Secrets of the Sky Caves: Danger and Discovery on Nepal’s Mustang Cliffs by Sandra K. Athans (review)

Athans, who chronicled the adventures of her mountaineering brother Pete Athans in Tales from the Top of the World, returns with the story of his collaboration with archaeologists to explore once-inhabited caves in the former kingdom of Mustang, on Nepal’s border with Tibet. Following brief chapters on the geography of the remote region, the story of the contemporary cave expeditions begins when the team arrives with a limited thirty-day permit to explore the caves, though they are not allowed to disturb or remove anything found therein. Hoping to find Buddhist monuments called kabums, they in fact discover elaborate cave paintings and a cache of illuminated paper documents, which obviously call for deeper investigation. Further expeditions are authorized, each involving more scholarly personnel and an expanded brief for removing artifacts and human remains to a more secure location for further study. Discussion of caving techniques and the team’s relationship with Nepalese government and religious leaders opens a window to the more knotty technical and bureaucratic aspects of archeology. Meanwhile, the informal color photographs are particularly effective in conveying the scale of the terrain and blend of tradition and modernity throughout the region. Often, though, the text is marred by missed opportunities (description of grave gods is unspecific) and unexplained incongruities (e.g., few plants are present, but farmers raise wheat and barley). Nonetheless, rich end matter comprising glossary, index, timeline, source notes, and bibliography, will be a boon to report writers, and the melding of rock climbing and archaeology may entice a range of armchair adventurers.