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Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan.
Cho Oyu was first attempted in 1952 by an expedition led by Eric Shipton and including Tom Bourdillon, but technical difficulties at an ice cliff above 6,650m (21,820ft) proved beyond their abilities. (Today, these ice cliffs are normally ascended using fixed ropes.) Cho Oyu was first climbed on October 19, 1954 via the northwest ridge by Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama of an Austrian expedition. Cho Oyu was the fifth 8000 metre peak to be climbed, after Annapurna in June 1950, Mount Everest in May 1953, Nanga Parbat in July 1953 and K2 in July 1954.
Just a few kilometres west of Cho Oyu is Nangpa La (5,716m/18,753ft), a glaciated pass that serves as the main trading route between the Tibetans and the Khumbu's Sherpas. Due to its proximity to this pass and the generally moderate slopes of the standard northwest ridge route, climbers consider Cho Oyu to be the easiest 8,000 metre peak to climb, and it is a popular objective for professionally guided parties.
| Names |
Cho Oyu, Qowowuyag, चोयु, jo bo dbu yag, 卓奧有山, Zhuó'àoyǒu Shān |
| Elevation |
8,201 metres (26,906 feet) |
| Location |
Nepal-China (Tibet) |
| Range |
Mahalangur Himal, Himalayas |
| Prominence |
2,340 m (7,677 ft) |
| Coordinates |
28°06'N, 86°39'E |
| First Ascent |
Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler & Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama - October 19, 1954 |
| First Winter Ascent |
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| Easiest Route |
snow/ice/glacier climb |
| Ascents |
1400 |
| Deaths |
35 |
| Death Rate |
2.5% |
| Death Rate before 1990 |
7% |
| Death Rate after 1990 |
2% |
| Difficulty* |
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Timeline
1952 First reconnaissance of Northwest face by Edmund Hillary and party.
1954 First ascent by Austrians Joseph Jöchler and Herbert Tichy, and Pasang Dawa Lama (Nepal)
1958 Second ascent of the peak, by an Indian expedition. Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama reached the peak for the second time. First death on Cho Oyu.
1959 Four members killed in an avalanche during a failed international women's expedition.
1964 Controversial third ascent by a German expedition as there is no proof of reaching the summit. Two mountaineers die of exhaustion in camp 4 at 7,600m (24,935ft).
1978 Edi Koblmüller and Alois Furtner of Austria summit via the extremely difficult southeast face.
1983 Reinhold Messner succeeds on his fourth attempt, with Hans Kammerlander and Michael Dacher.
1984 Dina Štěrbová, Věra Komárková. First women expedition.
1985 On February 12, Maciej Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski make the first winter ascent (repeated three days later by Andrzej Heinrich and Jerzy Kukuczka).
1994 First solo ascent via the South West face by Yasushi Yamanoi.
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Cho Oyu