Last week, we went to Leh again. The one-hour flight from Delhi is itself an unforgettable experience. We sat on the left behind the cockpit, so as to gaze in wonder at the mighty peaks, all the way to the Karakoram range. K-2, Nanga Parbat, the numerous 8,000 mtr-plus peaks of the Baltoro Glacier, Concordia—all of them could be glimpsed in the morning sun from the east. The only equivalent of this great experience is a morning flight in clear winter skies from Delhi via Kathmandu to Bhutan, when one can count all the great Himalayan peaks—Everest, Lhotse, Numpse, Nanda Devi, Kanchenjunga, and many many more—as one flies west to east.
