Summit:
26,906' • 8201m
Set Your GPS:
28°, 06' N • 86°, 39' E
Size Does Matter:
Cho Oyu is the 6th highest mountain in the world.
First Boot-Prints on Top:
In 1954, an Austrian expedition of Herbert Tichy, Joseph Joechler, and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama made the first ascent, without oxygen, making it the third 8000m peak climbed, the first to be done alpine style, and the first in Autumn.
Hope They Brought a Jacket:
A Polish team made the first winter ascent of Cho Oyu in 1985 which was the first winter ascent of an 8000m peak.
By Any Other Name:
Some believe that in ancient times, Padma Sambhava, Buddhism's only "saint," wrote texts with messages to save earth from chaos and buried these texts on Cho Oyu. The lamas call those texts Cho. Oyu means "turquoise," possibly for the shade of the peak's ice or the lakes surrounding it. Cho Oyu is generally translated from Tibetan to mean "Turquoise Goddess".
Like Route 66, But Different:
A famous trade route once crossed Nangpa La pass, just west of Cho Oyu, and very close to Advanced Base Camp. From Tibet, salt was brought over this pass to Namche Bazaar to exchange for grain.
