Entries By adam knoff
We have arrived at the mountain! Wow! Is all any of us could muster when we rolled into "Driver's Camp" situated in a beautiful prairie at 16,500 feet.
Shishapangma is rising 10,000 feet straight in front of me like a fortress not meant to be breached. I don't think any writer in the world could look out his window and see a vista so impressive as he puts his pen down in a stupor of amazement.
This morning we all had to get our final emails and texts out to our loved ones. As we drove we were graced with stunning views of
Everest and
Cho Oyu 60 miles across the moonscape of the Tibetan Plateau. Fifty miles down the road should lead to nowhere but actually leads to somewhere, some of us still had cell service. We will learn to unplug soon enough. This place to all of us is beyond expectations. No place could be better.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Good evening from Tingri.
We had a long day of driving on the road through the Tibetan Plateau... but it all was done in great spirits, as the grassy plains started to become rolling hills, and finally, snow capped mountains. We left Shigatse in the morning with rain, and the day became sunnier as we were devouring the kilometers that were also bringing us high. Entering the Chomolougma National Park (
Everest) or reaching 17,000ft were only some of the exciting occurrences, alongside spotting the Turquoise Goddess (
Cho Oyu) sneak from the clouds. A hike around the town of Tingri, where we're spending the night at an elevation similar to the one of
Mt. Rainier, culminated the day. Tomorrow we'll be covering the last three-car hours of our
Shishapangma approach, and we'll be at driver's camp, reuniting with our Sherpa team and cooks. Game is on!!!
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
September 7, 2016
This morning we woke up in Lhasa, the spiritual and political capital of Tibet. This city sits over 12,000 feet so it is fair to say there were a couple restless nights and throbbing heads as we adjusted to our new altitude and instant coffee downgrade. After breakfast we took an incredible tour of the Potala Palace. This is without question the most famous landmark in all of Tibet. Built in 1645 as a winter home for the Dali Lama, the sheer size, engineering and magnificence of this palace inspires anyone lucky enough just to lay eyes on it. So we felt privileged to have a three hour tour arranged for us beginning right after breakfast.
Once on the streets of Lhasa, this preconceived idea of a beautiful, traditional Buddhist city got zapped straight out of our brains with blaring horns, massive buildings and what one person called the Times Square of Tibet directly in front of the palace's gate. Neon lights, swanky fashion shops, fancy cars, Lhasa has it all.
After our brief culture shock we found ourselves deep in the heart of the Potala Palace, sanctuary to over a dozen Dali Lamas in the past 375 years. It is difficult to describe how spectacular this place is. From Dali Lama tombs to prayer rooms to sculptures cast in gold. This place is truly remarkable.
After the Palace tour our next excursion began. The 180 mile drive from Lhasa to Shigatse. With both cities holding populations greater than a half million, we simply could not believe the infrastructure projects connecting these two metropolises. Paved highways, massive tunnels through giant mountains, apartment buildings ready to house thousands more Chinese coming to this high mountain desert.
Beyond all of the cultural collisions, we made it to Shigatse in just over 7 hours. If you do the math that is an average speed of 26 miles per hour. We drove so slow at times the team thought we would get rear ended by a cow pulling a cart. Ounce finally settled we had a fantastic dinner and can hardly contain our excitement for tomorrow's repeat of snail crawling our way closer to
Shishapangma. We are all in great spirits and will touch base tomorrow.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Tasi Delek!
Greetings from Tibet. We were delayed on our flight to Lhasa, but managed to land a couple hours before dark. It was a surreal change to leave the chaotic yet controlled scene of Kathmandu, and in less than one hour, experience on the other side of the Himalaya the somewhat quiet and broad Tibet.
Tired from the hurry up and wait, we checked into our hotel, had an amazing dinner, and then settled in to our rooms for the night.
Everyone is really excited to finally start covering the ground towards
Shishapangma. Before we start the drive tomorrow, we'll have time for a quick visit to the Potala. Soon after, we'll set off for Shigatse. More tomorrow!!!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
What is the best way to maximize your training before an 8,000m peak climb? Well, probably not rock climbing, but it sure is a good one to maximize your time in
Kathmandu while waiting to fly to Lhasa. Today we spent the day having some fun, as the pictures show, but also starting to get excited with planning, strategizing and dreaming of the climb of the "Crest above the grassy plains". Tomorrow we're flying to Lhasa early in the morning, and the Tibetan adventure will begin... Stay tuned!
