Aconcagua and Argentina is always such a great trip to lead.
On the 8th January, the 13 who started out for the summit all 13 stood on the top of the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres.
#mydubai
Tingri at last
A lot has happened since we left the Summit Hotel in Kathmandu on the 19th April.
Our flight to Lhasa was delayed 6 hours due to bad weather and no plane being available.
We finally took off and got some views of Everest below us in the clouds before descending to Lhasa airport only to divert to Chengdu because of turbulent conditions. Chengdu is another 90 minutes flight away and we arrived at midnight. The whole plane was bused to a hotel, given 3 hours sleep and picked up again at 04.50 to catch another flight, hopefully to Lhasa. Finally landing at 10.00 the next morning. Only 24 hours delayed.
Our young, friendly and keen Chinese Liason officer apologized profusely for the weather and we spent the next 2 nights exploring Lhasa and the Potala Palace.
The usual general maladies and sicknesses such as colds and GI problems hit the group and will be gone hopefully by the time we hit basecamp. On leaving Lhasa we paid a quick visit to a dentist to cap a tooth broken the night before.
Last night we stayed in Shigatse, 3800m and Tibet’s 2nd city we had a quick walk around the Tashilhunpo Monastery before dinner to stretch the legs. We are now quite high and climbing the stairs of the hotel is testing our lung capacity. Luckily we were presented with disposable oxygen cyclinders.
Tibet has changed a lot since last year and everything is looking very new, tidy and ready for tourists.
Return to the Himalaya
In a few days, I’ll be returning to Kathmandu. It will be the 3rd time I’ve led a group on Cho Oyu, 8201m. The 6th highest mountain in the world.
Last time we had a weather window and were lucky with great views from the summit.
You can follow progress on the following links –
https://www.instagram.com/seanjdjames/
and
http://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/news/
Thanks to Thuraya and CygnusTelecom in Dubai for supporting all communications with an XT Pro satphone and IP+
The winter season has started in the UAE
All the courses and hikes are now up and running in the mountains of the UAE and Oman.
Choose from rock climbing, biking and hiking. Sean has such a vast experience of leading clients in this region that there will always be somewhere new to explore for individuals and groups.
Contact seanjdjames (at) yahoo.co.uk or call / Whatsapp +971 (0) 50 124 6478
https://mymountainhighs.com/middle-east-adventures/
A lot has happened since April …
My last post back in April 2015 had us on the North Col of Everest. Since then we suffered one of the worst earthquakes seen in Nepal.
To help raise funds for those Sherpas and Nepalis that we were with, I have published a book “From Dubai to Everest”.
All royalties will go directly to those people.
It tells the story of our expedition and also gives information about the places and people that we encountered.
Available on
Everest – The North Col
The steep climb to the North Col.
This is the first technical piece of climbing on #everest.
A 400m steep ice and snow slope that finishes at camp 1, #northcol, 7000m.
It is equipped with fixed ropes and requires a #jumar – a mechanical device that fixes from your harness to the rope to stop you slipping.
Large numbers of “climbers” on a single rope can cause delays and getting cold is a serious problem.
Although a part of climbing, many people on Everest are inexperienced in moving up and down fixed lines, relying on their #sherpas to clip them in and manage the change overs at anchors.
A great lengthy article in the Guardian recently tried to describe the current Everest season antics.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/12/mount-everest-sherpa-disaster-one-year-on
Almost the first view of Everest
It was snowing when we woke up. The group set off after breakfast from Tingri in Tibet to hike up to a hill above the town at about 5000m.
The weather was changeable and cloudy all day so Everest has not revealed itself yet.
Tomorrow we will hopefully travel on to Basecamp if our bags and gear manage to get across the border and find us.
Kathmandu
Final days of tranquility in Kathmandu before the clients arrive and we head off to Langtang for some acclimatisation trekking
We have been staying in The Eco Resort Hotel in Thamel
It’s quiet gardens are a haven of peace away from the busy streets
It can only get better
Amazing food and restaurant life in Thamel, Kathmandu
Not a good start to the Everest expedition, cracked a tooth on the plane and now waiting a root canal
