Thorn Tree travel forum

Lhasa to Everest Base Camp and back...

Replies: 11 - Last Post: 20-May-2007 07:42 Last Post By: vistet

jump to

travelgirl1121

travelgirl1121 avatar

10-May-2007 22:30
Posts:  2

Lhasa to Everest Base Camp and back...

Hi,

I'm just curious about how long (in days) the Lhasa-Everest Base Camp-Lhasa tours run - the shorter the better. Some people in my group are interested in going but have limited time travelling. I know we need to get acclimated in Lhasa for a few days prior to leaving for the base camp but assume we spend 2-3 days getting acclimated in Lhasa, how long will the minimum length tours take? Any ideas or previous experience on a trip to the base camp would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks.

vistet

vistet avatar

10-May-2007 23:25
Posts:  2,282

1

Acclimatisation in Lhasa is incomplete after 2-3 days (or more to the point , nights) , and it´s acclimatisation to Lhasa´s altitude. Rongphu is at 5045 meters : you can visit and descend but staying overnight is a Bad Idea.

high road to ..

bearski

bearski avatar

10-May-2007 23:41
Posts:  26

2

Info I've received conflicts with #1's post. I'm doing the trip in a few weeks, and have 4 friends doing it 2 weeks after me (we've talked to about 10 agents about itineraries in this process). And I've had three different friends who have done the trip before advise me on what to do. Anyhoo, it seems very standard to do 2-3 full days in Lhasa, then drive to Shigatse, then to Shegar, then to Rongphu for overnight, then back to Lhatse, then to Lhasa. So 2-3 days in Lhasa and 5 days for the trip. Altitude sickness seems like a crap-shoot to me; none of my friends had problems though. I think the day-by-day driving process to EBC helps in that regard, but I don't really know. Also, we're looking to spend a whole day in the base camp area. Most proposals put you in the area right after lunch one day and have you leave early in the morning the next day; we were advised to spend more time there than that.

Have a good trip!


"There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese."

--Coach Finstock

zhaoyun

zhaoyun avatar

11-May-2007 02:08
Posts:  733

3

I think 3 days is the bare minimum:
Day 1- 3 hrs to Shigatse, 4 hrs to Shegar at a minimum, for a whole day of traveling.
Day 2- 4 hrs to Everest, then 4 hrs back to Shegar, then back
Day 3- Back to Lhasa
If I were you, I'd aim for 4.
My travel times might be off a little, but not by much. A driver might tell you longer times since these assume smooth going all the way there. 5 days would be much more comfortable and allow you to check out Tashilhunpo and Sakya, and 6 would normally give a day for Gyantse and Yamdrok Tso. However, my driver (this was in April) told me that the Yamdrok-Gyantse road would be closed to be paved starting this month, so that may not be an option.
Re #1, acclimatization depends on the person, and the initial elevation increases on the way to Everest are modest- Shegar is only 400 meters above Lhasa (according to LP). There isn't a good way around getting at least a little altitude sickness at Everest if you stay there overnight, at least that I can think of, since there is a 1000 meter increase from Shegar.
Even if you get bad altitude sickness in Lhasa, you may still be able to go to Everest. I met an Israeli man in Lhasa who had been hospitalized for altitude sickness after arriving on the train, and then two days later headed out to Everest. He didn't have any problem (well, any severe problem) after sleeping at base camp.

hanaeric

hanaeric avatar

11-May-2007 03:41
Posts:  10

4

I don't think shigatse is that worth visiting, actually we skipped shigatse in our trip although it was a 7-day one-way trip.
Altitude Sickness is a more psychological thing, whether suffer or not really depends on different people.
Rongphu is nice when it is clear, but when the EBC is so close to you, but choose to stay in Rongphu? I don't think the altitude does too much difference at this level.

rbisset

rbisset avatar

11-May-2007 05:02
Posts:  4

5

We only had 2 nights in Lhasa before leaving for our Jeep tour and were fine. Ours was a little longer taking 6 days in total.

Lhasa - Gyantse
Gyantse - Shigatse
Shigatse - Shergar
Shergar - E.B.C (Spent night at Base Camp)
E.B.C - Shigatse
Shigatse - Lhasa

I had slight symptoms of altitude sickness in Lhasa but just the usual flu like symptoms so nothing major and it passed over night. Base camp was a lot worse but still bearable. It was mainly the cold that effected me. One of my group really suffered and required oxygen but we were all still fine once we got back to Lhasa and polished off a bottle of vodka in a club to celebrate :D Wouldn't recommend drinking when you first get to Lhasa though as I had the worst hangover of my life after only a couple of beers!!

