Tibet's Mt Kailash

In the far west of Tibet there is a place so magical it is said that any prayer is granted.  Getting there takes a bit of sweat, cold nights in a tent, and preparedness.  This last one, preparedness, is often the crux.  People ask me "how do you prepare for this" knowing they are asking about mostly logistics.  Yes there are this VISA issues, organizing land rovers and a gear truck,  yaks that will carry our gear, altitude acclimatizing, fuel transport, food logistics, etc,  Daunting but doable.

Then there is the preparedness of a different nature.   Lore says that if you have a pure heart your prayers will be answered by standing beneath the North Face of  Mt Kailash.  Not only do you have to drive across most of Tibet to arrive at the base of Kailash, but then you have to hike to 17,200 feet (5200 m), get all your gear there to overnight in a tent.  At this point it begins to get tricky.  To get to the North Face one must hike to the pass which is poised like a kneeling child at the feet of God to deliver your prayer.  There is no trail, only a long boulder field that rises for 1200 feet.

I was sharing this with my client.  With a dejected smile on his face he questioned or wondered how many prayers really get answered.  The preparedness of a pure heart is daunting and not so doable.  If I look at myself for example my intention are clear but I have the other stuff of daily life,  Getting upset with my wife, unhappy with an employee, the driver who cuts me off on the freeway who makes me draw my middle finger, the judgement of others.  The list goes on.

 Laughter increased as we discussed further lore.  It is said that circumambulating Kailash 108 times induces enlightenment, a pure heart.  On this journey we are starting in Lhasa Tibet. After 19 days on the trail and long days at altitude we will only finish 1 ambulation of the mountain.  To finish 108 ambulations would take 2052 days or roughly 5 years.  This is if you were able to do it  every year back to back.   My client humbly says over increased laughter,  "Well I guess our prayers will not be answered this time" Noting that we humans have good hearts but pure?

We fly to Lhasa on September 22nd, cross Tibet by Landcover,  Circle the mountain by foot over 4 days, take a baptism dip in holy lake Manasorovar, cross a 18,000 foot pass by foot and exit through the rarely traveled Limi Valley for 9 days by foot.  I am sure all of our hearts will be a bit more pure than when we started but man it is a long journey of work and toil.

Matt Fioretti     fourwindsexpeditions.com