Travel to Gyantse

Spent 9 hours on the bus travelling east away from Lhasa towards the mountains and the bustling town of Gyantse.  Very beautiful scenery during the drive to get here.  We also did several hours on back country roads, barely 4wd tracks.  I was at the back of the bus and it was extremely bumpy.

 

Enroute we visited a factory that makes incense sticks.  Quite incredible as the factory is located on the banks of the river where they divert water to drive wooden grinders which produce the incense.  No buildings, no electricity, no nothing.  Also visited a factory which grinds barley to produce a flour like substance.  Again, all driven off water power.  Living here in rural China is very simple.

 

It will take another three days in the Bus to get to Chinese Base Camp.  And then two more days of hiking to get to Advanced Base Camp.  I am really getting ready to do some upward hiking.  Guess I will just have to be patient. 

Last Night in Lhasa

Had to do one more blog entry before leaving Lhasa.  Tonight we had the traditional Tibetan dinner complete with local singing and dancing.  Followed by several drinks in the "Travellers Bar".  Our little group joined up with the Norwegian all-woman Cho Oyu  team to exchange climbing stories.  This was serious work, and I don't want people to think we are having fun :-)

 

On the road tomorrow and may not have internet access.  Hard to get a straight story on this topic.  Otherwise I will blog from the mountain.

Lhasa - day 2

Spent the morning visiting the Drepung Monastery about 10kms from Lhasa.  Very interesting as the monks were in session and doing a huge amount of praying.  In the afternoon half the team (including me) headed up the local hill.  Just to stretch our legs and look down upon Lhasa.  The hill was covered in pray flags.  But for me, it was great to get out after spending so much time in hotel rooms.

 

Weather on this side of the mountain is being kind to us, only raining during the night time.  We are a little concerned about the equipment coming overland from Nepal as the rains on the southern side of the mountain have not abated.

 

Getting to know my climber buddies and the guides, they all seem very nice.  Which is a very good thing.  Tomorrow we leave Lhasa for Gyantse (12,960).  Looking forward to heading towards the mountains.

Debating Monks

Spent the afternoon visiting another monastry.  The most exciting part was watching the young monks battle it out with the older monks in the open debating.  Very animated indeed.

Potala Palace

Just spent the morning visiting the Potala Palace.  Basically the Palace was built in the 7th Century and extended in the 17th Century by the 5th Dalai Lama.  The place is huge with rooms upon rooms of Buddha's and other relics.  Getting to know my fellow climbers a bit better now.  More culture this afternoon.  Hope it involves food.

Arrived in Lhasa (with all my bags)

You heard it right.  In Lhasa with all my bags.  This is a very good thing.  Lhasa is the official start of the trip, so now we are in the capable hands of our Guides.  Tonight we are all taking it easy, what with the air being so thin.  It is a little over 12,000 feet. 

We will be in Lhasa for the rest of today and two more days of sight-seeing.  So at the moment we are all drinking water and starting the acclimatization program.  Then we head into the mountains.

Signing off from a very sunny Lhasa.

Greetings from Beijing

Well, me and my bags made it safely to Beijing.  Spent the day doing the tourist thing, first up was a stiff hike along the Great Wall of China then shopping in a Jade Museum and lunching in a shop.  In the afternoon we visited the Forbidden Palace followed by a Tea Ceremony and topped off with a tour of a Silk Factory (or shop).  Plenty of spending opportunities.  So now, it is time to find a bar and a long cold beer.

 

Tomorrow got to get up at 4:00am to catch a flight to Lhasa.  Not looking forward to this.  Signing off from a very warm Beijing.

Travelling Again

As most of you know, we are travelling again soon.
Stephen is leaving on August 25th and will travel through China and Tibet en route to climb Cho Oyu.
Caroline is leaving two weeks later and will travel through China, Tibet and Nepal.

Links and information for Stephen's trip:

Itinerary

Information on Cho Oyu

Follow Stephen's adventures with the Alpine Ascents Cybercast

The cybercasts get posted just about every weekday (so not on weekends or holidays) which makes it possible to follow Stephen's climb very closely.

Stephen will/may have some access to email along the way and at Advanced Basecamp on Cho Oyu. However, the connection will be very slow and has to be shared by all, so should you want to send him an email, please keep it short and no attachments. The email address is stephenonchooyu@yahoo.com. He will, whenever possible, post an update on our website.

He will be back home in San Francisco on Oct 6th - give or take a few days depending on the weather and climbing conditions on the mountain.


Links and information for Caroline's trip:

She is leaving on September 8th and gets back to SF on Oct 8th.
She may have some access to email and when that is the case she will post an update on our website. Please also no big emails or attachments for the duration of the trip.
Her itinerary is as follows:

Tibet Adventure (Sep 9 to Sep 22)

Nepal: Annapurna Sanctuary Trek (Sep 23 to Oct 6)