Cho Oyu 2013
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Farewell to the mountain and thank you05/Oct/13
It is with great regret that I have to tell you that there is to be no second attempt on the summit. It has been snowing solidly for the past 2 days and the forecast for the next few days is the same. The photo below shows the conditions in ABC at mid-morning today (Sunday). The mountain is in the background. What mountain I hear you say.
Precisely! While there is forecast to be a break in the weather in 3 or 4 days time we would expect by then to be the only team on the mountain. All the fixed rope would be buried and furthermore our Sherpas, incredible though they are, would need to re-establish the Camps at 1 and 2, breaking trail in very deep snow all the way. All this would only be feasible if the avalanche risk was low - which it almost certainly wouldn't be as the type of snow falling at the moment is different in character to that which fell earlier; increasing the risk of avalanche.
Tim and Pasang spoke to us about this and while the atmosphere was sombre agreement was unanimous. A few of us climbers spoke afterwards, essentially thanking Tim and Pasang for their exceptional leadership and for taking the tough decisions when needed. I think they appreciated this although they were perhaps a little embarrassed at the round of applause which was nonetheless richly deserved. We are in the Himalaya - it snows here! Living as most of us do in the UK and Ireland we are more than aware of the vagaries of weather forecasting. The right decisions were taken with the information to hand. Even with the benefit of hindsight it is hard to see how a different course could have been followed. The fact is that most of the team spent 2 nights at Camp 2 and were in good enough condition to make a summit attempt; all we needed was a few hours of decent weather - as had been forecast for that night.
Tim drew on this during his briefing, saying that anyone who was looking for a summit of Cho Oyu as a stepping-stone to other endeavors need not fear the inability to achieve this. Anyone who spent 2 nights at Camp 2 and remained in good physical condition would have been highly likely to have reached the summit and returned safely. All we needed was a few hours at the right time.
However, while I can hardly bring myself to say it .... it's over now and we are coming home.
The Yaks have been called in and are scheduled to arrive sometime over the next few days (we have learned during our time here not to be too precise when dealing with Yaks). Either way we don't need to wait for them and we shall walk out of ABC tomorrow (Monday) morning. After around 4 hours trek we shall meet with 2 4x4's which will take us back to the land of oxygen. Following a night at the Tibetan (Chinese if you prefer) border town of Xhangmu we shall re-cross the Friendship Bridge into Nepal and be back at Kathmandu around 4 to 5 hours later. The whole journey is much quicker this time as we don't need to acclimatise on the way. Whether the Summit Hotel has rooms available we don't know as yet and whether our flights can be brought forward is equally unknown (due to the availability of seats, which are in high demand at this time). Whenever we return home we shall do so with new friendships to foster, new experiences to recount, with our heads held high, and with the same number of digits with which we started.
Thank you to all of our families, relatives, friends and others who have been the sources of inspiration, support and encouragement which have enabled us to embark upon and be successful on this expedition.
Thank you to the team of Sherpas and kitchen and support staff who have constantly sought to make our time at ABC as comfortable as possible, and our time on the mountain safe. In particular I single out: Ishi our Llama-cum-cookboy whose good humour and constant hard work was matched only by his potency during Puja; Tenzing the head chef whose skill in the kitchen (tent) was matched only by the width of his perma-grin; and of course our Sirdar, Pasang Tenzing Sherpa, for whom all things were possible, nothing was too much trouble, and whose reputation is richly deserved.
Thank you to Tim Calder our expedition leader, whose disappointment at calling off the summit attempt was manifest and for whom the entire team has the utmost respect. He worked tirelessly for team success, and achieved it. The summit is, after all, optional while returning safely is mandatory.
And finally, thank you to the star of the show, the Turquoise Goddess. Cho Oyu, you listened to our Puja. You graciously allowed us to tread your ermine robes. Sometimes your pristine wings were open to reveal your beauty and sometimes closed to our eyes. But irrespective of our trespass you kept us safe. You have allowed us to glimpse your majesty and return to tell of it to those less intrepid. We thank you, and leave you now in peace.
And so now farewell from the Jagged Globe Cho Oyu class of 2013, whose lack of a summit is but a trifle in the midst of such beauty and majesty.
Andy James, team member
On way down02/Oct/13
Tim Calder just called from Depot Camp (just below Camp 1). The team are heading down to base camp. They planned to leave for the summit last night at 10.30pm but when they got up it was very cold and starting to snow. Later on that night the weather continued to deteriorate and they were worried about avalanche risk, as well as the low temperatures, so this morning they headed down the mountain.
