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Autumn 2003 Cho Oyu Expedition
Directed by Eric Simonson • Led by Chris Booher & Mike Hamill
2003 Expedition Dispatches
Dispatches will be added in chronological order below as news comes in from the climbing team in Tibet.
October 1, 2003
Mike Hamill reports from Kathmandu that the entire IMG team made it back on schedule the evening of October 1st. Everyone is safe and sound and doing fine, after jeeping from Base Camp to Zhangmu, crossing the Friendship Bridge, then a Nepal bus ride from Kodari to Kathmandu. Yahoo!!
—Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides Director
Friday September 26, 2003 • 5:30pm Nepal Time
Seven members of the IMG Cho Oyu team have reached the SUMMIT, and have returned to Camp 2. I spoke to Chris several times in the last 12 hours as the summit bid progressed. Here is the wrap up:
The team spent two nights at Camp 2 on the ascent to wait for better weather (it was after the first of these two nights at Camp 2 that Mark started getting cerebral edema, and had to go down with Chris...he is doing fine and is now on his way back to Kathmandu). The remaining summit team went on to Camp 3 on the 25th. All members of the summit team left Camp 3 on schedule in the early morning dark. Shortly above Camp 3 Jim decided to turn back and descended with Karma Rita back to Camp 3. Karma Rita went back up and rejoined the team at the Yellow Band, where Josef decided to turn back. Karma Rita again descended to Camp 3 with Joe, then the three of them descended to ABC safely, meeting Nancy (who had climbed up to sleep at Camp 2 for experience) and Panuru. They are all down safe at ABC, along with Tamara, Chris, and Ang Jangbu.
The remaining summit team members pushed on up, with excellent weather. Adam and Phu Nuru summitted first, at about 9:30am. Lanta, Peter, and Mike summitted about 11:00am with Ang Pasang and Danuru. Justin, Garrett, Mingma, and Lindon turned from the plateau, just below the summit, at about 12:30pm. They all descended safely and are back down at Camp 2, where they are spending the night, planning to descend to ABC tomorrow. Over the next couple days all the gear will be brought down and the team will finish packing up.
Yaks have been ordered to arrive ABC on the 29th, and the team plans to descend and travel to Tingri on the 30th. On October 1 the plan is for the team to cross the Friendship Bridge to Nepal, and to arrive Kathmandu that evening.
While the climb is far from over, it is certainly a big relief to know that everyone is safe and getting ready to head for home, and that we have succeeded with our twelfth Cho Oyu expedition with putting over 100 people on the summit of the world's sixth highest mountain.
Congrats to the team and thanks to everyone who has made the trip possible. Also, thanks to Alpine Ascents and Adventure Consultants for letting us use their satellite phones after our sat phone mysteriously stopped working.
—Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides Director
Thursday September 25, 2003 • 7am PST
Chris Booher called last night from ABC to describe the events of yesterday. The team had successfully reached Camp 2 on their summit bid, but Mark was forced to descend after experiencing cerebral edema. He descended successfully with Chris, Garrett and Sherpa Tashi to Camp 1. From there Garret and Tashi went back to Camp 2 and Chris went down to ABC with Mark, who is doing much better now. Mark is now planning to head on down to Base Camp. Mike, Justin, Garrett, Sherpas and climbers are now moving to Camp 3, with all things "go" for a summit bid tomorrow. Chris is now moving back up to Camp 2 to support the summit climbers.
—Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides Director
Monday September 22, 2003 • 8:30pm Nepal Time
We received a call last night from Ken Goodwin in Kathmandu to say that he, Nacho, and Bill had safely made it back to town. We also heard from co-leader Mike Hamill who reported that the team is wrapping up their rest days at ABC and is preparing to head back up on their summit bid. Joining Mike, co-leader Chris Booher and the Sherpas for the summit bid will be guides Justin Merle, Garrett Madison, and climbers Adam Christofferson, Peter Ford, James Harter, Mark Weinberg, Lanta Olito, Josef Stanzel, and Lindon Seed. We'll keep you posted on how their plans are progressing!
