Here are some more photos from Ladakh, but they aren’t from me. Jared Henderson, from Boston, was volunteering at SECMOL coaching hockey for about three weeks. He did an amazing job with the kids and exhibited some incredible dedication. Every morning at 7am I could hear him providing direction out on the ice. He was pretty much on the ice all day sharing hockey and skating tips. Jared was able to do this in a way that really connected with the kids which was nice to see.
I enjoy his photos for a number of reasons:
1. Many of the photos were taken after our donation. In our donation was a lot of skates for young children. As a result, within a week of our donation being received, the ice was full of 30 first time skaters from the village of Phey.
2. The looks on their faces. The excitement that these kids had for skating is quite incredible.
3. A lot were taken after a few inches of snow fell in the region so the mountains look incredible.
It looks like there are a couple of different locations in the pictures, good job expanding the reach of hockey in that wonderful region!
I am curious about pictures four and five, are they in the city of Leh? It looks like the Karzu Zing (pond) by the Moravian School which they setup for hockey in winter. Do you know if this is the highest hockey rink in the world? Could it be regulation size but at 3500 m (11,500 ft) I’ve found no other with permanent stands and structure though there was a record breaking game played at 14,000 ft.
Also if Jared Henderson would give permission I’d like to use those photos on a travel site, my photos are from summer and it’d be nice to show the seasonal transition from flowery pond to ice rink.
Many thanks from a fellow traveler,
Ken
Hi Ken, Good eye. 4 and 5 are indeed at Karzu. There are higher rinks in the area like the one they set up for the record breaking game that you referred to. I am not sure, but I don’t think Karzu is regulation.
I don’t imagine Jared would mind if you used his photos and gave him credit on your site. Thanks for checking!
Andrew
Hi, just wanted to say that I think what you guys did for these people is awesome! To be able to introduce hockey to people that may have otherwise never been exposed to it is truly special. If there is any way i can join this program to spread the sport, please let me know. I would love to get involved in any way possible!
Thanks Ryan. There are two organizations that continue to do work in this area through hockey. Check out: http://hockeyfoundation.org/ and http://www.hockeywithoutborders.org/ Both organizations sound like they may be up your alley and hockey without borders has projects all over the world.