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Show Pae I 6 THE DAILY HERALQ, Pruvo, Utah. Sunday, September 19, 1999 17 .iijL5' i' 4.'. ."i m m . be done on many levels, from backpacking to a fully equipped mule train with a guide, cook, porters and tents, and for a wide range of prices. Trekking in the Zanskar and Leh regions is only from July to September. TREKKING: Trekking is popular all over northern India, and can Snow Leopard, run by Ajeet Bajaj; website: www.snowleopar-dadventure.com- be done independently or through an outfitter. Treks can ajeet.bajajgems.vsnl.net.in; p ment, ail camping gear except sleeping bags, food, surface transportation and touring in the Buddhist monasteries around Leh. Some 15 outtent fitters have camps on the Ganges, India's holiest river and the most popular rafting site for New Delhi resi- - yzii go dents. The camps are about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the Indian capital above the town of Rishikesh, where the rivet flows into the Gangetic Plain. Most camps are open throughout the season from September to April, but three-da- y weekends are most popular. Costs range from $105-$15including tents, camp cots with bedding, showers, dry toilets, food and transportation by jeep to the camp from the closest rail drive. stop at Haridwar, a one-hoTrain fare from New Delhi to Haridwar is about $23. ZANSKAR RAFTING: Several outfitters can arrange rafting expeditions on the Zanskar, but Himalayan River Runners is the only outfitter with preset regular departures. The next departure date is Aug. 14, 2000. The cost this year was $1,440 plus round-triairfare of $210 from New Delhi to Leh. It included three hotel nights in Leh, top rafting equip- V Sid Address: 9174 Sector C9, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070; Fax: Phone: (91-11- ) 689-1473- ; Aquateita Adventures India Fvt Ltd; run by Soil! Paul; Website: www.treknraft.com; aquat-eravsnl.co- POPULAR OUTFITTERS: Himalayan River Runners; Run by Yousuf Zaheer; Website: www.hrrindia.com; hrrndb.vsnl.net.in; Address: F5 Hauz Kaus Enclave. New Delhi ur 110016; Phone: FAX: (91-11- (91-11- 685-260- ) 686-560- ) GANGES RAFTING: ; Address: J1916, 2nd Floor, Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi 110019; Phone: Fax, (91 11)628-7379- . Mercury Himalayan Explorations, Run by Akshay Kumar; Website: www.himalayanadventure.com; adventurevsnl.com; Address: Jeevan Tara Building, Parliament Street, New Delhi 110001; Phone: Fax: ft L ' ARTHUR MAXThe Associated Press Distinct culture: A small boy with a sickle helps harvest a barley (21,300-foot- ) field in the shadow of Nun, a 7,000-mete- r mountain in La2kh, India. This region is often called Little Tibet because many of-i-t inhabitants are Buddhists and are ethnically close to TiESans. But it also has many Shiite Muslims like these people. lifting exciting part mft w of Himalayan journey By ARTHUR MAX Associated Press Writer EEH, India High on the rdSSs above, Yousuf Zaheer and hKJJvo fellow river guides were raiding the narrow channel of thjfanskar River, plotting a their three rafts of rCt& fr tourists through the twisting corridor of roiling water. Danger lurked under the surface. Hriexpectadly, in moments, on- e- raft overturned and careened out of control toward downstream with foupeople hanging on. 'Slipping is part of rafting," Arvind Bhardwaj, had told us eaiSer. Arvind was our guide. He had a way of making disaster sound like fun. 3T you fall into the river," he saTcT, "point your feet downstream, lean back and smile." The Zanskar is one of India's most remote, most isolated and rivers. Our group of 10 vacationers and fiyjToutfitter staffers were on a tho-rapi- ds , little-traverse- d iakilometer seven-da- y (110-mile- Whitewater ), rafting expedition. Danger and thrills More than half the journey passed through an otherwise inaccessible gorge, where each bend in the river brought yet another astounding array of color and shape and perhaps a new danger or adventure. It was at the narrowest point of the gorge, where the river is compressed from an average width of 100 feet (30 meters) to a corridor of 18 feet (5.5 rrSOTrs), that Shurbir RaTWhari's raft flipped. ' A' swirling undercurrent popped Shurbir's oar from its oarlock, leaving him helpless against the force of the power- ful river. The raft slammed sidewise into a protruding rock, tilted slow-lup and over. Shurbir and the three others in the raft tipped into the icy water. Roland Krist, an Austrian diplomat, and the expedition's cJt Tejpal, grabbed the Kavita Kulkarni went uatSr the raft for a terrifying life-liSSb- 1 Q seconds. My first thought was, Tra nC3?oing to die here,"' Kavita silater. She blindly reached out a hand, and Roland grabbed it. Shurbir quickly clambered on top of the overturned raft and pulled the others out of the wjer. But with no paddles or oar?, the raft was at the river's merry, heading swiftly toward the rapids a few hundred rnera (yards) downstream. Someone from Yousuf 's team d 25gJed the lifeline of the raft, and I held onto jYwwuf s, linking all three rafts a human thread. """Swing hard and cursing over-rmy- harder, Yousuf and Arvind pulled the train of rafts onto a thin sandy beach. Shurbir's raft, carrying all our stores, was turned right-sidup, Our in supplies, watertight drums, were rescued and lunch was served. Only the salt and pepper were , e securely-fastene- t.4 distributing a County libraries ,rSafelyl3iv d j missing. mi: 6rf ,.... r.;:tcc,cr:) . 852-610- 0 soggy. Intense terrain The Zanskar is known more for its dramatic beauty than its thrills. Rafters classify it as Flipping can be serious, less from the threat of than from drowning hypothermia in the 5 degrees Celsius (40 F) water. "All rivers have personalities," says Yousuf, of the Himalayan River Runners, who has been rafting India's rivers for 20 years and the Zanskar for the past six. "Each rapid has a meaning for you and gives you a different emotion. Every turn brings something medium-difficul- t. new." Our trip began in Leh, where the altitude of 11,500 feet (3,500 meters) makes you lightheaded and the simplest chore climbing a few stairs or struggling with a tight leaves you sleeping bag panting for breath. Most people need at least 24 hours to acclimatize. Headaches, a loss of balance and breathlessness usually can be controlled with rest and a pill against altitude sickness. Leh is the capital of Ladakh, a peaceful province in the insurrection-plagueIndian state of Often called Little Tibet, it is an area where time has moved slowly since the first Buddhist kingdom was established here 1,000 years ago. Ethnically and culturally, Ladakh is closer to Tibet across the Himalayan peaks than to India. Fortress-likmonasteries perch above many villages, from which the drone of Buddhist chants waft over the d Jammu-Kashmi- Chinese-controlle- Hindu-dominate- EagleNet, Inc. and THE DAILY HERALD C 1- - jorjusi o EagleNet Online a Month paniily with FAMILY SAFE FILTERED TECHNOLOGY Meets LDS Standards for just CALL 9S $ d UttUNATIS Adult Sites a d 437-11- 11 Month1 for internet details e also includes The Daily Herald '6 month agreement needed to qualify for this special. valleys. The landscape of the high Himalayan desert is harsh, stark, with no trees to soften the contours of rock soaring thousands of feet from the floor of a valley or the rushing waters of a river. The mountains are a canvas of abstract art, with the exposed rock face hosting whirls of geological designs in ochre, rusty red, flaming turquoise, orange, aquamarine. Rising day after day with the dawn, I could think of no name for the color of sunrise striking a snowy mountain peak. 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