Cho Oyu

Cho Oyu (चोयु, ཇོ་བོ་དབུ་ཡ)

Cho Oyu, the 6th highest mountain in the world, Himalaya

Cho Oyu is an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) mountain on the border between Nepal and Tibet and the sixth-highest mountain on Earth. Rising approximately 28 kilometers northwest of Mount Everest, it forms one of the great summits of the Mahalangur Himal and towers above the glacial landscapes of the upper Khumbu.

Its Tibetan name is commonly translated as “Turquoise Goddess,” a reference often associated with the mountain’s appearance in the changing light of the Himalayan sky. Older mountaineering literature usually gives Cho Oyu an elevation of 8,201 meters, but modern topographic mapping places the summit at 8,188 meters, which is now widely accepted.

Cho Oyu was first climbed on October 19, 1954, by Austrian mountaineers Herbert Tichy and Joseph Jöchler together with Pasang Dawa Lama. Their expedition was remarkably small and lightweight for the era. Unlike many early Himalayan expeditions involving dozens of climbers, hundreds of porters, extensive fixed ropes, and bottled oxygen, Tichy’s team approached the mountain with only a handful of climbers and Sherpas and completed the first ascent without supplemental oxygen.

The route they followed on the northwest side later became Cho Oyu’s standard climbing route. Compared with the normal routes on many other 8,000-meter mountains, it contains relatively little sustained technical climbing, which has contributed to Cho Oyu’s reputation as one of the more approachable eight-thousanders. That description can be misleading, however. Climbers still face crevasses, seracs, steep ice, hurricane-force winds, extreme cold, altitude illness, and the physiological dangers of spending time above 8,000 meters.

Cho Oyu’s other faces reveal a very different mountain. The huge southern walls rising above Nepal contain some of the Himalayas’ most demanding technical terrain. Polish climbers completed the first winter ascent by a difficult southeast pillar in 1985, Wojciech Kurtyka, Erhard Loretan, and Jean Troillet opened a bold southwest-face route in 1990, and Denis Urubko and Boris Dedeshko climbed a major new southeast-face line in 2009.

One of the mountain’s last great unresolved ridges finally fell in June 2024, when a predominantly Sherpa team completed the enormous south-southwest ridge from Nepal after decades of unsuccessful attempts. Cho Oyu may have an established standard route, but its climbing history makes clear that the Turquoise Goddess is anything but a simple mountain.

⚡ Fast Facts

Fact	Details
Continent	Asia
Countries	Nepal and China
Nepal Province	Koshi Province
Nepal District	Solukhumbu
China Region	Tibet Autonomous Region
Mountain Range	The Himalayas
Subrange	Mahalangur Himal
Regional Section	Khumbu Himal
Elevation	8,188 m / 26,864 ft
Historical Elevation	8,201 m / 26,906 ft
World Ranking	6th-highest mountain
Prominence	Approximately 2,344 m / 7,690 ft
Isolation	Approximately 27.69 km / 17.21 mi
Key Col	Nup La, approximately 5,844 m / 19,173 ft
Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN)	Mount Everest
Line Parent	Mount Everest
Coordinates	Approximately 28.094° N, 86.660° E
Name Meaning	“Turquoise Goddess”
First Attempt	1952 British expedition led by Eric Shipton
First Ascent	October 19, 1954
First Ascenders	Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler, and Pasang Dawa Lama
First-Ascent Route	Northwest side / northwest ridge
Second Ascent	May 15, 1958
First Women’s Ascent	May 13, 1984
First Winter Ascent	February 12, 1985
First Winter Ascenders	Maciej Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski
First Southwest-Face Route	September 1990
South-Southwest Ridge First Ascent	June 7, 2024
Terrain	Glacier, snow, ice, rock bands, seracs, high plateau, and exposed ridges

🏔️ Where Is Cho Oyu?

Cho Oyu rises directly on the Nepal–Tibet border, roughly 28 kilometers northwest of Mount Everest. The international frontier passes across the summit area, placing the northern slopes in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal’s Solukhumbu District.

The mountain belongs to the Mahalangur Himal, the same Himalayan subrange containing Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and numerous major 7,000-meter peaks. Cho Oyu stands at the western end of the main concentration of 8,000-meter summits around Everest and is separated from that massif by a complicated landscape of high passes and glaciated peaks.

To the south lies the famous Gokyo Valley. Gokyo Ri provides one of the finest distant views of Cho Oyu, which dominates the northern horizon above the Gokyo Lakes and Ngozumpa Glacier.

The mountain’s Tibetan side has historically provided the easiest geographical access to the standard route. Base Camp can be established on the high Tibetan Plateau, greatly simplifying the approach compared with many Himalayan expedition mountains whose routes begin at the end of long, steep valleys.

Stone pyramid with big white mountain Cho-Oyu in the background, Himalayas, Nepal | Karpov Oleg

📏 How High Is Cho Oyu?

Modern mapping gives Cho Oyu an elevation of 8,188 meters (26,864 feet). At this height, it is the sixth-highest mountain in the world, ranking immediately below 8,485-meter Makalu and above 8,167-meter Dhaulagiri.

Older books, expedition reports, tourism publications, and maps very commonly give the mountain as 8,201 meters (26,906 feet). Other historical figures include approximately 8,153 and 8,156 meters. These differences reflect changing surveys rather than changes to the identity of the mountain.

