Expedition Stats: Lhasa: 11,975 feet (3650 meters) Nakchu: 14,450 feet (4404 meters) Diru: 12,526 feet (3718 meters) Samda Monastery: 13,688 feet (4172 meters) Base Camp: 15,600 feet (4754 meters) Dates: September 9-14, 2002

From Lhasa the team drives due north, into the heart of Tibet. Eight-hours from Lhasa is the first stop - Nakchu - a quintessential Chinese/Tibetan frontier town adrift in the windswept plains of the Tibetan plateau. The next day, 70-miles of rough and tumble jeep travel leads over 15,000 foot passes into rugged eastern Tibet. The road twists through towns, fields of barley, and wooded canyons, arriving in the town of Diru.

Lhasa to Diru is a mental time warp. Says Mark Newcomb, "Now that we’re here, in the middle of nowhere, it seems wild that only two days ago I was in Lhasa trying desperately to contact American Express."

After Diru, lonely, windswept, passes and snow flurries lead to the picturesque Samda monastery and the trailhead. Said one team member, "It was like finally arriving at everyone’s interpretation of Tibet." A 10-mile hike lands the team in Basecamp - home for the next month.

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