Last night and tonight are our high-altitude camps in Dolpo, and they are definitely the coldest. We are definitely feeling the cold through all our layers, and we can only imagine how cold our staff must be in their inadequate Nepali sleeping bags.

Our last full day in Dolpo was an easy walk up a gradual river valley toward Niwar Pass. As we approached 5000 meters altitude, the valley opened up into a wide alluvial flat with streams feeding in from snow-covered mountains on each side. We went as far towards the pass as possible, camping on the last possible place without snow cover. My GPS puts us at around 4950 meters (16,500 feet), which makes this the highest camp of our trip.

Marcia and I spent a few minutes talking with the school coordinator Dawa and his father the yak owner. The yaks are all 16- and 17-year-old males who are no longer needed in the flock. Females (called nak) are always kept since they can make milk and more yaks. A good yak is worth about 50,000 rupees (US $650) once taken to market. They have made this trip twice this year, and Dawa will be coming this way again in 10 days to winter in Kathmandu. He is still negotiating whether his new wife will join him there.

Dawa also told us a bit about himself. He studied for 14 years in Shimla, India and only returned to Dolpo a few years ago, probably after the Maoist uprising was settled. During his 14 years in India, he was only able to travel twice – one overnight trip each to Delhi and Dharmasala. He was never able to return home, not even to Kathmandu.

He also told us a bit more about the satellite telephone systems that have been installed in each village. The one in Chharka has been operational for only a year, and he had to put it together himself because the technician who had come in by helicopter had to make a quick exit due to altitude sickness. Eventually the Nepali government plans to add mobile phone transceivers, but for now the only mobile phone service is in Dunai.