September 1, 2014
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- Cho Oyu Climbers and Tibet Trekkers on hike above Nyalam (Mike Hamill)
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- Nyalam, Tibet (Mike Hamill)
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- Road from Zhangmy to Nyalam (John Race)
The Cho Oyu climbers and Tibet trekkers had a good drive yesterday from Zhangmu (2300m, 7500ft) up the deep canyon of the Bhote Kosi river gorge to Nyalam (3,750 m, 12,300 ft). This is a very steep and windy road, which has been improved a lot over the years. It is only 35km between the two towns, but there is a huge difference in the geography. Zhangmu is down in the sub-tropical forest zone, perched on a steep hillslope above the Friendship bridge. Nyalam is right on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, surrounded by mountain peaks, but the terrain is starting to open up. The team will spend two nights in Nyalam, for acclimatization.
Mike Hamill reports that today the team went for a nice hike up the valley towards Shishapangma south face BC and that everyone is healthy and acclimatizing well, and that the weather has been good. The plan for tomorrow is to continue on to Tingri, which will require them to cross the Tsong La (pass), at over 17,000 feet (this will give them their first big views of the Himalayas and the 8000m peak Shishapangma).
Eric Simonson