—Erin Simonson,
International Mountain Guides
Friday, September 19, 2003 • 7:00pm Nepal Time
Ang Jangbu Sherpa has phoned in to let us know that the team continues to rest in preparation for summit bids next week. Climbers Bill Burd and Nacho Piedra, together with trekker Ken Goodwin, have decided to leave ABC today and they will get a jeep ride to the border at Kodari on Saturday, where our agents will pick them up for the rest of the ride back to Kathmandu on Sunday.
There is currently a bandh in effect in Nepal (a strike called by the Maoists) which has shut down all vehicular traffic and closed all retail shops until Saturday, so thankfully our friends will arrive in Kathmandu after this business interruption is over!
—Erin Simonson,
International Mountain Guides
September 18, 2003 • 8:30am Nepal Time
IMG expedition leader Mike Hamill has phoned in with an update following the IMG team's rotation up to Camp 2. The first group, led by Mike and Justin with climbers Jim, Mark, Nacho, Lindon, and Peter, successfully made the climb to Camp 2 for an overnight. They returned to Advance Base Camp Wednesday night and began their pre-summit bid rest days. The second group, led by Chris and Garrett with climbers Lanta, Nancy, Tamara, Bill, and Adam, reached Camp 1 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Garrett, Adam and Lanta attempted to reach Camp 2 but were forced to turn around due to worsening weather and they rejoined the rest of their group at Camp 1. They all returned to Advance Base Camp by Thursday evening and also began their pre-summit bid rest days.
Mike reports a plan for the entire team to rest for the next couple of days before mounting a summit bid together in one group. If the weather forecast proves accurate, they will all climb to Camp 1 on Sunday the 21st, then to Camp 2 on Monday, to Camp 3 on Tuesday, with a possible attempt to the summit on Wednesday the 24th. Ang Jangbu will climb to Camp 1 or Camp 2 in support of any climbers who decide not to move up to Camp 3 for a summit bid.
Mike again acknowledges the super helpful spirit from the AAI and Himalayan Experience teams sharing their sat phones with our group. So far the team's health remains steady and spirits are high as they anticipate their next big push toward the top! Mike will check in with us on Friday or Saturday to confirm the group's ability to rest and prepare to leave ABC early on Sunday for the team's summit bid, weather permitting.
—Erin Simonson,
International Mountain Guides
September 15, 2003 • 11:00am Nepal Time
IMG expedition leader Chris Booher called in to report that the team had a good round of climbing up to Camp 1, with all members back safely at Advance Base Camp Sunday, resting on Monday, and planning to climb again in the next couple of days. If all goes according to plan, Mike Hamill will lead the first group up to sleep at Camp 1 on Tuesday, then they will climb to Camp 2 on Wednesday to sleep, and then will descend to Advance Base Camp on Thursday. Chris Booher will lead the second group to sleep at Camp 1 on Wednesday, then to sleep at Camp 2 on Thursday, descending to Advance Base Camp on Friday. After a couple of days rest, the team will be ready to consider summit bids when the weather looks OK.
After a lot of helpful research from our satellite service providers, it seems our phone unit has suffered technical/hardware malfunction of some sort and so word from the mountain will be limited. Other teams, including AAI and Himalayan Experience have graciously lent use of their phones to Chris to call in with brief updates, and we certainly appreciate the on-mountain help from other teams!
From here on in, the team will be up high on the mountain a lot. We'll post updates when they are able to call in between climbing rotations. So far, all are doing fine and the group is in good spirits and enjoying their time in the Himalaya!
—Erin Simonson,
International Mountain Guides
Thursday, September 11, 2003 • 7:30am Nepal Time
IMG expedition leader Chris Booher phoned in with an update on the team's progress and plans. Yesterday Mike and Justin headed up to Camp 1 for an overnight with Nacho, Jim, Mark, Lindon, and Peter. They will climb this morning up thru the ice cliff below Camp 2, and then they'll head down to Advance Base Camp to rest for a few days. Chris and Garrett will head up to Camp 1 today with Lanta, Nancy, Tamara, Ken, Bill, and Adam. They'll spend tonight at Camp 1, then take a trip up through the ice cliff before returning back to Advance Base Camp tomorrow.
