Into the realm of the sneaky snow leopard...

First of all a really big thanks for the support which has come in many forms. I often say we're all in this together, I really mean it...
In a couple of days I'll be on the other side of the snowy peaks you can see in the image. It's snowing right now which is perfect. This means blue sheep and other snow leopard prey will drop down. So that means this Kiwi wont have to put his cameras up quite so high.

Maybe as high up as 4300m which in a Himalayan winter means frosty fingers. Later on before monsoon cameras will go up to over 5500m but that is just not feasible right now. The sneaky snow leopard shouldn't be that high in winter anyway. We'll see. Maybe.

Sneaky snow leopards live there. We know that. There has never been an image of one in this particular area. They are sneaky.

This is a testing phase for these cameras. A real time image transmission to my laptop is the aim. This will take some time to get right so it'll be a couple of weeks. There'll be passive cameras in use as well. Each camera requires a decent amount of work with establishing region, correct settings and installation which in this case means building a mini cave, snow leopard height.

Yep, frosty fingers.

Yesterday I touched on my happiness re the appointment of the forest guard. Najar Man Gurung and I have just finished discussing how it can all work. When Najar and I sowed the seeds of this project three years ago we knew we had massive mountains to climb. This is the Himalaya after all. So many issues in a country full of issues.

Now I feel we have established the route to the summit of these mountains. We have begun fixing ropes. The cold wintry air is filling our nostrils with the smell of progress. There's still a long way to climb and fingers will be frosty for some time to come. But it's happening.

There are many people to thank. Many of you I have had contact with in some form or other and there have been so many times my faith in human nature has soared thanks to the help and support that has been forthcoming. You are making a difference and when I finish writing this thing in full, when these mountains have been understood, I will share the efforts of many because you need to be known.

Thank you. We are all in this together...

This may be my last blog for a while depending on what happens up there. There is a chance there will be a signal available at 3700m. The Mountain Gods will decide. The sneaky snow leopard will as well...

Kia Kaha and Jai Bagh...