CHO OYU 2006 ~ EVEREST 2004
Friendship Beyond Borders Expeditions

A Team of International Friends Helping Amputees Change the World

Expedition Schedule

CHO OYU 2006: Friendship Beyond Borders Expedition
Date
 
Location
Sun 02-Apr
 
Flights from San Francisco to China. George has cough and sinus problems.
Mon 03-Apr
 
Arrive in Beijing
Tue 04-Apr
 
Fly from Beijing to Lhasa
Wed 05-Apr
 
Lhasa
Thu 06-Apr
 
Shigatese (Xigeze)
Fri 07-Apr
 
Tingri (Lao Ding Ring)
Sat 08-Apr
 
Chinese Base Camp--end of road portion of our journey (16,500ft)
Sun 09-Apr
 
Chinese Base Camp (16,500ft). Pete suffers asthma problems triggered by campfire smoke.
Mon 10-Apr
 
Chinese Base Camp--preparing to move higher
Tue 11-Apr
 
Team moves to Middle Camp (17,500ft)--Tom has severe sinus infection and fever, descends to Tingri helped by Linda. Severe weather, road closures and events trap them there for 11 days.
Wed 12-Apr
 
Team at Advanced Base Camp (18,600ft)--start of Cho Oyu climb
Thu 13-Apr
 
Team acclimatizing and setting up Advanced Base Camp (ABC) site
Fri 14-Apr
 
Team acclimatizing and setting up Advanced Base Camp site
Sat 15-Apr
 
Massive snow storm hits the region--all roads and passes closed, no transport available to Cho Oyu camps; no communication with team possible
Sun 16-Apr
 
Team acclimatizing
Mon 17-Apr
 
Team members reach Camp 1 (19,898ft)
Tue 18-Apr
 
Team acclimatizing/climbing to Camp 1
Wed 19-Apr
 
Team acclimatizing/climbing to Camp 1
Thu 20-Apr
 
Team acclimatizing/climbing to Camp 1
Fri 21-Apr
 
Tom and Linda arrive back at Chinese Base Camp (16,500ft)
Sat 22-Apr
 
Tom and Linda trek to Middle Camp (17,500ft). Along the way they encounter one of the team's Chinese cooks. He has walked down alone from ABC, indicates he's quitting the expedition, and heads for Chinese Base Camp.
Sun 23-Apr
 
Tom treks to Advanced Base Camp (18,600ft) while Linda rests one day at Middle Camp before going higher.That night, Tom descends to Middle Camp to confer with Linda about how to solve problems with remaining Chinese cook at Advanced Base Camp (ABC). Cook refuses to use clean water for cooking and washing, refuses to cook the food the team prefers, and has threatened team members with knives when they complain about his behavior. Linda offers to fire the cook and take over all his tasks for the rest of the expedition in order to prevent the team from abandoning their effort to climb Cho Oyu.
Mon 24-Apr
 
Tom and Linda trek to ABC to rejoin team with a strategy to solve problems with the cook and get the expedition back on schedule. However, team has abandoned ABC, given away food and fuel, and encounters Tom and Linda as they head down to Middle Camp. Now not possible to continue any attempts to climb Cho Oyu.
Tue 25-Apr
 

Team arrives back at Chinese Base Camp. Mr. Dorjee of Tibet Mountaineering Association (TMA) kindly arranges for Sherpas to be driven back to Nepal. Rest of team is driven by Mr. Dorjee's staff back to Lhasa (an arduous 2-day drive on very rough roads). Mr. Dorjee is a most honest and helpful person.
He is our hero!

Wed 26-Apr
 
Overnight stop in Shigatse. Paved roads from Shigatse to Lhasa make the last leg of the journey more bearable.
Thu 27-Apr
 
American team members in Lhasa. Sherpa team members head south to Nepal border by land.
Fri 28-Apr
 
Sherpa team members arrive back in Kathmandu, Nepal via overland from Tibet. American team members in Lhasa. Equipment prepared for flights to Beijing and USA.
Sat 29-Apr
 
Flight from Lhasa to Beijing
Sun 30-Apr
 
Beijing
Mon 01-May
 
Beijing
Tue 02-May
 
Return flight from Beijing to USA. End of expedition.

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