Detailed modern topographic mapping used by Peakbagger supports the 8,188-meter figure, and Nepal’s more recent official list of mountains open for mountaineering also uses 8,188 meters.

The older 8,201-meter measurement remains deeply embedded in mountaineering literature, so both figures frequently appear when reading historical accounts. For a modern geographical profile, 8,188 meters is the best working elevation.

📐 Prominence and Isolation

Cho Oyu has approximately 2,344 meters (7,690 feet) of topographic prominence. Its key col is Nup La, approximately 5,844 meters above sea level.

This easily qualifies Cho Oyu as an ultra-prominent mountain, meaning it rises at least 1,500 meters above the lowest saddle connecting it with higher terrain.

Its topographic isolation is approximately 27.69 kilometers (17.21 miles). The nearest higher terrain lies toward Mount Everest, which is also Cho Oyu’s line parent.

These figures reveal that Cho Oyu is not simply another high point in the Everest massif. Although it belongs to the same broader mountain system, it has substantial geographical independence and dominates a large area of the western Khumbu and adjoining Tibetan Plateau.

View of Tonak Tsho lake in the Gokyo region, on the way to Cho Oyu and Everest Base Camp in Nepal

💎 What Does Cho Oyu Mean?

Cho Oyu is commonly translated from Tibetan as “Turquoise Goddess.” The name is sometimes associated with the turquoise or blue-green appearance the mountain can take on in certain light, particularly when shadows and evening colors spread across its broad snowfields.

As with many Himalayan names translated into English, variations in spelling and interpretation occur. Cho Oyu, Cho-Oyu, and Chooyu have all appeared historically, although Cho Oyu is now the dominant international form.

The mountain’s Tibetan identity is particularly significant because its traditional standard route lies predominantly on the Tibetan side. For generations, traders and herders also moved through the high landscape near the mountain using passes that connected Tibet with the Khumbu.

🏔️ Cho Oyu and Mount Everest

Cho Oyu rises approximately 28 kilometers northwest of Mount Everest. Although separated by numerous ridges and subsidiary peaks, the two mountains belong to the same broad Mahalangur Himalayan system.

Everest reaches 8,848.86 meters, making it roughly 661 meters higher than Cho Oyu. From the summit plateau of Cho Oyu, Everest and Lhotse dominate the southeastern skyline.

The relationship between the two mountains also shaped Cho Oyu’s early climbing history. The first serious attempt occurred as part of British preparations for Everest. Eric Shipton’s 1952 expedition included climbers who would later play central roles in the successful 1953 Everest expedition, among them Edmund Hillary and George Lowe.

Cho Oyu therefore became an important training and reconnaissance ground during the final period before Everest itself was first climbed.

🗺️ The 1952 British Attempt

The first serious attempt on Cho Oyu came in 1952, when a British expedition led by Eric Shipton arrived before the monsoon. The strong party included Edmund Hillary, George Lowe, Tom Bourdillon, Charles Evans, Campbell Secord, and other climbers associated with British Everest exploration.

The expedition initially hoped to find a route from the south. Reconnaissance suggested that the southern walls were far too difficult for the equipment and expedition style available at the time, so the team shifted toward the western side.

They established camps around 6,400 meters and explored the slopes above, but major ice cliffs barred progress. The expedition reached roughly 6,650 meters before concluding that the route was impractical.

The attempt did not come close to the summit, but it provided useful experience at altitude. Hillary and Lowe also climbed nearby Palung Ri during the expedition before later joining the successful Everest team.

🇦🇹 Herbert Tichy’s Idea

The expedition that actually climbed Cho Oyu could hardly have been more different from the large national teams then attacking the world’s highest mountains.

Austrian explorer Herbert Tichy had already traveled extensively in the Himalayas and Tibet. During an earlier journey with Pasang Dawa Lama, the two reportedly discussed what they might climb the following year. Pasang suggested Cho Oyu.

The casual conversation gradually became a real expedition plan.

Tichy did not have the financial resources or institutional support required for a traditional siege expedition. Instead, he organized a tiny lightweight team consisting primarily of himself, Austrian climbers Joseph Jöchler and Helmuth Heuberger, and a small group of Sherpas led by Pasang Dawa Lama.

The expedition’s modest size would become one of the most important features of the climb.

🥾 A Lightweight Himalayan Expedition

Large Himalayan expeditions of the 1950s often involved dozens of climbers and high-altitude Sherpas, hundreds of porters, extensive fixed ropes, multiple camps, and enormous quantities of food and equipment.

Tichy’s team had none of that scale.

The climbers traveled relatively lightly and approached Cho Oyu during the post-monsoon season of 1954. Their chosen route followed the western and northwestern side of the mountain, eventually gaining the broad upper slopes from Tibet.

The lower route proved much more manageable than the southern terrain encountered by Shipton’s expedition. Even so, the mountain was far from straightforward. Ice cliffs, storms, strong winds, extreme cold, and altitude continually threatened the small party.

Tichy suffered badly frozen hands during an early attempt, creating serious doubts about whether he would be capable of another summit push.

🇨🇭 Another Expedition Arrives

The situation became more complicated when a Swiss-French party arrived at Cho Oyu.

