XIV. The Great Tibetan Upland

George Roerich — Trails to the Inmost Asia

It took twenty-one days to cross the dreary, inhospitable upland of Tibet. The great upland plains, with an average altitude of some fifteen thousand to sixteen thousand feet, that stretch south of the K'un-lun and north of the Trans-Himalayas, are usually designated by the Tibetan name chang-thang or "northern plain." It is a country of climatic extremes, of burning sun in the rare sunny days of the summer and of bitterly cold nights. The terrific wind storms and the great amplitudes in temperature have contributed toward the formation of the present relief of the country. Once a highly intersected country of towering mountain ranges, the north Tibetan upland of the present epoch is a series of weathered mountain chains which have been considerably leveled, and broad intermontane plains, the home of herds of wild yaks.

Our first night on the Tibetan upland passed in dead silence, everyone resting after the previous strenuous days. The silence was only broken by the groans of the suffering nyer-wa. "Aro, aro, aro," "Friend, friend, friend" sounded his mournful complaint. The man had a severe heart attack during the night, and it was a miracle that he survived and was able to resume the journey in the morning. Our doctor did his best to relieve him but each step of the camel caused him pain.

The trail followed a mountain valley, sheltered by low hills of undulating relief. A tiny stream, called by our Mongol guides the Angar Dakchin-gol, flowed through the valley. After a long march across a sandy country, we camped on the bank of a fresh water lake, fed by summer rains. Some of our men who searched the neighborhood for fuel, reported having seen horsemen in the neighboring hills. This meant that we would have to be again on our guard, and be especially vigilant during the night.