Winter Wonderland of Ladakh

View of Leh Town from Tsemo Fort

Although I had never heard of it before coming to India, soon after my arrival I started having people tell me I must visit Ladakh.  Only a 90-minute flight from Delhi, Ladakh seemed an easy enough destination to reach.  But there were two obstacles:  1) Ladakh's capital city of Leh is at an elevation of 11,500 feet, meaning visitors must cope with the reality of altitude sickness and 2) U.S. diplomats must receive permission from the Government of India to travel to Ladakh, which is not actually a lot of work, but requires advance planning and dreaded bureaucratic paperwork.  These deterrents made it difficult for me to find travel partners to join me.  So I was excited to learn that the New Delhi Sacred Bulls expat ice hockey team was traveling to a tournament in Leh and eager to include spectators in its group trip.

Team huddle at pond rink, with Leh Palace in background

I quickly confirmed my participation, but it was only once I was in Leh that I realized the significance of what I'd signed up for.  This tournament was the 20th anniversary of a continuing effort by an intrepid Canadian ice hockey enthusiast to bring the sport to the rural, mountainous, cash-poor, isolated community of Ladakh.  And not just ice hockey as a game...but as a vehicle for community involvement, development, and enrichment.  For 20 years, he had solicited corporate and individual sponsors to donate money and equipment to ice hockey clubs in Ladakh.  He had also worked with schools in Ladakh to offer ice hockey as an extra curricular activity to keep kids engaged in coming to school and remaining active during the cold winter months.  Although the work continues, this tournament displayed tangible results of the past 20 years - a team from Leh playing in the tournament on a hockey rink built in cooperation with the local government and funded by the donations!

Tournament final match on the new rink!

In addition to the amazing community development roots of the tournament, the physical setting was breathtaking.  Partially because of the high altitude and the low temperatures!  But mostly because of the mountains that encircled the rinks.  We kept marveling at the snow-capped peaks surrounding us and pointing as the cloud cover shifted the view hour-by-hour.  As the final match started, all the clouds dissipated and we turned our faces up to soak in the sun and enjoy the blue-bird sky.  The Leh team was a formidable opponent, but the New Delhi Sacred Bulls came out on top as tournament champs!

View from Thiksay Monastery

While hockey was the focal point of the trip, there was also time for exploring.  As the seat of the royal family that governed the Buddhist kingdom of Ladakh for centuries, Leh and its environs featured a palace, fort, and multiple temples and monasteries.  But the most unique experience was visiting the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers, where the frigid temperatures had completely frozen the two mighty rivers into solid ice!

Erica "skating" on the Indus-Zanskar Rivers confluence

As wonderful as Ladakh was, the combination of high altitude, cold temperatures, and dry air was a triple whammy on the body.  As our departure neared, I was eager to escape those harsh elements. The Ladakhi people were gracious hosts throughout our trip and I admire their fortitude in thriving through those conditions year-round!