100% Summit Success on Cho Oyu!!!

Team leader and updates: Sean James
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29th September: Our patience and tactics paid off. we moved up the mountain using intermediate camps and sat out a windy day at 1.5 with the promise of a settled spell. We moved up to Camp 3 at7500m and spent a cold evening before launching for the summit.

Every member of the AP team and our sherpa, Onchyou summited Cho Oyu on a perfect day. The snow was crisp and good under food. a little wind blew the clouds away and we had views of almost every Himalayan mountain you can think of. We are looking forward to getting back to Kathmandu and the delights there.

29th September: They have summited earlier this morning. Sean has just called from Camp 3. He sounded very happy and excited. They left Camp 3 somewhat after midnight and had great weather but it was very cold.

Sean is expecting to be down at basecamp later today and will be able to write emails with more info for us. Huge congratulations to the team from all at Adventure Peaks

29th September: We’re at camp 2 (7100m). Due to extreme high winds we had to stay here another day and rest and wait in our tents. Still we are one of the first to get here. Now the weather is looking good for the next few days and we will climb up to camp 3 tomorrow, reaching 7500m. It takes a lot of effort to ascend at this altitude but Tony is doing very well. In the night from 28th to 29th we will leave the camp at 1am to reach the summit in the morning hours. We’re all hoping that the weather will allow us to follow through with our plan and reward us with spectacular views.

23rd September: Big meeting at Base Camp today about progress on the mountain. The weather has been pretty good for a few days and all of the 16 or so teams met and allocated resources.

We’ve had a few days of wind but we are hoping for the route to be open to the summit by the 27th / 28th. We will probably start to head up tomorrow on the 24th and use intermediate camps so that we can be right behind the fixing team and be some of the first to top out. Everybody has been waiting at basecamp for a long time now and we are ready to go.

17th September: We have just returned to Base Camp after a 3 day rotation to 6400m. We spent some relaxed nights and the weather was good. Tony woke up yesterday morning at Camp 1 and said he felt great.

The rope fixing team are doing a good job and already up to Camp 2 is now ready. Everybody feels good and we will spend a few days checking “really” high altitude gear before making a decision as how to proceed.

16th September: Yesterday we had the Puja ceremony. Although the weather was snowy everybody bought their equipment to be blessed and for those new to Nepal, a lot of pictures were taken and beer and local spirits helped build the excitement and sense of security.

15th September: Today we have had the Puja in snow and then went for a walk up the glacier. Now we are preparing our gear as tomorrow we will go to Lake Camp at 6100m to sleep.

Our sherpa will go ahead and establish Camp 1 and we will then go to Camp 1 the next day to further acclimatise before heading back to Base Camp.

Although the weather is not ideal the whole of basecamp is starting to move. there are many large groups here already and we estimate over 500 climbers.

14th September: We have been in Base Camp for 1 night now and we’re feeling great. Weather has not stopped snowing so we can do essentials like sorting kit and preparing for the Puja tomorrow.

I’ve put a note in my boots for when they are blessed to stop the snow. Tony is doing great all of our gear is here and working. If we have a brief break in the weather we will go for a stroll either to Nangpa La pass or up to a gear drop at 6100m. We have great mess tents and food here at 5600m.

13th September: We have all arrived at Base Camp, 5700m safety yesterday thanks to the new road which makes walking from CBC a lot easier. Today it is snowing and windy and we are taking the time to sort equipment. There are lots of other groups here this year and we will spend the next few days resting, exploration walks and getting ready to go for C1.

8th September: A beautiful day for a hike. So we packed some lunch and hiked up to 4700m to overlook Tingri and our objective, Cho Oyu. Tomorrow we drive the short distance to Chinese Base Camp.

7th September: Our stay in Nylam, 3700m was very successful and we did 2 walks reaching a highpoint of 4200m. All of our bags and equipment are still with us and we are enjoying the superb service of our Sherpa, who fusses around us like a mother ensuring everything is to our liking.

Today was a beautiful day for a drive over the 5200m Thorong La Pass and down to Tingri. The clear views of Shishapangma, Everest, Cho Oyu and the massive range of the Himalaya got everyone excited. Anyone who has done this drive in the past and stayed at the Tibetan villages will remember the grim conditions. However Tingri has changed and new hotel rooms (with ensuite) and a new restaurant made us jump for joy. The discovery of wifi sent the group into a frenzy and the afternoon was spent catching up on the last 2 days news. Not having access to Facebook in China, everyone has 100s of notifications that they cant read or reply to. However we are all looking forward to spending 2 days here at Tingri, 4300m and doing some acclimatisation walks hopefully reaching close to 4900m before moving to Chinese BaseCamp.

5th September: Update. We’ve crossed the border in torrential rain but china and the town of zhangmu are changed. Good food wifi hot showers everyone very welcoming. Still the local greeting is change money but we have arrived in tibet. Today a drive to nylam and short acclimatization walk

1st September: the team has met in Kathmandu and made the important decision of which restaurant to visit tonight. Today all the kit was checked, tested and packed to be sent ahead to Tibet. We will leave with a bigger group on the 4th September and cross the Chinese / Tibet border spending time acclimatising and hiking on the way.

This is a beautiful time of year in kathmandu as the rains are stopping and the streets are quiet. It is easy to spend days wandering and enjoying the atmosphere of Thamel.

31st of August: The team depart the UK and arrive in Kathmandu.  Here they will be able to shop for any last minute items they need for the trip, take in hustle and bustle of Thamel  and visit the many temples.