Everyone is feeling great so far, the weather is OK, the Sherpas are making great progress up the mountain, everything except the sat phones seem to be clicking right along! We probably won't hear from the team until Friday, at which time we'll get an update on their progress and an idea about when they'll head uphill again.
—Erin Simonson,
International Mountain Guides
Tuesday September 9, 2003 • 7:00pm Nepal Time
I just received a phone call from IMG's team on Cho Oyu. Chris Booher reports a problem with satellite connections currently experienced by several teams on the mountain, which is limiting the teams' ability to phone home. Since several teams are having the problem, it appears to be a system-wide failure, so anyone hoping for or expecting calls or emails via sat phone from the Himalayas should not worry if news does not come. Thanks to AAI for sharing their Iridium sat system this morning, it seems to be unaffected by the service outage the other teams are having.
Chris reports that everyone on the IMG team is doing just fine, so the group will split into two for the initial acclimatization cycle up to Camp 1. Mike Hamill and Justin Merle will go up and sleep at Camp 1 with the first group tomorrow, and then Chris Booher and Garrett Madison will head up the following day with the second group for an overnight at C1. The team's health is holding up great so far and so everyone on the IMG roster plans a trip to Camp 1 either tomorrow or the next day.
We hope to get a longer and more detailed report from the IMG team when the satellite networks get back to work -- come on guys, fix the birds up there, this isn't rocket science! Or is it?
—Erin Simonson,
International Mountain Guides
September 5, 2003 • 5:30pm Nepal Time
I spoke on the sat phone to Ang Jangbu and Mike Hamill a few minutes ago and they report that today the team reached Advanced Base Camp, at about 18,500 feet. They had a good two day hike up from Base Camp with the yaks, and everyone was doing well. They had spent one night on the way up at "Interim Camp" which is located along the lateral moraine of the Gyabrag Glacier, about 17,500 feet.
The Sherpas who had gone ahead did a nice job to get ABC camp set up for them. Mike and Jangbu report that they had snowfall this afternoon, and that the mountain looked pretty white (normal for this time of year).
—Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides Director
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Greetings from Tibet, After four lazy days of short walks and a whole lot of sitting around at 16,000 feet, we are finally ready to start our way up to our Advanced Base Camp. Four of our sherpa team (Danuru, Mingma, Phunuru, and Karma Rita) left Base Camp with 35 yak loads of expedition gear on the 2nd to move up the mountain and establish our IMG Advanced Base at 18,500 feet.
The rest of us (11 climbers, 1 trekker, 4 guides, 3 Sherpa, 3 cook staff, and 25 yaks) will start our walk up valley on the 4th. We plan to make an Interim Camp at a little over 17,000 feet for the night of the 4th, and move the rest of the way to ABC on the 5th. After moving all necessary gear up to ABC we will not return to Base Camp until the end of our expedition.
We are all currently feeling healthy and strong after recovering from the usual stomach problems we encounter while driving accross the Tibetan Plateau for five days. Once we get on the mountain and have the joy of Pemba's fantastic cooking everyone's stomach issues seem to go away, and we sit and eat as much of his food as we can possibly get down. It's great to have a gluttonous month and a half of vacation and still come back thinner that when you left! All this food, and we have entertainment to boot. After our tasty pizza dinner last night we all sat back with full stomachs and enjoyed our first movie night on Cho Oyu.
Thanks to the marvels of lap tops and DVD's we were able to relax and let Hollywood entertain our IMG expedition over here in Tibet. After we arrive at ABC we will check back in with everyone via e-mail and will also have the satellite phone up and running, as many people are looking forward to calling home during the next week.
That's all for now from Base Camp. It's time to start moving higher on the mountain.
