Altitude?

Altitude?

When they say the word mountain in China, they mean Mountain with a capital M. Set your sights way beyond the heights of the Rockies - these crags around here way taller than anything in the States. And we're trekking up them.

I've been climbing higher than I've ever been before in my life, and I can definitely tell. On a five day trek from Ganden to Samye, Philip and I hauled ourselves (luckily two sturdy yaks were hauling out packs) over passes of 17,220 ft and 16,800 ft. (For comparison, the tallest mountain in the Continental US tops out at 14,500 ft.)

For those of you who haven't been to these heights, let me describe what it feels like to be there, from a lung's point of view:

Lung 1: ....."where's the oxygen, man"

Lung 2: , "I", , "don't know",

Lung 1: "I" "am breathing as hard" "as I can"

Lung 2: "It's just not" "enough"

And despite the coughing, wheezing, gasping, and moaning, I'm having the time of my life. It's amazing, beautiful, and a literal breath of fresh air after months of being stifled by Beijing's pollution.

We're bound for Mount Everest Base Camp tomorrow, where we'll sleep above 17,000 ft and reexperience all of our altitude symptoms anew. I can't wait, and will report back after we leave the