Mt. Shishapangma Photographs

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The New Train Terminal at Lhasa Tibet

Shishapangma is the 14th highest peak in the world at 26,335 feet or 8,027 meters. It is located in southern Tibet and uniquely stands somewhat alone from the main Himalayan range.

The expedition met in Kathmandu, flew to Lhasa and then drove over the Tibetan Steps to our base camp. The six week expedition was my fifth climb on an 8000m mountain.

The expediton reached a little over 7000m before bad weather stopped us. Only two people from another expedition made the false summit in 2007.

The pictures in this album are mostly of our visit to Lhasa.

First was a visit to Norbulingka - the summer home for the Dalai Lamas. It is a beautiful compound of anchient temples and homes surrounded by well kept gardens.

Next was a trip to the Potola Palace which was the home the Dalai Lamas for centuries until the Chinese takeover in the 1950s. It would take days to go through the Palace but with so many visitors, each group is limited to only two hours. We scurried from the halls and chapels and shrines of past Dalai Lamas seeing gold and jeweled covered models, artwork and carvings. The tomb of the 13th Dali Lama is also there. Each room held more unbelievable artifacts than the previous. Much of the Palace is closed to visitors.

Finally was a visit to the Jokhang Temple the spiritual center of Tibet. It was built in 647AD and is the oldest temple in Tibet. Every year, millions of pilgrims make a long pilgrimage to Jokhang. The famous Barkhor Street was where pilgrims prostrated themselves and moved around Jokhang Temple. Today, Tibetan people still follow this custom, moving clockwise around Jokhang Temple every dawn and dusk.

From Lahsa we drove to the base camp for Shishapangma. Please see the Scenes of Tibet and faces of Tibet for more pictures of this part of the trip..