Mt. Everest has been climbed a thousand times, yet it still posts a formidable challenge to those who try every year. I will be climbing with IMG (International Mountain Guides, LLC.;www.mountainguides.com), a WA – based company under Eric Simonson who has been organizing Himalayan expeditions for more than 25 years.
The original plan was to climb from the south (Nepal) side, and descent via the north (Tibetan) side. However, aside from the actual climbing challenge, there are always some other ones, rather unique to the region. This year in May happens to be the 60th anniversary of the Chinese takeover of Tibet. This will likely lead to some protests and unrest in the region, and there will be almost surely no permits being issued for Tibet through the Chinese government during April and May this year. Eric Simonson recently sent me some information on this issue I’d like to pass on for those who may also be planning on traveling the region this spring.
“We are struggling right now with our proposed spring Cho Oyu expedition. The Chinese have now said there will be NO permits for travel to Tibet issued for either March or May. They still say they will issue permits in April, but I am thinking that may well change too, based on our past experience (so we are real worried about the Cho Oyu trip). May is 60th anniversary of Chinese takeover of Tibet and I think there will be big protests there. Here is a little background, below, that I have leaned.
This site http://www.cafespinn.com/en/tibet/ says: Permit situation: Tours during May 2011 may be delayed during the so-called 60th anniversary of the "Peaceful Liberation of Lhasa". (23 May 2011). If you come to Tibet during this period, please make sure you understand that your trip may be cancelled with a very short notice. The Tourism Bureau has a habit to close the whole Tibet with only one single day of advanced notice!
Another Tibet Travel link: http://budgettibettour.com/travel-news/Not-Only-March-Will-Tibet-Be-Closed-next-year.html An important meeting was held today by the Tibet Tourism Bureau, the Tibet Public Security Bureau and some other relevant authorities. All bosses or managers of tour agents or tour operator in Tibet attended the meeting. Due to the notorious unrest happened in Lhasa in March, 2008, after that, Tibet is generally closed for the non-Chinese tourists in each March in case any damage took place again. And coincidently, next May comes with an important moment of 60 anniversary of Peace Liberation in Tibet Autonomous Region, in order to prevent unnecessary trouble and to make sure the anniversary goes smoothly, authorities from relevant government departments reached preliminary agreement that they will strengthen cooperation between each other and strengthen control and supervision on the application and approval of Tibet Travel Permit, particularly for those who want to travel to Tibet from March to May. This tentative agreement will make Tibet travel in 2011 more difficult, particularly for those who want to travel to Tibet in April or May. But this does not mean that it is impossible to travel to Tibet in next April and May, yet based on our years of operation experience, Budget Tibet Tour suggests those who want to travel during this period of time better postpone your Tibet tour to June.”
Obviously, these are some of the challenges unique to the region. Although we are appear to have everything in place for our expedition on the Nepal side of the mountain, I wonder if the situation in Tibet will have some repercussions for our trip as well, such as additional climbers or expeditions that may divert from Tibet to the Nepalese side of Mt. Everest this spring…
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