The Cho Oyu, with its altitude of 8.201 metres, is the sixth highest mountain on the entire planet. It is located between Tibet and Nepal, a short distance from two other colossal mountains: Mount Everest, with its altitude of 8.848 metres, is the roof of the world and Mount Lothse (8.516 metres). Both are easily visible by looking towards the east by whoever has the strength and luck to reach the peak of Cho Oyu.

The normal route, in other words the usual route for the easiest climb, is on the north face of the mountain, on the Tibetan side, following the route traced by an Austrian expedition in 1954. This route doesn’t give any particular technical difficulties, nor are there any excessive levels of danger.

It is also for this reason that it is considered an “easy 8.000” by many mountain climbers, if scaling eight thousand metres can reasonably be classified as being easy.

ITS MOUNTAIN CLIMBING HISTORY

The Cho Oyu was the fifth eight thousand metre mountain to be scaled. Before this conquest there was the one of Mount Annapurna (1950), then Mount Everest (1953) and then K2 conquered by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio on 31 July 1954.

It was instead a few months later, on 19 October 1954, that the Austrian Herbet Tichy, along with his fellow-countryman Sepp Jöchler and Pasang Dawa Lama, reached the peak of Cho Oyu for the first time in the history of mankind.

A short time afterwards, a French-Swiss expedition with the mountain climber Claude Kogan also tried to reach the peak, but without success, blocked as they were at an altitude of 7.700 by bad weather.

Kogan, who was obsessed with this mountain, returned with an all female expedition in 1959. In an attempt to reach the peak she died, invested by an avalanche along with two Sherpas and her Belgium fellow-countryman Claudine van der Stratten. It wasn’t until 1984 that the first woman reached its peak.

The first death on the slopes of Cho Oyu was in 1958.

From the beginning of the 60s to the end of the 70s Cho Oyu was not scaled again.

In 1983 Messner scaled Cho Oyu in alpine style on the south-west face.

The first ascent in winter was in 1985.