Photography In Extreme High Altitude Wilderness

This post will be a longish one - and not really suitable for a Blog of this nature. But I believe that it might help some readers, particularly those who are engaged in arranging expeditions to extreme high altitude locations.

Some views that most will never see in their lifetime.

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Hi ..........,

Thank you for your mail - I am speechless at the content of it. Even more, I am privileged that a person of your standing should remember me even after close to nine years since we last met. I am ecstatic that there may yet be another opportunity for me to be in your company - an apprentice of the legendary Ansel Adams - considered by environmentalists as a national monument, and by photographers as nothing less than an institution of US of A.

First off, as a rule, I have remained steadfast in my life-long resolve never to accept guiding assignments for photography or bird watching - not at any price. The reason is that I become so engrossed in the activity myself that I fail to provide dedicated service to my clients. In your case, however, I will willingly make an exception - to honor you and your indomitable spirit and remarkable courage in the pursuit of your calling. I will accompany you on the trip - not as a guide but as a companion, should it come to pass - a prospect I fear to be a remote possibility at best.

Are you sure the lovely Pillar will allow you this risk-ridden jaunt into the extreme alpine wilderness of Bhutan? If my memory serves me right, you should be hitting 90, this year. If you are able to convince her to allow you to undertake this trip - which I will call your “Last Tango in Phangu” - you will have a whale of a time, I guarantee you that.

Should your skills of persuasion - certainly not an impossibility for a retired Vice-President of the world famous Nestle Group company - be good enough to persuade the formidable Mrs. Pillar and the trip should happen, it will not be cheap. I know you can afford it but are you willing to loosen the purse strings?

The planning for the trip will be long drawn and has to be exacting to the last minute detail. That will be my job and I will begin forthwith - from the word go.

I suggest that the trip be planned for the month of mid-November when the skies are guaranteed to be clear, sparkling blue, and spangled with a trillion shimmering stars. But trust me, it will be excruciatingly COLD!

We will need to use helicopter service as our principal mode of conveyance. The helicopter will need to be hired on full-day basis - the hire duration may last 7-8 days.

We plan between five to six sorties - to three or four locations in the extreme North of the country - two in the Western region, one in the Central and one in the Eastern regions of the country. Two of the initial sorties will be to places much lower than the actual photo-shoot locations - to allow your body to adjust to the changing barometric pressures that your body would have never before been exposed to.

The logistics in all the campsites at the selected locations will be pre-setup, by independent teams. Each campsite will have their own dedicated support staff - it will be impractical and inconvenient to move camp from location to location, after every shoot. Also it will be time consuming, adding to cost and logistical nightmare.

You will need technically competent clothing - fit for -40 degrees temperature and slashing chilly wind. In time, I will recommend the manufacturer and class of clothing that you will need to acquire for the trip - I am familiar with them, having already acquired them for my own trips in the past. I will ensure that you are warm and toasty - atleast during times when you are at the campsites - on locations you will have to depend on your own grit! 😋

I already have world-class extreme weather camping gear - to equip four different campsites at any given time. I will plan on a minimum of three tents at each location - one for you and Pillar (if she is joining you), one for the camera assistants and me, and the third one for the support team such as cooks and pony drivers. Each campsite will be staffed with a certified guide trained in medical evacuation in wilderness situations - just in case.

Please do not worry - my tents are designed to withstand gusts of wind upto 50 mph.

Given the fragility of your age, we will have to plan on having a medical doctor with experience and training in medical treatment and evacuations - on call, 24 hours of the day and night.

You will have to plan on 4-5 days of rest and acclimatization in Thimphu/Paro before you undertake the trip to the alpine regions. This will also give us time to run you through necessary medical tests to make sure that you are fit to ascend to altitudes over 5,000 Mtrs. Talking of which all your camp sites will be located at altitudes over 4,000 Mtrs.

To fly you to high altitude locations in a matter of hours will be extremely dangerous. Thus, you will be required to approach the first camp site over few days - progressive climb over 2-3 days, gaining a thousand meters and acclimatizing at that altitude for a night or two, before you progress to a higher altitude, gaining no more than a thousand meters at a time. Once you are able to negotiate to the first campsite with ease and in comfort, we will then be certain beyond doubt that the next 2-3 campsites can be accessed without fear of AMS and other related issues.

Your take off point will be 2,400 to 2,500 Mtrs. - altitudes at which Thimphu/Paro are located. This means you will ascend to an altitude of 3,500 Mtrs. on the first sortie and remain there for atleast a day or two. If you remain unaffected at this altitude, only then we will undertake the second sortie, which will be to the photo-shoot location where the campsite will be located.

No activity can be undertaken on the first day of your arrival at the first camp. It will be a day of acclimatisation.

One detail: At sub-zero temperatures and altitudes over 4,000 Mtrs. cooking meals will be a painful experience - even boiling water will be a tedious and long drawn process. So you will have to depend mostly on pre-cooked packaged food for meals. You will need to bring along energy bars to boost your energy level during the photoshoot.

You are provably already aware that camera battery performance at high altitudes and sub-zero temperatures will drop to as low as 40%. Thus you will have to carry loads of extra camera batteries.

I am giving you the above rudimentary details so that you have an idea of the rough cost that will be involved. Once you say you are OK, I will then work on the full detailing of the trip.

Please let me know - and please give MY BEST to Pillar.

Bye and take care

Yeshey