13/09/2021
After listening to Rinzin Dr Prachanda Pradhan was kind enough to share his own experience...
"I enjoyed listening to Rinzen's interview and challenges to be encountered in undertaking conservation activities at the higher altitudes of Nepal. I found it very interesting.When I travelled on foot from Simkot of Humla towards Mansarovar by crossing Naralagna (high pass of 16500ft). It was a big learning experience. You learn quite a few new survival techniques which will be taught by your guide. Eat the roti with salt and red chilli paste to minimize the effect of altitude sickness. While walking, you have to learn techniques of survival, like when the road goes through dead snow. The stones and road itself will start moving after sunrise when temperature rises. They start falling down. You have to be careful. In the meantime, you have to see whether blue sheep are above your trail. Once the flock of blue sheep get the smell of human beings, they start running causing loose stones to fall down. You have to see the movement of the Naur ( blue sheep) movement up your trail. It depends on the direction of the wind as well. If the wind blows from your side towards blue sheep, they get the smell and run away.
The whole trail is of running gravels on and off, might be of 10 or sometimes of 20 feet wide. You have to cross that. It is quite instable but you have to cross it. The technique that we were told is that your movement has to be fast. You put one step, next the step has to be higher than of your first step. You have to keep on that and run, and cross that stretch. Even horses do the same. It must be natural animal instinct .After 15,000 feet, you can hardly walk 5-steps and take rest.
Rinzen was talking about practical problems faced by a man who has intensive high altitude field work experience.
The other interesting point that he raised was you see snow clad mountains in the south.It tells you the geography of Nepal that himalayas are evrn south of Nepali geography. I enjoyed his talk."
I hope to hear back from other listeners with your own experiences related to this episode or other guests.