The Druderon Pass [Kangwo Shan] from the western side

The Druderon Pass [Kangwo Shan] from the western side, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This was another mountain pass that Joseph Rock had crossed with great difficulty on his month-long journey from near Lijiang to Minya Konka:

“We had already been informed at Deon Gomba, a tiny monastery recently looted by the Konkaling bandits, that the Druderon although not high, was snowed in and hence impassable. With an exhausted caravan it seemed hopeless …” he wrote.

“The following morning when I looked out of my tent and beheld our camp almost buried and our animals shivering in the cold, I really feared for the shelterless men who had stayed behind with the exhausted mules. I also feared for the two of our soldiers who had braved the pass the evening before. They were to go to [Jiulong] to bring us yaks, which could plough a trail through the deep snow and help us across. The snowstorm continued for a short time; then the sun appeared. This was the last day of April, 1929.”

Again, we were lucky to have clear weather and a good driver for our crossing of the Druderon Pass.