WANDERLUST

Ueli Steck climbs Shisha Pangma and goes down in 20 hours

2011-05-07T01:09:00.007+02:00

On April 16, 2011 the Swiss Ueli Steck breaks the ascent record of Shisha Pangma (8027 m, 26,335 feet) reaching the summit from base camp in 10h and 30 min and comes back to base camp in a total of 20 hours.

These were his times:
10:25 PM (16. April): leaves ABC
1:10 AM (17 April): crosses the Bergschrund
11:40 AM: reaches summit.
6.30 PM: returns to ABC

Check out this video for more on his Shisha speed climb

And this was the route followed by him

Ueli Steck speed solo Eiger record

2011-05-05T23:04:00.004+02:00

On February 13, 2008 the Swiss Ueli Steck breaks the world record climbing the north face of Eiger (13,025 ft) in 2 hours and 47 minutes (67 minutes less than his previous world record.) Still, the Swiss mountaineer Dani Arnold has beaten this record on April 20th, 2011 setting the clock in 2 hours and 28 minutes, but this is the amazing video Ueli's ascension in 2008.

From Lhasa to Kathmandu

2010-01-10T02:10:00.005+01:00

Last October I crossed a good part of Tibet, namely the road connecting Lhasa with Kathmandu, in Nepal. This trip of 17 days began in Lhasa, ancient capital of Tibet, situated at 3,600 m of altitude (11,800 feet). We stayed in Lhasa during 3.5 days for a good acclimatization to altitude before going higher in the tibetan pleteau. During those three days, we visited the Potala Palace (ancient residence of the Dalai Lamas), the Jokhang (most revered religious structure in Tibet), the Norbulingka (summer palace of the Dalai Lamas), and the monasteries of Drepung and Sera.

From Lhasa we went north on a three days trip. During this time we visited the salty Nam-Tso lake, at 4.718 m of altitude (and passing the Largen-la pass, at 5.200 m / 17,000 feet). After sleeping in Damxung, we went to visit the Reting monastery. After that we spent the night in Tidrum, visiting the nunnery. The next day we visited the Drigung Til and Ganden monasteries, to end up in Lhasa at the end of the day.

Next morning we went to Samding monastery, passing first by the Kamba-la pass, at 4.700 m / 15,420 feet. From there we moved to Gyantse, where we spent the night after crossing the Karo-la pass at 5.020 m / 16,470 feet. In Gyantse we spent one whole day, that we used to visit the Tsechen monastery/fortress, the Kumbum (multi-storied aggregate of Buddhist chapels), the Pelkor Chode monastery and the Tibetan market.

Next day we stopped in Shigatse, where we spent the night. The day after we visited the Tashilhunpo monastery and we drove to Sakya, for what we had to cross the Tropu-la pass, at 4.500 m / 14,760 feet. In the afternoon we visited the Sakya monastery and we spent the night there.

The day after we moved to the Everest base camp (5.200 m / 17,000 feet), where we arrived in the afternoon. It was quite far from Sakya, we had to cross the Gyatso-la pass (5.100 m / 16,720 feet), the Pang-la pass (5.050 m / 16,570 feet), and there is also a 4/5 hours drive off road. Once there, time for pictures and spent the night in Rongphu monastery's guesthouse.

From there we moved to Tingri, where we had lunch and continued our way to Zhangmu, the border with Nepal, where we spent the night. In our way, we had extremely nice views of the Shishapangma (8.012 m / 26,286 feet) from one of the mountain passes.

Next day, we did the formalities in Zhangmu (China) and Kodari (Nepal) and we drove to Kathmandu (110 Km in 4.5 hours).

The end of our trip was in Kathmandu, where we stayed 3 days, in Thamel, and we profited to visit Patan, Bhaktapur, Swayambunath, the big stupa of Boudhanath and the Adinath Lokeshwar temple.

You can see the route we followed and marked in our GPS here:

View From Lhasa to Kathmandu in a larger map

In 1992, Pedro Pacheco attempts the Everest

2010-01-10T00:49:00.003+01:00

In 1992, Pedro Pacheco became the Portuguese climber who came closer to the summit of the Everest. At 600 meters from the summit, the strong winds prevented his ascent. This is the story of that expedition.

