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Farzin at the summit of Cho Oyu. Photo Farzin. Mount Everest, Lhotse seen from Summit of Cho Oyu. Photo Farzin



Joshua-Whitcraft-at-the-summit. Photo Josua



Ski Pole are ready for ski on Cho Oyu. Photo Stefan Brohn.



Climbing up for summit push. Photo Erik. Climbing up to high camp. Photo Stefan Brohn.



Cho Oyu summit at night. Shisha Pangma, 8027 m seen from mount cho oyu. Photo Toni Spirig, Celerina



Sherpas ahead (trail breaking ) and the westerners suddenly behind, before the wind covers the trail with snow again. Randy just before C2 with-the-tents of C1 below Camp-2. Photo Toni Spirig, Celerina



Joshua-Whitcraft-at-the-camp-2. Photo Joshua. Getting ready for summit push. Photo Stefan Brohn



Ascent from C1 to C2.  Ascent from Camp2 to Camp3 in case of snowfall. Photo Toni Spirig, Celerina



Camp 2 with awesome view.  climbing up the icecliff. Photo Toni Spirig, Celerina



Farzine just below Camp 3. Jangbu marks the trail. Photo Toni Spirig, Celerina



Jean Luc (little bird, - Petit oiseau ) and Jangbu in C2. Nangpai Gosum, 7296 m and Jasemba, 7352 m in the morning sun. Photo Toni Spirig, Celerina



Oxygen for mount  cho oyu. Cho Oyu Camp 1 view. Photo Toni Spirig, Celerina

4 Oct - Arrived Lhasa last night. Hosted delicious hotpot dinner. Morning flight Kathmandu over very snowy Mount Everest. Cho Oyu visible!

3 Oct - Drove 9 hours in night to Shigatse Town, 1/4 of the way across Tibet: huge. Delicious dinner, hot shower, comfy bed, clean sheets!

2 Oct -

• We've left the mountain (on the way out picking up our summit certificates) and are now driving across Tibet to reach Lhasa airport
• Yummy breakfast, sunny morning, Tibetan yak drivers and Sherpas now pack our Advanced basecamp for the trip down to Chinese BC.
• Awake camp 2 at 7140 meters / 23,450 foot. Sunrise on clouds & peaks below. Descend to C1: our gear is packed for transport to ABC by Tibetan shepherds.

Climber from other team climbing to high camp. Photo Erik. Sherpa didding snow at the camp. Photo Erik.

30 Sept -

• GUESS WHAT? WE ARE ON SUMMIT!
• All back in C2 safely. Fortunate to summit Cho Oyu on such a blue bird day. Sherpas fixed 600 metre rope right up to the last!

Team at the summit of cho oyu. Photo Farzin. Erik at the summit of Cho Oyu. Photo Farzin



Relaxing in camp sight. Photo Erik. Tents at camp 2. Photo Erik

29 Sept -

• This might seem hard to believe given recent weather patterns, but our team is now comfy in Camp 3 and heading for summit in 5 hours
• Sunrise over Mt Shishapangma, seen from here in Cho Oyu's Camp 2. Its a bit cloudy, windy. Hope weather good for C3 + 2nite summit!

Short rest above camp 1. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Camp two from Cho Oyu. Photo Erik.

28 Sept -

• Morning clouds part: reveal frosty summit. We pack up. Suddenly a huge black cloud rises, spewing snow, wind. Now we're stuck in C2.
• A morning snow storm has descended upon camp 2. We hope it will lift, allowing us to move up to camp 3. Fingers crossed!

Raymond on the way to camp 0.5. Photo Detlef Buckwitz.  Shawn starting from camp 1. Photo Detlef Buckwitz

27 Sept - Good evening from SummitClimb camp 2 @ 7140m / 23,400ft. Now comfortable in tents, warm bags, sunset on clouds & peaks far below.

26 Sept -

SummitClimb Cho Oyu team heads for summit. One night stop at 6525m / 21,402ft. Our Sherpas have now fixed rope above the rock band.

Snowfall in basecamp, but Sherpas radio: they fixed rope into Camp 3 area. Online we find 2 forecasts: 5 clear days coming: Summit.

Tenji and Ang Pasang serving food in Tent. Photo Erik. Team Members at basecamp. Photo Erik.

25 Sept - Today's weather was forecast to be some of September's worst. Bad but not so bad. Tomorrow's forecast sunny!!!

Snowing day in Camp 2. Photo Stefan Brohn. Lots of snow in camp 2. Photo Stefan Brohn

24 Sept - Blizzard envelopes our camp. Pinned down in tents, buried in deep snow. Wind circling round, visibility nil. Nothing to do: wait.

21 Sept - Thick cloud clokes camp in fog. Waiting climber's spirits hold, zipped into tents. Sherpas summit rope plans unfold. Time will tell.
 

Climbers climbing up for camp 3. Photo Stefan Brohn. Member enjoying sunny day in camp 2. Photo Erik.

Morning at camp 0.5. Cho Oyu Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Morning at our second day at camp 1. Photo Detlef Buckwitz.

20 Sept - Slept in thin air C2. Descent to ABC: 1 long day. Hot showers, cold beer, pizza, clean laundry, fresh melon, card games, dvd movies.

