Tsetan

Tsetan is the author's Tibetan driver and guide, and the most capable figure in the extract. He is resourceful and skilful: when snow blocks the track he flings dirt over the ice for grip and drives across, and at a second blockage he negotiates his four-wheel-drive vehicle around it over rocks, cutting off a hairpin bend. He knows the plateau's short cuts and traditions — walking clockwise round the cairn, releasing the pressure in the petrol tank at altitude. He is caring and responsible, spreading soil for safety, taking the sick author to the Darchen medical college, and staying until he is sure his client will recover. He speaks broken, cheerful English ('no problem, sir', 'but no smoking'), and his **Buddhist outlook …