It has been a busy few days here on Shishapangma. Yesterday a number of teams reached the summit and we are very happy for them. Our team is back at Base camp after a solid rotation up high. Our team carried, put in and spent a few nights at Camp 2, roughly the same height as the summit of Aconcagua.
On this last round were able to get in a pretty windy carry to Camp 3, somewhere around 24,500’ above the ocean. Now we're resting and recouping here at Advance Base Camp. If weather holds we will launch this weekend for shot at the top.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from Advance Base Camp on Shishapangma.
Hey Jake, congrats to you and Elias on your summit of Shishapangma without o2 and sherpas - a bit late but I just read about it.
Thanks again for the great trip up Rainier this past July (ALA climb)!
Posted by: Lance on 12/7/2011 at 5:00 pm
Hey Jake, good to hear you’re all safely down. Climbing in the Himalaya must be incredible. As you told our group on Rainier last year:“The mountain will always be there”. Sounds like everyone used good judgement.
Learned a lot from you and Billy during Rainier expedition skills trip last September and trained differently for second attempt. Made it to the top this past August with Paul, Maile, and Cody as guides. Thanks for what you contributed to my mountaineering education. Be well and I’ll hopefully be climbing with you in South America or Mexico next winter.
Best regards,
Tom Falvo
Hello,
This is the Shishapanga team with a new update. Camp 2 (22,965') has been established and the team is starting today to do some rotations and the weather forecast for the next few days is good.
We will try to push it a little further to Camp 3 (24,278') with some carries and get acclimatized.
Everybody is doing pretty well and we are excited and in very good spirits. The team is working well together and despite the hardness of Himalayan climbing we are having a really good time.
So that is it for now and we’ll be calling soon with a new update. Take care and hello to everyone.
RMI Guide Elias De Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos checks in from Camp 2 on Shishapangma.
Os seguimos desde esta web, mucho ánimo y cuidado con hacerse “pupita”.
Esperamos poder veros pronto sanos y salvos.
Un abrazo muy fuerte para Elías y Bridget desde España.
Posted by: Miguel Ángel y Silvia on 10/12/2011 at 3:17 pm
Hey there Elias, Bridgette and crew! The Ice is forming slowly here in Summit County and the high peaks are blanketed in snow. Carrie and I send our best to you all for a successful and fun summit bid. We are so psyched for you all and this grand adventure. Climb hard, climb safe and we can’t wait to hear stories around the fire back here in Colorado!
Hello this is the Shishapangma Team calling from our advance base camp. This morning we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground here at 18,400' and it seems as though the storm left a few feet on the upper mountain.
Part of the team is finishing their first rotation through camp one up near 21,000’ and will be descending either tonight or tomorrow. It seems as though we will be sitting here at our advanced base camp for a few days resting and then hoping for clear weather to go up on our next rotation. Everyone is doing well and climbing strong. We will call back in a few days and check in then.
Bye!
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Shishapangma Team Checks in from Advanced Base Camp
Hey guys, this is the Shishapangma team. We are just calling to check in. Everybody is well. We did feel the big earthquake the other day. Both our team up at Camp 1 and our team at BC are just fine.
We are going to send another team up in the direction of Camp 1 later this afternoon. We are going to start our rotations a little higher up. All is well here. We are waiting for a weather window and just hanging out.
So, we hope all is well back in Ashford. We’ll be giving you a shout when we have a little more to say. That is all from Tibet.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
The Shishapangma team left a voice mail message with the RMI office yesterday saying everything was going well. It was a little hard to decipher which is understandable coming from half way around the world via satellite. Here is what we were able to understand:
“Hey guys it is the Shishapangma crew. All doing well here at Basecamp after carries from/to Camp 1. Heading up to Camp 1 again in a few days. Wanted to let you know we are well. We will be heading up again soon.”
It has been a monumentous week for RMI Guides Paul Edgren and Billy Nugent. Paul reached the Mt. Rainier summit for the 100th time on September 11th and Billy on September 15th!
Congratulations Paul & Billy!
Hello, this is the Shishapangma team calling from 17,000’ in the middle of the Tibetan Plateau on the way to Advanced Base Camp (ABC). We have spent three days at Chinese Base Camp at 16,000’. The team is doing really well. We actually went for a nice, leisurely one-hour run, which was a record for everybody, yesterday. And we are really excited and having a good time. We hope to call in the next few days after we have set up camp at Advanced Base Camp. That is all for now.
Hello everyone from Tibet.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos checks in from 17,000' in Tibet.
We are in Nyalam, our last stop before the Chinese Base Camp. The drive through Nepal to the border with Tibet went pretty well and the border crossing itself was smooth. We bypassed the town of Zangmu straight to Nyalam. This afternoon we will head for a hike to stretch the legs after the trip and start the acclimatization process. We have a scheduled departure for Chinese Base Camp for tomorrow around noon. The team is in really good spirits and looking forward to putting a foot on the mountain.
Regards from Tibet,
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
We have arrived today the 5th in Kathmandu. The trip, rather long, went smooth. Tomorrow we are going to do some shopping for personal food and logistics and we plan on leaving for Tibet on Wednesday.
We will keep you posted!
RMI Guide Elías de Andrés Martos
Bridget and Elias,
The experience is exciting for all of us. Thank you for sharing. The quiet fall Rockies seem inviting for a snowy winter - but missing their best two climbers.
On Sunday I attend a Tibetan dinner in Colorado; I will send many good thoughts your way - perhaps you will see them in the prayer flags!!
Good luck; please be safe.
Bob Bandoni
Posted by: Bob Bandoni on 9/8/2011 at 7:36 am
You go, Jake. Memories of Mt. Athabasca just a few years ago. Good luck to all of you and be safe. Hal
RMI Guides depart for Shishapangma (26,289’)!
On the morning of September 3rd Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. guides Jake Beren, Elias De Andres Martos, Geoff Schellens, Erik Frank, Leon Davis, and Bridget Schletty departed from Ashford, WA USA, en route to the Tibetan Himalaya. Their goal is the fourteenth highest mountain in the world, Shishapangma.
The team will attempt the mountain without the benefit of supplemental oxygen or Sherpa support. In addition Jake Beren has brought his skis! If conditions are right Jake hopes to make a ski descent.
Stay tuned for dispatches and photos as this intrepid group of climbers make their way to the top of the mountain and home again.
Safe travels!
Hey Jake, congrats to you and Elias on your summit of Shishapangma without o2 and sherpas - a bit late but I just read about it.
Thanks again for the great trip up Rainier this past July (ALA climb)!
Posted by: Lance on 12/7/2011 at 5:00 pm
Hey Jake, good to hear you’re all safely down. Climbing in the Himalaya must be incredible. As you told our group on Rainier last year:“The mountain will always be there”. Sounds like everyone used good judgement.
Learned a lot from you and Billy during Rainier expedition skills trip last September and trained differently for second attempt. Made it to the top this past August with Paul, Maile, and Cody as guides. Thanks for what you contributed to my mountaineering education. Be well and I’ll hopefully be climbing with you in South America or Mexico next winter.
Best regards,
Tom Falvo
Posted by: Tom Falvo on 10/19/2011 at 5:40 pm
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