The team assembles, climbers, sherpas and trekking supporters.
The Cho Oyu '99 team is:-
Russell Brice - Expedition Leader - New Zealand
Scot - Advanced Base Camp (ABC) manager and doctor.
Janey - Climber - UK
Sandy - Guide - UK
Denise - Climber - USA
Tony - Climber - UK
Sadeo - Climber - Japan, and three trekking friends
Takuya - Trekker - Japan,
Akemi - Trekker - Japan,
Konico - Trekker - Japan,
the trekking team will accompany us to ABC.

Team Up & Gear Up in Katmandu

The weekend was spent checking out the finer points of Kathmandu's bars and markets prior to checking and packing all equipment to cope with the 6 day road journey north. This will take us through Kodari at the Nepali border and into Tibet at Zangmu and then on to Nyalam and across the Lolang La (5050m) to Tingri. The Lolang La is the highest road pass in the world and will probably be a height record for some of the members.

We're expecting a spot of difficulty on the trail since much of it is on poor mountain road and the end of monsoon storms have washed out the roads in many places. This may mean unloading all the trucks and carrying around the obstacles and then reloading, we'll see. Although we'll be spending some acclimatisation days on the trip we expect to make base camp by the end of the week.

Scott and Tony accompanied Russell to the expedition store to check out the medical kit which is extensive and can cope with just about any eventuality on the mountain from minor cuts and abrasions to serious trauma and even a few gynecological occurrences.

So far Katmandu has been pretty wet with the last vestiges of the monsoon season lingering longer than usual. Meanwhile the cacophony of Nepalese life clatters and shrieks on from dawn until late into the sultry nights. All your senses are being assaulted at the same time with vivid colour and interesting, nose wrenching, aromas vying for pole position amongst car horns, bicycle bells, shrieking crows and sitar music blasting out at distortion level. Fantastic.

But first, a team up and departure party which will kick off in the Rumdoodle and who knows what after that......it promises to be excessive enjoyment as an absolute minimum.

After a team party in the Rumdoodle Bar in Kathmandu till 3:00am we pulled out at 6:30am feeling nothing like a crack climbing team. Dodging cows, chickens, bicycles and kamakzi trucks dashing through Kathmandu's muddy suburbs blackened with the smoke of a thousand open fires and streets streaming with sewage and all manner of life was just what we needed! All the gear had left earlier in a 5 tonne truck with some of the sherpas and the rest of the team climbers and sherpas were all installed in a rickety minibus for the journey up to the border.
The suburbs gave way to lush vegetation and rice fields as we burst out into the himalayan foothills of rice paddies. A roadside breakfast perked us all up prior to a move off "metalled" road onto axle breaking and truck destroying rock, ruts, mud with monsoon washed out sections. We barrelled along 2000 ft. gorges trying to concentrate on the view in front and not down below. Kodhari is the last truck stop before the border and not a holiday resort but it does sport a monastry - Liping.
A short hop up the gorge wall and after dealing with a few leeches on the way we where rewarded with tea shared with the monks and allowed to listen to them praying and chanting. The head monk took rather a liking to Janey and insisted on a cuddle before we left. A donation to the monastry assured us of safe onward passage.

Dawned wet and humid. A short hop to the Chinese Tibetan border settled us in for 4 hours of beaurocracy in Zangmu. Oddly they were perfectly happy to let us temporarily over the border to get lunch provided we returned for passport inspection. Eventually we head out for Zangmu and make for Nyalam having transferred all the gear from Nepali trucks to Chinese trucks and the team is now moved to several 4*4's. The road is precipitous with plenty of partially washed out sections and spectular waterfalls and eventually we clear the pass at 4020m and pass from lush rich green vegetation in the dry sandy sparse country of the tibetan plateau. Nyalam is a one yak town with its own brand of mud and sports a good line in propoganda loudspeakers. We'll over night here prior to a days climbing for acclimatisation.

