Getting to the Land of Snows in Time

I am so pleased to hear that my documents for visa application are on their way from India! Having a relatively small window of travel before the snow arrives in October in the high Himalayas means that timely visa approval will be critical to my research. Otherwise, major roads close and there is no access or travel until they reopen in about May of 2014! Spiti, Lahaul, and Ladakh regions were once-upon-a-time part of Tibet, and there is good reason for why they call it the Land of Snows! It is, by golly, snowy there for the majority of the year.