To a Mountain in Tibet

The exotic destination described in travel writer Colin Thubron's latest book is the holiest mountain on the face of the earth, Mt. Kailas, in Tibet, now under Chinese control, and revered by one-fifth of the world's population. Out of deference to its spiritual significance, the mountain has never been climbed. Thubron hoped a pilgrimage of this magnitude and spiritual scope would help him to purge his grief over the deaths of his mother and sister. With elegance and vitality, British narrator Steven Crossley describes Thubron's journey, which begins in Nepal and continues deep into Tibet along the Karnali River and ascends with a grueling climb to the foot of the mountain. Crossley mesmerizes the listener with vivid descriptions of rare and haunting landscapes, a mystical culture with an ancient history, and extraordinary spiritual customs. B.J.P. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from December 13, 2010
“The mountain path is the road of the dead,” writes Thubron (Shadow of the Silk Road) in this engrossing and affecting travel memoir that transcends the mere physical journey. In the wake of his mother’s death, Thubron sets off to Mount Kailas in Tibet, a peak sacred to one-fifth of the world’s population and the source of four of India’s great rivers. Kailas has never been climbed: the slopes are important to Tibetan Buddhists who say the mountain’s guardian is Demchog (a tantric variant of Shiva). Along with two guides, Thubron embarks on a pilgrimage that begins in Nepal and crosses into Tibet, recounting not only his arduous journey but also the political and cultural history of Tibet and the West’s continued fascination with its mysticism. Along the way, he observes pilgrims of various religions converging on Kailas and the myriad monasteries, most of which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and rebuilt decades later. It is the poignant evocations of his mother and sister (who died at 21), interwoven with his profound respect for the Tibetan culture and landscape that make Thubron’s memoir an utterly moving read.