The team is generally acclimatizing reasonably well with nothing more than the expected poor nights sleep and headaches etc. But we've got plenty of time on the acclimatization program so all should be well. A clear night last night pushed the temp. down to 7degC and the moon quarter crescent moon rise over the adjacent peaks was spectacular.
A morning hike up a nearby mountain to 5210m to help acclimatization was fine for all and on the way down we checked out a bombed out monastery reminding us of Tibet's recent troubled past when the Chinese moved in during the '50's. We were also treated to plenty of tibetan gophers popping into their holes scared by us or circling Lhamagiers (the huge tibetan bird of prey). A couple of snow hares and a gaggle of snow cocks (like tarmegan) crossed out path.
The afternoon was spent familiarizing with Oxygen kit (although most of us intend to try to summit without) and also getting a good understanding of the gamow bag which is used to artificially create the pressure of a lower altitude should any of us need treatment for High Altitude sickness. Scott also gave us an excellent talk on high altitude medical problems and prevention rather than making hard work for him.

A colder night last night at around 4degC but still nothing like the deep freeze conditions we can expect up the mountain. Scott was called out early to deal with a bad cut on the eye sustained by one of the Chinese military that have a tent at BC since this valley is a major route for refugees going to Nepal. Also at BC are the TMA (Tibetan Mountaineering Association) rep. and the CMA (Chinese Mountaineering Association) rep. Russell's relationship with these guys is first class after many years of expeditions and all runs smoothly.
The morning is spent doing some training on fixed ropes using Jumars which is a technique more typically used in big mountain expeditions rather than the alpine style experience of much of the team. A jumar is a locking device that can be applied to the rope and is attached to the harness of each climber so that forward progress can be made with some help from the jumar and also the security of knowing sliding backwards is not an option.
In the afternoon we hike up a nearby mountain to 5300m for further acclimatization with no problems. Janey, Scott and Denise also took a walk down the river to look at further ruined buildings in the aftermath of the Chinese invasion. The Yak team also arrived ready for loading up in the morning for the transfer to IBC. We celebrated Sandy's ## birthday with party hats and popcorn and even some beer and wine - probably blown all the acclimatization out the window. He got a woolly hat, a pair of boobs fashioned from wax earplug material and a condom (with a promise of a blond yak later).

An early morning problem with Janey loosing a crown is quickly rectified with the services of a dentist from another expedition who will be moving up the mountain behind us. We break camp early and yak loading commences with the sherpas and Russell organizing the 1.5 tones of kit to be moved up the mountain in this load carry and a further load carry will take place in a couple of days. All our personal gear has been packed in barrels for transit and we pack enough kit in sacs to get us to IBC and on to ABC.
Scott observes, in his medical capacity, that it is an early morning feature of high altitude conditions that boggies the size of small countries must be removed from the snooze before uncluttered breathing is available. The hike to IBC crosses the flood plain and therefore two river crossings involving some pretty damn cold feet are needed. The trail continues up the valley edge into the foothills and onto the edge of the moraine from the glaciers coming off the mountains surrounding Cho Oyo. For the last 200m the weather turns nasty and we arrive in IBC in sleet and poor vis. Even so the sherpa team has got the kitchen tent up and started on the mess tent. Scott and Tony immediately dump packs to turn back to help the two Japanese trekking girls who where finding the climb a little arduous.
After dinner chat by the light of a candle turns to first sexual encounters (less said the better). Scott scares the living daylights out of us with a ghost story which culminates in most of us jumping three feet in the air and Janey letting out a scream that wakes every Yak for 100miles. IBC is a one night stand only and therefore pretty basic by our standards but nevertheless Russell and his team of super Sherpas manage an excellent evening meal and we all retire early.
A card school develops in Janey's tent with Scott, Denise and Tony, which is cozy since there are four in a two man tent. Scott needs to visit Konico during the night and it looks like she will need to go down the mountain and the other Japanese trekkers will catch up with her in a couple of days prior to moving on to Lhasa for some sight seeing.

Up at 6:30 and have tea and breakfast porridge as the sherpa team breaks camp around us r