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RETURN to the TURQUOISE GODDESS
In
1985 I was 37 years old and had participated in over 20 expeditions from
Alaska to South America. I guess I had been waiting for the phone to ring
and to hear someone on the other end of the line telling me that they had
an all expense paid expedition to the Himalayas ready to go, "just get your
gear together and meet at the airport". Well, the phone never rang and I
knew if I didn't prioritize the Himalayas soon I would be looking back with
an old body wishing I had climbed these spectacular peaks. One fall day in 1984 I did get an interesting phone call. It was from some Polish climbers who I had met in Peru. They had obtained a permit for Cho-Oyu from the south or Nepal side for spring of 1985, planning to complete the climb prior to the onset of the monsoon season. They had also obtained a permit for Ngozumpa Kang I, a 7,940m peak connected to Cho-Oyu just to its east. The expedition plan was to climb to the col (saddle) between Cho-Oyu and Ngozumpa Kang I then up the unclimbed East Ridge of Cho-Oyu.
The south side of Cho-Oyu had only been climbed twice ever and this was an ambitious route. The Polish really didn't need me but rather the $3,500 US to pay for the permit. The King of Nepal doesn't take Polish money. The Polish were well equipped and offered to provide all the rest of the costs of the expedition if I could pay the permit and, of course, get to Nepal with some pocket money. I called my good friend Mark Richey and he agreed to split the fees and join me on this adventure.
Cho-Oyu at 27,000' is the 6th highest peak in the world and the first 8000m peak to the west of Everest. Cho-Oyu was first climbed in 1954 by the easier slopes on the Tibetan or north side of the mountain. Many peaks in this area including Cho-Oyu and Everest are boundary peaks with Tibet to the north and Nepal to the south. The small Austrian Expedition led by Harold Tichey pioneered what is now the normal, easiest route from the north.
I believe that the Polish were responsible in part for many of my later successes in the Himalayas. They are modest climbers who run Himalayan expeditions for a fraction of what other countries budget. From these frugal people I learned many cost saving techniques.
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