Category Archives: Story behind ITLS

Since the release of INTO THE LAND OF SNOWS, there have been some questions concerning what’s real and not real in the book.  From the perspective of this being a book whose main theme concerns defining that very line, it’s a somewhat amusing question.  I concern myself with it because I’ve heard some people dismiss the book as fantasy.  But that’s not the whole story.

The book is set in the magical Himalayas surrounded by a rich cultural tradition.  In such a place, my job as author was relatively easy.  I chose concepts and ideas already present there to create a story around an American teenager.  I made up very little.

 Now as to the facts.

1. Locations– The map at the beginning of the book accurately depicts the placement of real locations Blake would visit along his route, had Blake actually gone there.  But the careful reader will notice that about half way through the book Blake continues his journey, but the map stops. This is because Blake has left the material reality of our world.  An alternate reality opens up for him to fully experience the magic and potential for enlightenment.
2. Mallory& Irvine– The story of these climbers disappearing into legend while on the Third Step is true. The camera Mallory carried that day is still missing. We don’t know (for sure) who summited Everest first, although Hillary is officially credited with it.
3. Yetis– These animals/beings remain a mystery. Sherpa culture recognizes different kinds of yetis. I took great liberty with the Tantric yidam concept.
4. Baian-Kara-Ula Mountains- There are legends of star people and an origination story. As late as the 1950s, stories of the Chinese gathering evidence in the region exist.
5. Chakra points- There are many different systems. Tibetans usually depict 5 while Indian schools generally have 7. Research by Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama revealed the heart chakra produced a measurable physical light.
6. Singing Bowls- Are used for healing.
7. Lung-gom-pa/Tumo/Yidam- Are Tantric practices.
8. Birds- The sneaky placement of rare birds in the region was my invention and homage to His Holiness the 16^th Karmapa, who loved birds.    

Several years ago I had a particularly bad year. My father died, my son was hospitalized, and I came face to face with my own health crisis. All in one year. My illness effectively took me out of the world and focused my attention inward. I returned to basics and found my interest in Buddhism waiting for me. Silent, I think, since at least my teenage years.

I began taking classes offered in faraway Dharamsala, India. Thanks to the internet, I was able to study with a master who had fled Chinese-occupied Tibet to follow His Holiness, the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959. Listening to Geshe Sonam Rinchen’s patient lectures aided my understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. That along with my friendship with a young monk in India helped me to process and write, Into the Land of Snows. The novel explores many of the themes I was exposed to as I learned Eastern concepts.

The process of the inward journey continues for me. Living in the material world is not easy. I know the majority of readers will read the book as an adventure in a foreign land, but I hope the book finds a few fellow travelers. No one has to go anywhere to go within.

Location. It’s important in real estate and it can be crucial in a story. Some readers might ask since I used the term ‘Land of Snows’ in my title, why didn’t I set the novel in Tibet. It’s a good question. Why Nepal and not Tibet?

From the perspective of a climbing story, either location would have worked. We’re still talking Mt. Everest and the Himalayas. It would have been possible to send Blake to the north side to be around fewer climbers who would assault the mountain in a more technically difficult ascent. North, and from The Land of Snows (Tibet) was not impossible, but fairly improbable.

But the heart of the story concerns a teenager whose whole perception of reality was about to be challenged. I would have loved taking him into Tibet to experience centuries -old monasteries and traditions. To meet its culture and be enfolded in it. Ideally, this is where Blake should encounter magic and mystery, and I considered it. However, Chinese occupation of Tibet has been in full force since 1959. Tibetans have lived under religious intolerance and persecution for fifty plus years. Monasteries have been destroyed, learned masters have fled, and every year more and more Tibetans leave their homeland. The Chinese have a strong presence in monastic communities. Merely possessing a photo of the Dalai Lama is illegal and punishable. This was not the right place to send a teenager looking for truth. I had to look for The Land of Snows somewhere else.

Nepal became that somewhere else. Placing Blake on the south side of Everest naturally plunked him down in Sherpa lands. With the Sherpas, Blake found a safe haven to explore Tibetan Buddhism without the heritage of Chinese repression ongoing in Tibet. Here Blake could freely experience magic and mystery. Into the Land of Snows recognizes the current political and religious situation inside Tibet today and at the same time, I yearn to take Blake north in the future. What might he find in the decades ahead?