FTA Cho Oyu 2010 - Lonely in C1!

from stu in the usa office
30 Sept, 2010

FTA Cho Oyu Team update
Our team is enjoying a nice evening in C1 where there remain just 15 tents in a place which only a few days ago was crowded with 100+ tents. In the morning they will move up to C2, complete their acclimatization, and descend to ABC on the 2nd. They are all feeling strong and hopeful that there will be some dramatic change in the snow conditions in the week ahead. A period of lower winds if being forecast for around the 6th or 7th of october and they will position themselves for summit bid at that time.

A few well respected and strong climbers have been higher on the hill (upwards of 7800m) and continue report conditions that do not allow for a safe summit bid at this time. One climber dug a snow pit near C3 revealing a 10cm crust over 30cm of unconsolidated snow along with several other shifting layers - not a pretty sight!

With the time running out for many other teams most have had to pack it up and head home. We still have 10 days until we need to leave the mountain and will hope that the winds and sun work on the snow pack to allow a possible summit bid. Stay tuned for more news ahead!

Audio Dispatch from C1
Fabrizio has left a dispatch from C1 with the latest news inlcuding the latest on the team, the conditions and the big BC party hosted by the TMA!



Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches #111


C1 on Cho Oyu in the busy season

Upcoming expedition update

• Nanga Parbat with Fabrizio Zangrilli
We are now confirmed for Nanga Parbat 2011 June/July expedition with Fabrizio Zangrilli and accepting applications for fully guided, full mountain support and bc support options.

• Broad Peak with Chris Szymiec
We are nearing confirmation for Broad Peak for 2011 June/July with Chris Szymiec and expect to confirm well ahead of the end of the year. This will be our 7th trip to Broad Peak (and Chris's 3rd!) and we invite you to join Chris and FTA for a great 8000m climb!

• K2 2011
We have had so much interest in K2 due to our great trips there in 2009 and 2010 that we are working out the details to offer it again for 2011. It will be as an extension to Broad Peak or Nanga Parbat. Interested climbers can contact us at info@fieldtouring.com

• Ama Dablam Nov 4
We still have a few spaces on our confirmed Nov 4 Ama Dablam Expedition!

• Aconcagua Summer trips - Confirmed with spaces available:
False Polish 11 Dec
Polish Glacier 18 Dec
False Polish 10 Jan

see our site www.fieldtouring.com for more!

Cho Oyu 2010 - Summit push update

form Stu in the usa office
September 27, 2010

Cho Oyu Update

I have had a call from Fabrizio letting us know that all is well at BC for our team and that they will plan to make a summit bid on Oct 1. The winds look to be reasonable for the 30th and 1st and as there are large crowds (some 400 climbers) our team plans to let the larger wave go first and be part of a smaller second wave.

Due to the weather window constraints we will be launching our bid from C2 on the 1st very early (or perhaps ate on the 30th!) With so many days at BC, along with the runs to C1 and above, our team should have sufficient acclimatization for this. We have at least a week of time following this effort but the jet stream looks like it may be coming in for good and make summit attempts impossible. We will watch the weather carefully and hope for a later window as a back up.

At this time the conditions on the mountain remain poor with shifting slabs of snow and high avalanche risk in several places. A group of sherpas fixing the route in the last day were avalanched above the second rock band (in a similar situation as the TMA's crew was a week ago). The reports are that one sherpa was pretty shaken up but that they are all descending. I am sure that there will be more information once they are back down. They had been attempting to finish the route in time to rejoin their teams for the summit bids ahead. Below is a picture of the high slopes of Cho Oyu which show the rock bands and the area of the avalanche prone slopes:



Our team has been passing the days at BC eating, resting and socializing and are all in good sprits. Fabrizio said that they have been catching with lots of friends on the mountain including a hungarian group he's know for many years, chris klinke, some folks from kari kobler's group and more. With so many people BC bound the teams are getting to know each other well! Given that the entire community of climbers and sherpas look to be converging in the high camps at the same time, we hope that this bodes well for cooperation up high!

The weather has been much clearer and our group took advantage of the down day to amble over towards the Nangpa La and have a look about. There are several peaks that the BC looks out at and some day we'll have to get a permit for them and come back for a "Cho Oyu Neighborhood Tour"!




Fabrizio will post a gabcast audio dispatch tomorrow evening ahead of their departure on the 29th with all the latest. Stay tuned!

Upcoming expedition update

• Nanga Parbat with Fabrizio Zangrilli
We are now confirmed for Nanga Parbat 2011 June/July expedition with Fabrizio Zangrilli and accepting applications for fully guided, full mountain support and bc support options.

• Broad Peak with Chris Szymiec
We are nearing confirmation for Broad Peak for 2011 June/July with Chris Szymiec and expect to confirm well ahead of the end of the year. This will be our 7th trip to Broad Peak (and Chris's 3rd!) and we invite you to join Chris and FTA for a great 8000m climb!

• K2 2011
We have had so much interest in K2 due to our great trips there in 2009 and 2010 that we are working out the details to offer it again for 2011. It will be as an extension to Broad Peak or Nanga Parbat. Interested climbers can contact us at info@fieldtouring.com

• Ama Dablam Nov 4
We still have a few spaces on our confirmed Nov 4 Ama Dablam Expedition!

