Cho Oyu 2005 Dispatch Archives
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9-23-05 Finally at 5:30 the weather looked to be improving enough that we thought we should go for it. We were rewarded with a most beautiful day! Of course, there was a major downside to all the snow and wind from the night before- major trailbreaking, post-holing you name it! With that said we have to gave a huge thanks to the sherpas in a friend of ours' group, because without them an already hard day would have been unimaginable! Three out of four of us summited- John madeit to about a thousand feet below the summit, amajor accomplishment for him! The rest of us summited in about 7 hours from Camp 3, Willie and I did not use oxygen. The summit was warm and calm but, unfortunately a bit foggy so no Everest views for us. Of course, the stormy weather from the day before sucked for the way up, but it was pretty fun for the way down. If we hadn't been so tired it would have been incredible powder skiing! As it was, it didn't take long before we met up with John who still had some strength in his legs and was able to make some beautiful snowbord turns. Willie gave up on the skiing pretty quickly as powder turns in soft boots at 8000m isn't quite in his bag of tricks just yet! Kasha and I kept plugging away and, after breaking down Camp 3 found our best turns between Camp 3 and Camp 2- pow-pow!! Willie,he who has apparently bottomless resoures of energy, decided to hoof it all the way back to basecamp last night, while the rest of us stayed at Camp 2. I think we are just hoping to rest our legs a bit so we can enjoy another couple thousand feet of skiing. We are all healthy and happy and feel so lucky to have summited this mountain andeven gotten to ski powder on the way down. I doubt that happens every day! We've been so lucky to have met great people and the wonderful sherpas who have helped us along the way. Thanks again everyone, We'll keep you posted on the next few days of wrap-up! Hilaree and the Tnf crew.. 9-22-05 9-21-05 Thanks, Kasha and the team. 9-20-05 Kasha and John left bcamp late yesterday afternoon to spend the night at Camp 1. Willia and i opted for the more direct approach of bee-lining it from basecamp straight to Camp2. At the moment, the two of are changing over our gear and having a snack as we watch K & J movingto Camp 2 above us. We will all regroup this afternoon. Our summit day is still two days out and the weather looks great at the moment. We are all pretty excited, just hoping we will all make it!! We'll keep
you posted, Back at
Base Camp... Yesterday we descended from camp 3 to basecamp - over 7000 feet. Sleep at camp 2 - at almost 25,000 ft is almost nonexistant. Eating and drinking water become challenge enough. Hilaree and willie have managed to keep their appetites up, john and I struggle to keep down boulion and black tea. This leads us to many discussions as to why we are here, what we love about it, and why we push through headaches, vomiting, and general discomfort to be in these mountains. We share sleeping bags at camp two (i sure am glad hilaree is here), sleeping in down suits with backpacks for padding. The higher up the mountain we go, the more simple our needs become. This is where choosing your team becomes critical. This many days together can go sour if anyone loses the "team spirit". We are still laughing and taking care of each other and no one has threatened to kick me off yet for asking in a time of tension if this how "buddha would react". Now we rest and eat...and rest and eat...for the next two days before heading back up the mountain for summit push. After so many trips up and down we have studied our route up and hopefully scouted some decent skiing for the way down. We are pleased to be a few days ahead of the masses. Camp one is beginning to look like a circus - only they forgot to invite any girls. Thanks friends for tuning in, kasha and the team. Camp
2 There are a ton more tents since Willie and I were last here, but very few people, most are empty. Tomorrow we will try to set up Camp 3, which is only about 300m above us. If we can bo that we will ready for a summit push in just a few days! Thanks for tuning in and we will keep you posted, Hilaree and theTNF crew Sept. 10 This morning we are preparing to leave for our first night at Camp 2. Hopefully our packs aren't as heavy as yesterday and our hard effort the last few days have paid off and we will move easier to the next camp. We are in awe at the strength of the Sperpas working for the other groups. They seem to run pass us with twice as much weight, singing and talking like they are on a stroll. ( correction- I just read this outloud and Willie said he passed one Sherpa, but then as soon as the climb steepend he got passed again) So far we are the only team not using Sherpa support to help shuttle loads. We hope that moving our loads and spending more time going up and down the mountain will help with our strength, aclimatization and get us more in tune with snow conditions. While we were climbing yesterday there was a meeting between the other teams to talk aobut who will share the responsiblilities of fixing ropes .Luckily, due to Willie's hard effort on Everest last spring, fixing ropes with the Sherpas to the summit we were given a free card on Cho. Here we go...another trip to Camp One !!! Sept. 9 -
Camp I Yesterday, the sunshine and calm winds encouraged us to take a load up to Camp 1 at just under 21,000ft. It took us about 4 hours from basecamp to reach Camp 1 where we had originally intended to just drop a load and head down. Instead a few of us were feeling pretty good and decided it would be a good time to take advantage of the good weather and actually set up our camp. After an hour's time, we had the platform dug and our Him 47 tent up and ready to roll. As we headed down the headaches and stomach aches set in leaving us a bit crushed. However, today we took a good rest day and also did our puja- a blessing ceremony for all those who intend to climb Cho Oyu, both sherpas and westerners alike. Of course, this meant starting the day out with a lot of coffee, whiskey and a couple of PBR's and no food- not a good combination when it comes to high altitude. Nonetheless, we all seem to have managed and the puja was a success. The prayer flags are all up and our camp is more beautiful than ever. Once we recovered from the puja we spent a large portion of the day organizing food and gear so that tomorrow we can make another run (more like slog) up to Camp 1. Hopefully in a few days we will be well prepped to spend the night at Camp 1 and just keep moving up from there... Until next
time, Sept.
7 After two nights at Chinese basecamp we all felt ready for a new location. Our departure morning we prepared to leave early, waiting for the arrival of our yaks. We received a "junior" team - ones that had never carried loads. we watched in horror throughout the day as they tossed our loads - our skis, our food barrels - over and over. We lost a few glass jars but luckily all the gear seems intact. Last night we set an intermediate camp, falling asleep to snow blowing sideways against the tent but woke this morning to beautiful clear views of cho. Forgetting how long our hike was in today we set out for a full day with 2 apples and 3 cokes. One would think we would remember appropriate snacks this late in our mountaineering game. Now we sit in the most beautiful camp. Yet another blessing to being a small group - much more choice in campsites. We have incredible views in all directions and a welcome, if not small, space between us and other camps. Our team of 4 continues to feel great at 18,000 ft. Tomorrow we make our basecamp even homier and rest before making a trip to camp one the following day. Sept.
2 Sept.
1 Aug.
29 Aug.
28 Our plan is
to leave Kathmandu early Tuesday morning en route to Tibet.
At this point the rains have cleared and we are hopefull for
a speedy journey. Heavy rains can wash out the roads so we
are hopefull our trip to Tibet goes smoothly. We are hoping
to view Cho Oyu within the week. Kathmandu
-- August 27, 2005 It's exciting to be back in Nepal, the sounds, smells and even familiarfaces are all a welcome. Hilaree is already bargaining for rugs and she has only been here 5 hours!!! -- JG |
 Willie, Hilaree
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