forces have pleated the earth’s crust and bent the river back upon itself. This aerial IKONOS image was taken from a commercial earth observation satellite on May 9, 2000, at a height of 423 miles.
97 #147 Our porters are exhausted. But we still have a dangerous 3,000 foot climb back up to camp.
97 #148 Trashipati (far right) clicks the auto shutter release for this photo. Next to him is Gil Gillenwater (kneeling) then Troy Gillenwater with the Buddhist hunter shaman kneeling to his left. Behind Troy is Matuk with JamYang looking over Matuk’s shoulder. Having completed the Rainbow Traverse of the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, we are on an explorer’s high. We have penetrated Pemako’s fabled Inner Gorge and photographed our discovery of the “Lost Falls of the Brahmaputra." A visceral sense of interconnectedness pervades our group. We are family.
97 #149 Troy Gillenwater gives our porters a geography lesson. Left to right: the Buddhist-shaman hunter, Troy, Matuk and Trashipati.
97 #150 It is an afternoon of camaraderie and joy as Hominid Man and Matuk laugh out loud at the other porters’ antics.
97 #151 The porters are transfixed by Troy Gillenwater’s small book of photographs from home. Here our Buddhist-shaman hunter is looking at the Kentucky State Capitol building. Our guide JamYang is on the far right.
97 #152 While our Buddhist-shaman hunter holds the photo book, Matuk used Troy Gillenwater’s binoculars to see who is inside the building. Their innocence is priceless. It is an afternoon we will never forget.
97 #153 We watch the fading light in the world’s deepest canyon.
97 #154 We hike the ridgeline for hours. The trail improve and we begin seeing prayer flags as we neared Payu.
97 #155 Slogging through the rain. This is a long day. Ken Storm, Gil Gillenwater and the porters are ready for home.
97 #156 Our hike along the ridge seem to go on forever. By this time everyone is ready to go home.
97 #157 The misty forests seem surreal.
97 #158 How our porters are able to negotiate this weather and terrain in cheap Chairman Mao tennis shoes and worn out socks we will never know.
97 #159 Finally our long-sought hamlet of Payu.
97 #160 After a long day of hiking Gil Gillenwater takes a rest while the others prepare for pay-day.
97 #161 They liked Troy Gillenwater’s watch but the concept of time eludes them.
97 #162 Paying our porters turns into a complicated and often times, frantic process.
97 #163 We are squarely back in leech country.
97 #164 When the clouds lift we can see waterfalls like sky-born ribbons cascading into the Yarlung Tsangpo.
97 #165 Seeing Zachu on the other side of the canyon gives us our bearings. We were there in 1994.
97 #166 Dropping into the Gorge we can see our bridge far below (bottom left of the photo) and our trail traversing up the other side. Zachu is in the saddle on the top third right of the photo with the earth slide next to it. We have a lot of climbing ahead.
97 #167 Our bridge crossing of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.
97 #168 Instead of thermal soaking pools, the Zachu hot springs offer only sulfur stench and yak droppings.
97 #169 The hanging bridge on the Po Tsangpo River.
97 #170 Back at the Leaping Rat Lodge we have a great feeling of accomplishment. Little do we know there is plenty of adventure still to come.
97 #171 Believing the road is closed due to a rockfall on “Landslide Alley”, primitive loggers are cutting old growth trees and tobogganing them down for easy pick-up. Had we been a single second faster we would have been skewered. 97 #172
#173 The Tibet we knew is forever gone. The four contiguous hydroelectric dams pictured above are located in the Yarlung Tsangpo’s, Upper Granite Gorge. This is the same gorge we rafted and hiked in 1994.
#174
On October 31, 2013, the 73-mile road to Medog was opened. What took us 18 days of hiking can now be reached by vehicle in one afternoon. The city of Medog is now a bustling tourist attraction. Over 70,000 Han Chinese tourists visited Medog in 2016. Resort Hotels and restaurants are flourishing.
#175 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama looks at one of our photographs of a local Lopa tribesman in the Chimdro Valley lovingly holding onto his picture. Through a contact Gil Gillenwater has with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso’s niece—Khando Chazotsang—we were able to have her share our Tibet photographs with him. Like all Tibetan Buddhists, he is fascinated by these firsthand views of Pemako–the Hidden Land of the Blossoming Lotus. Our cover letter told of handing out photographs of him and the reverence and awe the photos elicited. We told him that to the residents of Pemako, he will forever be their “God King.” In a follow-up letter, he thanked us profusely for this unique glimpse into Tibet’s most sacred landscape and the people who live there.
1994
94 #1 “Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss or tranquility, nor is it attempting to be a better person. It is simply the creation of space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deception, our hidden fears and hopes.”
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94 #3 Landing in Hong Kong.
94 #4 Chairman Mao welcomes us to the bustling Chinese city of Chengdu.
94 #5 Flying over the Himalayas.
