“During the descent – more than 1600 metres in 2.5 hours – I looked out over the Jhong Khola Valley. Behind the valley, the distant blue Himalaya peaks with the magnificent Dhaulagari at 8167 metres.
The descent was harder on me than the ascent. I’d taken a wrong route and most of that was over either slippery moraines or over iced up snow. Sometimes I’d slide down, sitting on my bum and steering myself down the very steep mountain with hands and feet, and my walking stick. It wasn’t very friendly to my boots either and my hands roughened up and bled a little.”
As Geert gained altitude, the nights got colder. Often he would come out of his sleeping quarters – usually in smoky rooms above the kitchens – and sat down with the inhabitants of the lodge and other trekkers around the old iron wood stoves. Eating dal baat and drinking hot tea, and sharing stories.
Higher up in the mountains, these lodges became very primitive and he needed to dress warm in down jacket, long johns, and he always wore a beanie on the skull.
“My very large and pack with my walking stick. My sketchbook in a cotton bag, is tied to the back“//
25 March 1989/“A page out of the sketchbook in Ledar, the second to last place before crossing Thorung La. I used candles, melted onto a wooden plank to sketch in the lodges. There was no electricity”//
Pen & ink//
17 March 1989/A tonal study of a stupa in the lower altitudes//
Ink and wash//
No date/Shapes & Solitude//
Pen & ink and wash//