Thursday, 11 April 2002 from Lhasa, Tibet: We arrived in Lhasa on the 9th after a wonderful flight through the Himalaya. We passed very close to Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga and so many others. It was an awesome flight! 
We picked up Henry Todd as a member of our travel group. He is a nice, interesting fellow to talk with as he has been visiting the Himalaya almost as long as I (Jim) have been alive and has climbed with many legends of the sport. On the 10th we visited Potala Palace, former home of the Dali Lama. It is an amazing structure built in the seventh century. It contains the remains of many former Dali Lamas. The Stupa (resting place) of the 5th Dali Lama is 30 feet high and made of over 8,000 pounds of gold. Very impressive! Many Tibetan Buddhists travel for 1,000 kilometers or more to come and worship here. Some cover every inch of the journey by stretching out on the ground, then standing up and repeating the process until every inch of the journey has been covered by their bodies. At another temple we saw many of then finally reaching their goal after their tremendous journeys. Today, Scott and some other members on our permit went to climb a 14,000 feet mountain to further their acclimatization, but I stayed in Lhasa with Alex, a well-known Mexican climber, to visit another monastery. I think I will soon get my fill of hiking anyway! We had a wonderful time walking around and talking with the monks and several pilgrims who had just completed their very long journeys. We were able to see the monks praying, chanting and playing their cymbals and drums. It was a very special experience for me and one I have always wanted to witness. We were able to receive a blessing of good health and fortune from the Lama. The people were so nice; wanting to talk with us and have pictures taken together. Tomorrow we leave for Xigatse, where we will spend one night, then on to Xegar where we will also spend one night before leaving for BC. We are now traveling by Land Cruiser. Jim

Dispatches