Yurutse: Ama Yangchen Tsomo.

Ama Yangchen Tsomo le  belongs to the only family residing in Yurutse, making the family name virtually synonymous with the settlement itself.

Before the construction of the motorable road through Zingchen Rong, Yurutse was connected to the surrounding regions by a network of seasonal routes. In winter, the main route ran through Zingchen Rong to Spituk. From there, travelers crossed the frozen or shallow Indus River on foot to continue their journey to Leh. However, in summer, when the glacial melt made Zingchen Rong impassable, villagers took the route over Stok La, descending to the Choglamsar Bridge before reaching Leh.

Other trails led southwest from Ganda La to Shingo, then to Skyu in the Markha Valley, opening access to Chilling and Nimo, before finally approaching Leh from the west. Some travelers took a more southerly route through Nimaling, crossing Kongmaru La to arrive at Shang Sumdo, and from there continued to Martselang and Kharu in the Indus Valley. Another path branched off from Zingchen Rong toward Rumchung, eventually descending to Tsogti, north of Chilling and the Indus River.

During the winter months, Yurutse villagers engaged in the trade of firewood and charcoal, which they sourced from the Markha Valley. Transport was by donkey, horse, or yak. Charcoal was prepared in Markha by burning thorn shrubs, then sprinkling them with water to arrest combustion. If overburned, the material turned to koktal (ash), rendering it useless. Once properly charred, the charcoal was packed into sacks and transported to Leh.

Villagers typically began their journey after the evening meal. They would walk down to Zingchen Rong and rest overnight before setting out again before dawn to reach Spituk. Tsomo herself remembered the hardship of crossing the Indus on foot before any bridge was constructed.

In summer, Tsomo’s grandfather journeyed to Markha Valley to collect Talu (Willow sticks) and Dungma (Poplar logs) for sale in Leh, as Yurutse had little wood of its own. The timber was sorted in Rumbak, then transported on donkeys via the Stok La route to Leh. While most villagers avoided Zingchen Rong in the warmer months due to dangerous river crossings, a few still braved the path, passing through Palam and rejoining the main route at Choglamsar Bridge en route to the Leh market. 

At Rumbak: Aba Nawang Yontan.

At Rumbak, Aba Nawang Yontan le, an 87-year-old elder, recalled his earliest memories of salt—how, in his youth, the elders of his village journeyed to Changthang to procure it. In later years, he witnessed traders from Korzok bringing salt to the Leh market. At times, villagers from Rumbak also traveled to Sakti and Chemrey to purchase salt. Eventually, the government began distributing salt in the form of solid lumps.

Nawang named several elders who once made the arduous journey to Changthang. From Yurutse, there was Meymey Mutup. From Rumbak, the salt traders included Ajang Gyapo, Ajang Norphel, Aba Tsewang of the Chunpey family, and Aba Tundup Tashi. These men typically took along 10 to 12 donkeys, setting out in the fifth month of the local calendar and returning by the eighth—just in time for the harvest. They carried money, apricots, and barley flour to barter for salt and wool in Changthang.

When asked why they sourced wool from Changthang despite rearing sheep in Rumbak, Nawang explained that local wool, known as Lugubal, was shorter in fiber. It was used for the Spun (weft), whereas the longer-fibered wool from Changthang was preferred for the Gyu (warp), which required greater tensile strength.

He also spoke of the scarcity of wood and charcoal in Rumbak, which made these resources difficult to trade. Nonetheless, villagers would gather dry wood during winter and collect more in summer to sell for supplemental income. For larger quantities, they journeyed to the Markha Valley, crossing the Ganda La Pass. They would spend a night at Shingo before reaching the valley the next day. The collected wood, transported on yaks or horses, was then taken to Leh for sale.

Trade with Sham Valley was minimal; only a few traders ventured into Rumbak, and primarily during the summer. Before a motorable road reached the area, access to Leh depended on seasonal routes: Zinchen Rong was used in winter, while the Stok La Pass was preferred in summer, as Zinchen Rong became treacherous in the warmer months due to high river discharge.