Hand delivered to the Baldpate Inn by Glen Porzak, this key came all the way from Tibet.
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Newspaper article about Porzak's trip to Tibet
and donation to the Baldpate Inn |
Having banned foreigners to visit or trade in Tibet in the 1850s, the Chinese "Open Door" policy reopened the borders of China between 1978 and 1981. Glen Porzak and his friends were the first three Americans to scale the 26,398 foot summit. The men climbed the three headwalls of Shishapagma-- equivalent to scaling the Diamond of Long's Peak 10 times.
The key Porzak found was at the base of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The Potala was where the Dalai Lama spent their winters from 1649 until 1959, when the Dalai Lama fled to India. After the Dalai Lama fled, the People's Republic of China took control of the palace and made it into a museum. The Palace has over 1,000 rooms and 200,000 shrines.The building is divided into two sections-- the Red Palace and the White Palace. The Red Palace serves as a Buddhist sanctuary and the White Palace serves as an administrative area. This key could easily be to one of the 1,000+ rooms in the Palace or to a neighboring monastery.
Porzak found the key and made a "heavy barter" for it before bringing it to the Baldpate.
This key is a beautiful historic artifact that is easily over 1,000 years old. It has ornate carvings that have tarnished over the years, but its intricacy is not to be overlooked. This is easily one of my favorite keys here at the Baldpate Inn.
Written by Maddie Anderson
