Hello and welcome to the dispatches for the 2003 Cho Oyo Himalayan Experience Expedition. During the course of the expedition we will be posting a number of dispatches that will relate to key points and events while we try to climb this the sixth highest mountain in the world. We hope to provide information that is informative, interesting and even entertaining.

The team is diverse to say the least. We have members from eight different countries;
1 Libanese, 2 Japanese, 1 Australian, 2 Americans, 1 Lithuanian, 1 Dane, 2 Kiwis, 4 Brits, plenty of potential for discussion !!!! English is the common language.Every member has a story of their own, but all of us are here with the common goal of reaching the summit. In order to do that we realise that we must conquer ourselves, not the mountain.The mountain is here to stay, while we are merely mortals who can vanish in a split second !! To quote our expediton leader, "success is not just to reach the summit but to get everybody home safe !!!!!"

Basecamp 4900m, we are settling in after our trip from Kathmandu to Lhasa, Xigatse, Tingri and then finally here.The last few days have allowed us to begin our acclimitisation process. Not all of us have managed to stay clear of the dreaded stomach upsets, and some have had to take antibiotics. However now we are all in good health enjoying the very good food and living conditions provided here at base camp. We have all been very impressed by the high work rate of the sherpas in preparing things for us here and also importantly for the move to advanced base camp and higher. They are very friendly and we all look forward to spending the next few weeks with them. They are clearly the backbone of the expedition. We will be here enjoying stunning and humbling views of Cho Oyo until Saturday when we will embark with 50 yaks (70 yaks will have already gone) on the 22Km trek to advanced basecamp (ABC) at 5800m.

Signing off

Julian Haszard
Mogens Jensen