Jeff Fuchs is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

explorer,

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

and writer. He gained prominence with his successful bid to become the first westerner to trek the entire

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

–Tibet Ancient Tea Horse Road, stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas and a dozen cultures, documented in the book ''The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers'' (2008).Jeff Fuchs. ''The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers'' (2008; Viking Canada). He is also acting Asia-Editor-at-Large for ''

Outpost Magazine ''Outpost Magazine'' is a Canadian adventure-travel publication based out of Toronto, Ontario. Published six times a year, it is known for its longform adventure narratives from across the world, often with a Canadian perspective. History The fi ...

''.

Biography

Fuchs is a Canadian citizen of English–Hungarian heritage, born in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. As a child he spent considerable time in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where a staunch love of the mountains and

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

was established in him. Fuchs graduated from

Dawson College Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 acre ...

in Montreal with a degree in commercial fine-art photography. He is fluent in several languages, notably

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

and

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

. He divides his time between Canada,

Shangri-La County Shangri-La (, Tibetan: Gyalthang) is a county-level city in Northwestern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China and is the location of the seat of the Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Sichuan to the northwest, north, and ea ...

, China, and Europe. Fuchs has been published in ''World Geographic'', Spanish Geographical Society, ''New Ideas'', ''Outdoor Exploration'', ''New Traveler'', Silkroad Foundation, ''Outpost'' magazine,''Outpost'', "High Himalayas – With Khampa Nomads at 5,000 metres", May/June 2006, Issue 51 ''Kyoto Journal'' and ''

The South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' among others. He was an invited speaker 1st Annual North American Tea Conference in October 2010, to discuss the origins of tea and tea's ancient birthplace in southern Yunnan. Jeff Fuchs joined with WildChina as a tour group operator for a series of trips along the Tea Horse Road beginning in late 2010. Fuchs is a current member of the

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

. He is also Templar Food's global tea ambassador sourcing and submitting blog posts from throughout Asia. Jeff Fuchs sips tea

Exploration

The relationship between mountains,

indigenous culture Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s, and tea has informed much of Fuchs' work, with a particular focus on Asia. After considerable time spent between the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and Southwestern China, he became compelled by the people and their narratives surrounding the old tea caravans. This interest culminated in a journey to retrace the path of the world's highest ancient

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

, from the perspective of the first Westerner to do so.Explorer's Club: Members Biography
Fuchs brought due attention to this story in his book ''The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers'' (2008), where he documents the 6000 km, 7.5 month journey. Jeff Fuchs-Ancient Tea Horse Road

Apart from being the first western explorer to have traveled both main arteries of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, Fuchs also spends considerable time in isolated regions documenting the changing face of culture and recording the

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

s as passed on by elders. One of his most well-known articles appeared in ''Outpost'' documenting a three-week stay at almost 4500 meters with a community of the famed and feared Tibetan nomadic

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

pas in eastern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

(Kham). Fuchs led a first-ever western exploration of the

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

salt road in southern

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

province. Known as the Tsalam the route was used by Tibetan nomads to access salt from some of the highest

salt lakes A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salt (chemistry), salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of ...

on the planet. Along with Michael Kleinwort, the two undertook the journey in May 2011 spending a month tracing some of the most remote portions of the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...

. For his efforts Fuchs was awarded the WildChina Explorer Grant for 2011 for promoting sustainable and off-the-beaten-track exploration. In February 2012, Fuchs led the two-week 'Kawa Karpo Expedition' tracing a previously unexplored portion of the

Tea Horse Road The Tea Horse Road or ''chamadao'' (), now generally referred to as the Ancient Tea Horse Road or ''chamagudao'' () was a network of caravan paths winding through the mountains of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet in Southwest China. This was also a tea t ...

on a route stretching from

Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Asia's Kunlun Mountains (昆仑山), Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel ''Lost Horizon'' by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, ge ...

in northwest

province to the 4800 metre Sho La pass north of the sacred Kawa Karpo mountain range in northwestern

. Fuchs was joined on his journey by Bill Roberts of

ZoomerMedia ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company controlled by Moses Znaimer, the founder of the Citytv network. Originally focusing on properties targeting what the company calls "zoomers", or the 45+ demographic, in 2022, the company began expand ...

and Roberto Gibbons Gomez on the expedition which was sponsored by

Outpost magazine ''Outpost Magazine'' is a Canadian adventure-travel publication based out of Toronto, Ontario. Published six times a year, it is known for its longform adventure narratives from across the world, often with a Canadian perspective. History The fi ...

and Revo Sunglasses. Jeff Fuchs has spoken extensively at secondary schools, universities, academic organizations and public lectures throughout North America, Asia and Europe. Based on his first-hand experience with indigenous cultures, Fuchs has urged contemporary audiences not to ignore ancient traditions and the importance of oral narratives in our society. In recognition of his work with minority cultures Fuchs was awarded a grant from the famed

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

to continue his written and photo documentation of Himalayan Culture. Fuchs was the opening night speaker to the Bookworm's Explore series in Beijing in 2012.

Bibliography

Books *''The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers'' (2008; Viking Canada). Articles

"New Beginnings, Eternal Spice", "Outpost Magazine"
"A picture and a thousand words"
''Toronto Star'', 29 June 2008
"The Simple Green"part 2
, ''The Tea Emporium'', 22 Sep 2009

''e-Marginalia''
"The Tea Horse Road"
''Silk Road Journal'', V.6, N.1 (Winter 2008)

''Kyoto Journal'' No. 74

References

External links

Official website

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20111021131024/http://teaandco.com/2011/07/01/5-con-jeff-fuchs-explorador/ interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Jeff Canadian explorers Explorers of Tibet Canadian photographers Living people Canadian non-fiction writers Artists from Ottawa Writers from Ottawa Dawson College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)