They've left supplies up there and still have plenty of time, so we'll wait to hear about their next move tomorrow. For now, it sounds like it's been a tiring descent from Camp 2 but they should be able to recover sufficiently if they want to give it another shot. Stay tuned.
Holding at Camp 201/Oct/13
The Cho Oyu team made it to Camp 2 yesterday as planned, but have decided to wait there today and go for the summit tonight. The weather forecast suggests low winds and reasonable temperatures until 8 October, but with some precipitation. They haven't actually had any snow and other teams who have summited in the last couple of days reported very warm temperatures (-20c) on the summit and not having to wear their down jackets.
It's a tough climb from Camp 1 to Camp 2 at 7,000m so the team will undoubtedly benefit from a full day's rest. Everyone is up at Camp 2 apart from Chris who has descended due to not feeling very well with a stomach bug.
As in 2011, they have opted not to use Camp 3, which is located at 7,400m. The thinking is that you sleep better at 7,000m and it only puts another 2 hours onto your summit day to go from 7,000m.
We wish the team the best of luck!
Going for the summit28/Sep/13
The weather window has moved forward a few days so we are frantically packing and getting ready to go up the hill. The plan is to head up to camp 1 on Monday 30 September and then camp 2 the day after that. All being well we will head for the summit from camp 2 on the night of the 1st, hoping to summit on the morning of the 2nd. Communications will be very difficult from tomorrow onwards so the next blog update will hopefully be from the summit. Everyone is very excited if a little apprehensive but raring to go!
Tim Calder, expedition leader
To Camp 1 and back - all in good shape08:24 GMT, 25/Sep/13
As outlined in the Sunday blog, the past 2 days has seen us climb to Camp 1, stay overnight, and return to ABC. As Camp 1 site at 6,400m this climb of around 800m was significant in preparing our bodies to function properly as we progress up the mountain.
The trek to Camp 1 commenced along the same route used in our acclimatisation walk on Saturday but thereafter took on a very different character. It took 2 1/2 hours to reach the point at which we departed the moraine to head up the mountain, and a further 3 1/2 hours to climb from there to Camp 1. By no stretch of the imagination could this second part be called easy. It was around 500m of very steep scree and each of us experienced varying degrees of pain in getting to the top - but get there we did.
The camp is on a rocky shoulder and as we crested the final rise a winter wonderland was exposed to us. The barren rock of the climb was replaced by quite deep snow and the mountain ridge lines beyond looked magnificent. A down-climb of 10m or so took us to our tents - already erected by our Sherpas. It was very cold so the first action was to get the stove going melting snow to make tea. This was immediately followed by melting more snow to make dinner - various soups and other boil-in-the-bag offerings that varied from the fairly tasty to the utterly inedible. After this was more snow melting to provide drinking water through until the morning. The latter would be placed in our sleeping bags to avoid it freezing overnight. All of this activity was conducted from within our tents, indeed from within our sleeping bags as by then it was snowing, and in any case it was far too cold to be outside once the sun dropped below the horizon.
By about 7pm most cooking/boiling was completed and following Tim's tent-by-tent briefing on the plans/timings for the following day and the importance of continuing to hydrate through the night, head-torches were turned off and we tried to sleep. I say 'tried to' as even following a tough day in the mountains 7pm is still a little early. Then there is the coughing, snoring and of course the impact of hydrating.
By 7am the gas stoves were all active again producing reakfast and shortly thereafter we were on our way back to ABC where we were met with lunch.
The objective of the trip to Camp 1 and back was fully achieved. All team members made it to the Camp, did well overnight, and returned in good form.
All eyes are now on the weather, trying to work out what is the best summit strategy which combines the best weather with our future acclimatisation needs and the fixing of ropes on the upper parts of the mountain.
Andy James, Team member
Getting ready to spend a night at C121/Sep/13
Today is Sunday and, purely coincidentally, this is a day of rest for us too before a very big day on Monday when we shall climb 800m to Camp 1 and spend the night. We have selected our preferred food for this next step; snack lunch on the move, then dinner and breakfast at Camp 1. My choice is boil-in-the-bag mushroom flavored Thai rice for dinner and muesli for breakfast but others will have made different choices from the big range offered. Of course there will be hot and cold drinks too including our favorite Yorkshire Tea. There is no fresh water at Camp 1 although there is snow so all of our time between arrival and sleeping will be spent melting snow to produce the water to make drinks and hydrate our dinner, and then eating it, probably in our sleeping bags. The comfort of ABC will be far below us. Melted snow will be stored in our 1 litre water bottles inside our sleeping bags overnight as they would freeze solid otherwise. The overnight temperature here at ABC last night was -8C and it will be colder still at Camp 1!