The team included Raymond Lambert and Claude Kogan, experienced Himalayan climbers who had originally been attempting other objectives. After their plans changed, they reached Cho Oyu and hoped to climb the mountain themselves.

The two expeditions discussed the situation and agreed that Tichy’s team would receive the first opportunity to attempt the summit.

News of the rival party reportedly energized Pasang Dawa Lama, who had temporarily descended for supplies. He hurried back up the mountain at extraordinary speed to join the Austrians.

Weather was deteriorating, Tichy’s hands were injured, and the season was growing late. The expedition effectively had one final chance.

🏆 First Ascent — October 19, 1954

On October 19, 1954, Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler, and Pasang Dawa Lama climbed toward the summit.

They moved without supplemental oxygen.

The upper route followed increasingly broad snow and ice slopes toward the summit plateau. Strong winds and cold made the climb exhausting, but the technical difficulties remained moderate compared with many of the 8,000-meter first-ascent routes of the era.

Eventually the three climbers reached the highest point.

Cho Oyu had been climbed.

The ascent came less than three months after the first ascent of K2 and only a year after Everest and Nanga Parbat. Cho Oyu was therefore among the earliest 8,000-meter mountains to receive a successful ascent during the extraordinary decade when nearly all fourteen giants were first climbed.

⭐ Why the First Ascent Was Unusual

The style of the Cho Oyu first ascent was arguably as important as the summit itself. Tichy’s expedition demonstrated that an 8,000-meter mountain did not necessarily require a massive national campaign.

The party was small, relatively lightly equipped, and climbed without bottled oxygen. The route involved no vast chain of prepared camps comparable with the expeditions on Everest, K2, or Kangchenjunga.

That does not mean Cho Oyu was easy. Tichy suffered frostbite, storms flattened tents, and the climbers operated at elevations where rescue was essentially impossible.

The achievement nevertheless pointed toward a different philosophy of Himalayan mountaineering — one in which small teams and limited equipment could succeed through acclimatization, experience, and efficient movement.

Decades later, lightweight and alpine-style climbing would become one of the most influential movements in high-altitude mountaineering.

🏆 The Second Ascent — 1958

Cho Oyu was climbed for the second time on May 15, 1958 during an Indian expedition led by Keki Bunshah.

Pasang Dawa Lama and Sonam Gyalzen Sherpa reached the summit, giving Pasang Dawa the unusual distinction of participating in both the first and second ascents of the mountain.

The expedition suffered a serious tragedy before the summit success. Narendra Dhar Jayal, one of the pioneers of Indian mountaineering and the first principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, became critically ill with high-altitude pulmonary edema and died near Base Camp.

The expedition continued, and Pasang Dawa and Sonam Gyalzen eventually reached the summit despite high winds and severe cold.

Cho Oyu was beginning to demonstrate a pattern that would recur throughout its history: technically moderate terrain could still become deadly when combined with altitude and weather.

🧭 The Northwest Route

The route used by Tichy, Jöchler, and Pasang Dawa eventually became Cho Oyu’s normal route.

It begins from the Tibetan side of the mountain and progresses through broad glacial terrain toward the northwest ridge and upper plateau. Historically, expeditions established Base Camp on the Tibetan Plateau before using yak-supported transport toward an Advanced Base Camp near the mountain.

Higher camps are normally placed around 6,400, 7,000, and 7,400 meters, although exact locations vary with glacier conditions and expedition strategy.

The route contains several steeper obstacles. One of the best known is an ice or serac barrier between the lower high camps, where fixed ropes may be necessary. Higher up, climbers negotiate broad snow slopes and several rock bands before reaching the enormous summit plateau.

The absence of sustained high-grade rock climbing has made this route comparatively accessible, but every section occurs at extreme altitude.

🏔️ The Broad Summit Plateau

Cho Oyu’s summit area is strikingly different from the knife-edge summit of Manaslu or the small rocky tops found on some Himalayan peaks.

The upper mountain opens onto a broad, gently angled snow plateau. In good visibility, climbers can identify the highest area and obtain sweeping views toward Everest and the surrounding Himalayas.

In poor weather, the plateau can become confusing. Cloud, blowing snow, flat light, and the lack of an obvious pointed summit can make it difficult to judge whether the true highest point has been reached.

Historical climbers sometimes described wandering across the upper plateau until they were certain that there was nowhere higher to go.

For modern summit verification, GPS data, photographs, route tracks, and clear views of the surrounding terrain help establish whether climbers have reached the true summit area.

🧱 The Nepal Side

The southern side of Cho Oyu presents a completely different climbing problem.

Instead of the relatively broad Tibetan slopes, the Nepalese side rises through immense walls of glacier, ice, snow, and rock. The southern faces extend for roughly 2,000 to 3,000 vertical meters depending on the line chosen.

The terrain is intersected by seracs, steep couloirs, rock barriers, and complex glacier systems. Approaches from the Gokyo region also begin thousands of meters below the summit.

Because of these obstacles, comparatively few Cho Oyu expeditions historically approached from Nepal. The overwhelming majority of commercial climbers used the Tibetan normal route whenever access was available.

The Nepal side instead became a playground for elite climbers seeking difficult new routes.

🧗 First Ascent of the South Face — 1978

Austrian climbers Edi Koblmüller and Alois Furtner established an important route through the southeast or southern face in 1978.