Our cook in chief Chimi. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Playing cards waiting fr better weather. Photo Detlef Buckwitz

After hot shower. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Detlef hair washed. Photo Detlef Buckwitz.



Washing our clothes. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Stefan Brohn enjoying beautiful day in Basecamp. Photo Stefan.

18 Sept - Good morning from SummitClimb camp 2 at 7140m / 23,400ft. Now comfortable inside tents, warm bags, sunrise on clouds & peaks far below

17 Sept - In camp 2 now catching last golden sunset rays. Our amazing Sherpas fixed rope to todays camp @ 7123m/23,371 ft. Sun, snow, cloud.

16 Sept - Rest 1 day atop crux ice step at 6835m/22,424ft. Our Sherpas carried oxygen and rope and are now fixing to camp 2. Careful lads!

Early morning at camp 1.5. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Jean-Luc always happy. Photo Detlef Buckwitz.

15 Sept - We are camped at the base of the upper mountain at 6835m / 22,424ft. We are the only team here: very special. 30cm/1ft new snow!

Climbers above our camp. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Dan giving hints at camp 1. Photo Detlef Buckwitz

14 Sept - Today snow & fixed rope training to 6525m / 21,402ft in sunshine with stunning views. Our Sherpas fixed rope on the crux ice step.

Camp 1.5 in the morning. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Morning at camp 0.5. Photo Detlef Buckwitz

13 Sept - Now in camp 1 @ 6405m/21,008ft. Warm temps, light snow. We feel high altitude but with our slow approach hope to minimize effect.

At camp 1. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Josh brushing his teeths. Photo Detlef Buckwitz.

12 Sept - Today our team climbed through light snow to 6060m/19,900ft. We plan to sleep 1 night & ascend tomorrow.

At night. Photo Detlef Buckwitz. Erik having fun. Photo Detlef Buckwitz.

10 Sept -  Today we had our expedition blessing ceremony with a real Buddh thing. Today was sunny cloudy and warm. Beautiful mountains surround us. Back to top
 
7 Sept - Today yaks and trucks came to basecamp and we loaded everything for the nice easy walk to interim camp at 5370m / 17629 feet. The morning was beautiful and sunny, and we reached interim camp and set it up, then clouds olled in and a snow/rain storm ensued. Luckily we were able to set up our camp in good weather and stay dry. Back to top  

5 Sept -  Today we reached Cho Oyu Basecamp at 4883 metres / 16,050 feet. Everyone is feeling good. It is sunny and beautiful here on a grassy yak studded Tibetan plateau. Mount Cho Oyu is massive and looms above us, beckoning. This is a very amazing place to be. We are reunited with our Sherpas and our truckload of gear which came from Nepal. A very happy reunion indeed. Now we are resting. Tomorrow we pack for the trip up to the Advanced Base Camp Our 50+ yaks are coming in the afternoon. Everyone is truly excited!!!

 

Check of our material. Photo Erik Ziegler. Our very helpfull sherpa friends. Lakba, Lakba, Jang Bu, Ten Ji,  An Passang. Photo Detlef Buckwitz

4 Sept - We drove from Shigatse to Tingri across the beautiful Tibetan plateau. It rained a little. We crossed several passes and saw lots of lovely mountains, rivers and sheep/goats. We arrived in Tingri and were welcomed by friendly nomad people and enjoyed the amenities and scenery of Tingri, the gateway to Cho Oyu and Everest. With beautiful views of both mountains. Back to top

3 Sept -  We drove across the Tibetan Plateau to Shigatse, Tibet's second city. Now it feels like we really are out in the middle of Tibet. Back to top

Impressive bathroom in Shigatse hotel room.  Freight train whisks along  an elevated concrete railway  traversing the plateau from Lhasa to Shigatse.

 

Lovely Yak studded valley on the drive out to the Tibetan Plateau.  Oil painting of Tibetan nomad family crossing the Tibetan plateau by yak train

2 Sept  - We toured Lhasa and visited the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple. An amazing ancient city. Back to top

 Walking into the Potala Palace. Memorial celebrating the first ascent of Everest at a traffic intersection in Lhasa.

1 Sept - We boarded the flight to Lhasa and arrived in the evening. It was an exciting flight over Mount Everest.

 

 The team of our sherpas. PhotoToni Spiri. Cho Oyu team members and sherpas at cho oyu team briefing.

Cho Oyu Autumn Team Roster:

• Dan Mazur (Leader), UK / USA
• Farzin F., USA
• Igor S., Ukraine
• Randall M., USA
• Joshua W., USA
• John N., USA
• Raymund D., Belgium
• Dr Detlef V. B., German
• Anton K. S., Switzerland
• Erik Z., German

Basic Members:

• Jean L. B., France
• Seane P., Australia
• Joseph H., USA
• John K., USA
• Stefan B., Sweden

• Jangbu Sherpa                             
• Lakpa Gelbu Sherpa                     
• Lakpa Tendu Sherpa                      
• Tenji Sherpa  
• Ang Pasang Sherpa                             
• Kipa Sherpa Back to top