Everest and Shisha Pangma expeditions

2009-10-04T04:56:00.008+02:00

Some of you asked me a few days ago what happened to the expeditions I talked about in my previous post. Well, Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo and Mikel Zabalza had to turn around in their attempt to crown the Everest in alpine style along the corridor of the Japaneses. Two avalanches on their tents made them rush back to the base camp after losing their tent, a piolet, and spending part of the night huddled into a hole dug in the snow. Yet three days later they wanted to return to attack the summit.

Bivouac in the corridor of the Japanese (source: desnivel.com)

On the other hand, Juanito Oiarzabal made it to the central summit of Shisha Pangma (8,008 m) but not to its main ridge (8,027 m), after three hours trying to equip the 150 meter ridge that separates the two summits. A very complicated pass connected to the bad weather made him turn around. Still, Juanito wants to return to the top, maybe next year, to meet his 2x14 project.

Juanito Oiarzabal (source: desnivel.com)

Finally, Edurne Pasabán's group spent the night in the bivouac Scott, at 6,200 meters, and returned to Shisha Pangma base camp (southwest side). The night was very cold and scary, because it was snowing until 2 or 3 in the morning, which triggered landslides and rock falls very close to where they were. The next morning they decided to terminate their acclimatization, as the snow fell during the night made the ascent route dangerous. They returned to base camp where they rest in hopes of good weather to go to the summit.

Alfaro and Casas in the midst of the snowstorm (source: rtve.es)

Route around Iceland

2009-09-27T11:36:00.025+02:00

This entry is just a list of interesting places to visit in Iceland. Their location is roughly this:

View Iceland in a larger map

And some of those points of interest are:

The Blue Lagoon spa/pools

Seljalandsfoss waterfall

Skógafoss waterfall

Black sand beaches at Dyrhólaey

Svartifoss waterfall

Svinafellsjökull (photo) and Skaftafellsjökull glaciers

Dettifoss waterfall

Selfoss Waterfall

Víti crater (part of Krafla caldera)

Around crater Víti

Godafoss waterfall

Glaumbær typical old houses

Strokkur geyser in Haukadalur

Gullfoss waterfalls (also known as Golden Falls)

Landmannalaugar - Thorsmork trekking

Landmannalaugar - Thorsmork trekking

Landmannalaugar - Thorsmork trekking

Landmannalaugar - Thorsmork trekking

Landmannalaugar - Thorsmork trekking

Álftavatn hut between Landmannalaugar - Thorsmork

Landmannalaugar - Thorsmork trekking

Himalayan weekend

2009-09-27T01:30:00.009+02:00

This is a very interesting weekend in the Himalayan area. On one hand, Edurne Pasabán, Ferrán Latorre, Asier Izaguirre and Alex Txikon have reached Camp 1 (bivouac Scott, 6,200 m - 20,341 feet) in their way to the summit of Shisha Pangma, the penultimate mountain for Edurne to ascend and become the first woman climbing the 14 eight-thousands on the planet. Along this weekend, they will continue with their acclimatization and preparing their way to the top. They will go up to around 6,700 m (21,980 feet) and then down to the base camp where they will sleep on Sunday night.

Asier and Edurne during their acclimatization in Shisha Pangma at 6,200 m (source: rtve.es)

At the same time, Juanito Oiarzabal, who holds the world record for most ascents of mountains over eight thousand meters, is also currently in Shisha Pangma in its north side, and this weekend will attempt to summit.

Juanito Oiarzabal and Roberto Rojo "Gorri" at the summit of Makalu in 2008 (photo: collection Roberto Rojo)

Moreover, the Naturgas Hornbein'09 expedition attempts Everest in alpine style through the Hornbein corridor. This is probably the most difficult climbing route to the roof of the world. In fact, this route has only had seven ascents and only one in alpine style (the Swiss Erhard Loretan and Jean Troillet in 1986). The other five climbers did it using oxygen and fixed ropes. The members of Naturgas Hornbein'09: Juan Vallejo, Mikel Zabalza and Alberto Iñurrategi have already started the attack to the summit, hoping to reach this point on Sunday.