Their line climbed steep ice through the right side of the face. Later expeditions found fixed ropes left from the ascent on sections of ice reaching approximately 70 to 80 degrees.

The route demonstrated that Cho Oyu’s formidable Nepalese face could be climbed, but it did not produce an easy alternative to the northwest normal route.

Instead, it opened a new era in which climbers increasingly viewed the mountain’s southern walls as major technical objectives.

Some of the greatest high-altitude alpinists of the 1980s and 1990s would subsequently arrive in the Gokyo Valley specifically to test themselves on this much steeper side.

⚡ Reinhold Messner — 1983

In spring 1983, Reinhold Messner, Michl Dacher, and Hans Kammerlander climbed a fast new route from the Nepalese side.

They began from an Advance Base Camp above the Gokyo region and set out on May 2. Their route followed the southwest ridge before moving onto the southwest face.

The three climbers operated in alpine style, carrying their equipment with them rather than building a large chain of fixed camps.

After three bivouacs, they reached the summit on May 5.

They were back at Base Camp only two days later.

The expedition had taken just 11 days from reaching the Gokyo Base Camp area to completing the climb, an extraordinarily fast Himalayan ascent for its time. Cho Oyu became Messner’s tenth 8,000-meter mountain.

👩 First Women’s Ascent — 1984

Another major milestone followed the next year.

Vera Komarkova and Dina Štěrbová organized a remarkably small expedition with Nepalese climbers Ang Rita Sherpa and Nuru Sherpa. The four approached Cho Oyu from Nepal and followed a variant of the route used by Messner, Dacher, and Kammerlander.

Their expedition had no doctor or radio and only very limited oxygen. Komarkova and Štěrbová initially intended to climb without using it, although they eventually used small quantities from partially filled cylinders at extreme altitude.

After an unsuccessful first summit push, the team descended, resupplied, and climbed back up.

On May 13, 1984, all four reached Cho Oyu’s summit.

Komarkova and Štěrbová thereby completed the first women’s ascent of Cho Oyu.

❄️ The Winter Challenge

Winter climbing transformed Cho Oyu from a comparatively moderate 8,000-meter normal-route peak into something far more severe.

Low temperatures, powerful winds from the Tibetan Plateau, shorter days, and deep unstable snow dramatically increase the difficulty. Instead of attempting the standard northwest route, a Polish-Canadian expedition led by legendary winter specialist Andrzej Zawada chose an even greater challenge: the southeast pillar from Nepal.

The team included Maciej Berbeka, Maciej Pawlikowski, Jerzy Kukuczka, Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich, and several other Polish and Canadian climbers.

Five camps were established as the expedition forced a route through the face. The climbing involved steep ice, avalanche terrain, and sustained technical difficulties at extreme altitude.

The route would become one of the great achievements of the Polish winter Himalayan era.

🏆 First Winter Ascent — February 12, 1985

Maciej Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski launched the first successful summit push from approximately 7,500 meters.

On February 12, 1985, the pair climbed onto Cho Oyu’s summit in fierce winds. Conditions were so severe that they reportedly struggled even to remain standing while taking summit photographs.

They had completed the first winter ascent of Cho Oyu, using a new route through the southeast pillar.

Their success did not end the expedition.

Jerzy Kukuczka and Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich continued upward several days later and reached the summit on February 15.

For Kukuczka, the climb was particularly extraordinary. Only weeks earlier, on January 21, he had completed the first winter ascent of Dhaulagiri. He had therefore climbed two different 8,000-meter mountains during the same winter season.

🧗 Polish Routes of the 1980s

Polish climbers continued playing a major role in Cho Oyu’s route development.

New lines appeared across the southwest and eastern sides of the mountain, extending the possibilities far beyond the first-ascent route.

The southwestern terrain was particularly attractive because it provided relatively direct access from Nepal while offering large technical walls and ridges.

Some of these climbs were conducted with traditional expedition methods, while others increasingly adopted alpine-style tactics with small teams carrying minimal equipment.

This period demonstrated that Cho Oyu should not be judged solely by its standard route. The same mountain commonly described as one of the “easier” 8,000ers contains faces difficult enough to challenge the strongest Himalayan climbers of their generation.

🧱 Southwest Face — 1990

One of Cho Oyu’s greatest alpine-style ascents occurred in September 1990.

Polish climber Wojciech Kurtyka joined Swiss alpinists Erhard Loretan and Jean Troillet to attempt the previously unclimbed southwest face.

The wall rises approximately 2,000 vertical meters from its base. The three climbers deliberately rejected the infrastructure of a large expedition and moved rapidly with minimal equipment.

Their route followed an elegant line directly through the face.

On September 20, the climbers reached Cho Oyu’s summit.

The climb became another important demonstration of alpine-style mountaineering on an 8,000-meter peak. Kurtyka, Loretan, and Troillet were among the leading figures of an era in which small teams were redefining what could be achieved on the world’s largest mountains.

🧗 Yasushi Yamanoi

The southwest face continued attracting elite climbers.

In 1994, Japanese alpinist Yasushi Yamanoi established a remarkable solo route to the left of the 1990 Kurtyka–Loretan–Troillet line.

