INTO THIN AIR

Tackling high mountain passes on the most advanced motorcycle ever built is a breeze; just remember that you're still human.

- MERAJ SHAH

In 1941, Eric Shipton, mountaineer and author, wrote, that to try and describe the western Himalayas, is to indulge in superlatives, for ‘everywhere you look are the largest, longest and highest peaks, glaciers and rivers in the world.’ At the time, the Ladakh and Karakoram ranges had begun attracting scores of western explorers, climbers and adventure seekers; Shipton warned would-be trekkers that for those who didn’t know what they were doing, the region was not just daunting, but terrifying.

Going at full tilt into a turn on a single lane mountain road leading up the 5,312-metre Wari La (Pass) Shipton’s words come back to you as you hit the rear brake and attempt, quite belatedly, to pull the motorcycle out of the corner. As you brace for a possible slide, the 2024 BMW R 1300 GS Trophy slows, lowers a bit, then with a slight shudder, straightens itself out and rolls to a stop. You’re a bit shaken: not like you to be reckless on the road. “It’s the altitude…” says the riding instructor, bringing up the rear, “please be careful.”