Shisha Pangma Ski Expedition 2004: Update one

I'm in Kathmandu at the moment. Arrived yesterday morning at 7 o'clock. I left Chamonix early sunday morning and flew from Geneva via Paris and Doha in Qatar to Kathmandu. On the flight I had the company of my friends Tomas Olsson and Tormod Granheim who's also going to the Himalayas to climb and ski. Here in Kathmandu I'm sorting everything out for the expedition that I need before I leave civilization. Buying food, chocolatebars, gaz and more.  I got help with all the logistics here in Nepal and Tibet by a man called Loben Sherpa and his organisation Arun Treks. Today he took me on a seightseeing of Kathmandu. It's an interesting city. Nice people but they turn into maniacs in the traffic.

Tomorrow I will leave Kathmandu to go north up to Zangmu on the border between Nepal and Tibet. The day after moving on to Nyelam in Tibet, that is on 3500m. We'll stay there for acclimatization a few days before going up to Base Camp on 5000 m.

I will be back with more updates in a few days

Fredrik

SVENSKA: 31/08/04    Kathmandu 

Nu ar jag i Kathmandu, Nepals huvudstad. Jag kom hit igar efter att ha flygit fran Geneve i Sondags morse, via Paris, Doha i Qatar till Kathmandu. Med pa flygningen var aven Tomas Olsson och Tormod Granheim som ocksa ska till Himalaya for att klattra och aka skidor. Har i Kathmandu gor jag de sista forberedelserna fore jag lamnar civilisationen. Koper mat, chokladkakor, Gas mm. En man vid namnet Loben Sherpa och hans organisation Arun Treks hjalper mig med all logistik har i Nepal och Tibet. Idag tog han med mig pa seightseeing i Kathmandu. Det ar en intressant stad. Manga fina monument och trevligt folk men trafiken ar inte fran denna varld, bilar, motorcyklar, cyklar och folk overallt.

Imorgon reser jag norrut till Zangmu som ligger pa gransen till Tibet. Dagen efter vidare till Nyelam som ligger pa 3500 meters hojd. Dar stannar jag ett par dagar for acklimatisering for att sedan aka upp till baslagret som ligger pa 5000 meter.

Mer nyheter om nagra dagar

Fredrik

Dispatches

Shisha Pangma Ski Expedition 2004: There are only 14 mountains in the world that reaches over 8000 metres. Shishapangma in Tibet is one of them. Skier Fredrik Ericsson is, during autumn 2004, going to Tibet to climb and ski descend Shisha Pangma.

The Mountain: Shisha Pangma is 8012 metres high and is located in Tibet. It’s the only 8000 metres peak that is entirely in Tibet. It was first climbed by Chinese climbers in 1964 and until this day no Swedish has sat his foot on the summit.

Team: Fredrik Ericsson is a skier and climber from Umea in Sweden who’s now living in Chamonix, France. He has spent a lot of time in The Hurrungane Mountains in Norway and has skied lines that only has been climbed before. 2003 Fredrik climbed and ski descended the Borodkin route on the 7495 metres high Peak Somoni in Tajikistan.

The Expedition: Fredrik will fly to Kathmandu in Nepal on the 29 of August 2004; thereafter he will travel with a jeep to Tibet via Zangmu and Nyalam to Shisha Pangma Base Camp at the altitude of 5000 metres. After a couple of days of acclimatization he will continue on foot to 5600 metres where the Advanced Base Camp is located. That will be his home for the next month and that’s where the climbing to Shisha Pangma starts. The next couple of weeks will be used for acclimatization climbs to higher altitude. Sometime in the end of September Fredrik will make a push for the summit via camps at 6700 m, 7000 m and 7400 m. He will climb fully on his own without help from Sherpas or supplementary oxygen. On the summit awaits the greatest challenge for Fredrik: to descend on skis.

Fredrik has the possibility to be the first Swede on the summit of Shisha Pangma. He can also be the first Swede to ski descend an 8000 metres peak. Expedition partners: Mountain Hardwear, Dynastar, Åka Skidor, Adidas, Eyewear, Osprey, Smartwool och Duracell 

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