Field Recordings from Tibet: Cho Oyu 8201m

It's frosty here in NJ and it's times like these that I like to pull out a record that came out a couple years back by Geir Jenssen of Biosphere, called Cho Oyu 8201m: Field Recordings from Tibet on the Ash International label. This unassuming audio documentary is made up of simple MiniDisc recordings taken at various stages of Jenssen's long trek up one of the world's tallest mountains. I first heard it when I played a track on the radio in 2006, and found its haunting wind noises and fluttering bird sounds completely mesmerizing and inspirational. No windscreen can obscure the bitter cold whipping around at the summit, really the most effective kind of travelogue.

Most of the album, like an actual trek, seems to be assembled from moments of anticipation, the waiting that accompanies basecamp life, decidedly less romantic than peak bagging.  The payoff of actually reaching the peak is somewhat anticlimactic, just as the climax in real life is in returning to a habitable elevation.  Reading the actual travel diary that accompanies the recordings only enhances the feelings of boredom, vertigo, sleeplessness, and extreme cold. The world's tallest mountains have always held a powerful allure and mystique, as objectionable as the human desire to conquer nature can be.  If you have a lust for adventure, a pile of cash, and a couple of loose screws, you too can climb the world's highest peaks.  Or you could just listen to Jenssen's version, the portrait of an adventure.   It's cold in Jersey, but hey, at least your pals next door aren't sucking on oxygen bottles to stave off insanity, right?

Geir Jenssen - Cho Oyu Basecamp: Morning
Geir Jenssen - Camp 3: Neighbours On Oxygen

Cho Oyu 8201m: Field Recordings from Tibet is available from the Touch Shop, Other Music, and lots of other places.  Jenssen's Biosphere stuff is always worth checking out as well.  The latest Biosphere album, Dropsonde, contains source material from the Cho Oyu trip.  No touring for 2008, though, as stated in a message on the Biosphere site: "There will be no more Biosphere concerts in 2008.  I am tired of flying.  I hate airports, security checks, unhealthy food, air conditioning, hotels, etc.  Back to nature!" Amen.  More mountain recordings maybe?

 

 

 

Comments

[tenzin]

FT announces Free Tibet 2008 Television
Posted August 11, 2008 at 5:43 PM

Students for a Free Tibet has a new online video channel broadcasting from London throughout the worldwide uprising for Tibetan freedom during the Beijing Olympics: Free Tibet 2008 Television, or FT08.TV.

With all the Olympic actions for Tibet taking place and particularly the incredible success of the 'opening' banner action outside Beijing's 'Bird's Nest' stadium on Aug. 6th and subsequent media storm here in the UK, it took some time to get FT08.TV ready for prime time.

But with the dedicated help of lots of people, SFT's new video channel is up and running, and filled with lots of must-see on-demand content, including inspiring Tibet activist video-profiles, action reports, video-blogs, and more.

We're also airing a nightly Windhorse Report live from London with SFT leaders Tenzin Dorjee and Han Shan – a roundup of reports from Beijing and around the world during the Olympics, with breaking news about protests, call-in interviews with news-making activists, episodes of SFT-TV (the efforts of SFT's global grassroots), and info and analysis about the situation on the ground in Tibet.

There will be more and more compelling content to watch every day and we'll be improving the channel/website as we go (after all, this is but one small facet of our Olympic efforts right now). But please come check it out: surf around the many videos on the channel, or watch the stream (click on "Streaming Now" in the upper left-hand corner). Last but not least, you're invited to submit video... check out the channel for more on what we're looking for.

Please help spread the word about FT08.TV– join the facebook group, blog about it, embed the videos, spam your address book – and of course, keep watching.

And don't forget to visit SFT's Olympics Campaign website: www.FreeTibet2008.org and SFT's blog: www.blog.studentsforafreetibet.org for more news and analysis from the frontlines of the current global effort to make Olympic history for Tibet.

Note: many thanks to Nathan Dorjee, Shannon Service, Andi Mignolo, Alex Fountain, Thupten Nyima, Kala Mendoza, and many others for helping to make FT08.TV happen at this critical time.
5:32 PM

Go on your facebook, etc to announce freetibet2008.tv/live. After go on "social justice" websites like "witness.org" (check it out) to announce ft08.tv. Also check out blogs discussing Tibet issue's and post the official ft08 announcement.

Check out recent news articles on Tibet. Usually they have "comment" sections, post the ft08 annoucement.

[Barrett Golding]

the url in your link above to "actual travel diary" is missing the ".html" in:
http://www.biosphere.no/cho_oyu.html