Other climbers were operating on the face at the same time, but Yamanoi climbed his route independently.

The terrain included steep snow and ice at extreme altitude, and his ascent added another major line to an increasingly complex southern face.

Yamanoi later became internationally recognized for exceptionally committed alpine-style climbs throughout the Himalayas and Karakoram.

His Cho Oyu route reinforced the mountain’s importance as a proving ground for lightweight technical climbing.

🧱 A New Southeast Face Route — 2009

In 2009, Kazakh climbers Denis Urubko and Boris Dedeshko established another major route on Cho Oyu’s southeast face.

Their line rose approximately 2,600 meters, beginning through difficult rock before continuing onto mixed, snow, and ice terrain. The lower rock barrier involved climbing around 6b with aid, while upper mixed sections reached approximately M6.

The pair climbed in alpine style and spent five days completing the route.

High on the mountain, their line joined the 1985 Polish southeast-pillar route before continuing across the upper plateau.

For Urubko, the ascent had additional significance: Cho Oyu became the fourteenth and final 8,000-meter mountain of his career.

The route demonstrated that substantial new technical possibilities remained on Cho Oyu even after more than half a century of climbing.

🧭 The South-Southwest Ridge

One of the mountain’s most obvious remaining challenges was the enormous south-southwest ridge.

The ridge is exceptionally long. Rather than rising directly from one face, it involves gaining a high plateau through subsidiary peaks and then following a complicated crest toward Cho Oyu itself.

Japanese climbers attempted the broader system as early as 1981. Italian, American, German, Korean, Swiss, and Soviet climbers subsequently explored different variations.

In 1987, German climber Hans Eitel made a remarkable solo effort and reached approximately 7,400 meters. A Soviet expedition reached around 7,600 meters in 1990 before poor weather forced its retreat.

Then the ridge remained largely untouched for decades.

🇳🇵 Renewed Attempts From Nepal

Access problems on the Tibetan side renewed interest in the Nepalese approaches during the early 2020s.

With the traditional northern route unavailable during several seasons, Nepalese expedition companies began examining whether a viable route could be established entirely from Nepal.

Strong Sherpa teams attempted the south-southwest ridge during 2021–2022, reaching approximately 7,600 meters. Further attempts followed in autumn 2022 and 2023.

The effort was unusual because the goal combined exploration with the possibility of creating a more usable Nepal-side route.

The ridge remained difficult, however. Reaching it required climbing through lower technical terrain before crossing a huge high plateau, and sustained difficulties continued above 7,400 meters.

Success finally came in 2024.

🏆 South-Southwest Ridge — June 7, 2024

A Nepalese expedition made substantial progress on the ridge during May 2024, fixing terrain as high as approximately 7,625 meters before running short of rope and oxygen.

Fresh climbers and additional equipment were brought in for another attempt.

The final team consisted of Chhangba Sherpa, Gelje Sherpa, Lakpa Temba Sherpa, Lakpa Tenji Sherpa, Ngima Ongda Sherpa, Tenjing Gyaljen Sherpa, and French climber Alasdair Mckenzie.

They left Base Camp again in early June, climbed quickly to the high plateau, and established Camp IV around 7,200 meters.

Above lay the most difficult portion of the ridge.

🧗 The Final Cruxes

The climbers encountered a steep couloir around 7,500 meters, where loose slabs and rockfall made progress dangerous. Higher up, another rocky headwall guarded access to easier summit slopes.

Deep snow complicated the final couloir, at times reaching waist depth.

The team used extensive fixed rope and supplemental oxygen during the highest part of the ascent. They nearly exhausted their rope before completing the principal technical difficulties.

Once above the final headwall, easier snow slopes led toward the summit.

At approximately 9:10 p.m. on June 7, 2024, all seven climbers reached Cho Oyu’s 8,188-meter summit.

They had completed the first ascent of the south-southwest ridge, described in the American Alpine Journal as the last major logical line remaining on the mountain.

🌙 A Long Descent

The team immediately began descending in darkness.

They traveled through the night and reached their high camp at approximately 6 a.m. on June 8. After only a short recovery, they continued down and arrived back at Base Camp around 10 p.m.

The complete route covered approximately five kilometers with around 2,500 meters of vertical gain. Above 7,400 meters, sustained snow, ice, and mixed terrain made the route considerably more technical than Cho Oyu’s traditional northern line.

The ascent was completed in expedition or siege style rather than lightweight alpine style, with substantial sections fixed in advance.

Its importance was nevertheless considerable. A ridge attempted repeatedly for more than four decades had finally been climbed.

Mount Cho Oyu, as seen from the view on the way to Cho Oyu base camp in the Everest area, Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu valley, Nepal

🧊 Glaciers Around Cho Oyu

Cho Oyu is surrounded by major glaciers on both sides of the international border.

The Gyabrag Glacier lies along important western and southwestern approaches and has played a central role in numerous expeditions.

On the Nepalese side, the vast Ngozumpa Glacier descends south from the high terrain around Cho Oyu toward the Gokyo Valley. It is among the largest and longest glacier systems in Nepal.

The contrast between these glacier environments is dramatic. On the Tibetan side, the high plateau climate is considerably drier. South of the main Himalayan crest, monsoon moisture produces greater snowfall and a more complex system of icefalls and hanging glaciers.

