Tibetan Travels: A blog series

Part I:

The Beginning- Team FAShisha

The tale of our Tibet ski expedition and of our team begins on the sandstone red rocks of the high desert.

In the fall of 2008, I was climbing the desert tower route “the Lightning Bolt Cracks” on the North Six Shooter tower, in Indian Creek, UT. Indian Creek is a remote climbing destination in south-eastern Utah. It has become popular over the years but its towers remain relatively untouched gems with tough routes that see very little traffic. It is not that common to bump into other parties.

The route up the tower was beautiful and challenging and as I topped out of the last awkward chimney pitch, covered in dirt and dust, photographer and athlete Mark Fisher was standing nearby on the summit rocks grinning from ear to ear through a thick fuzzy beard.

“Nice job!” he chuckled with enthusiasm. As he congratulated us on our efforts, he was preparing to drop over the tower’s overhanging south side on a fixed line to document climber Andres Marin maneuvering up a strenuous crack climb adjacent to ours. Dangling in the air, camera in hand, Mark continued to chat happily with my partner and I even as he spun around on his rope capturing angles three hundred feet off the deck. Mark, in a nutshell, quickly became one of the most positive people I have ever met. In getting to know him, I have found him to be spirited and encouraging in every conversation, with a zest for adventure that is rarely matched.

Mark and I kept in touch on and off over the next year and chatted about doing a serious expedition together. In September of 2009 I emailed Mark as I was headed to his hometown of Jackson, WY for a photo shoot. We reconnected in person at the cozy Shades Coffee Shop downtown and discussed the possibility of an expedition. After a few weeks of emailing ideas we found that we shared a mutual desire to climb and ski in Tibet.

As we discussed how to build our team, with careful deliberation and evaluation, the list was filled out. Todd Passey, a talented, “cool cucumber” guide, based out of Salt Lake City joined the ranks, along with Mark’s long time former Nols friend and uber superhuman strong man and Exum Mountain Guide, Andy Tankersley.

As the team came together, so did our funding. After applying to First Ascent/Eddie Bauer’s “Be First” grant program in December 2009, we were thrilled to receive word in February 2010 that they would underwrite the trip. Due to the limits of the fixed funding amount, we had to readjust our initial proposal, and decided upon the one main goal of climbing and skiing Shishapangma.

Why Team FAShisha? Team First Ascent Shishapangma
http://fashisha.blogspot.com/

Getting to Know You

Our departure date of September 8th hovers in the air with the many last minute details to which our team must attend. And, above and beyond the logistics, there is our physical training.

Traveling to Tibet has been a dream of mine for many years. With a fascinatingly peaceful and spiritual Buddhist culture and a portion of the most striking mountains in the Himalayas, the country offers quiet mystery and mysticism though there has been turbulence with the Chinese presence since 1949. When the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet in 1959, the Tibetan Government moved with him, and settled in the mountains of Dharmsala, India though both the Government in-exile and the Dalai Lama do not receive official diplomatic recognition from other nations.

Mark Fisher, Andy Tanksersley, Todd Passey and I have joined together to spend five weeks in south-central Tibet attempting to climb and ski Shishapangma- #14 of the fourteen 8,000 meter (26,000ft+) peaks in the world. Shishapangma (“crest above the grassy plains”- translation from Tibetan) stands at 8,013 meters/26,289ft. The peak was first climbed in 1964 and was the last of the 8,000 meter peak group to be summited.

Last week our team congregated in Victor Idaho in preparation for a dry run climb on the infamous Grand Traverse route in the Teton Range of Jackson, WY. This was to be our first team challenge. Heading into the hills together would not only help us to understand how we individually move in the mountains, but would also assist our group in learning to make the tough decisions and continuous evaluations that arise.

More to come on our time in the hills in Part II- posting on September 3rd.

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top photo: Mark Fisher www.markfisherphoto.com climber: Andres Marin

Thanks to our sponsors: "Be First" Grant - First Ascent, Backcountry.com, Feathered Friends, SMITH Optics, IO-BIO, SUUNTO, BUFF, MSR & Cascade Designs, GO PRO, Osprey Packs and Salomon Freeski