Back from the Himalaya with Human Powered Ski Success!

Lots more to come from our trip, but overall we had a successful expedition in skiing a previously unskied line from 20,084ft while also seeing lots of potential for future human powered ski touring. Here are a few recent social media posts Luke has shared as he is a true wizard of the region, not only respectfully engaging in local customs where appropriate, and knowing these mountains as well as anyone, but he’s also skilled in figuring out the 3-7.5 minute windows when the internet worked in Leh:)

Instagram and Facebook Posts from Himalaya Alpine Guides:

Post 6

Myself and Amanda exploring high elevation pass skiing a few hours from Leh.
Our first exploratory ski trip in the Himalayas is complete. We are safely back in Leh with a successful complete ski descent from a 6142 meter / 20,084 feet unnamed Himalayan summit in the Kang Yatze region of the Trans Himalayas of Ladakh.
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We had challenging weather, and after our successful descent we returned to Leh two days early and have been skiing the high passes. This image is at 17,788 feet / 5440 meters yesterday ski touring near the Taglung La. I’ll post a full trip report on the website soon.
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We are devoted to exploratory climbing and skiing in the Himalayas, Brennan Lagasse (@stateofthebackcountry) and I will be offering exploratory ski mountaineering this coming October 2017 and in May 2018 in the Himalayas. -Luke
#️⃣: #HimalayaAlpineGuides #Ladakh #skiing#mountaineering #guideslife #snow #mountains#Himalayas #summer

— with Brennan Lagasse.

Post 5 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVP6XVSA1Ps/?taken-by=luke_smithwick

Post 4

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUwnavuAR6m/?taken-by=luke_smithwick

Post 3

The crew, fired up after skiing a new line from above 17k feet on our first ski day.
High fives today! We skied from 5300 meters / 17,331 feet. A warm up. Tomorrow we head into the mountains with the horses. We’ll check back in on the 10th. Ladakh Ski Mountaineering.
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— with Brennan Lagasse, Amit Kapoor and Luke Smithwick.

Post 2
The crew.
On the Khardung La today at 5300 meters / 17,331 feet, India’s highest pass. Snowing, blowing sideways, we loved all of it. Skiers.
#endlesswinter #HimalayaAlpineGuides#skimountaineering #Kashmir #Ladakh

— withBrennan Lagasse.

Post 1
Acclimatizing in Leh with our skis…check out my custom sticks from Praxis!

 

????????????????????????We all gathered here in Leh today, drank coffee and tea and had delicious food and got our ski mountaineering systems dialed in. We are the team for this years Ladakh Ski Mountaineering trip. Tomorrow we are going skiing on a nearby pass, there is still good snow coverage here for our plans over the next two weeks. It’s quiet here, only a slight breeze and pleasant temperatures. We represent India, Sweden, and the USA. We are getting ready to ski 6000 meter first descents in the Himalayas. Follow the story. Skiing the Himalayas with @himalaya_alpine_guides, we have many more trips to come. Get in touch with us. -Luke
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@pilotkapoor320 @stateofthebackcountry @amandamalis #HimalayaAlpineGuides #skiing#mountaineering #Ladakh #Leh #crew #skis@praxis @goalzero