Mt. Everest 2005: Catalan Team North Side Update

Tents (camp 1) North Col ©EverestNews.com

Update: THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2005 - LHASA -SHIGATSE -

The day started well at 8h in the morning when we left Lhasa towards Gyantse, with a distance of 400 Km between them.  A relatively good road covered more or less comfortably in the all terrain vehicles we are riding.  But after an hour in hour trip, we left the asphalt and it became a dirt road, which gets into the Tibetan plateau.  During the trip the dust, bumps in the road and the temerity of big trucks along the same way are our constant company.  From time to time we see Yaks and some typical Tibetan construction where their shepherds live.  Xavi and Merce quickly say that this is not the way they traveled in 2002 when they went to Gyantse on their way to Shisha Pangma, and the explanations of our guide in his poor English won't clear our doubts.  And like this hours and hours we tumble and from time to time we see a truck upside down or stuck at the side of the road.  The road goes up to the 5,200 m and 4,700 m of the cols of two mountains that we had to pass.  Finally at 16h we found an asphalted road that did not led to Gyantse as we thought, so we did another one and a half hour more to surprisingly find the entrance of Shigatse, arriving at six and a half.  A marathonian journey of more that 500 Km.  All because the normal road is closed for repairs, they say.  We are closer to base camp now. Good night.

Translated by Jorge Rivera

Updates

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