SummitClimb Cho Oyu Autumn 2006: Ryan reports in...

Update 05/20/2006: This is Ryan Waters, Expedition Leader for the SummitClimb Cho Oyu Expedition, calling to you from 6,500 meters or approximately 21,000 feet up in Camp 1.  Our Summit push is on.  Calling from my tent here, listening to the iPod, looking out at sunset at 8:20 at night, making some macaroni and cheese.  We’re excited to be on the summit push now-- myself, Carlo, Reinhold and David are all at Camp 1.  We plan to move to Camp 2 tomorrow along with Pasang Sherpa and Sadom Chemay  .  So we’re psyched and we’re ready to go.  The weather is fairly stable.  We’re getting reports of just some clouds for a few days but then hopefully clear weather on the 23rd, which is our predicted summit date.  The rest of the crew is down at ABC still and they’re going to start their summit bid tomorrow.  They’ll be coming up to Camp 1 tomorrow evening, and that includes everyone else on the team.  Mark, Liga, James, Brad, and Remco.  We’re all excited about getting underway and we’ll have the phone with us and we’ll give you calls from high on the mountain.  So stay tuned and  wish us luck.  Thank you.

Dispatches

Background: Introduction to Cho Oyu: Cho-Oyu has only recently become a popular mountain to climb.  It is now known to be one of the most accessible of the world’s fourteen 8,000 metre mountains.  This is because the ascent to the summit is short and direct, with a few small technical sections, less than 6 metres high, climbed in safety using fixed lines. Additionally, the mountain can be easily reached by four-wheel-drive vehicle, and the trail to Camp 1 at 6,400 metres, is basically a steep walk on talus slopes, often done in hiking boots.  This expedition to Cho-Oyu maximizes our previous successful ascents on the peak itself, plus many years of accumulated wisdom of the high Himalaya, a strong record of reaching 8,000 metre summits in all safety, along with an intimate knowledge of the Tibetan and Chinese officials who regulate the permit system.  We must also give credit to the highly experienced and hard-working leaders, sherpas and staff here at SummitClimb.com

Leader: Ryan Waters, an accomplished and friendly leader

Cho Oyu - the "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan - is located at the frontier of Tibet and Nepal. At a height of 8201 meters, it belongs to the Himalayan range, about 30 km west of Everest. It is the sixth highest mountain in the world and was first climbed on October 19th 1954 by the Austrian Herbert Tichy, with Sepp Jochler and Pasang Dava Lama.

"Finally, the peak is reached, the infinite hardships are ended. The last nine hours fighting with the mountain; the time in the death zone above 24,000 foot, the weeks of privations and hardships, even the risk of one's life - is this reward itself really? Yes, certainly! Not because of fame but inner satisfaction: To have found the mountain as friend and have been so near to the sky." Sepp Jochler.

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