Tibet - Cho Oyu - West Ridge | Expedition-Logistics

Tibet

Cho Oyu — West Ridge

Cho Oyu (26,906’)

Overview

Difficulty Rating: Cho Oyu, TD
Experience Level: Advanced Intermediate
Duration: 42 days
Climbers: 6
Guides: 2
Land Cost: $15,700

Dates

Aug 21 - Oct 1, 2010

Expedition Goals

Cho Oyu enjoys the highest success rate of all the 8000-meter peaks; it is the world’s 6th highest mountain, located on the border between Nepal and Tibet, 18 miles west of Mount Everest and the Nangpa La, a 19,000-foot mountain pass that that serves as the main trade route between Tibet and the Khumbu; Cho Oyu means “Turquoise God”.

Note: In Camp 3 (24,500’) we will breathe supplemental oxygen both during the day and while sleeping, as well as on summit day. While many climbers chose to forego bottled oxygen, the increased incidence of altitude related health problems (both minor and life-threatening) and their effect on summit day success-rates has put us in favor of supplemental oxygen. If you wish to climb Cho Oyu without oxygen, let us know in advance and we will make special arrangements for you to do so.

Prerequisites

Participation in this climbing expedition requires advanced mountaineering skills. You must have a solid working knowledge of the techniques for staying warm and dry while climbing, traveling and camping in extremely cold conditions, and the proper use of ice axe and crampons. Additionally, you must be comfortable moving over steep snow and ice up to 50-degrees, following grade 4 ice, ascending and descending fixed lines while wearing a pack, and be proficient in commonly accepted belay techniques. High altitude experience with no history of serious illness, glacier travel experience, and technical ice climbing experience are required without exception. For reasons of personal and team safety and success, it is imperative you arrive for this climb in excellent physical condition.

Itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive in Nepal; transfer from airport; hotel check-in. Arrive in Kathmandu (4,265’), where an Expedition-Logistics guide will be waiting to greet you. After a gear inventory and hotel check-in, we call it an early evening to recover from our travels across the International Date Line.

Day 2 — Casual wake-up; acclimatize in Kathmandu; administration & logistics. Today we take it easy, attend to administrative details with the Nepalese government, and explore this country’s capital city. Kathmandu is a popular travel destination with wonderful people, international cuisine and excellent shopping in its many markets. Today we will visit the 3000-year-old Monkey Temple, and Durbar Square, with its shrines, temples and the Old Palace. This evening, get to know your guides and teammates at the welcome dinner and expedition briefing.

Day 3 — Early wake-up; fly to Lhasa, Tibet. This morning we depart Kathmandu and take the world’s most scenic and exciting one-hour flight to Lhasa (12,139’). After hotel check-in we spend the rest of the day relaxing in this fascinating 1300-year-old city and adjusting to the tremendous one-day gain in elevation.

Day 4 — Casual wake-up; acclimatize in Lhasa. Today we continue our acclimatization in town. Lhasa, a Tibetan word meaning “Land of the Gods”, occupies the north bank of the Kyichu River; a tributary of the Yarlong Tsangpo River. It is the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China; a plateau with an average elevation of over 14,000 feet, bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the north and the Himalayas to the south. Today we will tour the Potala Palace, which overlooks the city from atop a hill. The palace was built in 1645 and served as home to all the Dalai Lamas until 1959; it contains 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 religious statues. We will also visit the Jhokang Temple and the colorful Barkhor Market, the focal point of the old city. The temple was built in the seventh century and is Tibet’s holiest of Buddhist shrines. Of special interest are its religious murals and works of art, the finely crafted golden roof, and its gilded Syakamuni Buddha (the Buddha of our times) statue. Finally, we wander away from old-city Lhasa to explore a modern capital of high-rise buildings, upscale shopping and wide boulevards.

Day 5 — Casual wake-up; mandatory rest day. Today is a rest day to promote recovery and allow for proper acclimatization. It is important to remember that rest and recuperation are vital to the acclimatization process and the prevention of altitude sickness. Our well thought-out and proven system of active acclimatization – incremental increases in altitude and exertion in combination with sufficient recovery time and proper nutrition – has paid off time and again with a consistently high success rate summit days.

Day 6 — Early wake-up; transfer to Shigatse. This morning we load into 4x4s for the seven-hour drive along the Nepal-China Friendship Highway to Shigatse (12,959’), the country’s second largest city. We arrive in the late afternoon, check into our hotel and take the rest of the day to explore this fascinating city. Shigatse is located at the junction of the Yarlong Tsangpo and Nyangchu Rivers; appropriately the name means “Fertile Land”. The highest peaks in Tibet, including Mt. Everest, are in the Shigatse prefecture around Shigatse. This 600-year-old city is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the two prestigious spiritual leaders in Tibet. The Lama serves as the abbot of the Tashilhunpo Monastery, which was built in 1447. Like Lhasa, Shigatse is a study in contrast, and has recently undergone major development, offering a variety of up-to-date amenities including an Internet cafe. This is your last chance to exchange US dollars for Chinese currency at the Bank of China before we leave for New Tingri. You can also send international letters and faxes at the post office.

