Tibetan Travels: Part III

Part III - And we are off..

In five days, on September 8th, our team departs for Asia. To get to this point, there have been hours upon hours logged on the phone, writing emails, going to meetings, driving, fitting in training, coordinating itineraries and more.

Once the trip, the team, and the plane tickets were solidified in mid-May, our planning began in earnest. Since that time, during most weeks, teammate Mark Fisher and I have not gone more than twenty-four hours without communication. What on earth requires this much talk? When dealing with an expedition of this magnitude and duration (45+ days), there are comprehensive components of the process which include organizing gear, lining up sponsorships (read: finding money and gear), and managing trip logistics.

Mark and my discussions usually go something like this:

“What’s up, Havell”
“What’s up, Fisher”
“Have you heard from so & so, and have you ordered this & that, and where are we on who and what?”
“Yes. And, I spoke to him & her, and you need to follow-up with them over there, and could you send me some information on what & where.”
“On it”
“Ok. Talk soon. Ciao.”

It would bore you like a skier in Kansas to go into too much detail, but the three main components of the logistical preparation include food, technical gear (team gear, personal gear, on-mountain gear), and communications. Within each component, there are more detailed items like coffee on the mountain and coffee at base camp (BC), and other such mundane decisions. But, when you are sitting at BC, and you don’t have your good coffee, no one is very happy. You see we bring the good stuff for down low, and the compact lighter items for up high, applicable within all areas of the food category.

Our food for on the mountain above advanced base camp (“ABC”- 19,200ft) will be high altitude meals provided by Mountain House, supplemented by Clif products. We will also have staples such as chocolate bars, energy mixes, soup packets and more. When at BC, we will eat local food like Dal Bhat (rice and lentils), occasionally mixed with pieces of goat, along with more standard fare like pasta.

Moving on to the gear category, expeditions that involve ski-mountaineering, which is climbing mountains and then skiing down them, demand different gear choices then other types of trips. Since skis add an extra load carry to the process, weight and efficiency become top priorities in the system.

The specifics are lengthy but generally speaking we bring two light axes/ice tools/and or a whippet (axe attachment made for a ski pole), light bindings with spare parts, light crampons- two sets, and light tents. We also bring two sleeping bags each, one for our ABC, and one that travels up with us on the mountain. There are as many variations on gear and equipment as there are cows in India, but hopefully this lends some perspective on the general process and the gear that we will use.

Playing further into the equation, our clothing choices are extremely important. We use merino wool for base layers, and down and gore-tex for outer/upper layers. Since we will be attempting to ski, we will climb in ski boots, which are not as warm and beefy as your typical mountaineering boot. So, in this case, we will bring “overboots” which are neoprene zip-on booties that allow you to attach crampons to the boot but keep your feet warm in the colder environments up higher on the mountain. We also bring more high density down jackets (800+ fill) for warmth and flexibility, as our clothing cannot inhibit our ability to move in ski descent.

As we individually roll out of Salt Lake, Jackson Hole, and Telluride, each team member will have an unseemly amount of baggage. With the new airline fees, this will add quite a toll to our bottom-line expenses. Add in our goal to ski, and that is a whole other task with which to do the travel tango, adding a third awkward bag to our arsenal. With four different flight connections to the Far East, we can only hope to dance our way out of heavy costs.

When we arrive to BC (16,400ft), we will settle in for a day or two and then will slowly move our operation to base out of ABC (17,700ft). From ABC, our plan is to climb up whatever route/s we plan to ski down so as to understand the snow and the terrain. We will work our way up the mountain carefully, acclimatizing and accessing conditions and options each step of the way. We will adhere to the alpinist adage, “climb high, sleep low” and we will hope that the weather and conditions cooperate.

The rest is to be determined. Wish us luck, support us through supporting the dZi Foundation, and we’ll report back here in late October.

Some updates will post on our team website during our journey: http://fashisha.blogspot.com/

Enjoy the change of seasons!

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