Losang

Losang avatar

11-May-2007 05:08
Posts:  1,526

6

I usually recommend people to take at least 5 days, but you can do it in 4.

Need more travel information for Tibet? Check these out…

The Land of Snows

Life on the Tibetan Plateau

vistet

vistet avatar

11-May-2007 06:25
Posts:  2,282

7

Quote

Info I've received conflicts with #1's post.


The comment was based on a really fast run, not # 2 itinerary .The acclimatisation mentioned seems like a minimum , with the remaining problem of a 700 meter jump up to Rongphu (the way I remember it Shigatse is at 3900 and Shegar is at 4300, and Google Earth verifies this) .

Quote

I think the day-by-day driving process to EBC helps in that regard, but I don't really know.

What specifically helps is going over higher ground to speed up acclimatisation, and then descend : climb high , sleep low as climbers been saying for a long time. Lot of the opposite going on this route.

Quote

Also, we're looking to spend a whole day in the base camp area. Most proposals put you in the area right after lunch one day and have you leave early in the morning the next day; we were advised to spend more time there than that.


There might be a reason for that : while sleeping altitude is the critical test , altitude sickness is also about the accumulated effects of low oxygen saturation. Time x exposure.

Quote

acclimatizat

A system error has occurred. Please contact the Thorn Tree administrator if the problem persists.

