Sun Halo

Today we looked into the sky and beheld the most amazing sight! I had never seen this before, and we all didn't know if this was a normal occurrence in nature, or something unique to this area of the world? Later that evening, when we had time to check it out, we read the following explanation for the halo we saw around the sun:

"These rainbows, or rings are caused by ice crystals that form within cirrus clouds. Cirrus clouds usually appear at very high altitudes, usually above 8000 meters or 26,000 ft. These clouds tend to be very thin, due to the lack of abundant moisture at those altitudes. This type of halo is also called a 22° halo, with the ring around the sun appearing usually 44 times larger the sun. The crystals that form in the clouds are hexagonal in shape, which act as prisms for the sun’s light." (http://www.new-technology-world.com/wordpress/?p=769)

Spectacular...as my friend Elizabeth said.

4:30am Photography Tours

I absolutely love all the fabulous people we get to meet through running this hostel. Recently, we had a photographer from Colorado, Dan (Dan Ballard Photography, dan4242.zenfolio.com) stay with us for about a week. Somehow he convinced Kris to wake up with him at 4:30am on several occasions to catch the early morning light on the mountains. I especially enjoyed having him around, having grown up in Colorado and with my photographer father who loved to find remote and beautiful places to catch just the right lighting... For one the trips, I was considering taking the group out to photograph near Ya Jia Gein, one of my favorite locations near Kangding, but Kris ended up going...and in the end, when I heard what happened that morning, I was so relieved I hadn't been the one driving. As it turned out, they hit a patch of black ice around a curve, and nearly drove off the side of the mountain. Incredibly, the front of the car hit a rock that was right on the edge of the drop off. They moved the rock a foot, but that wonderful rock prevented them from going off the edge. Kris said he thought for sure they were going over. His thought was, "I might survive this, but there isn't going to be anything left of this car." Oh, I love that rock. Thank you, thank you rock for being there. Because it was there, there was no damage to the car or anyone in it. And they all still chose to continue on?!

Outside the car after the skid off the road.

The skid marks left from our car...and the rock they hit.


Dan being videoed by the surfer brothers.

Trying to get into the lake on the road but there was too much snow.
They parked back on the main road and hiked into the lake.

Click to see some of the photos Dan captured in the early mornings with Kris. He photographed #6, #9, #10, #13, #22, #25, and #28 all from locations near the hostel. Dan, your photos are absolutely stunning. Come back again someday! Here are some of Kris' own photos from those mornings:


Despite the near run off the road!??, we did enjoy these early mornings full of quiet, stunning beauty. Thanks to Dan, we may just end up making these a regular event at Zhilam.

Random Photos

I don't know whose these pictures are or where they came from, but I found them on a CD left at the hostel from someone's trip to Lhasa. I thought these two pictures were amusing!

A New Patio

Since we rented this building 3 years ago, we have had problems with water leaking from the ceiling in one of the dorm rooms, and water damage on the far wall of the building because our patio didn't have a thick enough layer of cement. Ever since we've opened we've wanted it done, but the landlord has kept saying he will do it when he's finished his other building projects. I've been dreading which day he will do it, as the project blocks off access to the front door and the two outdoor rooms for 3 days to a week. Unlike the pessimistic scenario I often imagined, he has begun the project this week, which we are thrilled about. Business has been very slow due to travel restrictions, making it a perfect week to do it. We are delighted we don't have to try to manage the water problem another whole season, or deal with this in the middle of managing a lot of guests. For now, we just have to exit and enter our house by walking across a thin board, and use the downstairs double doors for the hostel. Definitely worth the momentary inconvenience.

Nala

This weekend we had a very full house...28 guests total with a hostel capacity of 22! Thankfully, we just recently rented the second floor of our landlord's home, giving us some more space. On Friday Kris actually painted the new room, set up three beds, and build another bed from scratch to accommodate a group of four Israeli travelers who wanted to stay on another night even though we were booked out for the weekend. But the point of all of this is actually to say that we named our new Tibetan mastiff puppy just in time, the day before the weekend began: Nala! Did the guests enjoy Nala? Questionable. Did Nala enjoy the guests? Absolutely.

The Path of Peace

Today I tried my hand at making a sign for the hostel with our name in Tibetan, "Zhilam Dronkang" or "The Path of Peace".

Pure Water

Today we changed the water filter in our house...and this is what it looked like. Recently, a local friend observed us fixing the hostel water filter and commented, "You don't need one of those here! We have some of the cleanest water in China here in Kangding!" True. Very true statement. And I very much appreciate living "up stream" and right beneath the snow runoff of 20,000ft peaks. But I think I'm still going to keep using our water filter.

