A girly entry... (guest Blogger, Ros!)

Fireman Stu and Jane the ex-intrepid leader managed to get us motivated about more exercise, and while we were in Litang, we wandered up past the Monastery to a hill overlooking the town and mountains beyond. A few yaks and their seedy babysitter for company, plus an incredible array of mountain flowers, clinging to the steep slope, and no doubt hoping not to become yak dinner...

Climbing a Mountain (2)

Maybe we're suckers for punishment? If you haven't checked out the earlier 'Climbing a Mountain' blog, then I suggest you review that one first. This time is was just Ros and I, and no flashpacking. Simply a large hill that starts at about 4,000m above sea level. We thought we'd acclimatised, and therefore it should be a 'walk in the park', but no.



We had to stop every 10 meters for air - that's a lot of stops - but we made it. Few!

This is Litang, with the hill that we climbed behind

The view from half way up, overlooking the Monastary that dominates the town

Hanging out with a local Yak farmer on the peak. We were pleased to see that he was out of breath whe he arrived also

Climbing a Mountian

Everyone we'd spoken travelling in the reverse direction (that is from the high altitude towns of Zhongdian 3,200m above sea level and Litang 4,000m) warned us about bad experiences they had adjusting to altitude, so we were cautious to plan a gradual accent to 4,000m+. By the way 'bad experiences' ranged from vomiting, to 6 days in bed with bad headaches - this is serious stuff.

So we planned 3 days in Zhongdian (Shangri la) to acclimatise, and ended up hanging out with some great people we'd met in Tiger Leaping Gorge (see Ros's Blog for more about this amazing place). One of these new friends, Jane, suggested that we climb a near by mountain. Well why not? A bit of exercise is a great way to test ourselves at 3,200 before rising further, so a plan was hatched.

First, let me show you the mountain - it's the one on the right.

View from a small hill behind the old town

Now let me show you the view from the top.

The small hill where the other photo above was taken is in the far left. Note the Prayer mound and flags to the right

Now the best bit - we 'flashpacked' it! We were mostly Aussies, pining wine, cheese, and great picnics, so we improvised. A few bottles of local wine (quite good actually), some 'to die for' yak cheese, and all the other accouterments you'd expect of a tip top picnic. If I was Leighton I'd say "Yeah, we do alright"

Jane and Stuart in the background (those who suggested the trip). You can't see the wine as it was being drunk!