Anker

Saari

McLean

Hello MZ crew. This will be an open laptop, so to say. Conrad is up first and we'll pass the machine about. We're bound to go to lower levels as the amount of Tuborg Beer is consumed.

"It is very much like this, but not like this at all." Quoted by a Nepali many years ago...

On my first trip to Nepal I met several friendly fellows who were interested in my culture, as I was with theirs. We shared experiences about life. We talked about food, a common denominator throughout the world. When asked if we have chapatis, a flat unleavened bread, I replied that yes we do, only we call them tortillas. "Do we have elephants?" my friend asked and I had to reply that we do but we keep them in captivity. Here on the subcontinent, the elephant is integral to live and religion and they have a very different place in peoples life.

At this point he replied, "It is very much like this, but not like this at all."

Which brings us to today's story, the road to Kodari. When I first traveled the overland route to Tibet this spring as part of the Mallory & Irvine research expedition the road was six inches deep in a fine flour of dust. The road was safe, by today's standards, and the people along the way were very happy to be there. Four months later and many centimeters of rain from the monsoon rains the road is now peppered with rock slides and troughs of sticky mud. All in all it was a fine drive, we had to hop out of the bus only once.

And now for Hans...
Live from expedition headquarters in Kodari it's the Rookie Report.

Conrad has dubbed me and Kris the YOUFS. That is the youths. We are officially the rookies of the expedition. The darkhorses who are in for it. But who knows, Conrad is a self-proclaimed green circle skier, so we have at least that going for us.

The drainage we are in is a lot like our winter forays into the mountains in Montana. Low down, the going is tough with dense foliage and more traveled paths. Up high, above tree line, it will be quiet and alpine I presume. But I know that the analogy will break down. These mountains are going to blow our minds.

I've inhaled enough dust and diesel fumes in the last few days to make my career as a house painter look healthy. Our ride today took us away from the city for just long enough to get a few clear breaths before we were back into smoke, smog and dust. The group can't wait to get into the mountains.

The landscape has been a real surprise. I had no idea that everything would be so pristine. Granted there is a bit of garbage, but the towering hillsides of jungles and multi-tiered waterfalls more than make up for the smells and air quality. Not to mention the road followed a raging river with glacier silt and futuristic kayak potential.

Quote of the day: "I have a chute boner." Andrew McLean, thinking about the skiing to be done.

Andrew McLean
This is amazing. We are staying in a little guest house perched above some roaring class VI white water rapids, looking straight across the river into Tibet. The only thing separating us from going there is the Friendship Bridge, a seemingly arbitrary structure that isn't to be photographed, documented or seemingly even looked at. Which, of course, makes it an object of intense interest and desire. Tomorrow, if everything goes well, we will present a stack of paperwork and some dollars, then quietly slide across the bridge and make our way to the town of Nyalam, where we will start the great yak round up and short two day approach to the SW face of Shishapangma.

— The 1999 American Shishapangma Expedition, MountainZone.com Correspondents

EXPEDITION DISPATCHES