pete_a Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 $16,000 to join a guided expedition....is it stupid to think about a self-organized trip to take a crack at something this big in the Himalayas? Its more of a dream than a plan at this point, but I'd like to get my arse to Cho Oyu in five years or so...just wondering if anyone can offer some advise on where the hell to get started when considering a trip to Cho Oyu. Gracias... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 (edited) I imagine MattP would have some good insights for you. Edited June 20, 2003 by danielpatricksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 pete_a said: ...is it stupid to think about a self-organized trip to take a crack at something this big in the Himalayas? werd of advice: dont let the fuckers at this website shake yur confidence. of course you can do it. sheeit. on this 50 year aniversary of climbing everest you should know that if a horsetooth stupid fucker who aint never had climbed anywhere but new zealand can get up the worlds tallest mountain you can organize a puny little fucking trip. do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 I went to Cho Oyu four or five years ago, and although it was exciting to be there, I began the expedition with both intestinal problems and a lung infection and although it was not a guided trip, I relied upon the outfitter to take care of food planning and that was a mistake. As a result of these factors and the fact that I had difficulty acclimating even to the base camp elevation (at nearly 19,000 feet, I think it is one of the highest base camps for any peak) I never made it above camp 2. I learned a few things, though, and I'd like to go back again some time. A trip to Cho Oyu involves a lot of logistical planning and permits and such that an outfitter will probably be able to handle better than you can, but a climb of the normal route up Cho Oyu is certainly not all that difficult in a technical sense and plenty of self-guided parties do OK. Whether they acknowledge this or not, though, most of them are relying upon other organized expetitions to help them out in the event that even the slightest thing goes wrong, and this may be a poor game plan. Whatever you decide to do, Cho Oyu is one of the most popular of the big peaks and you should easily be able to locate quite a few people who have been there, and been there recently -- talk to as many people as you can before you decide how to plan your trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 i may state the obvious but if you have not much expedition experience perhaps you should first start with smaller/cheaper objectives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Parker Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 With SARS in the air, you can forget about going to China for awhile. I'd pick a more friendly summit in Nepal doesn't carry such a high peak fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 I believe that Dave is right that the borders are now closed with the SARS thing. For Cho Oyu, the peak fee was not all that much as of a few years ago -- you'll spend much more in airfare, other travel expenses, visa, etc.... and of course your time away from work has to be factored in. I don't disagree with others' suggestions that it might be a good idea to choose a slightly more modest objective for one's first trip over there, but there have been plenty of people that went to Cho Oyu for their first Asian peak climb and did OK. In many respects, it is not all that different from going to Alaska and attempting Mr. Mckinley for one's first climb there. Consider that at just shy of 27,000 feet, though, Cho Oyu is in the death zone. A significant number of people die just because they are there without any real accident or mishap whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpinfox Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 mattp said: going to Alaska and attempting Mr. Mckinley... It's "Denali". Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Alpinfox said: mattp said: going to Alaska and attempting Mr. Mckinley... It's "Denali". Thanks. umm ... yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Alpinfox said: mattp said: going to Alaska and attempting Mr. Mckinley... It's "Denali". Thanks. It's whatever you want to call it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pencil_Pusher Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 What you can do as sort of a compromise on price, is pay $4000 and the guide service takes care of all the logistics. However, you'll need a climbing partner as they strictly insist you be roped up past a certain point. Also, you're pretty much on your own as far as cooking/routefinding/and such. Check out the guide service website, it will give you more info. I think the expensive part of this is that oxygen is not part of this package and would probably be a significant additional expense. But then I just saw a slideshow by a woman who's climbed all over the dang place and her first 8km peak was Broad. She didn't use oxygen and pretty much said to go to 7km and see how you feel. She said alot of people on Cho Oyu didn't use oxygen... I think for $16k you can get the same type of deal for an Everest ascent. A relatively economical alternative if you have faith in your judgement and capabilities. Check with mikebell, another cc.commie. He went up Cho Oyu two years ago, to the summit using this $4k option. But that dude is in insanely good shape... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayner Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 "lummox" writes: "werd of advice: dont let the fuckers at this website shake yur confidence. of course you can do it. sheeit. on this 50 year aniversary of climbing everest you should know that if a horsetooth stupid fucker who aint never had climbed anywhere but new zealand can get up the worlds tallest mountain you can organize a puny little fucking trip. do it." Dwayner says: It must be nice to be so handsome, intelligent, accomplished and articulate as lummox! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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