Glacier change continues altering both regions. Retreat, thinning ice, expanding melt ponds, and changing crevasse patterns can transform approaches that appeared very different only a few decades earlier.

💧 Cho Oyu and the Gokyo Lakes

The Nepalese side of Cho Oyu forms the mountainous backdrop to the Gokyo Valley, one of the most remarkable high-altitude landscapes in the Khumbu.

A chain of glacial lakes lies beside the Ngozumpa Glacier beneath the mountain. The Gokyo and Associated Lakes are protected as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and also hold religious significance for Hindu and Buddhist communities.

Gokyo Ri rises above the main settlement and provides a panoramic view of Cho Oyu’s southern side.

From the summit of Gokyo Ri, the scale of the mountain becomes particularly clear. Cho Oyu dominates the northern skyline while Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu appear farther east.

For trekkers who have no intention of climbing an 8,000-meter mountain, Gokyo provides one of the best ways to experience Cho Oyu at relatively close range.

🏔️ Nangpa La

West of Cho Oyu lies Nangpa La, one of the most historically important passes between the Khumbu and Tibet.

For centuries, Sherpa and Tibetan traders used the pass to move livestock, salt, grain, wool, and other goods across the Himalayas.

The pass also played an important role in early mountaineering approaches to Cho Oyu. Climbers traveling from Nepal could cross the high frontier and reach the gentler Tibetan side of the mountain.

The historical movement through Nangpa La illustrates that the high Himalayas were never simply an empty wilderness discovered by mountaineers. Local communities had routes, grazing areas, trading relationships, and cultural connections across the mountain frontier long before international expeditions arrived.

Political borders and modern access regulations have since greatly changed how freely people can move through this landscape.

🌦️ Climate and Weather

Cho Oyu occupies the boundary between two very different Himalayan climate zones.

The southern slopes receive moisture from the South Asian monsoon, producing significant snowfall and feeding the large glaciers of the Gokyo region.

The Tibetan side lies in a much stronger rain shadow. The high plateau is colder, drier, and exposed to severe continental winds.

This contrast helps explain why Cho Oyu’s standard route developed on the northwestern side. Although the altitude is extreme, snow conditions can sometimes be more stable and the terrain less heavily glaciated than on the southern face.

Spring and autumn traditionally provide the principal expedition seasons. Winter brings exceptionally strong winds and severe cold, while summer monsoon conditions create heavy snowfall and avalanche danger on the Nepalese side.

View of Cholo Peak and Kangchung Peak on the way to Cho Oyu base camp in Nepal | Daniel Prudek

🌬️ The Wind

Wind is one of Cho Oyu’s defining hazards.

The mountain rises directly above the Tibetan Plateau, where strong upper-level winds can sweep across exposed slopes with little shelter.

Historical expedition accounts repeatedly describe gales flattening tents and forcing climbers to remain in camp for days. Herbert Tichy’s first-ascent expedition endured powerful storms, and the first winter ascenders in 1985 could barely stand upright on the summit.

The broad upper slopes provide relatively little protection from these winds.

Wind also transports snow, creating slabs and cornices that may become unstable even when little fresh snow has fallen.

A favorable temperature forecast therefore does not necessarily mean safe summit conditions. Wind speed can determine whether an apparently straightforward snow slope becomes impossible to climb.

🫁 The Death Zone

Cho Oyu rises nearly 200 meters above the conventional 8,000-meter death-zone threshold.

At these elevations, atmospheric oxygen pressure is so low that the human body cannot fully acclimatize. Climbers weaken progressively while remaining high on the mountain.

The standard route’s moderate technical difficulty can create a dangerous psychological trap. Climbers may feel that because the terrain is straightforward, they have greater safety margins than they actually do.

Extreme altitude remains equally unforgiving whether someone is climbing a vertical rock wall or walking slowly across a broad snowfield.

High-altitude cerebral edema, pulmonary edema, exhaustion, dehydration, frostbite, falls, and poor judgment remain major risks. Supplemental oxygen can reduce some physiological stress but does not eliminate the danger.

⚠️ Is Cho Oyu Really an “Easy” 8,000er?

Cho Oyu is frequently described as the easiest 8,000-meter mountain or one of the easiest. This description refers almost entirely to the technical character of the traditional northwest route.

Compared with K2’s Abruzzi Spur, Annapurna’s avalanche-prone routes, or the complicated climbing on Kangchenjunga, Cho Oyu’s standard line contains less sustained technical terrain.

That does not make the mountain easy in any ordinary sense.

Climbers still ascend beyond 8,000 meters, cross crevassed glaciers, negotiate fixed-rope ice barriers, endure severe cold and winds, and spend weeks acclimatizing. Storms, altitude illness, falls, and exposure have caused numerous fatalities.

It is more accurate to describe Cho Oyu as having one of the less technically difficult established normal routes among the 8,000-meter mountains.

🌿 Flora and Fauna

Cho Oyu’s upper slopes are far above the limits of ordinary vegetation. Glacier ice, snow, rock, and scree dominate the mountain above approximately 6,000 meters.

On the Nepalese side, lower elevations descend into Sagarmatha National Park, where ecosystems change dramatically with altitude. Forests at lower levels contain pine, fir, hemlock, birch, juniper, and rhododendron, while alpine shrubs and grasses dominate higher slopes.

