ABC to Camp 1
Hello everyone,
Today after breakfast we climbed to Camp 1. It took us about 7 hours to get here and we are now at 21,000ft. It was a long day with fairly heavy packs but everyone did a great job pushing themselves. Tomorrow we will go on an acclimatization hike to the base of the ice cliff, which is at about 22,000ft. Thanks for following along!
Ben Jones
Rest day
Hello Everyone,
We had a great rest day today! Everyone is feeling good and ready for our first rotation up the mountain. I will keep you posted but we will probably spend 3-4 nights on the mountain before returning to ABC. We had a beautiful day today with sun all day and no wind. We hope the nice weather continues for the next few days.
Thanks for following!
Ben Jones
Gopal prepares another fantastic meal!
Hike to Lake Camp at 19,800ft
Hello Everyone,
Today we hiked through the rocky moraine to Lake Camp (19,800ft) to cache some gear below camp 1 (21,000ft). Everyone did well and felt good to hike after several days here in ABC. We think the “bug” has finally left our camp and everyone has recovered remarkably well. Our plan was to go to Camp 1 tomorrow for two nights but as things do in the mountains and on expeditions, plans change. So we will rest tomorrow giving one more additional day for everyone to fully recover and rest. Then we will head up to camp 1 for two nights.
Thanks for following along! Everyone says hello to everyone following along back home.
Ben Jones
Puja Pics
Prayer beads
Reading the prayers
Throwing the Champa
Puja Day
Hello Everyone,
Today was our Puja ceremony, which is a Buddhist ceremony asking for safe passage up and down Cho Oyu. It was a beautiful morning, the clearest we have had so far. At the end of the ceremony it is common to smear Champa (flour) on each other’s face for long life. That is why everyone looks like they have a white beard (most people). After lunch we got our harnesses set up for the climb and some people took showers after a few snow showers.
Tomorrow we are going to head towards camp 1 and cache some gear. We will probably gain close to 2,000ft and then return to ABC. After that we will be ready to head up to camp 1 for our first rotation. Camp 1 is at 21,000ft.
The bug that has been going around our camp looks like it might be finished. There are only a couple of us who have been unaffected so far (knock on wood). But everyone that has gotten the bug has rebounded incredible fast and are ready to hike tomorrow!
More photos are on the way!
Thanks for following,
Ben Jones
Jason
Steve
Phil
Malcolm
David
Keith
John
Lakpa
This was my first true expedition, other trips have been climbs but this was the first where we spend a lot of time traveling and acclimatizing on the mountain vs. just climbing (like Denali). Very good leaders and strong leaders (well respected). They did an excellent job of passing on knowledge. Presented their ideas and […]