type: java.lang.NullPointerException

java.lang.NullPointerException
	at org.apache.jsp.lonelyplanet.thread_002dflat_jsp._jspService(thread_002dflat_jsp.java:985)
	at org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:70)
	at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:803)
	at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:374)
	at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:337)
	at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:266)
	at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:803)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.invoke(ApplicationDispatcher.java:630)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.processRequest(ApplicationDispatcher.java:436)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.doForward(ApplicationDispatcher.java:374)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.forward(ApplicationDispatcher.java:302)
	at com.opensymphony.webwork.dispatcher.ServletDispatcherResult.doExecute(ServletDispatcherResult.java:114)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.util.webwork.ServletDispatcherResult.doDefaultExecute(ServletDispatcherResult.java:125)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.util.webwork.ServletDispatcherResult.doExecute(ServletDispatcherResult.java:111)
	at com.opensymphony.webwork.dispatcher.WebWorkResultSupport.execute(WebWorkResultSupport.java:143)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.executeResult(DefaultActionInvocation.java:313)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:208)
	at com.lonelyplanet.jive.forum.action.LPAwareInterceptor.intercept(LPAwareInterceptor.java:27)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.util.webwork.JiveSecurityInterceptor.intercept(JiveSecurityInterceptor.java:24)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.action.interceptor.FlashInterceptor.intercept(FlashInterceptor.java:40)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.DefaultWorkflowInterceptor.doIntercept(DefaultWorkflowInterceptor.java:175)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.MethodFilterInterceptor.intercept(MethodFilterInterceptor.java:86)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.validator.ValidationInterceptor.doIntercept(ValidationInterceptor.java:115)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.MethodFilterInterceptor.intercept(MethodFilterInterceptor.java:86)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.action.interceptor.JiveObjectLoaderInterceptor.intercept(JiveObjectLoaderInterceptor.java:55)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.webwork.interceptor.FileUploadInterceptor.intercept(FileUploadInterceptor.java:171)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.action.interceptor.JiveLoginInterceptor.intercept(JiveLoginInterceptor.java:39)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.I18nInterceptor.intercept(I18nInterceptor.java:151)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.jivesoftware.forum.action.LocaleInterceptor.intercept(LocaleInterceptor.java:94)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.jivesoftware.forum.action.ForumsInterceptor.intercept(ForumsInterceptor.java:181)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.action.interceptor.AuthInterceptor.intercept(AuthInterceptor.java:44)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.AroundInterceptor.intercept(AroundInterceptor.java:31)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.interceptor.ExceptionMappingInterceptor.intercept(ExceptionMappingInterceptor.java:186)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionInvocation.invoke(DefaultActionInvocation.java:190)
	at com.opensymphony.xwork.DefaultActionProxy.execute(DefaultActionProxy.java:116)
	at com.opensymphony.webwork.dispatcher.DispatcherUtils.serviceAction(DispatcherUtils.java:225)
	at com.opensymphony.webwork.dispatcher.FilterDispatcher.doFilter(FilterDispatcher.java:202)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.action.util.JiveFilterDispatcher.doFilter(JiveFilterDispatcher.java:68)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.util.SetResponseCharacterEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetResponseCharacterEncodingFilter.java:61)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.util.JiveCacheFilter.doFilter(JiveCacheFilter.java:196)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.opensymphony.module.sitemesh.filter.PageFilter.parsePage(PageFilter.java:118)
	at com.opensymphony.module.sitemesh.filter.PageFilter.doFilter(PageFilter.java:52)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.theme.ThemeFilter.doFilter(ThemeFilter.java:51)
	at com.lonelyplanet.jive.forum.filters.LPThemeFilter.doFilter(LPThemeFilter.java:32)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.util.webwork.JiveActionContextCleanUp.doFilter(JiveActionContextCleanUp.java:41)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.stats.ReadStatsFilter.doFilter(ReadStatsFilter.java:80)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.PresenceFilter.doFilter(PresenceFilter.java:105)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.lonelyplanet.common.servlet.filter.RemoteAddressFilter.doFilter(RemoteAddressFilter.java:27)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.util.SetRequestCharacterEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetRequestCharacterEncodingFilter.java:72)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.util.MaintenanceFilter.doFilter(MaintenanceFilter.java:83)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.forum.upgrade.UpgradeFilter.doFilter(UpgradeFilter.java:49)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.plugin.PluginFilter.doFilter(PluginFilter.java:56)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.jivesoftware.base.util.ApplicationInitializedFilter.doFilter(ApplicationInitializedFilter.java:81)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.lonelyplanet.common.servlet.filter.ResponseHeaderFilter.doFilter(ResponseHeaderFilter.java:34)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.lonelyplanet.jive.forum.filters.OmnitureFilter.doFilter(OmnitureFilter.java:263)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:359)
	at org.springframework.security.intercept.web.FilterSecurityInterceptor.invoke(FilterSecurityInterceptor.java:109)
	at org.springframework.security.intercept.web.FilterSecurityInterceptor.doFilter(FilterSecurityInterceptor.java:83)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:371)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.SessionFixationProtectionFilter.doFilterHttp(SessionFixationProtectionFilter.java:67)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.SpringSecurityFilter.doFilter(SpringSecurityFilter.java:53)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:371)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.ExceptionTranslationFilter.doFilterHttp(ExceptionTranslationFilter.java:101)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.SpringSecurityFilter.doFilter(SpringSecurityFilter.java:53)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:371)
	at org.springframework.security.wrapper.SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter.doFilterHttp(SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter.java:91)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.SpringSecurityFilter.doFilter(SpringSecurityFilter.java:53)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:371)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.AbstractProcessingFilter.doFilterHttp(AbstractProcessingFilter.java:271)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.SpringSecurityFilter.doFilter(SpringSecurityFilter.java:53)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:371)
	at com.lonelyplanet.common.servlet.filter.LonelyPlanetSecureCookieFilter.doFilterHttp(LonelyPlanetSecureCookieFilter.java:43)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.SpringSecurityFilter.doFilter(SpringSecurityFilter.java:53)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:371)
	at org.springframework.security.context.HttpSessionContextIntegrationFilter.doFilterHttp(HttpSessionContextIntegrationFilter.java:235)
	at org.springframework.security.ui.SpringSecurityFilter.doFilter(SpringSecurityFilter.java:53)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:371)
	at org.springframework.security.util.FilterChainProxy.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:174)
	at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:183)
	at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:138)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.lonelyplanet.jive.forum.filters.AdzoneFilter.doFilter(AdzoneFilter.java:55)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.lonelyplanet.jive.forum.filters.SessionFilter.doFilter(SessionFilter.java:35)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:175)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
	at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
	at org.apache.catalina.valves.AccessLogValve.invoke(AccessLogValve.java:568)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
	at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
	at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11AprProcessor.process(Http11AprProcessor.java:856)
	at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11AprProtocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11AprProtocol.java:565)
	at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.AprEndpoint$Worker.run(AprEndpoint.java:1509)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)