Cho Oyu from Chinese Base Camp (15,700′)

After a lot of hurry-up and wait logistics, an interesting and stressful crossing of the border into Tibet/China and an impromptu game of “bocce” along Tingri’s uneven riverbed using semi-round rocks, we finally arrived at Cho Oyu base camp at 15,700′ yesterday.  Today and tomorrow are active rest days, where we’ll do short day hikes to aid the acclimatization process, and then we’ll take two days to push to Cho Oyu’s Advanced Base Camp and start our climb in earnest.  As you can tell from the picture above, the winds up high are significant (which is typical this early in the climbing season), so we’ll hope and wait for better conditions for a summit attempt as we move higher over the next couple of weeks.  If all goes according to plan, we will summit around May 6th.  Fingers crossed.

Last town before basecamp, Tingri is a simple town at 14,000′ with a strip of simple buildings on either side of the highway, which itself is actually very well constructed. You can see the Chinese influence from an infrastructure standpoint – great road in particular. Apparently these teahouses were much worse in the past but are quite decent today. Imagine a Motel 6 with no heat and only sporadic hot water, but we have our own rooms with two beds each that we share and a private toilet, which is big step-up even from most teahouses in the Khumbu Valley in Nepal where shared toilets at the end of the hall are the norm. We are having a rest day today to acclimate to 14,000′ and then we head to Cho Oyu base camp tomorrow.

We passed the border at Zangmu and proceeded to Nyalam (12,000′) where we did a rest day and a hike to 14,000′ (picture above), so we’re on target and doing well.  The prayer flags in the picture above can be seen all over the Buddhist portions of Nepal and Tibet and therefore all throughout the Himalaya.  Each color represents a different element (earth, water, sky, fire, etc.) with a unique prayer and as the wind blows through them it carries the prayer to the gods.

All bags and expedition teammates arrived in Kathmandu without issue, which represents a major hurdle cleared.  Yesterday, we met with our Sherpa team for the Cho Oyu (26,906′) climb and even enjoyed dinner with a few of them last night (including our all-important expedition cook and our Sirdar – aka Sherpa team leader), which was a great way to start the expedition and begin building our collective team bond.  Today, we were up early and visited the famous “Monkey Temple” (Swayambhunath).  It is a special place to visit with a serene aura and great views of the entire Kathmandu Valley (at least as far as you can see through the perpetual smog).  This morning’s visit helped me fully realize that I am finally in Nepal and that this adventure is about to get underway.  All of the hustle and bustle between last-minute packing, wrapping-up final details, running between flights, clearing customs, securing visas, hoping your bags will appear at baggage claim and settling into hotels is behind us and it is time to get on with the expedition.  We had our quick visit with the Mountaineering Director of the Nepal Ministry of Tourism this afternoon to finalize our permits for Everest and Lhotse and discuss some of the new “rules” for this season.  Essentially, we’re being asked to bring down 8kg (17lbs) of trash from up on the mountain, which we’re happy to do.  Other than that, there are no other real significant changes to speak of.  So, with all of the official paperwork completed, we’re off early tomorrow to cross into Tibet for an intense month of climbing the world’s 6th tallest peak.  And, with that, the adventure begins…

Everest & Lhotse as viewed from Pumori Camp I in 2012

The juxtaposition of sitting poolside at a Bangkok hotel on a steaming hot and humid afternoon during my 36-hour layover here versus what I know the next two months will entail is a bit surreal, to say the least.  It is a nice reprieve, however, from the countless days of battling the incessant winds and snow on the Continental Divide as I put the finishing touches on my training in Colorado.  A decadent breakfast, calming afternoon by the pool and quiet evening of reflection seem an appropriate in-transit reward before the hard work begins.