Video of Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo and Mikel Zabalza at 7,500 m in their last outing of acclimatization.

We hope they can all meet their targets and return safely to base camp.

Sebastián Álvaro from Tibet (15-05-2009)

2009-05-18T23:00:00.002+02:00

Click on the icon to listen the interview (in Spanish)

Tiempo de Aventura (Ser radio), with Sebastián Álvaro (15-05-09)

Playing For Change: Song Around the World "Don't Worry"

2009-01-30T00:23:00.003+01:00

This song says uh
no matter WHO you are
no matter where you go
in your life - at some point
you gonna need somebody to stand by you

oh yeah, oh my darlin'
stand by me

no matter who you ARE
matter where you go
in life...
you goin' need somebody
to stand by you

no matter how much MONEY you got
or the friends you got -
you goin' need
somebody
to stand by you

When the night
has come
And the land is dark
And that moon is the only light we'll see
No. I won't be afraid,
no I won't shed one tear
Just as long as you stand by me
and darlin', darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me,
Oh stand,stand by me

When sky that we look upon
Should she tumble and fall
And the mountains they should crumble into the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry,
no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

So darlin', darlin', stand by me,
oh stand by me
Please stand
please stand by me,
stand by me, and dalin' darlin' stand by me-e, yeah

Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me,
oh now now stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

Darlin', darlin', stand by me-e, stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

The odyssey of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

2009-01-19T19:19:00.010+01:00

The British geologist Raymond Priestley used to say back in 1917, that when facing a desperate situation from which there seems to be no exit, we can always try to pray, asking for Shackleton coming to rescue us.

The Anglo-Irish explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was the person who, in 1914, decided to cross on foot the Antarctic continent, from one side to the other and through the Pole. This was, in Shackleton's words, 'one great main object of Antarctic journeyings', as three years earlier, Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott had reached the South Pole (the latter dying in his attempt, but this is another story.)

Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was the third conducted in Antarctica. The first one, in 1901 with Captain Scott on his Discovery expedition, and the second, in 1907, as head of the Nimrod Expedition. In his third trip, aboard the Endurance and with 13 other men, Shackleton never stepped on the southernmost continent, but made one of the greatest adventures of the twentieth century.

At the beginning of World War I, the Endurance went deep into the Weddell Sea on its way to the Vahsel Bay, in the Antarctic coast. The plan was, after arriving to the bay, that Shackleton, five other men and a hundred dogs, would move to the South Pole and then continue to the Ross Sea. The rest of his crew would be distributed between Graham Land, Enderby Land and the base camp, to carry out scientific studies. At the same time, a supporting group (the Ross Sea party) would travel on the Aurora ship to the opposite side of the continent, establish camp in McMurdo Sound, and from there lay a series of supply depots across the Ross Ice Shelf to the foot of the Beardmore Glacier. In this way, Shackleton's team would not carry all the necessary equipment and food from their point of departure.

What Shackleton never imagined was that even before reaching Vahsel Bay, the Endurance would be trapped by the ice and for more than eight months, his crew would be blocked and adrift. In this situation, Shackleton tried to avoid that the inactivity and fear would make a dent in his group, because he knew that they could only leave that icy hell if they remained together, as no one could come to rescue them. The worst moment came when the pressure of the ice finally shattered the hull of the Endurance, of more than one meter thick. The camera of Frank Hurley attended powerless, like the rest of the crew, to the disappearance of the boat that was supposed to carry them to their destination. At this moment, they decided to take everything they could, with the help of the sled dogs. They moved forward while the dogs resisted. Then, they slaughtered and ate them. For six months they lived on unstable and drifting ice floes, sometimes leaving them quickly, when they suddenly broke.