Jens & Zuzka

In the middle of snow storms and closures, a couple made it through and gave us some charming company: Jens & Zuzka.  They also painted the dorm hallway for several days, which was a fabulous help.  There website "Pedalum" is gorgeous, and even includes translation on the right side bar if you can't read Czech or German. I hope we meet again someday! 

Our Everest guest from last fall

We noticed this video on YouTube from one of our guests last fall, Christian Trommsdorff. We asked him if he actually slept the night he spent on the ridge of Grosvenor. He said, "Oh yeah, I slept great. That just comes with experience." I don't speak French, but from this video it looks like he was also wearing a harness that night...which I'm sure was another aid in ensuring a good night's sleep while perched on a ridge 5 feet wide with more than a thousand feet drop on either side of you. We actually really enjoyed meeting Christian. He was very genuine and we enjoyed hearing his stories of this climb when he first returned from his trip. All three of these mountains (Mt. Grosvenor 6376m, Mt. Edgar 6618m, and Mt. Gonga 7590m) can be reached from the hostel...so come for a visit someday!

Read the introduction to his trip, the International Sichuan Expedition 2010 from the Millet website.



Here's our little Adi with our local trekking guide Patru, on a ridge overlooking Gonga Mountain, aspiring to be like Christian someday... (actually, she's a little more into high heels than mountains at the moment).














Here are two more videos from another climber, Black Diamond athlete Kyle Dempster, who came at the same time and climbed the same two mountains: Grosvenor and Edgar.

BD athlete Kyle Dempster makes first ascent of Mount Edgar's east face—PART ONE

BD athlete Kyle Dempster makes first ascent of Mount Edgar's east face—PART TWO

Tonight's Guest

Tonight we have a fascinating guest at the hostel...Christian Trommsdorff, a French climber who has summited Everest without oxygen. He's about to do some mountain climbing around here and we look forward to his stories upon his return. Below are some pictures we found online of him, and some he has taken (one from the Petzl website). What I really wish is that there was a way to transfer the images and experiences that must be in his memory to my own brain. I'd love to watch that movie...but in reality of course...

Lilian's Last Day...And Indira First Mountain Climb

(Barb's picture since the camera battery decided to die just as we reached the top)

Today was Lilian's last day living in Kangding. We love this woman! She has happily brought so much love to Zhilam Hostel this year. We will all miss her smiling face and endless hard work...and the way she couldn't refuse to make someone dinner at midnight. Her last day here in town turned into a gorgeous one without a cloud in the sky and nearly every foreigner living in town had the same idea: go to the mountains and enjoy the unbelievable weather! There were nearly 12 of us who went, squeezed into two vehicles. Adalia, Somtso and Mulan ran down the sand dunes until they all couldn't stay awake a moment longer. Half of us decided to climb the ridge to get a 360 view of the area, and although it was a steep hike, the view at the top was worth it all. The climb was also Indira's first big mountain climb...er, ride on the back (lucky girl). At the end, she did want to get down and walk herself on the tundra. Earlier in the day, she decided to walk into the lake and fall down, so we had left her wet shoes behind. She climbed the last part of the ridge in her tights...the grass was soft! Right when we were rounding to the top of the ridge, my camera battery died. What unfortunate timing! Thanks to Barb, we have one picture of Indira and I on the top but I guess we'll just have to come back again someday for the pictures of the incredible view from the top. Then we all headed back down the steep ridge past the yak carcass to the cars...and back home to the hostel. Good-bye Lilian! We will never forget you!

Setting off from the hostel.


Driving up to the lake. Can you make out Kris on his motorcycle ahead of us?
Hmmm. I can't really either, but that's why I took the picture!


The little ones always head straight to the water.
Right about where Indira also decided to sit down in the water.


Enjoying Lilian, the peaks and the sunshine...


Kris happy with three of his girls.


All of us plus Somtso and the puppy.


Setting off on the hike up the ridge with the two tiny cars down below by the lake.

My heroes, Barb and Liz...


Two of the most incredible women in this world!


One of the world's better places to hold a sweet, cuddling baby.


And she's up and wanting to summit on her own two feet!


Come on Indira! You can do it!

Heading back to the cars...
(With a final picture from the camera after placing the battery in the sun for a small recharge.)

A Man's Laundry

Guests at the hostel often do their laundry here and hang it on the roof. I love this load of laundry by two male guests.