As noted last week, the bulk of the fall climbing season in the Himalaya seems to be focused on Manaslu this year where more than 250 foreign climbers are gathering. But, that isn’t the only mountain drawing quite a bit of attention this autumn, as Cho Oyu is also going to be a busy place for commercial teams. In fact, some of the squads have already started their climbs, while others are now en route to Base Camp.
The Adventure Consultants arrived at Advanced Base Camp on Cho Oyu yesterday and are now getting settled in place. As is usual with the trek to BC, the team first stopped at an intermediate camp located at 5500 meters (18,044 feet) before moving up to ABC at 5700 meters (18,700 ft). They’ll now take a few days to set up their home base for the next month before starting their acclimatization treks and first rotations up the mountain.
The IMG team is on a similar schedule, having arrived at the intermediate camp yesterday. They made an acclimatization hike to stretch the legs and test the lungs some, but report that all is well and the group is feeling great. They’ll likely move up to ABC tomorrow and started getting settled at this point as well. So far, the weather is said to be very good, with the entire team eager to start their climb.
Next up is the 7 Summits Club, who left Lhasa a few days ago to start their journey to Cho Oyu Base Camp. They arrived in the town of Sigatse where they purchased some last minute supplies, but are now en route to Chinese Base Camp, before moving up to the IC, then on to Advanced Base Camp. They should be joining the other climbers at that point sometime in the next couple of days.
Finally, the Alpenglow squad has also arrived in BC and are preparing to head up to ABC too. The group of six climbers are part of the company’s “rapid ascent team,” having preacclimated back home using oxygen tents before they ever arrived in Tibet. The group is reportedly feeling well and were taking a couple of days to rest in BC before moving further up the hill. They should be settled into Advanced Base Camp soon and will start their ascent with the teams that are already in place.
Expect to hear regular updates on these teams moving forward. With the climbers now in ABC, it won’t be long before they start their rotations and the fall climbing season will be officially underway indeed.
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