• Aconcagua Summer trips!


see our site www.fieldtouring.com for more!

FTA Cho Oyu 2010 - BC waiting!

from Stu in the USA Office
September 25, 2010

Our team has been sitting out the last few day at BC after trying to make a run to C1 and being turned back due to heavy snow and no reasonable prospect of being able to advance above C1. With the snow now subsiding and the winds picking our team will return to the hill for an acclimatization run and possibly a summit bid.

All of our members are safe and sound and we'll let you know when we have more news!

In 2008 the winds were quite heavy during an acclimatizing run to camp 2 and you can get a sense of how inhospitable the place can be in the high winds!

FTA Cho Oyu 2010 - Back in C1 due to heavy snow fall

from Stu in the USA office
22 September, 2010

Fabrizio called in today to let us know that there had been a significant snow fall, perhaps a foot or more, and that our team (along with most teams) have abandoned the mountain and returned to BC to await better conditions. With the slopes on the steeper sections, between C1 and C2 and above C2, now heavily loaded with fresh snow, there was little reason to climb up from C1 into dangerous territory.

With this in mind Fabrizio, Siddhi, Luis and Gordon came back down to BC to await the upcoming window of clearer weather predicted to begin on the 24th & 25th. We still hope they can get in a night at C2 and return to BC before the winds are expected to rise on the 26th/27th. Farther down the road it looks like the wind will calm down again in early October so we'll be looking for a summit bid at that time.

It sounds like the constant snowfall is taking its toll on the spirit of some of the climbers and Fabrizio said that quite a few people have called it quits and are heading out. To date our group remains in good spirits and is being well fed and entertained by the world's best disco dancer and cook, Ratna Gurung! Expeditions are hard no doubt and one of the most important skills to succeed is the ability to do very little for many days at a time while waiting for weather or conditions to permit you to head higher. Cards, reading, talking, practicing knots, writing in a journal, listening to music and more all have their place but often its the ability to just be content by yourself that can get you through these spells!

With than in mind here are a few quotes of the day for tent bound climbers:

"Slug mode is when you lay in your tent with nothin' to do, maybe not even a book to read, maybe not even nothin' to eat. I can do it pretty well." Kitty Calhoun

"When it's getting dark, you're miserable and the task at hand seems endless, then this is the time to dig your sense of humour out from the bottom of your pack, wear it on your spirit and lighten your load."
Carolyn Birmingham

"In my daily task I draw on my Antarctic experience. If the work is important enough I do not knock off because I feel tired; one’s exhaustion point is a very long way past fatigue point. I think I have developed a greater capacity for thoroughness and I am more appreciative of the value of proper planning. Possibly the two most valuable things my expedition years gave me were self-confidence and persistence. Persistence allied with patience will overcome most difficulties."
Dr. Phillip Law, a former member of the Australian Antarctic Team, speaking about the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

"The trick is what one emphasizes
We either make ourselves miserable
Or we make ourselves strong
The amount of work is the same"
Carlos Castaneda

why we wait - to feel this way at sunset on a beautiful evening in the high mountains....

FTA Cho Oyu 2010 – Team in C1 and all is well!

from Stu in the USA office

September 21, 2010

Latest news on Cho Oyu

Our team is up in C1 the night on their second round of acclimatization and looking forward to spending the night in C2 at 7100m tomorrow! They have been enjoying the acclimatization period over the last 4-5 days and are ready to make a more serious push high on the hill. The past days have been filled with a run to C1 for a night, a 42nd birthday party for our cook Ratna, socializing with the many climbers on the hill (Fabrizio estimates more than 450), and surviving the daily snow fall which seems finally to be coming to an end.

During this time a group of TMA (Tibet Mountaineering Association) climbers who were fixing the route above C3, were avalanched and a number of them were severely injured. Thanks to many climbers on the mountain they were helped down or carried down to BC. There is a full report on www.explorersweb.com including some very dramatic images and links to more reports of people involved first hand. Fortunately it sounds like all of the climbers will recover fully and the one climber needing a full evacuation was already out to the road head by early morning after he returned to BC.

The constant snowfall on the mountain has made for avalanche prone slopes and it appears that this spell of snowy weather is coming to an end and will give way to clearer days and high winds. We hope that our team will be able to get acclimatization runs completed in the next 2 days and be ready for a good period of weather. We have still quite a few days as we are not due back into Kathmandu until the 12th of October but a number of teams are beginning to run out of days and are hopeful this upcoming window is a good one for being on the summit slopes!

FTA Audio Dispatches

Fabrizio plans to call in gabcasts daily during this acclimatization run so visit the Field Touring Gabcast page to listen in to all of the past dispatches and check in daily to catch the new ones!

Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches #108


Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches #109

Upcoming trip news

• We have just added more climbers to our January 5, 2010 Ecuador Volcanoes trip and spots are becoming limited so let us know if you are interested!

• We have also added an Aconcagua Polish Glacier trip starting on Dec 18 so come and celebrate the holidays on the highest peak in the Americas!

• Places still on Ama Dablam Nov 4 start and Aconcagua False Polish Dec 11 start

See our expedition and trek and training pages for all the trips!

FTA cook Ratna celebrating at BC in 2008 © stu remensnyder

Moonlit night at Cho Oyu BC © stu remensnyder

Cho Oyu on a windy day © stu remensnyder