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A
keen scientist, Luke who is 17 years old was studying for his AS Levels in
Maths, Geography, Economics and Chemistry when he was given the opportunity
to travel to the Tibet over the summer 2008 with BSES (British Schools Exploring
Society) to carry out scientific research for five weeks with sixty other
young people from all over the country. He was awarded a grant of £250
from Alex Worrall via the Young People & Education Bursary Fund towards
the costs required to attend the expedition.The main fieldwork focus of Lukes’ trip was on human interaction with the environment. He investigated both the impact on human physiology, through high altitude physiology studies, and the impact on the mountain ecosystem, through environmental science work on the unique local flora and fauna. He even participated in updating the existing maps of the Nubra Valley, contributing to a greater understanding of this important though rarely accessed region.
Luke was also be able to attempt various 6,000m peaks in the region with experienced mountain leaders and go via the Khardungla pass, which at 18,360ft is the world's highest road, to then embark on three days of trekking through the dramatic landscape.The expedition itself was both physically and mentally challenging. Luke got in touch to let us know how he got on;
"The expedition departed from Heathrow on the 18th of July and on arrival in Delhi we went straight to our hotel. The next day we did a cultural tour of the sights and sounds of the city before getting up early the next morning and flying to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. At a height of 3500m it was a good place to acclimatise before pushing higher. We spent a day travelling along the highest road in the world, passing over a 5600m pass on route, ending up near the small military settlement of Hundar.
"Then the expedition began for real with the trek into base camp. This was spread over four days with 400m of ascent each day so as not to ascend too high too quickly. Horses carried all the group kit and we stopped to camp each night.
"Over the next 21 days, we achieved all the targets we had set ourselves before departing. We summated three peaks; one climbed 5800m, one climbed 5900m and one unclimbed 6000m. We achieved all our science work aims, taking physiology readings for the Cauldwell Extreme Everest project, doing botany surveys for the WWF and doing mammal surveys for the Leh conservation society.
"The skills we learned will help us greatly in the future and we all really enjoyed ourselves."
At the end of the trip, the group travelled to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which though impressive Luke felt it could not compete with the scenery he had experienced in the preceding few weeks.
Luke plans to continue with his science studies by studying Geography or Economics at university.
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