September 8, 2018

The IMG Team had an ideal day.  Dallas reported clear skies, mild temperatures and beautiful views.  The Team woke up to a little frost on the tents which quickly disappeared when the sun hit.  A beautiful morning at Chinese Base Camp.  After coffee and breakfast, it was time to stretch the legs.  The Cho Oyu Climbing and Trekking Team hiked up the road for a little while before heading into the hills, getting to 17,200 feet for the day.  They are doing a great job acclimatizing on this trip!

The Sherpa Team was up early and making more loads headed to Gyaplung by truck and then to ABC on Yaks.  This is a lot of work for the Sherpa Team.  Gear needs to be repacked, weighed and then loaded onto the truck.  IMG Senior Guide and climbing Sirdar, Phunuru Sherpa is a very busy man.  He started by weighing and loading gear with our Sherpa Team at BC.  From Base Camp, Phunuru jumped into the truck with the gear and headed for Gyaplung.  Once at Gyaplung, Phunuru along with our advanced Sherpa Team of Chhewang Lendu, Sonam Tashi and Phinjo Dorgee transferred loads from the truck to the yaks and made their way to ABC.  Chhewang Lendu is planning on heading up to Camp 1 to look at the route and assess conditions at Camp 1.

Great day on Cho Oyu!

Greg Vernovage

September 7, 2018

The Cho Oyu Climbing and Tibet Trekking Team has pulled into Chinese Base Camp (16,000’).  The team was up early, and everything went according to plan.  With the road up to Base Camp now paved, the team made great time and arrived by mid-morning, “just in time for brunch.”  Dallas sent back a report to let us know that while the food in Tingri was good, the team was very excited to get to Base Camp and Kaji’s home cooking!  Kaji did not disappoint. For dinner, the team had Kaji’s famous sizzle plate.  Kaji’s sizzle plate a smoking hot cast-iron dish filled with chicken or beef along with some veggies and potatoes. The true professionals then cover everything with hot gravy!

The team was also “blown away” by the set up of the IMG Base Camp.  Phunuru and the Sherpa Team did a great job setting up Base Camp.  The Eureka tents set up in a row and the dining tent put together in classic Kaji fashion, with plenty of water and snacks on the table.

Our advanced Sherpa Team is making good progress. They’ve moved from Intermediate Camp (17,200’) up to Advanced Base Camp (18,500’).

The plan for the next few days will be to drink, eat, acclimatize and rest.

All is well; nice job everyone!

Greg Vernovage

September 6, 2018

All is well with the Cho Oyu Trekking and Climbing Team in Tibet.  Dallas and the team had a great hike up to 16,075 feet outside the town of Tingri.  The team was rewarded with a few brief views of Mount Everest between the high clouds.

Everyone is packing up and will be ready to head out after breakfast for Base Camp.  With the new road, the team should arrive to Base Camp for brunch.  This team is doing a great job acclimatizing.  It can be hard to take it slow at the beginning of the trip, but the payoff is huge!  Taking it slow and staying healthy at the beginning of the trip puts “money in the bank” for later in the trip.

Up at Base Camp, Phunuru and our advance Sherpa team are making good progress moving gear towards ABC.

Nice work everybody!

Greg Vernovage

September 5, 2018

Dallas and Phunuru checked in overnight from Tingri and Chinese Base Camp.  Both teams are working hard and enjoying the weather.  Phunuru and the Sherpa team have all of the tents up at Chinese Base Camp (16,000’).  Down at Tingri, our climbers had a great acclimatization hike up a nearby hill.  The team climbed to 15,500 feet and caught another glimpse of Cho Oyu through the clouds.

The team in Tingri has elected to take an additional acclimatization day before moving up.  This is money in the bank since there is no hurry to get up to Chinese Base Camp.  The area around Tingri is beautiful, so spending an extra day here just gives everybody a little extra time to look around and enjoy their new surroundings.  The team is healthy and strong, and we want to keep them that way.

Phunuru has already hired 30 yaks for the trip to ABC, so he and the Sherpa team will be breaking down the gear into yak loads for the trip up to ABC in the next day or two.

All is well in Tibet!

Greg Vernovage

September 4, 2018

Dallas and Phunuru checked in overnight.  Phunuru and the Advanced Sherpa Team made it to Chinese Base Camp and have all the big tents up.  “Big tents” refer to the dining and cook tents that we set up as the core of camp.  The Sherpa Team will set up the sleeping tents tomorrow in anticipation of the team’s arrival.

Down in Tingri (14,100 ft), Dallas and the climbing team took a moderate acclimatization hike.  They caught their first glimpse of Cho Oyu and enjoyed a visit to a local monastery before lunch.  The afternoon was spent taking care of themselves.  Some people took a nap, others did some reading, and some adventurous members went out and did a little shopping.  Tomorrow will be a good test day.  The team will head out and hike to over 15,500 ft in the hills east of town.

The Team is feeling good and all is well in Tingri!

Greg Vernovage

September 3, 2018

IMG Senior Guide Dallas Glass checked in from Tingri.  The team was up and out the door with a beautiful day in Kyirong.  The entire team loaded up the trucks and jeeps and headed up the winding road to upper Kyirong.  From upper Kyirong, the road opens, and the team drives around the large lake, Pigu Tso and might catch a view of Shishapangma.  Dallas snapped a couple more photos of Zugu Nowa (23,000 ft) on their way out of upper Kyirong.

The Team made great time and pulled into Tingri for a late lunch.  After lunch, Dallas and Phunuru talked more about logistics.  The Sherpa Team will plan to head up to Base Camp in the morning to set up tents and prepare the cook tent.  Our climbing team will take a few days in Tingri (14,300 ft) to acclimatize.  Tingri is a good place to acclimatize.  Our team will go on a few hikes during the day and take plenty of time to make sure they are feeling good before moving up.

All is well in Tingri and the Cho Oyu Team!

Greg Vernovage