| Nationalities: | United States. |
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Blum
http://www.arleneblum.com/
The Great Himalayan Traverse:
Across the Himalaya and Beyond
During 1981 and l982, Arlene Blum and Hugh Swift were the first Westerners to make a traverse across the Great Himalayan Range of Bhutan, Nepal and India. To do this epic trek they had to obtain special permits to cross politically sensitive areas, find a feasible route across 2000 miles of high passes and rugged gorges, and plan and obtain in advance nearly all the food and equipment they would need for their nine month journey.
They began near the eastern border of Bhutan, a small Buddhist kingdom reminiscent of Shangri-La. Their journey continued over icy passes up to 19,000 feet high and into river valleys below 2,000 feet, gaining and losing an average of 3,000 feet each day. They reached Lamayuru Ladakh in India after extraordinary adventures amongst a diversity of peoples, cultures, plants and animals that is unsurpassed anywhere on this planet.