Peace Peaking

Three yeasr ago I visited my friends in Nepal. We went on a trip into the Himalayas where I meet a Tibetan Lama, he gave me a blessed silk cloth and told me to" bring it to a place where there is a need for  peace". As a prime mission of my Lebanon trip, I brought it to Qornet es Sauda. With its 3083 meters its the biggest mountain in Lebanon.  

The professional adventures and climbers Peter, Avedis and Joyce joined  me in my quest  in order to let the buddhist peace prayers spread across Lebanon and the middle east, transforming peace keeping into Peace Peaking.

 Maronite church 

Ceder forest, before our assent 

Snowshoeing

I have never tried snowshoeing before; I have walked and climbed with crampons, but I felt like Goofy.It took me a half hour to get into the rhythm and not stumble over my over my own legs and I probably looked like I was drunk in the way I concentrated in the beginning to get into the flow of snowshoeing.

Snowshoe Jogging 

A better man

The Sun was baking my head and I felt my skin getting tighter and put sun block factor 30 and continued on the plateau. The were only contrast of white and blue in the horizon and as I inhaled the fresh air and felt the natural energy steaming in my whole body. I always get high being high, were at 2500 meters and the view was magic. Peter stopped by my side and I expressed my thoughts.  “ I think I become a better man doing this”. He looked at the horizon as I did, towards the mountains and the ocean of clouds beneath and the at me as he replied with a smile “So do I” 

Peter becoming a better man

Avedis becomming a better man

Joyce becoming a better woman

Towards the top 

The Top

I took the Buddhist cloth and Avedis lid a Tibetan sandalwood incense. It was very difficult in the cold wind, but he did eventually manage to get it burning.

While tiring the silk cloth to the pole,  I made a short speech explaining the story of the Lama who “tasked” me to place it in a place where there is a need for Peace and we alle recited the mantra Om mani padme hum

ओं मणिपद्मे हूं, 

Going down

I became dark really fast once the sun drowned In the horizon. So we rushed downed the mountain. At a point we got lost, we actually went to the wrong side of the mountain and we were heading down in the wrong valley. 

Avedis asked if anybody had any batteries for the GPS, fortunately I had some in my flash. We were way of track and it was hard not to blame ourselves for a short moment of getting lost. But the mantra of walking, thinking of the beautiful day and then gazing towards the stars in great company made the cold go away, the hunger to seize.

The Stars were magic, I saw Satellites fly by and could easily identify constellations. Eventually my mount went dry and neck became sore, because I was looking up all the time. 

A perfect cloud free night 

While going down the last slope , my phone suddenly rang, I was surprise to have connection,  people had been worried, since we were gone for such a long time and my friend told me that they actually had sent the military to look for us. I laughed and told the situation  and after the 12 hours we greeted the military who were waiting for us with a smile. 


What a glorious day.. 




2 days after in The Daily Star

I got my second standalone front cover photo in The Daily Star once I was back in Beirut: 

Peace summit Mountaineers scale Lebanon's highest peak to plant spiritual scarf

A Lebanese mountain climber makes his way up to the Qornet al-Sawda, the highest peak of Mount Lebanon and all of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Danish photographer Janus Langhorn said he tasked the group of climbers to bring up a silk scarf blessed by a Tibetan Lama to " a spot where there is a need for peace". The climbers erected the scarf at an attitude of 3,080 meters on November 20. - The Daily Star