Cho Oyu, Everest & Lhotse gear

I moved back to Denver after a full month living in Fraser, CO, at 8,700′ and completing peak #52 of this training cycle (26 of which were climbed with my fur buddy, Camden).  It was a productive month in the mountains, which I believe will serve me well as we transition to the grandest setting of all:  the Himalaya.  My final week in Denver was hectic, spent tying up loose ends (work-wise, personal life, expedition-related and otherwise), as all pre-departure weeks tend to be.  My friends managed to squeeze in a nice, send-off happy hour prior to my departure though, which was a welcomed diversion.  It was great to see everyone who was able to make it and I know many more of you were there in spirit.  Special thanks to my very thoughtful and ever-supportive girlfriend, Carla, for organizing it as well as for all of her help getting me packed-up and ready to go.  Without her help, I may still be playing “packing tetris” to get all that we need to climb these mountains into the requisite two travel duffels (gear pictured above).

And now it is time to mentally transition to the task that lies ahead.  Climbing any 8,000m peak (26,250′ or higher) is a daunting task, let alone three in succession.  Our team motto is “one peak at a time.”  The expression I like to use is “eat the elephant one bite at a time,” as the challenge can seem too great when viewed in its entirety, but it is ultimately achievable with a little good fortune and when taken one step at a time.  Next step:  arrival in Kathmandu tomorrow…

Finally, below is a link to our team interview by Alan Arnette as posted on his site, which is a terrific resource for interested parties as he posts extensively about the happenings on Everest each climbing season:

http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2014/04/04/everest-2014-unique-plan-season-3-x-8000m-peaks/

Cho Oyu (26,906′): the world’s 6th tallest peak

As part of my 2nd attempt to climb Mt. Everest in the Spring of 2014, I will be attempting to climb 3 of the 6 tallest peaks in the world with a strong, experienced team in an unprecedented, single push.  My team will start by climbing the world’s 6th tallest peak, Cho Oyu (translates to Turquoise Goddess), which stands at 26,906′.  We will spend the month of April acclimating on Cho Oyu with a summit attempt to occur at some point in early May.  This strategy, although atypical, will allow us to acclimate to the extreme altitudes of the highest Himalayan peaks by climbing one of the tallest peaks in the world (to see acclimatization schedule click here).  Additionally, this strategy will eliminate the boredom that often ensues in Everest base camp between acclimatization rotations as well as minimize the number of trips we take through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall and, therefore, mitigate this objective hazard as much as possible.

Mt. Everest (29,035′)

Once we complete our climb of Cho Oyu, we will return to Nepal from Tibet and turn our attention to Mt. Everest (29,035′).  After a brief recovery in the Khumbu Valley (likely in the villages of Namche or Pheriche), we will arrive in Everest base camp by mid-May.  Already acclimatized, after our climb of Cho Oyu, we will await a promising weather window in Everest base camp and plan our summit attempt relative to other teams on the mountain to mitigate climbing with the crowds as much as possible.  A typical climb to the summit of Everest takes 5 days after leaving base camp, so if things fall into place for us, we could stand atop the world around the 20th of May.

Lhotse (27,940′):  the world’s 4th tallest peak

Lhotse, the 4th tallest peak in the world at 27,940′, is adjacent to Mt. Everest.  The low point between the two peaks is the infamous South Col from the Into Thin Air book and is the high camp for climbing the SE Ridge of Mt. Everest.  Therefore, upon completing our climb of Mt. Everest, we will return to Camp IV at the South Col (26,200′) to spend another night.  We will depart from here in another alpine start (i.e. departing in the middle of the night to climb when conditions are frozen solid to mitigate ice/rockfall and avalanche risks as much as possible) to summit early the next day.  Upon summitting Lhotse, the team will descend to the relative safety and thicker air of Camp II (21,500′) of Everest in the Western Cwm.  The following day, we will descend through the Khumbu Icefall to Everest base camp and start the journey home.

If successful, this expedition will require us to climb well over 45,000 vertical feet (up and then down), all at altitudes over 15,000′, during our two months in the Himalaya.  This is an ambitious agenda that has never been done, so we go into this fully understanding the challenges that await us and the amount of fortitude it will take to succeed.  I am very confident in the team’s strength, skill, and decision making, so hopefully we will experience some good fortune along the way to help us on our journey to the top of the world.