Images of Bhutan - Leg 2 - Thimphu to Punakha

The Golden Buddha

After an amazing visit to the Haa Valley, Madge, Kristin and I loaded into the min-van with Chundu, our guide, and Themang, our driver, for the journey to Thimphu.  During our brief stay in the capital of Bhutan, we hooked up with a couple of local trekking guides to climb at the only developed crag in the country - the Nose!  Just a bit smaller than its namesake in Yosemite, the 100-ft Nose basically includes all 14 of Bhutan's established rock routes.  Over the course of a really fun morning, we got to sample 4 of those 14 routes before lunch.

During the rest of our stay in Thimphu, we explored the local markets, visited the Giant Golden Buddha, still under construction, and saw the National Memorial Chorten, where locals spend their days spinning the large prayer wheels and walking clockwise around this holy site for good karma.

Images of Bhutan - Leg 1 - Chelela Pass to the Haa Valley

In December of 2010, Kristin and I gave my mother Madge a golden ticket for her 70th birthday.  This golden ticket entitled her to a trip anywhere in the world she chose to go.  After a few weeks of research, Madge decided on Bhutan and our preparations began. 

In March of this year, after many long months of planning, the three of us traveled to Bhutan for a two-week tour of the western and central portions of this tiny country.  At approximately 18,000 square miles, Bhutan is roughly the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined, but this Himalayan kingdom retains a rich and unique cultural and religious heritage all of its own.

The images below tell the story from the first leg of our trip, in which we drove over Chelela Pass, the highest road in the country at close to 13,000 feet, and then descended into the Haa Valley.


Isolated to the west of the main cities of the country, fewer than 10% of the tourists that visit Bhutan venture into this area.  We began our trip with a hike to a tiny, cliff-side monastery, a visit to a local farmhouse for lunch, and a memorable drive down a deeply incised river valley choked with old-growth trees.

if you click on any of the images below, you can view a gallery where you can easily scan through the photos.

You can also see a slide show of these same images set to some local music here: VIMEO slide show.  (Be sure to watch the HD version.)

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll publish shots from the rest of the trip, including the five-day Druk Path trek, a visit to the famed Tiger's Nest monastery, and the annual religious festival in Paro. 

Sin or Salvation? Skiing Mt. Rainier National Park - The Nisqually and the Tatoosh

The Mighty Mt. Rainier

Home from Bhutan just over a week, I drove down Interstate 5 on Friday morning after a mid-week meeting in Seattle.  Following a month of constant travel, I silently debated whether I should go skiing or simply stay at home and tend to the every day details that had fallen by the wayside.  Laundry, unpacking, work, even processing the 5,000 photos from my trip - I had plenty of excuses to remain in town and slow down.

For a few minutes, the classic debate between the angel and devil, both perched on opposing shoulders, played out in my mind.  But then I turned a corner on the highway and saw the mighty Mt. Rainier rising up off the horizon in clear, morning skies.  The mountain was covered in a deep blanket of snow that had fallen almost constantly since I left for Asia in March.  I couldn't deny the strong temptation presented by a weekend of chores, the lure of yard work and organizing the basement.  But having assumed the form of a majestic mountain temple, the angel on my shoulder reminded me that these sinful pleasures just lead to further moral degradation.  In a split second, she squashed that puny devil and illuminated the path.  Let's go skiing!

Idaho Ski Junket

Earlier in February, I was lucky to tag along on a ski trip to the Idaho Selkirks with a bunch of guys who had been making this trip an annual pilgrimage for the last several years.  Just outside of Sandpoint, nestled in the mountains, an amazing log home sits on a butte at about 5000'.  One side looks out over the valley and other looks up at the surrounding ski terrain.  The friendly proprietor sleds in the food, the clothes, and the keg while the everyone else enjoys a leisurely 6-mile skin up a forest road.

Stretching the Legs

The conditions over the last two weeks have been kind of strange here in Oregon.  Heavy snows were followed by warm temps and rain, and then the following weekend clear skies dawned over Mt. Hood only to be joined by gale force winds.  Kristin and I made the best of it and took the skis ... and the camera .. for a couple of walks up on "the mountain."  Despite the weirdness, we enjoyed some fresh snow and a beautiful sunrise on Mt. Hood.  Oh yeah, and some killer parking lot french fries.  It ain't so bad . . .

Jaime and Anna under a rising sun

Scratchin' the Itch

Kim Crihfield on Taiwan On, 5.10c, Fourth Horseman, Smith Rock

This past weekend hopefully marked the end of the freakishly warm and dry winter conditions in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.  Pretty much everyone I knew was in the depths of powder withdrawal - a horrible affliction that causes irritability, anxiety and constant weather channel web surfing.  There are few known cures, most of which involve long car rides, airfare, or very large doses of self-prescribed medication.  Even with proper treatment, a patient's prognosis is uncertain until the very end.

The Story of Blue

The month of November brought torrential downpours to Portland, not the typical Northwest mist but a cold, driving rain that blew through the cracks of a jacket and soaked to the skin.  Kristin and I would dart from our car to the door and then inside our warm house to be greeted by our two furry cats.  During the summer, Maximus and Kiku despise the heat and often find a solitary retreat on a cold wood floor or in a basement corner.  But as the temps cool off, they start to spend their nights on our comforter, snuggled into the crook of our knees or nuzzled under our chins.  Slipping into a deep sleep to the sound of a fading purr is one of the great pleasures of life.  A cold November rain makes it even better.