SummitClimb Cho Oyu Autumn 2005: Tibet

Update: Hi, this is Ben Stuckey reporting live from Nylam, Tibet for the 2005 Summitclimb Cho Oyu expedition. We arrived in Nylam today after a slight delay in crossing over from Nepal to China yesterday afternoon. We had to stay an extra night in the Chinese border town of Zangmu in order to clear up some permit issues with the CTMA.

The border town of Zangmu is quite interesting. It is only a one street hamlet built on the side of the mountains. The constant truck traffic coming in each direction to\from the border makes for some interesting sights.

This morning we left Zangmu and completed the drive to Nylam. The drive between towns is not without some high stress on the part of the climbers. The road is mainly wide enough for one vehicle and yet the are always trucks crawling down the mountainside in an effort to reach the Chinese border. Oh, did I mention the drop-off on one side is close to 1000 feet straight down and there is not much in the way of guardrails. Although, all said and done, the magnificent views of the rolling mountains, the steep mountainside, and the monsoon fed waterfalls make for a unique memory.

Upon arrival in Nylam, we quickly found a place to eat and enjoyed the wonderful Tibetan food. The town is under-going an extensive clean up making for a more relaxing stay not having to breath the unique aromas found in other towns we have gone through. About half of the members went on a small hike this afternoon while the rest caught up on some sleep and prepared their gear for the climbing ahead in days to come. We will be spending a total of 2 nights in this town and then we move onto Tingri where we should get our first views of our objective, Cho Oyu. From the town of Tingri we will begin calling in our dispatches via sat phone because internet access is not available.

Thanks for following our climb and we will give more updates in the near future.

Tashi Delek, Ben Stuckey

This is our team:

Arnold Coster, the Netherlands- Leader

Phil Crampton, UK -Expedition Manager

Thierry Auberson, Switzerland

Guntis Brands, Switzerland

Edward Buckingham, UK

Ray Butler, UK

Herve Coron, France

Doug Cote, USA

Dominic Faulkner, UK

Tunc Findik, Turkey

Johan Franlelius, Sweden

Gernot Gessinger, Austria

Richard Lindskold, Sweden

Ulrica Lindskold, Sweden

Mark Little, USA

Francois Niering, Switzerland

Maya Sherpa, Nepal

Andrew Sloan, UK

Jon David Stewart, USA

Ben Stuckey, USA

Matt Ward, UK

Nick Williams, UK

Introduction to Cho Oyu: 4 September to 10 October

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: Arnold Coster, an accomplished and friendly leader who has led successful expeditions to the summit of Cho Oyu and Everest. Arnold's last expedition placed 9 of 11 members and 4 Sherpas on the summit of Cho Oyu; Organizer: Jon Christian Otto, fluent Chinese speaker, Tibet and China Expert, with 10 years experience organizing Himalayan climbs.

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.

Updates

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