In April 1916, two years after beginning their journey, the always harsh Antarctic forced them to choose between two great dangers: keep moving between breaking icebergs, or embarking on three small boats to the Antarctic Ocean. They chose to venture into the sea. A fearsome and tough navigation between enormous waves and storms led them finally to Elephant Island, at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. After many months they stepped on shore, but were still lost. Shackleton decided to look for help getting into the sea in one of the small boats with five other men. As incredible as it seems, they reached the coast of South Georgia Island, after having sailed for 808 miles (1.300 Km). But before arriving to the whaling factory on the island, they still had to traverse 18.64 miles (30 Km) of glaciers and escarpments. Shackleton could only rest when he returned to Elephant Island and checked that all his men were safe. Later, he wrote to his wife: 'I have done it. Not a life lost and we have been through Hell.' In December 1916, Shackleton arrived in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, unaware of the calamities of the Endurance's group, the Ross Sea party reached Discovery Bay in March 1915. Two months later, when the Aurora was docked at Ross Island and ten of its men carrying the material to Beardome glacier, the boat got stuck in the ice and swept to sea, leaving the sailors on ground and unable to reach the Aurora. On February 12th, 1916, the ship was freed from the ice and managed to return to Dunedin (New Zealand) for help. Throughout 1916, the governments of Australia, New Zealand and England arranged the financing of a new journey of the Aurora to retrieve the sailors stranded on the ice. In early 1917, the Aurora, led by John King Davis and having Shackleton aboard, reached Cape Evans. A week later, seven survivors among the ten men went up to the boat and were taken back to Wellington (New Zealand).

From Lukla to the Everest base camp

2009-01-11T00:13:00.007+01:00

A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to visit a small part of Nepal, in particular the route from Lukla (2,840 m - 9,318 ft) to the Everest base camp (5,364 m - 17,598 ft), going up first to Kala Patthar (5,545 m - 18,192 ft), from where the views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse are spectacular.

In the weeks before my trip, during its planning, I spent some time with Google Earth and Google Maps having a look to the areas we were going to walk. I imagined, almost inadvertently, how could be the people we would cross, or the landscapes of the valleys we would trek. Looking at these maps, I was quite surprised and a bit disappointed because from the initial part of the route to about half of the way, the satellite pictures still don't have a great definition, given the number of people who follow this route every year. That is why it was very complicated to plot on a satellite map, the route we were going to do. So I was a bit frustrated...

Now that I'm back and I know the route well, I decided to create a map on Google Maps so that future travelers don't come with the same problem, or for those curious who would like to know which is the most typical route to the Everest base camp (Nepali side), having 2 weeks of vacation. I say specifically 2 weeks of vacation because if I would have had 3, my route would have changed a bit, so instead of going up and down by basically the same path (up by Pheriche and down by Dingboche), my return would have been done via Gokyo or rather the Gokyo Ri (5,360 m - 17,585 ft) from where the views are amazing, as in addition to the Nuptse (7,861 m - 25,791 ft) you can see four eight-thousands peaks: Everest (8,848 m - 29,029 ft), Lhotse (8,516 m - 27,940 ft), Makalu (8,462 m - 27,762 ft) and Cho Oyu (8,201 m - 26,906 ft).

Well, so this is the normal ascent route from Lukla to the Everest base camp:

View Larger Map

And I take the opportunity to display a picture taken from Kala Patthar, where you can see in front the Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse:

14 x 8.000 with Edurne Pasabán

2009-01-05T17:40:00.008+01:00

Until just 22 years ago, no human being had managed to climb the 14 highest peaks on the planet. It was the October 16, 1986 when Reinhold Messner, regarded by many as the best Himalayan all time, completed the ascent to the fourteen eight-thousands without using oxygen and in traditional style. Today, only 14 men have managed to climb the 14 highest peaks in the world. By contrast, no woman has achieved this goal at the moment, although three are close to overcoming this challenge: Edurne Pasabán, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Nives Meroi. All of them still have three peaks to ascend. The Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner has the Kangchenjunga, K2 and Shishapagma. To the Italian Nives Meroi, the remaining ones are the Kangchenjunga, Annapurna and Makalu. And to the Spanish Edurne Pasabán, the Kangchenjunga, Annapurna I and Shishapangma. From this blog, I wish the best to the three of them and that their dreams will be soon fulfilled.