RMI Guides Elias, Adam, Robby & Team
Namaste:
And we have started our
Shishapangma Expedition!!! The team is all well in Kathmandu... pretty much uneventful arrivals yesterday, that culminated with the expected jet lag on most of us. A nice welcome dinner put us to bed early. Today, we spent the day visiting the Monkey Temple and acquiring some last minute items we determined appropriate after our gear check. Kathmandu has greeted us with the last rains of the monsoon, which is to depart the Sub-Indian continent soon. We sure hope for the dry weather of the northern Himalayas when we are on our climb! However, that's a ways away yet, and we have to wait another day in Kathmandu before we fly to Lhasa, Tibet's capital, on the 6th.
In the meantime, we're going to continue to relax in hectic Kathmandu (is that an oxymoron?) before setting out for Chinese territory.
That's it for now; tune in for our blogs as we start our adventure into the Himalayas!!!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir, led by RMI Guides
Eric Frank and
Adam Knoff, reached the summit at 7:30 this morning. Eric reported windy but clear weather. After spending some time on the top, the team began their descent and are currently around 13,500 feet.
Yesterday the team had fun practicing crevasse rescue. Check out their photos below.
Congratulations to the seminar teams!
RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Walter Hailes led the
Four Day Summit Climb team to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team reached the summit in gusty winds. We look forward to greeting the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon when the finish descending.
Congratulations climbers!
Summit day on Chimborazo. Not only were our bodies still recovering from the two previous big climbs of Cayambe and Antisana, we saved the trickiest and tallest climb for last. Towering over the surrounding landscape at 20,700ft, Chimborazo was our final objective. And boy, did it deliver!
Even in the best conditions, this peak isn't an easy target. But coupled with uncharacteristically dry season this year, this climb proved to be the most physically and mentally demanding of the trip.
We hiked up yesterday to our High Camp at around 17,500', made some dinner, and hit the sack. Our climb this morning began with our 11pm alarms waking us from our sleep. After tidying up camp, slamming some calories, and chugging some coffee, we pointed our tired feet uphill towards the summit.
The climb began with about an hour and a half of walking on trail, exposed ridges, and a couple of 5th class climbing moves. As the trail steepened, we cramponed up and prepared to hit the glacier.
Because of the dry spell Ecuador has been experiencing, the glacier was a challenging beast! Steep, firm, icy, exposed. Perfect footwork was required for the entire ascent, but our team delivered! From challenging cramponing to sections of pitched-out steep ice, this team persevered and tackled everything that crossed their paths. After a grueling 7.5 hours, we reached the Veintemilla summit at 20,561', 30 minutes later we had turned tail and began the descent.
The steep ice and exposure made the descent as difficult as the ascent, but the team kept their heads in the game and we made it safely back to high camp by 2pm. Our porters had already packed up camp for us, making it easy for us to continue on our final descent back to the bus.
The (thoroughly exhausted yet happy) team is now back at Estrella de Chimborazo, enjoying some much earned beverages, and reminiscing about these crazy last two weeks. It's hard to believe we're heading back to the big city tomorrow and flying home!
We will have one more update for you guys tomorrow, but we'll all be home to tell you more stories firsthand before you know it!
Until tomorrow,
RMI Guides Nick Hunt and Adam Knoff
Hey Everyone,
We woke this morning and had a great breakfast. After we were well nourished we decided to brush up on our crevasse rescue skills. This afternoon we packed up and headed for the
Chimborazo Reserve, from there it was a three hour hike to 17,500' where camp was set up for us. The team is doing great we had a great dinner and now it's off to bed, for an alpine start awaits us. The summit of Chimborazo beckons...Wish us luck!
RMI Guide
Adam Knoff & Team
Art, you’re crazy as a bedbug, but climb safe and enjoy the view. We’ll send good vibes your way every day until you’re back down. Cheers!
Posted by: Bob on 9/10/2016 at 10:30 pm
Shout out to A-Knoff and the rest of the team! Following along from the flatlands and loving the pics and posts. Best wishes to all! Leininger
Posted by: Mark on 9/10/2016 at 6:47 am
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