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Debut Tsum Valley Trek 2012
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=e331e6f74482e90cd4d4113191b01669 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=0319a320e4d025f323972e1dc745be92 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=1c695c59cffc00cb5a9227ad260a5ab1 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=5b26ccd821d346335d5ae36dd8de0c01 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=de5e4333317e57b5b6095fe132f285a2 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=148e1e78e1a6f971fbb09ceaf900aad5 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=6bb85c68f773632aadeeed90a68607d1 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245359827_19bc6a23ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=24c6482d6171fda3f8c9ee833d53c495 1024w)
Deana Zabaldo photo
Tsum Valley is idyllic, the quintessential Shangri-La conjured in Himalayan dreams. Snowy mountains in the distance, women in Tibetan dress harvesting millet or barley in the field, stone houses in small clusters, chortens all along the trail, dozens of small monasteries, children with sunburnt cheeks and runny noses full of curiosity, men ushering yak caravans to Tibet for trade, women spinning yak wool into yarn on drop spindles, and at times the world is quiet like you cannot imagine — only the sound of wind to break the night. We’ve stepped into another world.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=ae2385093d36a4c1d249d8bd394ff32f 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=dbd8049af8cad61fac130f3c370dede6 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=a506c322f21451bb7599647650e6352c 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=9d11a655371d326122cc94a6e32c8d7e 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=1dc0abf3f9c9bcc1252007c9048b6ba4 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=3f00955aa3716e91b32bb7f736666d63 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=b2f98a9a402071f2a65d8c9f413c14a3 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8245363593_09d962a20b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=62fda1a662abfea88bd6a03449114464 1024w)
Women harvesting millet in a field. Deana Zabaldo photo
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Woman spinning wool into yarn on a drop spindle. Deana Zabaldo photo
We walked 5 days from the end of the road to reach the edge of Tsum Valley at Sardii Gorge. A generation ago, the high trail was a narrow and dangerous route over the mountain. Huge boulders made the low route impassable for millennia until finally they were blasted out to make a trail. Before that, the valley was largely secluded from the world below and mostly traded across the Himalayas with Tibet. Even once you enter Tsum, it’s a stiff climb through steep, rugged terrain and the poorer villages of Lower Tsum eking out a living on subsistence agriculture to Upper Tsum, where the valley opens into a broad expanse. Here the fields spread wide, the villages are larger, and the people are engaged in farming, herding, and trading.
~ MM Guide Deana Zabaldo
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=98644a71c83d2565c84ae568ebf3f62e 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=c32d3d2ac0ba44ce639fa1276531e83d 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=5093116ec9b8c7d486cc6ed783a41786 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=963b0483f809aa94c802f87675f3e143 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=530b45792fffd7e8642dfc26db720733 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=ec38d6cd05d9fb47acf8fb8d18a915c9 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=ad80a2b9c449490cb17fcaf81a3347be 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F8246521368_aa73833994_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=2da8d68abfae949e54e7b38112d9fcd3 1024w)
The broad valley and fields of Upper Tsum. Choekamparo village and Bouddha Himal range. Deana Zabaldo photo
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Yak on the trail. Deana Zabaldo photo
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Sharing some snacks in the afternoon. Deana Zabaldo photo