Bellingham traveler takes trek into 'timeless' Himalayas

ZOE FRALEY - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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If you climb high enough into the Himalayas, you reach a point where green ceases to exist. Plant life seems to disappear, and all that's left is clay dirt and craggy peaks tipped with snow.

"The arid country just went on and on for 400 miles," says Alan Fritzberg, 64, who trekked into the Himalayas with Seattle group The Mountaineers two years ago.

Fritzberg will share stories and photos of his trip from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Bellingham Public Library for the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department Travelogues series.

| COURTESY PHOTO - NOT FOR SALE

TIBET TRAVELS: IF YOU GO
Who: Alan Fritzberg
What: Presenting his travels through Nepal and Tibet
When: 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16
Where: Bellingham Public Library's Lecture Room, 210 Central Ave.
Price: A suggested donation of $2 will cover snacks and refreshments.

"Hopefully I can convey something of Nepal and Tibet and what it looks like and what the people are like," he says. "They're beautiful people."

As an avid trekker and traveler, Fritzberg jumped at the chance to go on the month-long trip with the mountaineer group to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

"I love mountains," the Bellingham resident says. "So I'm always excited to see something interesting and big."

He also likes the personal challenge of seeing if he "can get up something or over something."

As important as the mountain itself was the country that surrounded it.

"Of course the big draw of that was Tibet and to experience that place," he says. "It's in a way more remote and unknown. It still is something far different."

Kailash is more than just any mountain; it's a spiritual center for many followers of Hinduism and Buddhism. During their trek, the group passed many people on a kora, the traditional pilgrimage around the base of the mountain.

"The way our route went, it gave us some great opportunities to experience something real," he says. "These people were real. They were doing what they do. We were encountering them while they were living their lives."

Though spotted by the occasional Chinese building project, Fritzberg appreciated the untouched quality of the land. He saw monasteries carved into rock faces, thousand-year-old scrolls and fluttering prayer flags. The path the group took to get from Nepal to Tibet was an old trading route, which is still used by goat herders and those bringing supplies.

"You appreciate how different life is in another part of the world," he says. "I'm always struck by being somewhere where it's timeless. It's a privilege to see that tradition that's been carried on through the centuries."

Fritzberg was impressed by the stark landscape and rich heritage of the area, but what has stuck with him are the people who lived there, who seem genuinely happy without an abundance of material wealth.

"One lesson is to maybe think about trying to simplify your life a bit," he says. "(The people I see while traveling) are showing so much more laughter and joy in their day-to-day life, and that's a lesson to me."

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POSTED: Monday, Oct. 06, 2008

Bellingham traveler takes trek into 'timeless' Himalayas

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