BEFORE I BEGIN THIS story – I mean really begin it, with a flowery introduction – I present you with the punch line. Because I don’t have the heart to put you through a tension-building 1,000 words detailing five days of freezing temperatures, yes/maybe/no wildlife sightings and (sidenote) delicious meals, all prolonging the inevitable reveal in the last paragraph: yes, I travelled to Ladakh in winter. And yes, I actually saw the elusive snow leopards.
Three of them, actually; a mum and two cubs. The mature snow leopard pranced ahead, her pair of five-month-old boys tumbling like novice acrobats in her wake. For an hour I followed their path along the ridgeline, down into crevices where they rested and preened; up onto rocky peaks where they perched, scanning for prey. Were they aware the entire village of Ulley had come to a standstill a kilometre away, all 15 permanent residents and just as many visitors
