September 24, 2016
Big Peaks Seen from the KTM-Lhasa Flight Include Cho Oyu, Gyachung Kang, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu (Eric Simonson)
Ang Jangbu called me to report that the Tibet Trek team flew today from Lhasa all the way to Kathmandu, but the plane could not land due to the weather, so they flew back to Lhasa. They will try again tomorrow. It’s not over till it’s over!
The good news is that they are getting some great views of the Himalayas! The air route between Lhasa and Kathmandu normally crosses the Himalaya near Makalu. The Gonggar  (Lhasa) Airport is at 11,700 ft and it is over 13,000 feet long! I remember flying in and out of this airport back in the 1980’s (from Chengdu) in a Russian Ilyushin Il-18. Departing Gonggar, the takeoff roll took over a minute and we flew a long time, very close to the ground, before we could start to gain altitude.  Yikes! Now a days Air China flies the Airbus A319.
I talked to Mike Hamill at ABC and the team are all doing well and are looking forward to a couple rest days now, which is perfect timing to let this weather system move out of the area.
Eric Simonson