living the high life
November 1, 2008 10:02 PM Subscribe
High Peaks: aerial panoramas of 18 famous Himalayan mountains, from the Digital Himalayas Collections, which include all kinds of interesting things: old and new photographs, short films from the 1930's, maps, rare books and manuscripts, songs and stories in the languages of the locals in these remote parts of the world at high altitudes.
You, madamjujujive and I have very similar tastes. We must be cyber kin.
posted by nickyskye at 10:35 PM on November 1, 2008
posted by nickyskye at 10:35 PM on November 1, 2008
Mount Shivaling
nickyskyeji - yes, very beautiful! in the presence of those mountains, there's nothing to be said but:
.
(i'm sure you know exactly what i mean)
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:01 PM on November 1, 2008
nickyskyeji - yes, very beautiful! in the presence of those mountains, there's nothing to be said but:
.
(i'm sure you know exactly what i mean)
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:01 PM on November 1, 2008
My best photo of Minyak Gangkar/Minya Konka/Gonga Shan, the easternmost 7000m peak in the Himalaya. We were super-lucky with the weather.
posted by Abiezer at 11:11 PM on November 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Abiezer at 11:11 PM on November 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
Except I see Wiki says its outside of the Himalaya. Huh, thought it counted as the same mountain chain. Anyway, it's a big hill!
posted by Abiezer at 11:14 PM on November 1, 2008
posted by Abiezer at 11:14 PM on November 1, 2008
Thanks for this nickyskye, I did the Annapurna circuit earlier this year and hope to trek Kanchenjunga next year. So this is a great resource.
posted by DelusionsofGrandeur at 3:02 AM on November 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by DelusionsofGrandeur at 3:02 AM on November 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
From below, all mountains look the same.
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:22 AM on November 2, 2008
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:22 AM on November 2, 2008
aloof... forbidding...
posted by crapmatic at 5:48 AM on November 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by crapmatic at 5:48 AM on November 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Anyone interested in this post might be interested in the Tibetan Himalaya Digital Library (THDL) which is using a mashup of web technologies to preserve Tibetan culture among the peaks.
posted by Ridonkulous at 6:17 AM on November 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Ridonkulous at 6:17 AM on November 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Something about high mountain peaks reaches inside my chest and tugs at my soul. It is so strong that even photographs elicit this response. It is primal and compelling and I have no idea where it comes from.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:00 AM on November 2, 2008
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:00 AM on November 2, 2008
The comments on the kailash Flickr photo are pretty amusing, especially the Flickr user who added a flashing heart gif to his comment to show his appreciation for the photo. Or the first commenter who says, "nice composition!", when what's really remarkable is the amount of effort it took to go to the Himalayas and take a picture in the first place.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:19 AM on November 2, 2008
posted by KokuRyu at 9:19 AM on November 2, 2008
Kinner Kailash is great and it's an easy climb up to check it out.
posted by gman at 10:01 AM on November 2, 2008
posted by gman at 10:01 AM on November 2, 2008
DelusionsofGrandeur, How awesome you did the Annapurna circuit. wow. Machupuchare is my favorite mountain in terms of simple beauty, along with the Matterhorn in a different neck of the woods. So you're a trekker? Or are you a mountaineer proper?
KokuRyu, You got me curious, went to see that flashing heart gif. Aww, it was posted by this stern looking Capt.Balakrishnan. Indians can be delightfully sentimental and unabashed in their expression, bravely undaunted by the sad limitations of not looking cool. Among too many things to count, I love that about them. If you follow his link he's actually an extraordinary photographer of flora and fauna in India.
UbuRoivas, As I savored that phenomenal image of "kinner kailash" you linked, I looked right and the breath went out of me, omg, that's the house I lived in for 4 years above Manali! Then reading the photographer's notes it turns out it's actually in Kalpa, Kinnaur, some miles from where I lived. But it looks incredibly similar to the house I lived in. Guess that's just a local blueprint that's followed for smaller houses. Thanks for leading me to that. I'd wanted a photograph of my old house for ages and this is close enough.
The photographer of the "kinner kailash" shot is D.R.A.S.. Had to check him out because his photographs seem particularly contemplative and his comments emotionally awake. He's an "orthopaedician, Arthroplasty & Spine Surgeon". A neat combination of precision, astute observation and enjoyment of life.
Thanks all for the great additional images/links and mountain love.
posted by nickyskye at 10:24 AM on November 2, 2008
KokuRyu, You got me curious, went to see that flashing heart gif. Aww, it was posted by this stern looking Capt.Balakrishnan. Indians can be delightfully sentimental and unabashed in their expression, bravely undaunted by the sad limitations of not looking cool. Among too many things to count, I love that about them. If you follow his link he's actually an extraordinary photographer of flora and fauna in India.
UbuRoivas, As I savored that phenomenal image of "kinner kailash" you linked, I looked right and the breath went out of me, omg, that's the house I lived in for 4 years above Manali! Then reading the photographer's notes it turns out it's actually in Kalpa, Kinnaur, some miles from where I lived. But it looks incredibly similar to the house I lived in. Guess that's just a local blueprint that's followed for smaller houses. Thanks for leading me to that. I'd wanted a photograph of my old house for ages and this is close enough.
The photographer of the "kinner kailash" shot is D.R.A.S.. Had to check him out because his photographs seem particularly contemplative and his comments emotionally awake. He's an "orthopaedician, Arthroplasty & Spine Surgeon". A neat combination of precision, astute observation and enjoyment of life.
