Cho
Oyu was first climbed by Austrians in
1954.
It is about 30km west of Everest
at the head of the Gokyo Valley.
The mountain was
reconnoitred during the 1951 Everest Reconnaissance
and a British team led by Eric Shipton attempted the peak in 1952.
The
first ascent was made in 1954 via the north-west ridge
using a route
through Tibet from the Nangpa La - not strictly a legal route.
By 2002
a total of 125 expeditions had been made on Cho Oyo.
The approach to
the mountain from both
Nepal and Tibet is easy,
and the ascent through
Tibet is not particularly difficult.
Of all Nepal's 8000m peaks Cho Oyo
is second only to Everest
in the number of expeditions and successful
ascents.
In 2002 the record stood at 710 climbers reaching the summit,
342 expeditions and 25 deaths.