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Tibet data sheet How
to get there
Lhasa, the tibetan head city can be
reached by plane through Beijing and Chengdu, or through Kathmandou in
Nepal. We prefered getting a deeper feeling of the country travelling
by car from the nepalese border. The journey takes between 3 and 4
days on a rough dirt road in a wonderfull landscape. Each of the daily
stops can be made in the chinese governmental hotel, usually large and
almost empty. It is also possible to rest with one of the very typical
and low cost tibetan lodge, but the comfort will be very basic. It is
definitely worth the experience though...
What is the best time
Fall gets a very nice weather pattern,
but cold. Summer will be milder, but with more rain. We choosed the
spring time and we got a rather sunny and stable weather, but with
much wind and dust. In the mountains, the snow fell in small quantity
every three or four days.
Local contacts
As our plans were aimed at an area for
which the access had always been forbidden, we had to get a whole
bunch of permits and aprovals from different bodies. The whole
logistics had to be taken care of by the Tibetan Mountaineering
Association, no other choice. They picked us up at the nepalese border
and helped us achieve our objectives.
Medical advice
The key point is obviously the
continuous high altitude level and the lack of time to get used to it.
If you land by plane to Lhasa, you suddenly arrive at an elevation of
3700 m and you certainly will feel a little short breath. On the other
hand, if you had decided to travel by car, you will cross your first
pass on the second day, at an elevation of 5600 m. Do not run too fast
!...
It is critical, before leaving your country, to check with your doctor
if your disability is compatible with a low oxygen level (only one
half of the sea level at 5000 meters). He will also teach you the
symptoms of the Acute Altitude Illness.
More
information
Group of 7 persons, including one
quadriplegic.
Date: May 1993
Length: 4 weeks
More details: jean-francois.porret@wanadoo.fr
ORWC routes
Our group was pursuing 3 main
objectives:
- a scientific study driven by a geologist from the French National
Research Center
- the ascent of a 6000 meters summit
- the achievement of a few downhill rides with an ORWC by the
quadriplegic
Some very nice rides have then been
completed in the Kula Kangri area, or close to the Everest or
also between the high tibetan plateau and the low level nepalese
lands.
| Tibet |
Diff |
Vertical
drop (m) |
No |
| Nyalam
(3800m) - Zangmu |
F |
1500 |
65 |
| Kula
Kangri (5500m) - Base Camp |
AD |
1100 |
62 |
| Zangmu
(2300m) - Friendship bridge |
F |
600 |
66 |
| Kula
Kangri (5000m) |
AD |
550 |
61 |
| Peng La (5200m) |
AD |
500 |
64 |
| Alpages (4400m) |
AD |
150 |
63 |
| Potala
(Dalai Lama summer residence) |
AD |
50 |
60 |
| |
Last update : 02/13/2002 09:54 |
