I am reading a brilliant book, entitled "Peaks and Llamas" by Marco Pallis. The book was written in 1949, and it the story of two small expeditions to the Garwhal, Ladakh, and southern Tibet. These "shipton-esque" adventures were successful in climbing numerous 6-6,5000 meter peaks in 1933 and 1936. This book is unusual in that along with the climbing, the life and culture of the people occupy a central position in the narrative. (This is not your standard fare: they came, they saw, they conquered.) In addition to being incredibly well written, it also brought back memories of my three failed to materialize Himalayan trips: an unused permit for Dunagiri in 1978 (see map and photos), an unused permit to Kalanka in 1980 (the area was closed because of a border dispute with China), and the 1992 trip to Gasherbrum II that I bailed on because of an M.Ed at Columbia.
The quote: THE HIMALAYAN GERM, ONCE CAUGHT, WORKS INSIDE ONE LIKE A RELAPSING FEVER; IT IS EVER BIDING ITS TIME BEFORE BREAKING OUT AGAIN WITH RENEWED VIRULENCE.
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