94 #6 Our first up-close look at the river. We were told to expect a flow of around 5,000 CFS (cubic feet per second). What we find is a river surging at over 20,000 CFS. Left to right: Chris Grace, Mr. Changxun Luo (our Chinese liaison), Rick Fisher, Troy Gillenwater (looking up-river), Jerry Dixon (looking up-river), and Eric Manthey.
94 #7 Readying to launch. In hindsight, attempting an illegal first descent of Tibet’s Yarlung Tsangpo River (the “Mt. Everest of Rivers”) in a smuggled 12-foot paddle raft seems extremely naive. But at the time, it all makes perfect sense.
94 #8 Documentary film producer Bill Bacon records the departure on our un-permitted first-descent attempt of the Upper Granite Gorge on the world’s highest river – the Yarlung Tsangpo. Here the Himalayan river surges over two miles above sea level. Left to right: Rick Fisher, Gil Gillenwater, Troy Gillenwater, and Eric Manthey.
94 #9 Soon we begin “lining” the raft through the more difficult sections.
94 #10 Portaging rapids in the Upper Granite Gorge of the Yarlung Tsangpo - the world’s highest river. These water formations are simply gravity-driven liquids negotiating different terrains in a perpetual effort to seek their own levels. With a river this size and a drop this severe, that can only be achieved by racing to the most level place on earth - the ocean two vertical miles below. Left to right: Eric Manthey, Gil Gillenwater, and Troy Gillenwater.
94 #11 Gil Gillenwater holds a human mandible. “We’d been rafting with a bunch of sinners.”
94 #12 These recirculating hydraulic holes, or “keepers,” are to be avoided at all cost.
94 #13 Portaging rapids in the Upper Granite Gorge of the Yarlung Tsangpo - the world’s highest river. In many places the river is simply un-runnable. We come to accept that we are essentially powerless on the “Mt. Everest of Rivers.”
94 #14 Abandoning the first-descent portion of our trip, we stash our raft and all our river gear under a house-sized boulder. It's probably there to this day. We later regret leaving our life jackets.
94 #15 Though the hiking is difficult in river sandals, we never regret being off the river.
94 #16 Many times we have to swim around riverbank obstacles.
94 #17 A not-so-subtle lesson in impermanence.
94 #18 Rick Fisher takes a break. Altitude sickness and lack of food are depleting all his energy.
94 #19 Troy Gillenwater (on left in the shadow) scouts our next climb. Where is the hamlet Eric promised is just ahead? Where is Eric? Our energy is waning and our packs feel heavier.
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94 #29 The Tibetan people we pass on our hike out always seem to be smiling. 94 #30
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94 #43 Left to right: Gil Gillenwater, Bill Bacon, Jerry Dixon, Eric Manthey, and Chris Grace take a much-needed break at the top of a small pass. Prayer flags denote the crest. For Gil, Troy Gillenwater, Jerry, and Chris, this is “buzzed hiking.”
94 #44 Gil Gillenwater winds his way through a combination of thick, jungled vegetation and hulking, old-growth forest.
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97 #67 At Tsebung Rock, Matuk ceremoniously offers three full prostrations and then beckons us to follow.
97 #68 Takin skulls adorn mossy grottos along the shrine site.
97 #69 An unnoticed crack in the stone leads us to the inner sanctum of Tsebung - “Million Lives.”
97 #70 Gil Gillenwater and Matuk. The Tsebung “Long Life” ceremony includes carving a notch in a stick for each year you have been alive.
97 #71 Troy Gillenwater emerges from the birth canal of Mother Earth.
97 #72 As we emerge from the womb of Mother Earth the storm abates and the skies miraculously clears - affording us unique views all the way into India.
97 #73 Our telephoto lens captures a distant peak manifesting from the clouds (see top of photo).
97 #74 Dorje Phagmo Mountain – our guidepost into the Inner Gorge.
97 #75 Leaving the trail, we climb up into the unknown.
97 #76 The climbing is difficult, but the porters don’t slow down, even though they are anxious. Entrapment by monsoon clouds is a constant threat.
97 #77 Hacking our way through the entangled rhododendron thickets slows our progress and zaps our energy.
97 #78 The geologic exposure is frightening. See Troy Gillenwater in the foreground on the bottom-right and the porters are dotting the top of the hill in the upper-left.
97 #79 Hiking on the edge of the rhododendron thickets is easier going. But the risk of a landslide and an endless fall is also heightened.
97 #80 Our porters gain the ridgeline.
97 #81 Fresh evidence of landslides and earth fissuring are everywhere.
97 #82 On the steeper sections we are reduced to crawling on our hands and knees.
97 #83 The higher we climb, the more spectacular the Himalayan views. Gil Gillenwater in the forefront.
97 #84 As the mists get thicker and thicker our group spread out.
97 #85 Every now and then the clouds would part and we would, with relief, see our porters traversing the same ridgeline.
97 #86 Who is this apparition manifesting from the clouds? With no pack he isn't one of ours.
97 #87 When the clouds lift, we see our porters scattered all over. Note Troy Gillenwater and Ken Storm are in the foreground and some of our porters are in the top-left on the distant ridge.