—Chris Booher,
IMG Mountain Guide
September 2, 2003
IMG guides Chris Booher and Mike Hamill report that everyone has made Base Camp and are doing fine, after an interesting trip across Tibet. They arrived on schedule in Lhasa on the 26th, where the team spent several days being tourists. Highlights included an unusual trip to the Drepung Monastery where the annual festival was taking place. The team also visited the famous Potala Palace (home of the Dali Lama), the Johkang Temple, and the Barkhor market. On the 28th the team traveled by jeep to Shigatse, where they visited the Tashilumpo Monastery (home of the Panchen Lama).
On the 29th they traveled to Tingri, where they met with the Sherpas who had come overland from Nepal via Zhangmu. Their trip had been difficult, with the road washed out in several places by mudslides, which required that they hire porters to carry all the gear around the roadblocks and hire new trucks on the other side. After an acclimatization day in Tingri, the Sherpas went ahead and started setting up Base Camp at about 15,000 feet. The team followed a day later, arriving on the 31st, after several hours of jeep riding across the Plains of Tingri and along the moraines of the Gyabrag Glacier. The plan for the next few days is to organize, acclimatize, and get ready for the trek to Advanced Base Camp.
—Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides Director
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The team has all successfully made it to Kathmandu and is ready to leave tomorrow morning for Lhasa. Yesterday, the members joined their Sherpas in the puja (blessing) ceremony at the Boudnath monastery. Here is a photo of the team up on the roof with the Rimpoche (head monk).
The Sherpas will also leave tomorrow, overland via Zhangmu, but we have heard that the road is blocked in several places near the Nepal/Tibet border by mudslides. This will necessitate the hiring porters to ferry several hundred of loads past the mudslides. It will be a bit of a headache for the Sherpas to arrange, but is fairly normal for Nepal this time of year and we have had to do it a number of times over the years. This is especially true for the autumn expeditions which go in at the end of the monsoon, after it has been raining for several months and the roads are in bad shape. The monsoon should start to die down in the next couple weeks, and the climbers will be shooting for the lull that comes at the end of the monsoon for summit bids.
—Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides Director
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The Cho Oyu team has now departed the USA and is enroute to Kathmandu. They will procure their Tibet visas on the 25th and will fly to Lhasa on the 26th. After a couple days of acclimatizing as tourists in Lhasa, the climbers travel overland to Tingri, where they meet the Sherpas, before going on to Base Camp. All the equipment, oxygen, and food will go to Tibet by truck, accompanied by the Sherpas, via the border town of Zhangmu.
—Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides Director
International Mountain Guides
Cho Oyu 2003
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IMG takes Cho Oyu seriously, hoping to provide our clients with a great 8,000m experience which for many will become the stepping stone to a future attempt on Everest. We try to send strong and self-sufficient teams that have enough horsepower to be able to pull their own weight. We always try to cooperate with other teams to help with route fixing or rescues and we commit to removing all our garbage and oxygen bottles from the mountain. We always seek to maintain our wonderful long-term relationships with Chinese, Tibetan, and Nepalese partners.
I have organized a really interesting team this year. The group will be led by IMG guides Mike Hamill and Chris Booher, with assistance from IMG guides Garrett Madison and Justin Merle. Also on board in a leadership capacity is my longtime friend and Kathmandu agent Ang Jangbu Sherpa and our favorite Chinese Liaison Officer, Liu Feng. Our six climbing Sherpas, most veterans of multiple Cho Oyu expeditions, are led by Ang Passang. Our cook staff, led by Pemba (a veteran of 17 IMG expeditions) round out the team.
The team is en route to Kathmandu now, and we’ll look forward to getting to know them all better over the coming weeks of the trip. We will be posting dispatches regularly over the next 5-6 weeks as the team makes its way to Base Camp via Lhasa and the Tibetan Plateau, and then begins the long journey to prepare themselves and their route for a shot at the summit of the world's sixth highest mountain.
Eric Simonson,
International Mountain Guides
2003 IMG Cho Oyu Team
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