Simonson

Our yak drivers have now made one roundtrip to Advanced Base Camp, and tomorrow they will start their second trip. We will accompany them now that we have had a few days to acclimatize here at Base Camp.

Yak Drivers

This year our yak drivers are from the village of Langura, which is to the west of Tingri. The 10 Tibetans and 31 yaks that we hired made it to Base Camp in one long day from their village. The actual hiring is accomplished by our liaison officer, who talks to the district headman. The headman allocates the work to the different villages in the area. This way one village doesn’t get all the work, and all the villages can share the money from the different expeditions.

Langura is a typical Tibetan village. There are 18 houses, each with 10 to 15 people in them. A house is generally home to several extended families, each with one wife and up to a half dozen husbands. This is very common in Tibet (and also among the Sherpas). If one husband has to go away, another (often a brother) takes over! Langura has a total of about 300 people and 200 yaks. They also have sheep and goats; and they farm barley, potatoes, and vegetables.

Over the dozen or so expeditions I’ve done here in Tibet, I’ve had some great yak drivers and some terrible ones. I remember one time on Shishapangma when we just about got looted out of Base Camp. On another Shishapangma trip, we had great yak drivers who carried extra loads and went out of their way to help us. On several Everest expeditions I have had duffel bags cut and gear looted, but on others we’ve had absolutely no problems whatsoever. Here on Cho Oyu it is my impression that the yak drivers are pretty good. Many of them have been over Nangpa La to Namche Bazaar and therefore have been exposed to more foreigners.

I think there are a couple of things that contribute to good relations with the Tibetans. First and foremost, having Sherpas that speak Tibetan (not all Sherpas can do this) is a big help. We also hire a Tibetan kitchen helper (in this case, Kelsang from Nyalam) which is also a big help in communications. Another thing that I’ve found to be helpful is to try to be interactive with the yak drivers by trying to talk to them a bit. They can be curious or aggressive to the point that they need to be "shooed" out of camp, but we try to do it with a sense of humor. I usually tell them that we will give them some extra food or kerosene if they do a good job and don’t steal, which seems to work.

So far everything has been going smoothly, and these yak drivers from Langura seem to be easy to work with. We gave them some kerosene, something they highly value. They use it for starting their yak dung fires (which they burn in their tents...the smoke is incredible). These guys are tough. They show up with a canvas tent, a pot (to make Tibetan salt/butter tea), small drinking bowls, a bag of tsampa (roasted barley flour), and that’s about it. They use the "saddle blankets" from the yaks to sleep in, and about five of them pile into their pup-tents. Then they build a dung fire in the middle of it! Compared to all the high-tech gear we have, it’s a bit humbling.

This time of the year the yaks are very strong since they have been grazing all summer. They can easily carry 75 pounds on each side. This is a big difference from the spring season, when they are weak and may only be able to carry 50 or 60 pounds on each side. Some of the yaks are also being sheared at this time for wool. Many expeditions have gotten into huge arguments over loads (mine included). It really depends on who the yak leader is. If you get a good yak leader there are few problems. If you have one who had a bad attitude, you're going to be in for a big headache, probably pilferage, and lots of "discussion" over the loads.

The yak rodeo is always interesting. It actually starts early in the morning when the drivers head out to find the yaks. Since they are not tied up overnight, they often wander quite far away. I can remember this phase of the rodeo taking several hours. Once the yaks are brought into the vicinity of Base Camp, attention turns toward the big pile of gear under the tarps.

This morning, the rodeo began when we pulled the tarps back on the big mound of gear that we had assembled—an estimated 31 yak loads. First, the yak drivers start pawing through it and assembling loads, which they stack on the ground in the rodeo arena. Some loads are bigger than others because some yaks are stronger than others.

Away They Go!

Once the loads are all laid out, the yaks are herded into the area. This gets interesting since the yaks obviously know what is in store for them! Often they go charging off with a couple of yak drivers running after them. Finally, one of the drivers sneaks up on the recalcitrant yak and grabs the horns (Tibetan bulldogging). At this point, the yak may try to fight, and it may take several yak drivers to subdue one of them. Then the yak hair ropes are thrown over the small saddle that is tied on top of the blankets (or rugs). Loads are lifted up from each side and tied to the saddle. Other ropes go under the yak’s belly and are pulled tight.

When all is finished, the yak is turned loose. This can also be interesting, since they may try to buck off the load. These are big critters and are only marginally domesticated. When they start to buck and run, watch out!

After a while, the yaks settle down. When they are all loaded, the drivers start to yell and the herd starts to move. The day’s march is punctuated by nonstop whistling and yelling with the occasional prompt of a well-aimed rock!

Advanced Base Camp here we come!

— Eric Simonson, MountainZone.com Correspondent

EXPEDITION DISPATCHES