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Saint
Petersburg: JUBELEE
EXPEDITION "EVEREST 2003" | 8
April, 2003 Tom Masterson: Greetings
from Tibet! |
The
view from Tingri to Everest | I
am with a Russian expedition from St. Petersburg: 8 climbers and one doctor. Our
goal is the north side of Everest in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first
ascent of Everest and the 300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg.
There are 3 climbers from St. Petersburg, 1 from near Moscow, 2 from Irkutsk,
1 from Germany (Nurenberg), and myself from Canada (Quebec).
We have made
our way slowly from Kathmandu to the border of Nepal with Tibet where the mini-bus
was not allowed across the border. All the baggage was put into a truck and we
continued by jeep. Kathmandu is low, only about 1300 m, the border town is called
Zhang Mu and is perched on a very steep hillside at about 2200 m or 7200 ft. The
4-star hotel had certainly had the bed sheets changed within the last millennium...
We went for an evening walk in pouring rain a few hundred meters up the road.
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The next morning we continued on and up a very impressive road carved out of the
mountainside, sometimes even overhanging cliffs, and probably an average angle
greater than 45 deg. to a small town at about 3600 m called Nyalam. We walked
up a local "Hausberg" to 4250 m.
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next day we walked up a nearby hill to 4700 m with spectacular views. The next
day we continued on to Tingri at 4400 m and we walked up to 4900 m for an afternoon
walk. Tibet is incredibly dry and windy. Tomorrow we will head onto Everest base
camp at about 5200 m. I have walked each day with a Russian who lives in Germany
(Volodya) and who is very strong! (Timeline:
1 April Kathmandu, 2 April Kathmandu, 3 April Zhang Mu, 4+5 April Nyalam, 6+7
April Tingri, 8 April Everest Base camp)
Please give greetings to Kostya (Frank)
More as time and access to laptop/satellite cell phone (infrequently) permits
Love to all
Tom, Apr. 7 |
The
turn to the Everest Base Camp | Vladimir
Belous: |
View
to Tingri | Hi
everybody!
All is OK. Today, on April 6 we have started from Nyalam and have
arrived at Tingri by jeeps, here is real Tibet, because we have crossed a pass
about 5100 m. Tingri is much more better than Nyalam, it is a clean enough village,
asphalted road, fantastic views of Mt. Everest, Cho-Oyu and Makalu. The weather
is very good. In spite of the altitude (4300 m), it is very warm and we tan here.
Parallel with us many expeditions go to Mt. Everest - British, Indian,
Basque,
American, Romanian and other expeditions. Right now we feel well, but it is too
early to speak about that - will see after our first walks on the mountain. People
speak that it is a lot of snow this year. Tomorrow we will have a rest and acclimatization
here. There are hot springs not far from here and we are going to visit them. Apr.6 |
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