I recently spent the afternoon with a fantastic group of about 40 men who live about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Tibet-side of Mt. Everest.

A Tibetan man from the Tibet-side Everest Region at an elevation of nearly 4800 meters/15,750 feet.

Tibetan Men in the Everest Region

Last week, I finished leading an amazing group of 9 people from 6 counties from Lhasa to the Tibet-side Everest Base Camp on a 13 day cultural and photography journey. On our way down from Everest Base Camp, we came across a group of semi-nomadic Tibetan men having a meeting regarding an upcoming horse festival. This group, which had around 40 men, happily allowed me and my clients to photograph them. I will be back in the Everest Region 2 more times in 2015, so I will bring each of these Tibetan men we photographed copies of the photos we took.

Tibetan men from the Everest region usually wear turquoise earrings with a red sash woven through their long hair. Western-style cowboy hats are also very common in the area.

My clients and I had great weather at the Tibet-side Everest Base Camp.

The men we photographed were from Lungchang Village, which is located in the Zombuk Valley region, just north of Mt. Everest. They were all wearing traditional Tibetan clothing, which is worn here on a daily basis and a unique part of Tibetan culture. All of them men were sitting in a large square while the village leader, along with a higher up government official, were outlining them on how the upcoming horse festival would take place. The men were all very friendly and kindly answered all of the questions I had for them (I spoke to them in Tibetan). It was a very special time that I had never experienced before in the previous 14+ journeys I had made to the Tibet-side Everest Region.

Traditional Tibetan men in the Everest region also usually wear a flat yellow hat along with a hollowed-out yak bone that is woven through their hair.

A local Tibetan wearing a colorful sash. In the background large containers of chang (ནས་ཆང་) can be seen. Chang is a barley alcohol that is common across the Himalaya.

These types of hats are common across Central Tibet. They are traditionally made from the fur of marmots, though many now use synthetic material.

Life in the Zombuk Valley region is quite difficult. The altitude is between 4500 meters and 5000 meters (14,760 feet to 16,400 feet). The weather can be quite extreme with winter low temperatures regularly reaching -30C (-22F). Most of the people in this region are sheep herders. Many still live in simple yak wool tents for a portion of the year and in stone homes the remaining part of the year. There are few modern amenities here. It is a great place to experience the culture of Tibet.

A young boy poses for a picture in the Zombuk valley near Mt. Everest

A group of Tibetan men from the Everest region.

A young Tibetan man smiling as I took his photo.

The group of men that we spent the afternoon with were a great group of people. Like nearly all Tibetans, they were extremely friendly, talkative and cordial. I had a great time with these Tibetan men along with the fantastic group of 9 people I was leading. I look forward to returning to the Tibet-side Everest Region again soon and distributing the photos of the locals that I took.

If you would like information about joining me on a cultural and photography journey in Tibet or have other travel-related questions on Tibet or Tibetan culture, feel free to contact me at: thelandofsnows@gmail.com