97 #88 Suddenly the apparition, with his flintlock, charges us.
97 #89 “Mystical Warrior from the Mists” - our guide for the next leg of our journey.
97 #90 Our porters are breakfasting after a long rainy night. Their plastic rain cover lies nearby. They are truly people of the earth.
97 #91 Namcha Barwa - 25,531 feet
97 #92 Kangla Karpo - 23,891 feet
97 #93 Gyala Pelri - 23,733 feet
97 #94 The Kangla Karpo peak (Sanglung) on the Indian sub-continent, looms large on the left of the photograph. The Namcha Barwa peak, also on the Indian sub-continent, is the pyramidical peak just to the right of Kangla Karpo. The Gyala Pelri peak, on the Asian continent, is situated on the far right of the photograph. Between Namcha Barwa and Gyala Pelri lies the deepest gorge in the world. With these landmarks revealed we know how to find our destination. The uncharacteristically clear weather allows these to be the first photographs ever taken from this vantage point. The spirit of Pemako is with us.
97 #95 We are miraculously granted clear skies and unprecedented views. Troy Gillenwater and Gil Gillenwater know a divine guidance is at play in revealing this once in a lifetime experience. Luminous Kangla Karpo is in the background.
97 #96 With the 23,733-foot Gyala Pelri in the center, Troy Gillenwater scopes out the Guardian Protector’s Dorje Traktsen Mountain on the left. This will be our gateway into the Inner Gorge.
97 #97 Mesmerized by the mountain, our porters revolt and refuse to continue. They understand that this is the Guardian Protector’s gateway into the Inner Gorge. To take Westerners into this most sacred place could incur the wrath of the local spirits. In this photograph Gil Gillenwater attempts to convince the porters to continue. His pleas, offers of more money and cajoling fall on deaf ears.
97 #98 Our Buddhist-shaman guide’s mystical dream the night before assured the porters that we can continue up and over the sacred mountain without incurring the Guardian Protector’s wrath, so Matuk and the others debate the surest route of ascent. This will be our gateway into the Inner Gorge.
97 #99 The porters can be seen as tiny specs on the ridge approaching the formidable Dorje Traktsen Mountain.
97 #100 Troy Gillenwater readies to ascend the almost vertical slope up Dorje Traktsen. Porters can be seen inching their ways skyward.
97 #101 Without ropes the exposure of this climb is daunting. Here we stop and take a break. Dawa is in the green shirt.
97 #102 Gil Gillenwater approaches the summit of Dorje Traktsen.
97 #103 Our Buddhist-shaman guide reaches the summit of Dorje Traktsen.
97 #104 On top of Dorje Traktsen our porters get a “bird’s-eye-view” of the region they live in but have never seen from this vantage. Dawa is in the green shirt with our Buddhist-shaman guide to his left in the photo and Bhim to his right. Matuk points from the tip of the hill.
97 #105 Rock solid Matuk on the left with a pair of socks I gave him, and our hunter/shaman guide who appeared from the mists on the right. Nobody can believe how clear the skies are. They tell us the Pemako Guardian Protectors are pleased!
97 #106 We are truly on top of the world.
97 #107 The sheer grandeur of Pemako is an acute lesson in the transiency of continual process. Troy Gillenwater is in the left-hand-bottom-comer.
97 #108 Troy Gillenwater and Gil Gillenwater realize this experience is a mystical gift. Pemako is revealing herself.
97 #109 Matuk points our way down and into the long-sought Inner Gorge. The porters are ecstatic to be on top of the mountain. 97 #110 A porter marvels over the use of Troy Gillenwater’s binoculars. Bhim is looking at the camera. We are provided an unprecedented view into the Inner Gorge.
97 #111 Readying to descend into the Inner Gorge, Troy Gillenwater confers with our Buddhist-shaman guide as to which route to take. Unfortunately, our hunter guide from the mists have never been this far out of his territory and can offer no advice. We would have to proceed on intuition alone.
97 #112 With the clouds moving in, we begin our long descent down Dorje Traktsen.
97 #113 Our porters are rock solid as they descend into unknown territory. Note the line of porters tracing down the mountain in the upper-right.
97 #114 Sooner than expected our Buddhist-shaman guide calls a halt to the day’s march. He says the weather is too unstable to continue that late in the day.
97 #115 We pitch our tent on the platform constructed by one of our Gogden porters. The porters' camp is below.
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97 #118 Our porters’ camp. There is magic afoot as we all know we are on the adventure of a lifetime.
97 #119 With clouds moving in and out we proceed to climb. In this photograph our porters can been seen in a tiny line on the left.
97 #120 Gil Gillenwater and Ken Storm look on as the porters gather crystals. They called the stones, “Vajrayogini’s tears”.
97 #121 We are startled to find that Buddhist pilgrims traveled this way many years before.
97 #122 Another hunter manifests from the mists.
97 #123 The hunter’s name is JamYang. We nick-named him the Gentleman Hunter.
97 #124 JamYang knows the way to a large waterfall. We negotiated a price and he agrees to guide us.
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