Day 7 — Early wake-up; transfer to New Tingri. This morning we load into 4x4s for the eight-hour drive to New Tingri, on the way crossing two high mountain passes. At Thang La (17,160’) we can look back at the Himalaya and see Shishapangma (26,550’), the world’s 13th highest mountain and the only 8000-meter peak located entirely in Tibet, Langtang (23,909’), Makalu (27,928’) and Everest (29,035’); at Lhakpa La (17,126’) we will stop and observe pilgrims placing prayer flags and scattering small bits of “wind horse” paper inscribed with prayers for a safe journey. In the afternoon we stop for lunch at a small café in the town of Lhatse (13,123’), and then continue on to our destination at New Tingri (14,246’), arriving in the late afternoon. After hotel check-in we spend the rest of the day relaxing and exploring this small, rugged town of mud and stone buildings. In addition to hosting climbers from around the world, New Tingri is also is a popular stop for Tibetan nomads crossing this desolate part of the plateau.

Day 8 — Casual wake-up; mandatory rest day. Today is a rest day to promote recovery and allow for proper acclimatization. Today we also hire the yaks and yak drivers who will assist us in moving our gear from basecamp to advance basecamp (ABC).

Day 9 — Casual wake-up; transfer to Cho Oyu basecamp. After a leisurely breakfast we load into 4x4s for the two-hour drive on a bumpy dirt road across the grassy plains. Six miles outside of town we stop at a Chinese military checkpoint and have our paperwork inspected, then continue up the Ra Chu Valley to Cho Oyu basecamp (16,306’). This camp is widely known as the “Chinese basecamp” and is situated on a comfortable grassy area next to a river, and overlooked by the Chinese army from a nearby village. We spend the remainder of the day relaxing and acclimatizing in preparation for our move to advanced basecamp (ABC).

Day 10 — Casual wake-up; acclimatization hike; return to basecamp. This morning we will undertake an acclimatization hike, possibly as high as 18,000 feet. Afterwards we descend back to basecamp in time for lunch and spend the rest of the day recuperating. This evening we prepare for tomorrow’s move to our intermediate camp.

Day 11 — Casual wake-up; move to intermediate camp. This morning we help load up the yaks and depart basecamp. After a few hours of easy travel along the road we arrive at our intermediate camp (17,060’) where we set up the tents and spend the rest of the day relaxing and acclimatizing. This evening we prepare for tomorrow’s move to ABC.

Day 12 — Early wake-up; move to ABC. This morning we move to ABC (19,029’) and the end of the line for our yak support. Our camp is situated near the Nangpa La (19,000’), a high mountain trade route between Nepal and Tibet, and affords us a front-row view of our route.

Day 13 — Casual wake-up; mandatory rest day. Today is a rest day to promote recovery and allow for proper acclimatization. ABC is in fact the main basecamp for Cho Oyu; we spend today making our area livable, reviewing skills and visiting with the other teams. This evening we prepare our loads for tomorrow’s carry to Camp 1.

Day 14 — Early wake-up; carry to Camp 1; return to ABC. This morning we shoulder packs loaded with food, fuel, climbing gear and other items we’ll need in the coming days as we climb higher up the mountain. Leaving ABC we follow the Gyabrag Glacier for several hours and arrive at the foot of the mountain. A short, steep section leads to a steep – and extremely aggravating – scree slope, which we ascend for several hours to Camp 1 (21,326’) on the west ridge. After caching our loads we take a short break to eat, hydrate and catch our breath, and then descend to basecamp to recuperate. Our strategy is the time-proven adage “climb high, sleep low,” and is the cornerstone of our system of active acclimatization. Camp 1 is located where the scree slope meets the Balung Glacier.

Day 15 — Casual wake-up; mandatory rest day. Today is a rest day to promote recovery and allow for proper acclimatization.

Day 16 — Casual wake-up; mandatory rest day. Today is a rest day to promote recovery and allow for proper acclimatization. This evening we prepare our loads for tomorrow’s carry and overnight at Camp I.

Day 17 — Early wake-up; carry to Camp 1; overnight. This morning we leave ABC, once again traveling over the glacier and the seemingly interminable scree slope to Camp 1. Arriving at camp, we set up the tents, organize the gear from the two carries and recuperate from the hike.

Day 18 — Casual wake-up; return to ABC. Having reaped the benefits of a night sleeping at 21,326 feet, we descend back down to ABC as part of our program of active acclimatization to allow our bodies to recover.

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