The doc said 'no' re altitude for Grandpa

So we have to forget the Xiahe option for now and going over the mountains. We contemplated splitting but then we have the issue that if for some reason grandpa got taken to hospital we would have a lack of communication. So for now we will just head to Xining and stay at a nice hotel and get a driver to minimise the physical exertion and to hopefully give us time to get used to the alitutude... apparently you can head back to Lanzhou if you can't cope with the altutude of Xining. It makes it difficult to book plane flights as we definitely need a direct flight to Shanghai. Certainly with more time we would explore this region much further probably Lanzhou - Sichuan track. We have all had colds which makes work/activities/school/daycare coverage that much more difficult.