Episode 090: The Shortest Of The Tallest

It’s All Downhill From Here. This morning we spent some quality time up on Tong La, a pass with a tremendous view of Shishapangma. “Shisha” is the shortest of the 8000 meter peaks at 8012m tall.

It’s also the only 8000 meter peak located entirely within Tibet instead of right on the border. One more fact here: Shishapangma was also the last of the 8000 meter peaks to be successfully climbed, most likely due to the fact that Tibet was mostly closed off from the outside world in the 50’s and 60’s.

This was actually my third time on Tong La. The first time was in April, 2003 when Ben, Major and I were heading to Base Camp. This was without a doubt the highest I had ever stood at the time and I was blown away by the sheer size of Shishapangma.

Back then we were heading up from Zhang Mu and the border with Nepal. Now, Scott and I are heading in reverse as we make our way overland back to Kathmandu. Since Tong La is the closest pass to Nepal along the Friendship Highway, we’ll be able to give our trusty Toyota Land Cruiser a break and let gravity do most of the work.

It quite literally is all downhill from here.

Jon Miller

Total Running Time: 24:15