The Gokyo Valley lies above the normal forest zone. Vegetation there consists primarily of hardy alpine grasses, low shrubs, mosses, lichens, and cushion plants adapted to a short growing season, intense ultraviolet radiation, freezing nights, and strong winds.

Across the border, the Tibetan side is even drier, with sparse high-altitude steppe vegetation characteristic of the plateau.

🐾 Wildlife

The wider Cho Oyu landscape supports a surprising variety of wildlife despite its extreme environment.

Snow leopards inhabit remote alpine terrain in the greater Khumbu. Himalayan tahr and blue sheep occupy steep rocky slopes, while pikas and marmots survive in high meadows and scree.

Lower forests support musk deer and other Himalayan mammals.

The Gokyo Lakes provide important habitat for migratory birds. Choughs, snowcock, and other high-altitude birds can also be encountered throughout the upper valleys.

Almost none of these species reach Cho Oyu’s highest slopes, but the mountain’s glaciers provide meltwater that supports habitats throughout the valleys below. In this sense, the apparently lifeless summit remains connected to entire ecosystems downstream.

🙏 Sherpa Culture

The valleys south of Cho Oyu lie within the traditional homeland of the Sherpa people, whose history is deeply connected with movement between Tibet and Nepal.

The Nangpa La trade route helped link communities on both sides of the Himalayan divide for generations.

Tibetan Buddhism remains a major influence throughout the Khumbu. Monasteries, prayer flags, mani stones, chortens, and sacred natural features occur throughout the valleys approaching Gokyo and the Everest region.

Sherpa climbers have also been central to Cho Oyu’s mountaineering history from the beginning. Pasang Dawa Lama participated in both the first and second ascents, while later generations of Sherpa climbers established routes, supported expeditions, guided clients, and led major exploratory efforts.

The 2024 south-southwest-ridge ascent continued that history, with six Sherpa climbers forming the core of the successful summit team.

🪨 Geology

Cho Oyu formed through the continuing collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

India’s northward movement has compressed, thickened, faulted, and uplifted crust across the Himalayan arc for tens of millions of years.

The Everest–Cho Oyu region contains complex sequences of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks uplifted from environments that once lay far below today’s mountain summits.

Glaciers subsequently sculpted the uplifted massif, carving enormous valleys and cirques into its slopes.

Freeze-thaw weathering continues breaking exposed rock apart, while avalanches and glacier movement redistribute material downslope.

The mountain remains part of an actively deforming Himalayan landscape in which earthquakes, erosion, and tectonic uplift continue today.

🏔️ Nearby Mountains

Mount Everest rises approximately 28 kilometers east-southeast of Cho Oyu and reaches 8,848.86 meters, making it Cho Oyu’s nearest higher neighbor.

Lhotse reaches 8,516 meters beside Everest, while Makalu rises farther southeast to 8,485 meters.

Closer to Cho Oyu are Gyachung Kang, the 7,952-meter giant between Cho Oyu and Everest; Ngozumpa Kang; Nangpai Gosum; and numerous other high frontier peaks.

Pumori and Nuptse rise farther east within the Everest region.

From Gokyo Ri, many of these mountains can be seen together, producing one of the most impressive high-altitude panoramas in the Himalayas.

🧭 Can Cho Oyu Be Climbed Today?

Cho Oyu remains listed by Nepal’s Department of Tourism among the country’s mountains open for permitted mountaineering expeditions. The Nepalese government now lists its elevation as 8,188 meters, and the successful 2024 south-southwest-ridge expedition demonstrated that the summit can be reached entirely from Nepal.

The traditional normal route presents a different issue because it lies primarily on the Tibetan side and therefore depends on Chinese access and permitting. Availability has fluctuated substantially since the COVID-era border closures.

As of September 2026, the Tibetan route is closed to foreign climbing expeditions for the fall 2026 season. That makes the usual commercial northwest route unavailable to international teams during this particular season.

The Nepal side remains theoretically available through Nepal’s permit system, but its routes are dramatically more technical and should not be regarded as simple substitutes for the Tibetan normal route.

🧭 Why Access Matters So Much

Cho Oyu provides an unusual example of how political access can shape the climbing history of a mountain.

For decades, the Tibetan normal route turned Cho Oyu into one of the most frequently climbed 8,000-meter mountains. Expeditions could reach high Base Camps comparatively efficiently, and the northwest route became well understood.

When Tibet became inaccessible to most foreign expeditions, the geography of climbing changed almost overnight. Nepalese operators and Sherpa teams began devoting much greater attention to the difficult southern side.

The 2024 completion of the south-southwest ridge was partly the result of that renewed exploration.

Whether the route eventually becomes practical for broader expedition use remains another question. Its long approach, technical cruxes, exposed high ridge, and need for extensive fixed ropes make it significantly more difficult than the classic Tibetan route.

Taboche, Cholatse, Lobuche Peak and Cho Oyu summits. Himalayas mountain panorama – Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal.

⭐ Why Cho Oyu Is Remarkable

Cho Oyu is a mountain of striking contrasts.

At 8,188 meters, it is the sixth-highest mountain on Earth and rises more than 2,300 meters above its key col. Yet its standard northwest route has historically been less technically difficult than those on most other 8,000-meter summits.

