Random photo: hiking in the snow near Yubeng, 2002

After my failed attempt to cross the Doker-La in April 2002, we visited the Tibetan mountain hamlet of lower Yubeng, where we spent three frustrating days waiting in a wooden shack for the weather to clear. It didn’t. It rained incessantly and fog blocked out any views of the surrounding mountains. We had nothing to do except sit round a fire that gave off little heat and hope tomorrow would bring better weather.

When the third morning dawned grey and wet, we tried to  beat the encroaching cabin fever by hiking through the deep snow to see a sacred waterfall and a ‘magic lake’. It proved to be a miserable hard slog with slushy boots and we saw very little. Yubeng didn’t feel like Shangri La. 

Lesson learnt: don't visit this region in early spring - wait until May!