http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php Copyright 2010, Martin Davis Martin Davis en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.8 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071009-203216

Just a quick note that the trip back from Shisha to Kathmandu was quite the experience. I can save that story for when I get back. Let's just say the Chinese are trying to fix the road down to Nepal which follows a very deep gorge. Prior to their work it was a very dicey road. Now it makes for a great ride at Disney without any safety precautions. You can ask me about that when I return.


I have also added a couple of night shots of the mountain while at ABC. You can see a very clear lenticular cloud over the summit in one of the photos. It was also very windy at ABC that night and very hard to keep the tripod steady. Though we did not always have visible clouds on the mountain, the wind was always present and visible on the mountain from ABC.


I may update this dispatch later, but that is about it from here. Hope everyone is well and I appreciate everyone who followed along and also left comments. With very limited access email, this was a great way to communicate back on the trip. Hope to see you all soon.





]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071009-203216 Martin Davis Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:32:16 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=10&entry=entry071009-203216 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071003-083559 though still not great. The next week is supposed to be clear but very
windy and very cold. I am still not thrilled with the forecast and decided
to spend some time at ABC recovering while the sherpas get ready to go up
and fix some ropes for a possible summit attempt on 10/6. We have a few
really strong climbers already at camp 2 that would probably make up the
first summit team on the 6th. If they are successful and there is another
summit window prior to 10/11, I will make a decision on going for it after
the 6th, though I am probably 50-50 on that now. At this point, there has
still been no summit attempt on Shishapangma and we are one of the only
teams left with a real chance. No matter how things turn out, the
expedition has been great and the mountain is really spectacular. I'll post
another dispatch once we make our first summit attempt assuming I am not
back on the mountain. Getting close to the end and looking forward to some
warmer weather again. Till my next dispatch, take care.]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071003-083559 Martin Davis Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:35:59 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=10&entry=entry071003-083559 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070928-084018 acclimatized since we have spent so much time down at ABC. Will probably
not have another dispatch until I return probably in 3-4 days (assuming we
do not lose our internet connection again).

One other quick note, there have been no summits on Shishapangma so far this
season because of the weather. The more popular mountain in this region,
Cho Oyu, has seen only one summit so far which is very unusual. We'll see
how things go with us since we have a bit more time than most.

Take care and talk to you again when I return.]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070928-084018 Martin Davis Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:40:18 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070928-084018 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070926-122549
]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070926-122549 Martin Davis Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:25:49 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070926-122549 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070925-121943
9/18 - Depot camp at 19,300ft: We had already made one carry of gear to
this camp. Today we carried the rest of the gear we needed and spent
the night here. Depot camp is kind of a miserable place just off of the
glacier where you have to move a lot rocks to find a spot to pitch a tent.
Thankfully, only one night is spent at this camp.

9/19 - Camp 1 at 21,300ft: In order to get to camp 1 you need to cross what
is known as the penitentes. These are basically huge upside down icicles
that create a maze you have to get across. There was already a route set
through them, but according to the sherpas, it was one of poorest routes
through them. The climbing through was moderately technical made more so by
the altitude we were at. It required some moderate ice climbing and down
climbing to get through to the other side. Once through, you then had about
2000ft of climbing which in my case was done with around a 40lb pack (yes a
bit to much).

9/20 - Camp 1 at 21,300ft: This was just a rest day at camp 1 to help
acclimatize. Not much was done other than eat, sleep, and repeat (a dog's
life).

9/21 - Camp 2 at 22,500ft: This was another tough day with the move to camp
2. I lightened my pack to around 30-35 lbs, but it was still really hard
wince we had about a foot and half of fresh snow that fell that night making
the route really soft.

9/22 - Camp 2 at 22,5000ft: Just a rest day here and took a light hike.
Otherwise, we had great views and did our best to stay healthy.

9/23 - Back to ABC: Long day from Camp 2 to ABC which took most of the day.
We are now back here which feels good, but the weather has really turned for
the worse. It is now a waiting game until we have another weather window.

9/24-9/25 - Long boring days waiting for the snow to stop. Internet is back
and now we just need some power to so we can keep communicating.

That's all I have for now and I hope to provide more info when we have a bit
more power. Might try and upload a few more pics if things work on the next
dispatch. Hope all is well there and I'll be in contact again soon.
]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070925-121943 Martin Davis Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:19:43 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070925-121943 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070924-084000 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070924-084000 Martin Davis Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:40:00 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070924-084000 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070915-195653
Tomorrow we have what is known as a Puja which is a ceremony where our climbing will be blessed for good luck and a safe trip on the mountain. After that we will start moving gear up to the edge of the glacier to start building camps. Hope everything is going well back there and I will send another update in the next few days. Take care.
]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070915-195653 Martin Davis Sun, 16 Sep 2007 02:56:53 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070915-195653 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070912-211734 acclimatized. The weather has been excellent and hopefully it will continue
through the expedition. The day hikes have provided excellent views of
shishapangma and the surrounding mountains along with the vast Tibetan
plateau. One of the nicer hikes we took went up to 17,850ft and provided a
magnificent panorama of the area. Today will be spent relaxing and getting
ready to move up to advanced base camp (ABC) at 18,200 on 9/14. We have a
really good team here and everybody is getting along well which is important
as we move higher on the mountain. Turns out there are 12 teams on the
mountain this year and most have already started up. Hopefully they will
break a nice trail for us. The next dispatch should be from ABC, so speak
to you then.
]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070912-211734 Martin Davis Thu, 13 Sep 2007 04:17:34 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070912-211734 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070909-215821 scenery I have been to in Tibet. We had been traveling on well paved roads
that were dirt the last time I was here. Well that ended today and we had
the last three hours of our drive to BC on dirt roads in our bus. After a
couple of wrong turns on the Tibetan plateau, we pulled into BC at about
2pm. The weather is great and we have super views of Shishapangma and the
surrounding mountains which I plan to take a number photos of while we are
here (sorry, but I do not believe I will be able to post any pictures on
this site). The plan is to stay here for about 5 days in order to organize
and acclimatize, which we will all need. During that time we will be
exploring the surrounding hills. I'll try and get another update out in the
next few days. Let me also thank my buddy Dan for helping me get these
dispatches posted while I am here (Up to you if you want to add this line).
Till the next time
]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070909-215821 Martin Davis Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:58:21 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070909-215821 http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070908-060125

Today we went on a little hike up to 15,400ft and had some terrific views of the valley and surrounding mountains. Didn't get rained on today, but we did here a large thunderstorm hit once we got back to the hotel.


Tomorrow we head off to base camp at about 16,400ft. Though I will not have access to send dispatches directly, I am trying to setup a way to have someone update them for me while I email them in.


So hopefully this will not be the last dispatch. For those of you still following along, hope to get more info in a few days. Things are still well here and hope they are the same there. Take care for now.]]> http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070908-060125 Martin Davis Sat, 08 Sep 2007 13:01:25 GMT http://www.peak-itc.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070908-060125