The Golden Triangle Rider

jayree · Cyclist Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 11

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Davidfl
 Coming soon..... Robert's next LS85 attempt. You could never say he was a desk rider & didn't try. Go Roberto go, but pls don't dump it coming out of Phonsavan again.
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SilverhawkUSA · Posted: 31.10.2007, 01:42 Post subject:

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I am getting so many letters it is keeping me pretty busy.. Is there an address for your club that I can use to reply to you all at one time and refer to the questioner....Thanks Jerry<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by jayree
 You are all wrong on your facts about LS 85.Be happy to discuss them with you. Isnt this post a couple of years old. Jerry Clayton Commander LS 85.
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Jerry,

Yes this original post is old, but now it is the start of a new riding season and the great interest in LS85 is still here. A number of people I know are planning rides to that area.

Anything you could add, or correct us on, would be appreciated and just posting it here in the message board is the best way to reach the number of people who have contacted you. There are still many rumours about the area, and the Laos situation is quite fluid, so the more info the better. Thanks.

mat.ward · Biker Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 55 Location: New Zealand

When we were in Xam Nua in Feb this year we were very keen to head towards Phu Pathi. We met a friendly tourism development guy (Lao) from the Phonsavan area who had good english. We asked him for rough directions to get to the area. After initially agreeing that it would be a good trip he came back after talking with some local colleagues and said that until the UXO had been cleared from the area tourists were not allowed near the mountain. We spoke with another 6 Lao people, and everyone we spoke with said things like “too difficult for you”, “bad road”, “too much UXO”, "military road blocks", and other less defined reasons why we could not go.

One guy initially said that it would be no problem on bikes, and that the old US airstrip and mountain was right next to “Houayma” the town we could ride to. After initially saying he would find a Hmong guide for us (initially we were not thinking of a guide, but we figured there would be no harm in going with a local, and there might even be a small chance of getting near/up the the mountain) he left a note for us at our guesthouse saying that the area is “prohibited for some reasons” (see note below). The seventh and last Lao person we talked to about going there briefly mentioned problems the government was having with the Hmong. Maybe this the the real reason is for all the perplexing discouragement we got when inquiring about traveling to the area. Apparently the government has said that the mountain itself would open to tourists once the UXO is cleared, maybe this means that the mountain will open once the Hmong rebels/bandits/whatever have been “cleared”.

We figured that it would be foolish/rude if we headed to the town after being discouraged from going by so many locals (and by the sounds of it there would have been an army checkpoint) so we decided not to go.

Maybe someone with better spoken Lao or better contacts in Lao would have a better chance to figure out the real issue involved with a trip towards LS85 (if there even is an issue). We figured that it would be a bit muppety to barge on up.

The note from Bounphone, the project director for Nam Et Phouluey NBCA who was visiting Xam Nua:

Phou Pathi and LS85 are further west than they are marked on David's map. The second half of a ride there looks like fun I recon.

rudecam · Cyclist Joined: 10 Jan 2006 Posts: 10 Location: Canada

eh! i'm glad other people are trying to climb it! it's been 2 years now that i am back in canada taking physical therapy courses in college. It's hard and demanding and i can't travel anymore. I will be following this post real close. Wish you good luck!

I remembers locals trying to discourage me with the same arguments don't give up! that peak will be doable eventually