The Tibetan Plateau is the largest, highest region in the world. An immense upland, averaging more than 16,500 feet in elevation, it includes almost all the world’s territory higher than 13,000 feet. Its southern rim, the Himalaya-Karakoram range, contains not just Mount Everest and all 13 other peaks higher than 26,400 feet, but hundreds of 23,000-foot peaks, each higher than anywhere else on earth.
I have come for many reasons. George Schaller, the biologist who studied tigers in India, lions in Africa and bharral and snow leopard on the Tibetan Plateau, fascinated me years ago with stories of his long, solitary months gathering data; Peter Matthiessen’s book, The Snow Leopard (written while on a 3-month trek with Schaller), describes in his magnificent, inimitable way, the flora and fauna and faith of Inner Dolpo, the region of the Plateau far to the west of us; and my discovery of two new ventures here – Norden Camp and Norlha Textiles – is the current draw that makes an old dream become reality.
I booked my flight to Shanghai, connected straight through to Xian, one of the gateways to the roof of the world.
The distance from Xian to Xiahe is 9000 feet and an hour’s flight. A slight catching of the breath and gentle squeezing of the temple warns me immediately that I am at altitude, but the 2- hour drive to Norden Camp enchants with gently rolling hills and open plains, green and bald as a billiard table. Yaks in various stages of molt and flocks of black and white spiral horned sheep graze. These are the winter pastures we are traveling through, and the larger herds have been taken another thousand feet up to the summer range.
This transhumant pastoral economy has existed for centuries here but, the moment I see the fencing, I realize something has changed. In fact, much has changed, and the pressures on the Tibetan nomads – political, social, economic and environmental – are the subject of much talk and ink. Fencing is an indicator of trouble; when you fence in, you fence out, and that ethos of community, so essential to a nomadic culture, begins to erode.
We arrived at Norden Camp, a small assemblage of log cabins and comfortable tents sited by a clear running river and with lovely views. Furnished with forest-scented wood furniture and soft yak wool blankets, felted rugs and cushions, all created by the sister enterprise, Norlha Textiles, the accommodations are comfortably simple, providing a permeable skin between me and the environment I am here to experience. Ever present bird song and the sound of water skipping over rocks is a tonic, as I look beyond to the high pastures. The staff, all of whom are Tibetan (with the exception of excellent American chef, Andy) and picture-perfect in their wide brimmed felt hats and Tibetan shirts, are charming and able. Both Norden and Norlha are thriving businesses in themselves, but they have a higher purpose as well; as the nomadic lifestyle changes, it is critical that young Tibetans develop different skill sets and have open to them new opportunities. Kim Yeshi, Dechen Yeshi and Yidam, who are the innovators, are making a significant impact on individual lives and on these local communities.
