Since I cannot post from the Himalayas, I have to schedule them before I travel. The mean height of the Himalayas is about 6100 meters above mean sea level. However, most towns and roads, and tracks that I walk through are below 3000 meters. Already at this height network connectivity fades; as roads wind between high mountains lone cell towers drop out of sight. Above that height the air thins and the terrain is dry. It is less than ideal for human habitation. Still, some towns and villages can be found up to about 4000 meters. There is not enough economic power here to lure network providers to place their cell towers here. Above that you see only travellers and adventurers, roughing it out like ancient 20th century people.
On a winter walk along the Singalila ridge I could see this dry grass everywhere, covered with frost in the hollows, even in the middle of the day. We walked from village to village, through tracks where we saw some other walkers from time to time. But otherwise it was just us, the open sky, the mountains and the distant calls of birds.
The geology and the ecology of the Himalayas has established itself over about 10,000,000 years. Our species is about 100,000 years old. The national borders that we see today are about 100 years old. So, instead of talking about India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, I find it easier to understand this geography in terms of the plants and animals, and the underlying geology. Geologists study a fault line called the Main Central Thrust, which lies about the middle of the east-west extent of the range. As a person interested in birds and plants, I also find it easy to think of the differences between east and west Himalayas. This changes rather abruptly around the Kali Gandaki gorge: the lowest point in the high Himalayas between Annapurna and K2. From here the Kali river flows west, and the Teesta flows east. The photo above was taken just to the west of this division, but in the middle heights, near Mani La.
Even further west, I followed the valley of the Indus northwards through Kashmir and Ladakh. This photo was taken just before we began to leave the fertile lands of the middle heights. An hour’s drive from here took us to the Zoji La pass, where we began to pass into Ladakh. All these photos were taken within a year, on multiple forays to the mountains. It has been a long time since we travelled there. After we get back to the plains and its dense connection of cheap network, I hope to show you some new photos.
Don't hold your breath 
