HIGHER and HIGHER: Chapter VII

TOWARD EVEREST: A JOURNEY HIGHER and HIGHER

The Haier Brothers set out across Tibet on bikes. They cross some of the highest, and most daunting, passes in the world, all before a backdrop of pure beauty. It’s almost too big and too high to imagine.




Chapter VII FAQ:

How much did the extreme elevations play into this adventure?
It was hard. I (Brusie) had a sinus infection. The elevation exacerbated the problem in the form of painful pressure headaches. Seabass also had headaches due to the elevation, and on the first two days of the trip experienced altitude fatigue. But our bodies adjusted quickly, and I got some antibiotics in Shigatse.

How long did it take you to complete the trek?
We reached Everest in nine days, or about half the time of what most bike tours take. We reached Katmandu, Nepal in 12.

I'm fifty years old. Do you think I could do it?
If you have a healthy heart, yes. We met a Belgian on the trip; let's just say after we met him we stopped whining so much. He was in his fifties, and had ridden from Belgium to Tibet! We were honored to be in his presence. The man had also accomplished a trip from the north of Africa to the south.

How did you get your bike to Tibet?
Good question. We used China's rail express. It's incredibly cheap and efficient. Although figuring out the pick up/drop off system is a challenge. We bought our bikes in Qingdao, then had them sent to Beijing East Train Station. The bikes arrived a day after we did. To get them, we had to go into a dungeon below the train station. It was fascinating as well as a long walk. From the east train station we rode to Beijing West Train Station. We sent the bikes to Tibet, and they arrived two days after we did. Truly, it was amazing. We feel we were lucky because we didn't do as much research as we should have to deal with the logistic nightmare.

Were those really chickens in the bathroom?
Yes. They wanted out of the rain. We have to admit, it was distressing to use the pit toilets knowing 10 live chickens were next to you at head level.

Did you have a run in with the Chinese authorities in Tibet? Did you see any of the repression often talked about?
Here's an anecdote to consider. The area between Shigatse and Lhatse is an empty desert, devoid of trees, and the road progresses constantly uphill. We ran out of water and decided to hitch a ride to a store to refill. We had a filtration pump, but we were exhausted and, frankly, were lazy. If we could, we wanted a ride up Lagpa Pass too because we were so dead. We lucked out and a Tibetan in one of the huge orange dump trucks (very common on the highways, you see them in the video) picked us up. Of all things, we ran into a Police check point, the first and only one we saw all journey, just a few kilometers up the road. A police officer waved the truck over and told us to climb down. The driver, who we could not communicate with as he spoke very little Chinese, stuck his tongue out at us, we thought as a way to offend us and say "Thanks a lot, jerks." We felt awful. The police officer arrested him. We argued with the officer for about a half an hour, telling him that the driver was helping us. We showed the officer we had no water and added that we would not leave until the man was let go. Finally, the officer relented and said he would let him go, but only after we went up the road. We accepted his promise grudgingly, as how could we know he wouldn't just take the driver away after we left. We felt we had little choice but to take him for his word. We never saw the driver pass us again. Later, I spoke with another Tibetan who knew Mandarin. He told me Tibetans stick there tongues out at you to say they're sorry.