Mountaineering team attempts to climb Cho Oyu from the Nepal side for the second time

Kathmandu: A group of Nepali mountaineers is attempting to scale Mt. Cho Oyo (8,201 meters) from Nepal for the second time. On previous attempts made by two teams didn't succeed.

Earlier, the team of 'Cho Oyo Winter Nepal Expedition Project' reached the height of 7,900 meters through the Cho Oyo base camp, while the other team from Pineer Adventure Treks had reached the height of 7,770 meters. They had to suspend the mission due to bad weather. Their effort to climb again was cancelled as the winter expedition permit was over.

According to Nivesh Karki, executive director of Pineer Adventure Treks, the team is planning to open a commercial route of Mt. Cho Oyo from Nepal side. Eight foreign climbers have confirmed to scale Mt. Cho Oyo this autumn, Karki said. Similarly, there are 18 mountain guides from Nepal, including kitchen boy, and helpers. He added, all the preparations for the summit have been completed. All the Mountain crews will be leaving for the Cho Oyo base camp in the next two to three days. Foreigner climbers will arrive in Nepal on October 20 and will head to base camp after obtaining permit from Department of Tourism.

"Last year, we had to cancel the summit of Mt. Cho Oyo on february 28 due to bad weather and the permit was expired for winter expedition," he recalled. Learning the possibility from past experience of scaling successfully, a second attempt will be made. The expenses on the last expedition were collected from mountain guides and additional expenses were borne by the company, Karki in formed. The main objectives of this campaign is opening commercial route from Nepal side to Mt. Cho Oyo. The mountain is considered very difficult and risky to climb, and it is climbed only from China side.

Guinness World Record holder and a mountain guides Sanu Sherpa and Mingma Dorchi Sherpa, will lead the team to open commercial route from Nepal side. China has closed its border since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, and climbers have been barred from summiting it since then. Opening the route from the Nepal side will open new opportunitires for climbers to try new routes and experience new adventures.

Until now, there has been no effort and support from Nepal government. Had the permit extended a week or more, both the teams would successfully reached the peak on their last attempt, Karki added. Nepal's tourism shouldn't be promoted only as the land of Mount Everest, and the birthplace of Gautam Budhha. There are many more mountains and natural resources which need to be promoted. If the weather permits, they look forward to the summit and opening commercial route to Mt. Cho Oyo, said Karki. The successful opening of a commercial route will definitely help in the promotion of Nepal's tourism sector as a whole.

Karki further recalled, 'We have sought support from the Department of Tourism, Nepal Mountaineering Association(NMA) since 2019. ' They haven't shown any interest in it. About Rs. 5 million was spent on an earlier attempt. Karki said, "We are spending huge amount of money, not only for mountaineers, but also for the promotion of tourism in Nepal as a whole." There was no initiative or support from the government side so far.