Cho Oyu Speed Ascent Update: Advanced Basecamp

This article is part of an ongoing series covering Benedikt Boehm and Prakash Sherpa's planned speed ascent of Cho Oyu, Tibet -- the 6th highest mountain in the world. For background information, click here.

Benedikt Boehm and Prakash Sherpa arrived at the advanced base camp (ABC) earlier this week on September 26th, from where they will launch their Cho Oyu summit push in the coming days.

The duo opted to trek on foot from base camp to ABC, following a paved road that eventually morphed into a well-maintained forest road. Along the way, they encountered a military station.

Boehm described the encounter in correspondence with Powder:

"The young soldiers are somewhat surprised by the sight of the two walkers, but they welcome the change. Communication, as is often the case, is a total failure. Shy laughter. But our names are perfectly listed on the soldiers' roster. Although only Prakash and my names are listed, the three soldiers struggle immensely to match the names from our provided passports with their list. We help them and show them the identical names from our passports on their documents. We are allowed to proceed."

Beyond the military station was the ABC, which Boehm illustrated in his correspondence:

"Here, there is already the perfectly built tent city of the Chinese expedition (reportedly nearly 100 people), which we had heard about before. Everything is symmetrically constructed. The Chinese expedition consists mostly of scientists who collect samples on the mountain (we will see this live the next day in Camp 1). There are also a few mountaineers. It's a bustling scene in the small tent city with a central hub consisting of kitchen and dining tents. The weather is perfect for the first time. Clear skies. Almost a full moon. We are finally at the mountain. It feels very good."

Upon arrival at ABC, like any good alpinist, Boehm was suddenly overcome with the urge to celebrate by drinking a sip of Scotch. During a flight layover earlier in the trip, Boehm purchased some Scotch -- for celebratory purposes -- and two cartons of cigarettes. As for the cigarettes, Boehm figured that they would be good gifts for those whom he meets along the way:

"You see, during my layover in Doha, I asked at the duty-free shop for the best cigarettes and alcohol that the Chinese like to buy. The shopkeeper recommended 2 fine bottles of Scotch and 2 cartons of cigarettes. I had learned that it's always good to have a few gifts on hand."

After dining on Dhalbhat -- rice and lentil soup -- it was time for bed. Unfortunately, sleeping when adapting to high altitudes (ABC sits roughly 18,000 feet above sea level) isn't always pleasant. Boehm explains:

"The first night at 5,700m is always challenging for me. Shortness of breath. Restlessness and constant tossing and turning. Completely senseless and unrelated thoughts and shallow dreams stuck in an endless loop. Nosebleeds. And a very upset stomach, always on the brink. Prakash doesn't have these problems. He is naturally well adapted to this altitude. He moves, sleeps, and eats here as if we were in Kathmandu."

The following morning, Sherpa and Boehm took a day trip to Camp 1 to acclimatize and prepare for the coming push. During the hike, the pair encountered the Chinese License Officer designated for their trip, leaving Boehm to wonder if he might have another opportunity to discuss the regulations around skiing on Cho Oyu:

"We catch up with a group of Chinese climbers, including the License Officer responsible for us at the ABC. He tells me that he is the head of the Chinese ski touring national team, training for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Well, if that's not the beginning of a wonderful relationship between us? We agree to meet at the ABC tonight."

After returning to the ABC, Boehm took a shower and met with the License Officer. While the meeting didn't produce anything concrete, the License Officer agreed to meet with Boehm again.

The next day, September 28th, was spent resting and answering emails -- Boehm is still the CEO of Dynafit, after all. During the day, Boehm also spent thinking about and planning a trash clean-up of Cho Oyu:

"There is indeed a lot of garbage here, which we always dutifully collect. But there are no garbage dumps like the ones we experienced last year at Himal Himlung Camps 1 and 2. Unfortunately, a lot is still being thrown into nature, but one really good initiative by the authorities here is that every mountaineer is required to collect 8kg of trash. These 8kg must be handed over to the authorities after completing the expedition at the base. Otherwise, there is supposedly a fine. Of course, you can probably find 8kg of trash somewhere. I haven't seen anyone yet picking up trash in the Basecamp or anywhere else, even though there's plenty of it. As I write these lines, I'm thinking of organizing a joint clean-up of the Basecamp with the License Officer. Everyone cleans up the Basecamp together. Yes, I think it's a good idea. I'll talk to him about it."

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