Edurne Pasabán Lizarribar was born on August 1, 1973 in Tolosa (Guipúzcoa), Spain. She is technical industrial engineer and has an MBA by the ESADE Business School in Barcelona. She worked for several years in the company of her family, dedicated to building machinery. At present, she's director of a restaurant/country house in the Basque town of Zizurkil. In addition, acts as a consultant and lecturer for different companies in the field of motivation, planning and teamwork, using the knowledge and experience acquired by the extreme situations lived in her expeditions to the Himalayas.

Her fondness for the mountains comes from a very young age. In 1989, when she was 16, traveled to the Alps for the first time, where she did the Mont Blanc (4,810 m - 15,781 feet), Matterhorn (4,478 m - 14,692 feet) and Monte Rosa (4,614 m - 15,138 feet). At the age of 17, she reached the summit of Chimborazo (6,310 m - 20,702 feet) in the Andes. Since then, she has proved to have the necessary physical and mental abilities to perform these complex and dangerous expeditions.

In 2001, Edurne conducted her first major climb, reaching the summit of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest (8,848 m - 29,029 feet) and thereby initiating the Himalayan ascents. In the spring of next year, 2002, rose the top of Makalu (8,463 m - 27,766 feet), and in the autumn of that year, the Cho-Oyu (8,201 m - 26,906 feet). In 2003, again in the spring, she climbed Lhotse (8,516 m - 27,940 feet), and in late July, and in 7 days, reached the summit of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m - 26,362 feet) and Hidden Peak (8,068 m - 26,470 feet), also known as Gasherbrum I. In July 2004, she succeeded in crowning the top of the second world's highest mountain, K2 (8,611 m - 28,251 feet) and staying alive, thus breaking the curse that seemed to pursue her predecessors, since all women who had reached the summit of K2 so far, have died on its descent or climbing other eight-thousands. The conquest of this mountain had a high price for Edurne, as it cost the amputation of two of her toes' phalanges by freezing. The price was even higher for his fellow of expedition Juanito Oiarzabal (best Spanish alpinist of all time) because it involved the amputation of almost all his toes. Despite these injuries, Edurne climbed up the Nanga Parbat (8,125 m - 26,657 feet) in July 2005, and the Broad Peak (8,047 m - 26,401 feet) in the summer of 2007. In May 2008, she topped the Dhaulagiri (8,167 m - 26,795 feet) together with the Ecuadorian Ivan Vallejo Ricaurte, who achieved with this ascension his dream of reaching the summit of the 14 highest peaks in the world. The last eight-thousand conquered by Edurne was the Manaslu (8,163 m - 26,781 feet) at the beginning of October 2008.

Edurne is currently preparing her next expedition, with the aim of conquering the Kangchenjunga (8,568 m - 28,110 feet), the third highest mountain in the world. Of this, she would only have two more peaks to conquer, the Annapurna (8,019 m - 26,309 feet) and Shisha Pangma (8,046 m - 26,398 feet). Perhaps at that time Edurne Pasabán will become the first woman in the world that reaches the 14 eight-thousands, the 14 highest summits on the planet. Hopefully she will do, and that in the meantime, the Mother Goddess of the World will protect her in her way.

This is a video of Edurne on the summit of Broad Peak (8,047 m - 26,401 feet) in July 2007:

Rapa Nui

2008-12-28T04:22:00.004+01:00

Easter Island, also known as Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui, is one of the most isolated places in the world. This Chilean island is located in the middle of the Pacific ocean, at around 3.800 km from the continental Chile, at the same latitude as Valparaíso. The nearest point to the west is Tahiti, on the French Polynesia, at around 4.200 km. Due to this compulsory oceanic isolation, the island is also known as 'the navel of the world' (or 'Te pito o te henua' in Rapa Nui language). To reach the island, the best is to take the LAN Chile flight that covers the route Santiago - Tahiti, which stops for 30 minutes in the island every two days.

