What exactly is a winter? Is it a dip in the mercury? Or a change in landscape? Is it snow? Is it all of it and then some more?

There are winters and then there are winters. And in most places where one finds significant snowfall, conditions may be similar; however, Himalayan winters in India can be very different mainly on account of the remoteness of the land and on account of the very significant altitude. Last January, I made my second winter trip to Spiti (this time with The Mountain Walker team; the first was a solo trip many years ago). This video is from the very first day after we arrived in Kaza. The stark beauty and serenity of the land is matched by the simplicity and serenity of the people who inhabit this land.

I met a most amazing family and a most profound man, Tsering Bodh on that trip to Kaza. But more on that at a later date.