At some stage today we shall pack our rucksacks in preparation for an early start tomorrow. For the most part today we have been resting, doing some washing, and generally making the most of this opportunity to acclimatise to 5,600m, before moving to well over 6,400m tomorrow. It was hot and sunny this morning but right now it's snowing. As I blog a game of scrabble has just been completed and Trivial Pursuits is getting underway. Acclimatisation can be a boring and protracted business but having access to a comfortable Mess Tent helps the time to pass and the team to bond. As does the tin a Quality Street in the corner...
Given the toughness of tomorrow's itinerary a blog update is unlikely before we return to ABC on Tuesday.
Andy James, team member
First foray to Camp 120/Sep/13
Today we had a rude awakening: at about 6 a.m. there was a loud roar from across the valley as one of the slopes avalanched. This event was several miles away and there was of course no danger at all to ABC but it was an interesting way to be awoken.
After breakfast we made an early start up the glaciated valley towards Camp 1. This was only an acclimatisation walk to get us used to walking at over 5,600m so we were only carrying essentials such as full waterproofs (known as hard-shell), plenty of water and snacks, sun protection and sunglasses. In the event the hard-shell wasn't needed and our walk was conducted in glorious hot sunshine. We were out for about 4 1/2 hours, taking 2 1/2 hours to get to our target of 50% of the way to Camp 1, after which we rested for around 30 mins and then returned to ABC.
The views and scenery could not be described as picturesque - ruggedly dramatic would be nearer the mark. We were walking on a moraine of the Gyrabrag glacier, formed by the action of the glacier and essentially a long rigde of rocks. The rocks vary in size from gravel to blocks the size of a bus, and all in between. They have one thing in common - they are rarely stable, so when walking these you are always alert to the fact that they may move. This made some sections of the walk quite tricky, although to be fair most of the footing on the rough track that wends it way along the moraine is fairly steady. Apart from being beckoned onward by Cho Oyu which was fully in our face on the outward journey, the most remarkable aspect of the walk were the penitentes. These are beautiful but highly unstable ice structures which sit atop the central part of the glacier which we followed. They range in size from a few metres high to several tens of metres high and typically have the shape of a shark fin. They can stand singly or in groups and together create an impression of royal icing on a Christmas cake, or perhaps whisked egg whites. The overall colour is of course white but as these are ice structures there are occasional tinges of blue and green and, naturally in the presence of the Turquoise Goddess herself, turquoise.
All in all a great first foray on the mountain and we continue to be in fine form. However the best was saved untill last. Upon returning to ABC not only had our amazing team of Sherpa cooks prepared a lunch of veggie burgers, salami, proscuitto, smoked ham and apple pie, but the shower had been set up too.
Does it get better than this? Well maybe not - but it will certainly get higher and that is why we are here.
Andy James, team member
On the way to Gyablung16/Sep/13
Just a short update today. All going well here and the group are all getting to know each other and are surprisingly strong. We're off to Gyablung tomorrow so well on our way. Things are really slow moving on the mountain with nobody above C2 yet.
Chinese Base Camp14/Sep/13
Sunday 15 Sept: Place Chinese BC : Height 4900m.
We arrived today in Chinese Base Camp at around 4900m after an exciting few days travel through Tibet. The place is a paradox between the modern and the ancient. The rate of development here is incredible whilst maintaining a strong and ancient culture. We are all pretty glad to be under canvas tonight and have our own cooks after 4 nights in Chinese hotels with very traditional cooking [no sweet and sour pork in sight] The group are all doing very well and whist feeling the gain in altitude are all coping better than usual. Egg, chips and beans for dinner tonight. Ah, the food of the gods.
Arrival in Kathmandu10/Sep/13
The team arrived in Kathmandu on the afternoon of 8 September to a warm welcome from the Staff of the Summit Hotel.
A quick briefing and then early to bed was the order of the day as everyone was pretty tired after the flight. Monday 9th was spent sorting out gear and visas and then it was off to the border on the morning of the 10th. A beautiful (and not too exciting, thanks to good roads) drive was had to the Nepalese town of Kodari on the border. Dhal bhat [Nepali rice and lentils] and then another early night. The team are at present in Nylam. A Tibetan town situated at around 3600m just inside Tibet. Everyone is doing well and recovering after the rigors of the border formalities. Tomorrow will be a fairly easy day consisting of a gentle acclimatisation walk in the morning followed by a well earned rest in the afternoon. The pace of life [and of the team members] has slowed as we enter Tibet and start to gain altitude.
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Leader - Tim Calder
Tim Calder »
