I respond to Roger Herr in his NGS
special video
proposal, hoping he might join in Ladakh
From: Glenn Geelhoed
To: "herugo@earthlink.net".IA4GW.Harper
Date: 6/20/01 5:57PM
Subject: Re: One more, since I had referred to the Pin Valley
disaster in1998, when we deferred
Thanks, Roger!
Kurt had called me and told me of your conversation at a rather tumultuous time in his life, reaching me as I was returning from the Big Horn Ultra. I had gathered up a file of hard copy materials for your proposal, but he said he had forewarned you that there will be no shortage of supporting materials and to beware lest I crash your email inbox with a flood of text and graphics from the productive pen of a writer/wanderer! I have said in the web site you have seen that I travel like an excited squid‑‑leaving a trail of ink in my wake‑‑not to mention Kodachrome!
Yes, I am doing very well, thank you! My momentary burst of heroics was well invested in my nubile female medical students, since each has gone on to great things that would have been somewhat dampened in an overturned Tata in a flooded Himalayan river. I simply strapped on my Koflach climbing boots when advised to take it easy by the orthopedist who examined and X‑rayed the foot upon return, and took off to climb over the Brooks Range immediately after seeing you!
I would LOVE to have you with us, and would be very interested in a "fast track" proposal to get you on board. I do not know of any organization that is interested now in funding such a trip, but I would be happy to clear the way with the outfitter, who has already told me that our trip is oversubscribed (the limited seats on the Delhi‑‑Lei charter are the bottleneck or capacity knothole in the itinerary.) However, I had said I could take no more than a dozen medical students, since I have to supervise every clinical interaction, but this is such a popular trek from the reports that filtered back from my excursion there last year, that hundreds (no, that is not really true‑‑‑actually, over a thousand ) have applied and we have stretched the limit to include aver twenty already. But, I am calling Ravi Singh right now and telling him I would like to have you as a "Must" even if we have to substitute others.
I am also going to Spiti/Chang Thang Plateau/ Nepal/Lukla/Everest in September/October as a fallback, and I am repeating each of the five Himalayan expeditions of this year, as well as adding Sikkim and Bhutan for next year, along with planned missions in Mindanao and Malawi in early 2002.) But I would push the proposal for a Ladakh "Kingdom in the Clouds" for several reasons: I am carrying several very special people along for a "first time" experience in introducing them to this kind of adventure, at a variety of ages, prior history, expectations and skill levels‑‑that would be good coverage of this kind of adventure to see if others can identify with it, as they might not if we were all fit and veteran surgeons, for example, as would be the case with the trips I am taking in Jan/Feb of this year, I had Raghu Rai, the Indian photojournalist (whose "coffee table books" include volumes on Kashmir, etc) drop in for a few days in Lei, and he was overwhelmed with the photographic potential of this trip. He shot scores of rolls of film on my interaction with the students and the clinic patients, then was completely transfixed by the first and only example he had ever encountered of a beatific "perfect light" as we set off for a portrait backdrop‑‑from which you saw one of the out‑takes. I thought all along that video would be a better medium. I would not presume to substitute an amateur video for the real thing, since I appreciate the power of the imaging done right‑‑as you might see from a few volumes of my own still photos, carrousels of slides or audiotape collections.
Yes, Ravi Singh lives right next to you in Atlanta, and he is already introduced to you by name since I called him when you and I had first talked, and I will refresh him now by phone to expect your call.
Let us see what we can work out. I am excited to the point that I have just postponed the tag‑on trip I was trying to work out in smershing another trip I am scheduled to take through Russia to Kamchatka, Siberia in later August, I was trying to arrange from Delhi through Moscow. But, I will now return to Washington in the interval between the Lingshed extension (if you can‑‑stay on for this chartered helicopter extension into a remote area after the return to Lei!) and take off for the Russian excursion in the second week of August after my August 6th return from Delhi.
I am moving around stiffly today, thinking that I am very lucky, since many people feel as I now do every day‑‑and I, at least, have the luxury of a temporary and self‑inflicted disability‑‑like the foot fracture from last year's "stream‑fording" on the way to Tso Morari. I completed the Big Horn Ultra Run this weekend at 10,000 feet up in the pristine wilderness over the Big Horn Canyon, running the wilderness through calving elk and alpine wildflowers for 54.3 mountain miles to do what I could against the elemental harsh beauty of that unpolluted environment in Wyoming. What I could do, again, (my fourth Big horn and my seventh Ultra) was just enough to finish the race, passing the cutoff points and picking up the prize as the eldest of the survivors. It was wonderful‑‑and I will forward to you my lyrical rhapsodies of the event, which usually constitute an epiphany a little short of ecstasy, before the pain sets in and I surpass the limits that should be there for good reason. I am already signed in for next year's repeat!
I look forward to talking with you and so will Ravi, at 404/929‑9399 or ravi@himalayanspirit.com
Cheers!
GWG
>>> "{USER_FIRSTNAME} {USER_LASTNAME}" <herugo@earthlink.net> 06/20/01 10:10AM >>>
Glenn,
Spoke with your friend and publisher at 3 Hawks last night. He continued to
heap praise on your work and will forward several copies of "Assa"
to me. I've been going through your journal excerpts that you emailed and figured
I should be up and running after hearing about your foot injury and rehab. Doesn't
it still hurt to run? Another thought, are you a student of Tibetan Buddhism?
The mention of Padmasambhava and his teachings in the trip itinerary point out
more than a passing interest.
Anyway, I'm making a hard pitch to get out the door on this and was wondering
if there is any space available on the July trip. I don't know if I can get
anyone to commit to the project within this amount of time so I might be jumping
the gun. I would love to go on the trip and document your work and have the
tape available for the proposal. But at this point it would be a stretch for
me financially.
Will anyone with you be carrying a video camera? If so maybe I could utilize
their footage for the pitch. Another way is for me to come along and document
the whole trip for an interested organization. If the organization could pick
up my travel expenses then I could pick up all of the production costs. This
could be a win, win situation for all of us. Give me a call and let's talk it
over to determine what the possibilities might be.
By the way I was surprised to see that Himalayan Health Exchange is out of Decatur,
Ga. that's right next door to me. I was thinking of calling over there and
speaking to someone about the trip. Any suggestions? Hope your run went well.
Talk to you soon,
Roger
‑‑‑‑‑ Original Message ‑‑‑‑‑
From: "Glenn Geelhoed" <msdgwg@gwumc.edu>
To: <herugo@earthlink.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2001 3:30 PM
Subject: One more, since I had referred to the Pin Valley disaster in1998,when
we deferred
As I had referred to the note I had seen later of the Swedish team with a Sherpa
crew that had passed us at the Pin Valley when we declined to enter the higher
altitude trek in view of the rain in the Spiti Valley we had figured to be snow
at the higher elevations toward Mud, this New York Times piece was all I had
heard of that followup.
And in my haste to forward the last years' adventure travel reviews, I had neglected
to send you the one for 2000 (text only‑‑photos available upon request)
in which we met over ANWR. I herewith remedy that incomplete pass!
Cheers!
GWG