Thanks all for the great additional images/links and mountain love.
posted by nickyskye at 10:24 AM on November 2, 2008
It's amazing how a mountain range can squeeze water out of the atmosphere like that. Thanks once again, nicky!
posted by not_on_display at 11:04 AM on November 2, 2008
posted by not_on_display at 11:04 AM on November 2, 2008
So, I wasn't going to share this story, but perhaps some of you will find it as amusing as I do. I met this Japanese kid, Kaagi (sp?), soon after I arrived in Tehran. The guest house had no more rooms, so they stuck Kaagi down in the prayer room. He'd recently returned from the Alborz, and one night while we were smoking some hash down there, he showed us an album full of mountains he'd visited. Kaagi's English was pretty shit and my Japanese was non-existent. It took a lot of charades to get across that he was basically travelling through Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent with one goal in mind... climb his way to breath taking vantage points of some of the world's most amazing peaks and 'do his business'... right there in the open. Living the high life, indeed.
*As a side note - while I was there, the most famous Iranian mountaineer, Mohammad Oraz, died while ascending an 8000 m mountain in Northern Pakistan.
posted by gman at 1:14 PM on November 2, 2008 [4 favorites]
*As a side note - while I was there, the most famous Iranian mountaineer, Mohammad Oraz, died while ascending an 8000 m mountain in Northern Pakistan.
posted by gman at 1:14 PM on November 2, 2008 [4 favorites]
tellurian, for the record, I thought those bleeding tubes were amazing in a cool weird way.
posted by nickyskye at 1:15 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by nickyskye at 1:15 PM on November 2, 2008
Thanks nicky, I missed tellurian's prior post - how'd that happen? - so I enjoyed this. I loved the Wutu collection of clips - this one is delightful both for the painted designs and for the children laughing. There is also a very rich page of awesome links.
posted by madamjujujive at 5:10 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by madamjujujive at 5:10 PM on November 2, 2008
gman, Yeah, good story. You made a MeFite cry today, your photographs of the Alborz and the 8000m mountain are that beautiful. wow. What is "doing his business"? Taking a crap, coming, getting high? Now totally curious what you were doing in Pakistan in 2003?
posted by nickyskye at 5:23 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by nickyskye at 5:23 PM on November 2, 2008
Hey sorry! I wasn't claiming those photos to be mine. They are beautiful though.
Dude was masturbating and kept this one album full of the views.
And sorry if that read wrong. I was in Iran when Oraz died. It was interesting. Spent about 6 weeks in the mountainous northwest until my Iraqi visa came though.
If you hit the website link in my profile, there are photos of those trips in there.
posted by gman at 5:40 PM on November 2, 2008
Dude was masturbating and kept this one album full of the views.
And sorry if that read wrong. I was in Iran when Oraz died. It was interesting. Spent about 6 weeks in the mountainous northwest until my Iraqi visa came though.
If you hit the website link in my profile, there are photos of those trips in there.
posted by gman at 5:40 PM on November 2, 2008
and yeah, you're right, 'doing his business' is what I tell my dog when I want him to stop pacing back and forth and take a crap already.
posted by gman at 6:10 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by gman at 6:10 PM on November 2, 2008
Thanks for the clarification gman, I meant, when I said your photographs, was the photographs you linked. Funny about that guy taking pics like that. People are so interesting.
posted by nickyskye at 7:47 AM on November 3, 2008
posted by nickyskye at 7:47 AM on November 3, 2008
nickyckyeji - 4 years in one of those delightful little Kullu-Manali type houses?
That just reaffirms my belief that most of the rest of us follow the wrong paths in life, out of a misplaced sense of better-the-devil-you-know comfort zonery.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:49 PM on November 3, 2008
That just reaffirms my belief that most of the rest of us follow the wrong paths in life, out of a misplaced sense of better-the-devil-you-know comfort zonery.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:49 PM on November 3, 2008
nickyckyeji? heh, you sound Polish or something in that spelling.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:50 PM on November 3, 2008
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:50 PM on November 3, 2008
Dear Ubu, yes, 4 years in a house exactly like that. Choppped my own wood, carried buckets of water up the wonky steps from the stream, dug my own outdoor loo, cooked on the tandoor, ate a lot of apples (every kind almost, like Bubba in Forrest Gump but with apples), apricots, plums (it was in an orchard). Remudding the inside of that tiny house with fresh cow plop and clay in the Spring was fun, when the walls had gotten all smoky gray.
Did a lot of trekking then with my Indian mountaineer boyfriend, Tarachand Thakur. He used to climb routinely to 20,000+ ft, smoking bidis. Incredible stamina. heh. He's a real climber, done the big mountains in the Karakoram. I miss being there, glad I have those memories in my heart to turn to, a reservoir of joy.
posted by nickyskye at 1:52 PM on November 4, 2008
Did a lot of trekking then with my Indian mountaineer boyfriend, Tarachand Thakur. He used to climb routinely to 20,000+ ft, smoking bidis. Incredible stamina. heh. He's a real climber, done the big mountains in the Karakoram. I miss being there, glad I have those memories in my heart to turn to, a reservoir of joy.
posted by nickyskye at 1:52 PM on November 4, 2008
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posted by tellurian at 10:17 PM on November 1, 2008