Easter Island is around 12 km long by 24 km wide, and is inhabited by 4.000 or 4.500 people (permanent population), who mainly live in Hanga Roa, the main town of the island. The 80% of the territory is a national park, administered by Conaf (the Chilean Forest National Corporation). There are around 1000 moais (monolithic human figures carved from rock) on the island. Most of them are laid down on earth due to tsunamis or wars between clans that happened more than a century ago. The weight of the moais may exceed several hundreds of tons and there are different theories to explain how they could be carved from the only single rocky area in the island (the Rano Raraku volcano), rise them up and move them several kilometers through the island to reach their final destinations. It is believed that moais were built to represent the chiefs of the different tribes in the island. They were sculpted when the chiefs were still in life but only on their death the moais were carried to their final location, put on a stand up position and their eyes placed.

The white color of the eyes was achieved using a typical coral of the area with a human brain shape. At the center of the eyes, in black color, a stone of obsidian was set. It was only at that time, when the spirit of the deceased was entering the moai and staying there forever, to protect his tribe. Moais were always placed looking to the center of the island, except the ones of the ahu Akivi, which are the only ones looking to the sea (it's not really known why, but there are different theories about it.)

In the following video, you can watch the main sights of the island, with the exception of the Rano Kao volcano:

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

2008-12-24T02:51:00.003+01:00

Did you know? We are all the same, wherever we are. With the same needs, same wishes and hopes. We are all brothers. Or didn't you realize yet?

Bouddhanath

2008-12-19T22:09:00.006+01:00

One of the most representatives Buddhist stupas is Bouddhanath, on the eastern side of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. Everybody feels observed by four pairs of eyes situated in the 4 cardinal directions. They are the eyes of Bouddhanath, which means 'the Lord of enlightenment'.

Bouddhanath is a great place of pilgrimage since the 5th century. People come here from many different places in Asia, not only from Nepal, even if Bouddhanath is a place mainly loved by Tibetans.

The construction of Bouddhanath has a sense of cosmic representation, a mantra. The stupa is surrounded by a circle of houses and shops. In the middle, the main dome is risen with five terraces, each of them pointing to the five space directions: north, south, east, west and the azimuth.

The colorful praying flags are flying all the time. They all have a meaning: red is the fire, blue is the sky, the reddish spots of the dome are the consequence of the saffron offered by the faithful. But never forgetting to turn. Always. Reincarnate in a better karma, move the prayer wheels.

To walk around Bouddhanath, always in a clockwise direction, impregnates of faith. To turn the prayer wheels, feel the smell of incense, close your eyes and get overwhelmed in the murmuring of the Tibetan prayers. All is magic and we are invaded of spirituality.

Buddha's eyes are omnipresent. His nose feature represents the number 1 in Devanāgarī script (alphabet of India and Nepal). Buddha doesn't have a mouth because he doesn't need it. He sees everything, but he doesn't talk for the sake of talking.

Pachamama

2008-12-12T23:16:00.008+01:00

The Earth, our mother Earth, where once we came from, and where we will go back. And so, one life, and another, in this Earth or that Earth, what difference does it make? If this one goes away, it will come back, renewed. Without us. With others. But you will be there again, as it always was, and so it will be.

Pachamama, years have past, but you don't age, you change. You're pretty. Oceans, desserts, mountains, clouds, your blue, your white and your green. Your land. Your life. I like to stare at you from the outside, high, very high, and see the clouds pass by. See a corner of the World waking up, while another switches off. The sun light, the night, in the darkness the lights. I don't get wearied looking at you. The tides take me to you.

The Conquerors of the useless

2008-12-08T19:38:00.008+01:00

Today I found at GOOD Magazine a quite cool interactive map showing some of the greatest journeys and adventurers in history. This includes the routes followed by Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook, Marco Polo, Pizarro and a few others. I thought it would be a nice way to start this blog devoted to the wanderlust, to the well-known and not so famous adventurers in our short world history, and to the ones the famous french climber Lionel Terray once called "les conquérants de l'inutile" (the Conquerors of the useless). I hope you will enjoy this blog.

Click on the picture to access the map: