Tim Boelter (Eagan, Minnesota), Durga Tamang (Deusa, Nepal), and Daniel
Mazur (representing Bristol, England, the State of Montana, and Seattle,
Washington) summitted Cho Oyu on October 3rd,
2000, reaching the true 8201-meter summit at exactly noon on the 3rd. It was
beautiful
on the top, with light winds gracing our view of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse,
the Western Cwm, and Makalu, which can only be seen from the real summit of
Cho Oyu.
Apparently, some people only make it to the edge of the plateau, after
climbing the northwest face, which averages 30 degrees, but we three dragged ourselves for an additional hour or so across the horrible, flat plateau at
about 8150 meters. The air is extremely thin up there, and we had no
supplemental bottled oxygen, so at that altitude every step is a painful
and oxygen starved, brain-numbed decision. Luckily it was sunny and warm
with light winds.
When we got to the top, Tim waved his Media Ventures flag, I waved my
Black Diamond ice axe, and Durga waved his Nepali flag and prayer scarf. We
all threw rice into the air (for good luck in Durga's Buddhist religion)
and then hurried down. Durga was slowest on
the way down. It was his first time on Cho and he had some tiring problems
with the crampons on the way up. Tim did some filming on the descent, as it
had been too cold to
take out any cameras on the trip up from Camp 3, most of which was done
in the dark, as we had left at 4:30 in the windy morning, and not
encountered sun until reaching the plateau.
Ian Hatchett and John Arnold had turned around early (John without a
headlamp, and with crampon problems, while Ian struggled with a weak battery). I had promised Ian an extra headtorch battery, but
had forgotten the request while getting out of the tent at Camp 3 and had
been absorbed in helping Durga with his crampons. The request had come
for the battery while I was partially up a vertical rock face, while Tim and Durga had waited on a snow-rock ledge. Ian was able to dig
out a Minimag torch from his rucksack, but apparently he and John had turned around to go back to Camp 3 by that point. John had tried
again at 8:30 with another team he
found squatting and smoking cigarettes in our tents at Camp 3, upon his
return from the initial foray. John, nearly at the plateau, had turned
around at 4pm, not sure he would reach the summit before dark,
especially since he had no headlamp.
After summitting, I retreated to Advanced Base Camp, arriving at 10pm the same
day, Tuesday,
October 3rd. I was escorted into ABC by Tsering and
Ganden, the two cooks, who had become slightly drunk on chang while waiting.
It was hard to tell who was supporting who as they stumbled the final 30
minutes down the moonlit rock-strewn track on the way back to Base.
My health was good on the ascent and I opted not to take any drugs,
including Dexamethasone and Diamox. Instead, I had consulted with
expedition physician Roblee Allen, and advising physician Martha Johnson,
and read books by Stephen Bezruchka, and the classic "Medicine for
Mountaineering" by John Wilkerson, et al., and also consulted Peter Hackett's
very helpful text. With help from these shrewd advisors, I
determined that my previous
altitude problems had been a product of dehydration, so I drank eight liters of
water on summit day, pissing off (no pun intended) my tent mates by brewing
all night and rattling pots and pans and zipping and unzipping the tent
doors frequently to get more snow to melt, and to empty my pee bottle (a gift
from Walter Keller. Thanks Walter!)
Just today (October 6th), at this writing, I heard on the radio from John
Otto that Franck Pitula of Paris summitted last night, returning to Camp
3 at 7pm, and is headed down to us today.
Jon Otto, Phil Crampton, Mike O'Brien and Chris O'Brien started for the
summit from Camp 2 last night, but decided that was too difficult and
returned. They are moving into Camp 3 tonight and will go for
the summit in the wee hours this morning, weather permitting. I just heard
on radio call that the two O'Brien brothers reached the summit, while Jon
Otto and Phil Crampton returned ill.
The weather is perfect now, warm with mild or no winds, and crystal clear
blue skies. We are enjoying a moment of "post-monsoon perfection."
The snow conditions on the mountain are currently in fine shape, with a hard
"neve" also known as "styrofoam"
to be found at every point. There is currently a superb
trail from Base Camp to the summit now, and its basically a "stroll" except
for the cold and the winds.
Nevertheless, we should not underestimate the power of this ferocious giant
and be alert to what it can do, especially in light of sudden weather
changes and wind shifts. Caution and awareness at all times!
David Roberts has decided to guard Base Camp for a while, as he climbed above
the 6650m icefall the other day and said his head felt as if it were pinned
into a large vise. It seems sad that such a strong and giftred person, our
good friend from Helston, Cornwall, England would be so crippled by a mere headache.
David made a wonderful dessert for dinner tonight.
Speaking of crippling, Rod Richardson was forced to depart recently with
pulmonary edema. His illness wasn't
responding to meds, and Doctor Rob was unable to get Rod to go into the
Gamow
bag. We all miss Rod, as he was a solid, strong anchor for our team.
David Lepagne just returned to Base Camp today. He was on a summit bid from
Camp 3 with Franck Pitula, but said he felt dizzy and weak, and had to go
down. So close but yet so far! Now he is safe in Base Camp and resting and
eating, preparing for the next foray onto the mountain. The doctor has been
monitoring his blood oxygen saturation levels and his pulse as well as his fluid and
food intake.
Robert Bettinelli is resting here for 5 days. He has had a wracking, dry
cough and the doc has diagnosed him with a cracked rib. If he can get rid of
the cough, and this nagging pain he says he has in his throat, then he might
be able try again. Last time he was forced to bail out from Camp 2, after
setting out from Camp 3 on a beautiful morning. He does not seem to be able
to eat or drink much, and the doctor and I have diagnosed him with self-induced
dehydration and malnutrition. I imagine that he misses his perfect
and predictable French diet, cooked by his wife back in Pontarlier, France.
In any case, I hope we can get him eating more like a horse and less like a
bird. Last night, by the way, was his 58th birthday. We had a big party
for him, featuring a birthday cake steam-baked in a massive kettle by Durga
and Jangbu, and all the milk tea we could drink, prepared by our excellent
cooks Tsering, Ganden, and Sonam.
Yang Li Cun, our Chinese climbing porter, came back from Zhangmu yesterday.
He got his butt kicked in Camp 2 a week ago when he was so weak and
dehydrated and malnourished that he couldn't even get the strength to brew
water. Jon Otto found him in the tent in Camp 2 at 2pm, laying on his
stomach with his sleeping bag pulled over his head. He apparently had not
yet fired up a brew for the day! I notice he does not hardly eat or drink
here in Base Camp, and when he does, it's like two spoonfuls of rice and two
spoonfuls of vegetables, washed down by a cup of green tea. I imagine that
must be a 100-calorie meal, eh?
Yang did thankfully send a fax for the team
from Zhangmu, which lies 250
kilometers distant on the Nepal border. This fax was relating to
communicating with the bank and paying the Tibetan Mountaineering
Association, which had been commenting that they had not been paid. Thank
God we finally got the funds to them , because the expedition is three-fourths over, so
it should be about time we paid up our massive bill to our Tibetan-Chinese
hosts! Our sincere thanks to everyone at the bank, especially Sarah Sharpe,
Marion Blakey, and Gareth Wade, if they, or any of their friends or
relatives are reading this.
Yang was also super great about getting our visa extensions taken
care of down in Zhangmu, and we basically paid for his trip with the money
we saved by doing it ourselves and not entrusting it to any local agent who
was skimming the fees.
Ian Hatchett and John Arnold are heading up the mountain tomorrow, ready to
try another summit bid. The weather seems to be holding well, and this two-
man team is ready to rock for the summit, if the weather conditions hold
out. We are wishing them well and all success.
I am headed back for the summit on October 9th, to try a second summit
bid, with any members who missed it the first time around. This may include
David Lepagne, Robert Bettinelli, Jangbu Sherpa, Yang Li Cun, etc. Also,
I will probably take in tow Durga Tamang, and then, after hopefully
summitting on October 12th, the entire group will scour the mountain and
remove all of their camps, ropes, wands, and tents and stoves and rubbish
and supplies, and ferry loads down the mountain, pushing all of the gear
towards Base Camp. With a concerted effort, we hope to have everything
returned to Base Camp on the 14th in the evening, pack it on the 15th, and
then load it onto the yaks on the 16th, arriving in Chinese Base that
afternoon, and then transferring to Tingri.
After staying the night there,
it's on to Zhangmu and Kathmandu for the 17th. A final day in Kathmandu on
the 18th, and then it's fly-away-home for most everyone (except me), on the
19th.
We miss Walter Keller, and hope he is well, and plan on a rendezvous with
him and Jeff Harlow in Kathmandu on the 17th. We heard Jeff, on his
retreat, had to wait in Chinese Base for several days, while the Chinese
returned his visa (which was being extended in Lhasa). Walter said
eventually he got it sorted out.
Ed Donovan returned home the other day. He was dizzy in Camp 2, and said he
wanted to return to Base Camp, but did not want to come up again, so he
brought all of his personal stuff down with him, and caught a yak down to
Chinese Base. The yak train didn't have room for his bags, so Jangbu
and Sonam carried his stuff down for him.
We haven't heard anything from Clayton and Derek, who departed on the first
day we reached Base Camp, but we do miss them and wish them very well.
Tim left today, with a Spanish caravan, after videotaping like mad, and we do
miss him already. He's headed back for Kathmandu, and says he hopes to grab
a scenic flight over Cho Oyu to do some filming, and hopefully to catch Ian
and John on the summit in the lens. We wish Tim the very best with his Cho Oyu
video-film that he is making, with his company, Media Ventures, and his
wife, Holly Boelter.
Who else have I missed? Please let me know. Best wishes to you all. Cheers
for now.
