Further West Into Tibet Towards Mount Everest

I must have been tired because I slept through the night and awoke at about 7 a.m. After taking a hot shower (my last for almost the next two weeks), I tried to send an email to my family, but the power went out. After eating breakfast by candlelight, we loaded up in the van. Our guide, Thring, got a phone call and we found out that the rest of our trekking group (that drove into Tibet from Nepal over several days) was leaving to go to Everest basecamp. The plan was to meet up with them tomorrow after staying the night in the town of Tingri.

We checked out of the hotel, loaded up our bags in the van and went to the Tashilhunpo Monastery. Founded in 1447AD, it is the home to about 700 monks, including the Panchen Lama, second only to the Dalai Lama in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy. Thring left us with some high school students he knew and they guided us through the monastery while he went to the local officials to get our special permit for entering the Everest area of Tibet.

Tashilhunpo had beautiful buildings and stupas, as well as the largest sitting Buddha statue in the world. After the tour, we sat outside in the warm sun, which was very bright in the thin air at almost 12,500 feet of elevation. After some shopping on the crowded street outside the monastery, Thring returned and we ate a quick lunch before loading up the van and leaving the city shortly after 1 p.m.

As we travelled west on the Friendship Highway, we crossed over the Tropo La (mountain pass) at about 14,750 feet and saw lots of agricultural activity and small villages along the way.  In one village, we saw many villagers mixing dirt and water to make mud bricks that they then used to build a courtyard and animal pens.  There were also farmers plowing their fields with the help of yaks in order to plant barley.

The highway forked at the tiny village of Lhartse as we continued west and crossed over the very windy and chilly Gyatso La at about 16,700 feet. Shortly after, we saw our first road sign welcoming us to the Chomolungma (the local name for Everest) region. The highway markers, one each kilometer, continued to go by.  I followed along on a map that I had, as Mount Everest is supposed to be visible from afar at marker 5114 (that many kilometers from its origin in Shanghai, China), but the weather was cloudy and we didn't see the mountain.

Outside of the town of Shegar, sometimes referred to as New Tingri, we stopped at a Chinese military checkpoint and had our passports, visas and special permits checked. After a half hour more in the van, we finally pulled into Tingri at about 14,500 feet, shortly after 6 p.m. We could see a beautiful, if slightly cloudy, view of a long stretch of the Himalayas, including Mount Everest about 50 miles to the south. 

We then checked into the only hotel in town, the Ha Hoo Hotel, and fortunately got rooms in the new section we had heard about. I settled into my room and it looked pretty good unil I found that there was no water in the bathroom. It was turned off so the pipes wouldn't freeze, as it was late April and still got very cold at night.  After looking for a thermostat and not finding one, I also noticed a lack of heating vents and figured that not only wouldn't I get a shower, I also wouldn't get any heat. I fixed that by grabbing the quilt off the other bed and added it to my bedding. 

After meeting in the hotel restaurant for a late dinner of various Tibetan dishes, we said good bye to Thring and our driver and tipped them for their fine service. The plan for the next morning had Trudy and me heading to Everest with a new driver, while the Italian couple were headed separate ways - Enrico to Cho Oyo (one of the 14 peaks in the world above 8,000 meters) to attempt a climb to the summit, while his wife returned to Nepal. We all wished each other luck as we said our farewells, having enjoyed the adventurous drive across Tibet together.

I went back to my room - it was already cold enough to see my breath - and curled up in my two quilts. The electricity was off, so I wore a headlamp in case I needed some light during the night. Serenaded by the mangy barking dogs of Tingri, I drifted off, thinking of the drive to Mount Everest the next day.

Next up:  A 3-hour drive to Chinese Base Camp on the north side of Everest, as I meet up with my trekking group once again and settle into tent camp at 17,000 feet of elevation. The air is thin, but the views are incredible!

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