Happy Birthday Curiosity , Three years of discovery

I thought they were supposed to be up and on the larger slope of Mount Sharp last summer, over a year ago. There seems to be a hesitancy to cross over a sandy area to get to the slope proper. Does anyone have any details about the delay, or insider data? Thanks.

originally posted by: Aleister
I thought they were supposed to be up and on the larger slope of Mount Sharp last summer, over a year ago. There seems to be a hesitancy to cross over a sandy area to get to the slope proper. Does anyone have any details about the delay, or insider data? Thanks.

This new panorama suggest that the rover is much higher above the level of the crater plain where it starter off: www.esa.int...

...unless it's just a hill separate from the mountain slopes.