Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu (or
Cho Oyo) at 8,201 metres (26,906 feet) is the sixth highest
mountain in the world. Cho Oyu lies in the
Himalayas and is 20km west of
Mount Everest on the
Nepal-
Tibet border. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in
Tibetan.
Cho Oyu was first climbed on October 19, 1954 via the northwest ridge by Herbert Tichy, Joseph Joechler and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama of an Austrian expedition. Cho Oyu was first attempted in 1952 by an expedition led by Eric Shipton, but technical difficulties at an ice cliff above 6,650m/21,820' proved beyond their abilities.
Time Line
- 1952 First reconnaissance of Northwest face by Edmund Hillary and party.
- 1954 First ascent.
- 1958 Second ascent by an Indian expedition. Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama reached the peak for the second time. First death on Cho Oyu.
- 1959 Four members killed in an avalanche during a failed international women's expedition.
- 1964 Controversial third ascent by a German expedition as there is no proof of reaching the summit. Two mountaineers die in camp 4 of exhaustion at 7600m/24,935'.
- 1978 Koblmuller and Furtner of Austria, summit via the extremely difficult southeast face.
- 1983 Reinhold Messner succeeds on his fourth attempt.
- 1985 On February 12, Maciej Baebeka and Maciei Pawlikowski make the first winter ascent.
- 2003 On September 26, seven members of the IMG 2003 expedition reach the summit.
Just a few kilometers west of Cho Oyu is Nangpa La (5,716m/18,753'), a glaciated pass that serves as the main trading route between the Tibetans and the Khumbu's Sherpas. Due to its close proximity to this pass, climbers consider Cho Oyu the easiest 8,000m peak to climb. Cho Oyu was the third 8,000m peak to be climbed after Mount Everest in May 1953 and K2 in July 1954.
See also: Eight-thousander, List of mountains
External Link