That relative accessibility helped create its reputation as an introductory eight-thousander. At the same time, its southern walls contain routes demanding the highest levels of Himalayan climbing.

Its history began with contrast as well. Eric Shipton’s powerful British expedition failed in 1952, while Herbert Tichy returned two years later with a tiny team and climbed the mountain in remarkably lightweight style. Pasang Dawa Lama then returned in 1958 and became part of the second ascent.

Messner, Dacher, and Kammerlander demonstrated the possibilities of fast alpine-style climbing in 1983. Komarkova and Štěrbová made the first women’s ascent in 1984. Berbeka and Pawlikowski climbed the mountain in winter by a major new route in 1985. Kurtyka, Loretan, and Troillet opened the southwest face in 1990, and Urubko and Dedeshko added another demanding line in 2009.

Then, seventy years after the first ascent, the south-southwest ridge finally fell to a predominantly Sherpa team in 2024.

The result is a mountain that cannot be summarized simply as “the easiest 8,000er.” Cho Oyu has a comparatively moderate normal route, but it also contains enormous walls, serious technical climbing, a rich history of innovation, and one of the most important geographical positions anywhere in the Everest region.

The Turquoise Goddess has many faces.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How high is Cho Oyu?

Cho Oyu reaches 8,188 meters (26,864 feet) according to modern mapping. The older and still commonly encountered elevation is 8,201 meters.

Where is Cho Oyu?

Cho Oyu lies on the border between Nepal and Tibet in the Mahalangur Himal, approximately 28 kilometers northwest of Mount Everest.

Is Cho Oyu the sixth-highest mountain in the world?

Yes. At 8,188 meters, Cho Oyu is the sixth-highest mountain on Earth.

What does Cho Oyu mean?

The Tibetan name is commonly translated as “Turquoise Goddess.”

Who first climbed Cho Oyu?

Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler, and Pasang Dawa Lama made the first ascent.

When was Cho Oyu first climbed?

The summit was first reached on October 19, 1954.

Did the first ascenders use supplemental oxygen?

No. The small Austrian-Nepalese team completed the first ascent without bottled oxygen.

Who first attempted Cho Oyu?

A British expedition led by Eric Shipton made the first serious attempt in 1952. Members included Edmund Hillary, George Lowe, Tom Bourdillon, Charles Evans, and other accomplished climbers.

Who made the second ascent?

Pasang Dawa Lama returned with Sonam Gyalzen Sherpa and reached the summit on May 15, 1958.

What is the normal route on Cho Oyu?

The traditional normal route climbs from the Tibetan side through the northwest slopes and ridge toward the summit plateau. It follows the general route established during the 1954 first ascent.

Is Cho Oyu the easiest 8,000-meter mountain?

It is often described that way because the normal route is less technically demanding than most other 8,000-meter routes. However, extreme altitude, weather, crevasses, seracs, ice climbing, and the death zone still make it a serious expedition.

Who were the first women to climb Cho Oyu?

Vera Komarkova and Dina Štěrbová reached the summit with Ang Rita Sherpa and Nuru Sherpa on May 13, 1984.

Who made the first winter ascent?

Maciej Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski of Poland reached the summit on February 12, 1985. Jerzy Kukuczka and Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich followed on February 15.

Did Reinhold Messner climb Cho Oyu?

Yes. Messner, Michl Dacher, and Hans Kammerlander climbed a new southwest-ridge and southwest-face route in alpine style in May 1983.

When was the southwest face climbed?

Wojciech Kurtyka, Erhard Loretan, and Jean Troillet established a major new route on the southwest face in September 1990.

Did Denis Urubko climb Cho Oyu?

Yes. Denis Urubko and Boris Dedeshko climbed a major new route on the southeast face in 2009. Cho Oyu completed Urubko’s collection of all fourteen 8,000-meter mountains.

When was the south-southwest ridge first climbed?

The first complete ascent was made on June 7, 2024, after more than four decades of attempts.

Who climbed the south-southwest ridge?

The successful team was Chhangba Sherpa, Gelje Sherpa, Lakpa Temba Sherpa, Lakpa Tenji Sherpa, Ngima Ongda Sherpa, Tenjing Gyaljen Sherpa, and Alasdair Mckenzie.

How prominent is Cho Oyu?

Cho Oyu has approximately 2,344 meters (7,690 feet) of topographic prominence.

Is Cho Oyu an ultra-prominent mountain?

Yes. Its prominence comfortably exceeds the 1,500-meter threshold required for Ultra status.

What is Cho Oyu’s nearest higher neighbor?

The nearest higher mountain is Mount Everest.

Can Cho Oyu be seen from Gokyo Ri?

Yes. Gokyo Ri provides one of the finest views of Cho Oyu from Nepal.

Can Cho Oyu be climbed from Nepal?

Yes. Several highly technical routes have been climbed from Nepal, including the south face, southwest face, southeast pillar, and south-southwest ridge.

Is the Tibetan normal route currently open?

Access changes according to Chinese permitting decisions. For the fall 2026 season, the Tibetan route is closed to foreign climbing expeditions.

Can Cho Oyu still be climbed from Nepal?

Nepal continues to list Cho Oyu as an open mountaineering peak, but the Nepalese routes are significantly more technical than the traditional Tibetan normal route.

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