Cho Oyu from the North in the Pre-Monsoon. As in other seasons ...
Cho O yu fro m the N orth in the Pre-M onsoon. As in other seasons, there were num erous ascents o f Cho O yu by the w est side from the north. The w ell-know n M exican climber, Carlos C arsolio, m ade a w hirlw ind tour in the pre-m onsoon season and did tw o fast, oxygenless ascents o f 8000ers, sum m iting alone in both cases. A fter acclim atizing on a m inor peak in the E verest region, L obuje East, he traveled quickly to Tibet to jo in Swiss E rhard L oretan’s com m ercial expedition. He made the fastest ascent ever o f Cho Oyu in ju st 19 hours. He w ent to the sum m it from Base C am p at 5650 m eters, w hich he left at three P.M. on April 25 w ith Loretan. They rested for an hour at Cam p I at 6400 m eters. Loretan was not interested in clim bing the standard route, w hich C arsolio had decided on, and he turned back at 6600 m eters at 7:30 P.M. The M exican carried on up alone in full m oonlight w hich was so bright that he had no need for his headlam p. He was on the sum m it at 9:57 A.M. on A pril 26. He
then left Tibet for Lhotse. L o reta n 's expedition was otherw ise com posed o f 6 G erm ans and 2 Swiss. On M ay 4, G erm ans H elm ut Katzenm aier, W alter K orber and H elge Sprindler (f) also reached the sum m it o f Cho Oyu. On April 29, Fabio Pedrina o f C hristian D u p ré’s group o f 6 Sw iss reached the sum m it. A ustrian Ernst S chw arzenlander led 5 G erm ans a n d 6 A ustrians. The leader reached the sum m it on M ay 3, follow ed on M ay 4 by G erm ans Lutz Protze, A ndreas Ratka and T hom as Tü rpe. Jiří N ovák was the leader o f 4 Czechs, 2 Italians and 1 G erman. On M ay 12, C zechs Stanislav Š ilá n and Z edeněk H rubý clim bed to the top, follow ed on M ay 14 by C zech Ladislav K am arád and Italian Benito Lodi. O scar Piazza, the leader o f 12 Italians, and A ngelo G iovanetti clim bed to the sum m it on M ay 12, follow ed on M ay 16 by A ndrea Oberbacher. Sw iss N orbert Joos was leader o f 8 Swiss, 2 G ermans, 1 A ustrian and 1 Briton. On M ay 20 Sw iss H einz B latter and Joos com pleted the 149th ascent o f the peak. U nsuccessful w ere D em etrio C arrasco, leader o f 7 M exicans, 1 A m erican and I Chilean and A rgentine O rlando A edo, w ho headed 4 Spaniards a n d 2 Argentines. Briton Jonathan Tinker led 3 British clim bers and 1 A m erican who were turned back at 6800 m eters on June 7 by w inds, snow fall and lack of m anpower. E
l iz a b e t h
H
aw ley
then left Tibet for Lhotse. L o reta n 's expedition was otherw ise com posed o f 6 G erm ans and 2 Swiss. On M ay 4, G erm ans H elm ut Katzenm aier, W alter K orber and H elge Sprindler (f) also reached the sum m it o f Cho Oyu. On April 29, Fabio Pedrina o f C hristian D u p ré’s group o f 6 Sw iss reached the sum m it. A ustrian Ernst S chw arzenlander led 5 G erm ans a n d 6 A ustrians. The leader reached the sum m it on M ay 3, follow ed on M ay 4 by G erm ans Lutz Protze, A ndreas Ratka and T hom as Tü rpe. Jiří N ovák was the leader o f 4 Czechs, 2 Italians and 1 G erman. On M ay 12, C zechs Stanislav Š ilá n and Z edeněk H rubý clim bed to the top, follow ed on M ay 14 by C zech Ladislav K am arád and Italian Benito Lodi. O scar Piazza, the leader o f 12 Italians, and A ngelo G iovanetti clim bed to the sum m it on M ay 12, follow ed on M ay 16 by A ndrea Oberbacher. Sw iss N orbert Joos was leader o f 8 Swiss, 2 G ermans, 1 A ustrian and 1 Briton. On M ay 20 Sw iss H einz B latter and Joos com pleted the 149th ascent o f the peak. U nsuccessful w ere D em etrio C arrasco, leader o f 7 M exicans, 1 A m erican and I Chilean and A rgentine O rlando A edo, w ho headed 4 Spaniards a n d 2 Argentines. Briton Jonathan Tinker led 3 British clim bers and 1 A m erican who were turned back at 6800 m eters on June 7 by w inds, snow fall and lack of m anpower. E
l iz a b e t h
H
aw ley
