French climber, Nepali Sherpas first to climb Cho Oyu via Nepali side since 2009

KATHMANDU: A French climber and six Nepali Sherpas have become the first to successfully climb Mt. Cho Oyu (8,188m) — the sixth-highest mountain in the world — from the Nepali side since 2009, expedition operator Seven Summit Treks claimed in a social media post.

Although there have been several attempts to climb the mountain from the formidable South Face since Denis Urubko and Boris Dedeshko reached the summit in 2009, none had succeeded until now.

“Alasdair McKenzie of France, partnering with Gelje Sherpa, Tenging Gyaljen Sherpa, and other Sherpas, stood atop the world’s sixth-highest mountain at a height of 8,188 meters above sea level at 8:35 PM (Nepal Time) via the S-SW Ridge (SST-Nepal Route) on June 7,” the expedition operator said.

Along with Alasdair, who completed his 13th 8,000-meter peak with the success over Cho Oyu, Gelje Sherpa, Chhangba Sherpa, Tenging Gyaljen Sherpa, Lakpa Temba Sherpa, Lakpa Tenji Sherpa, and Ngima Ongda Sherpa also reached the summit.

Cho Oyu, which straddles the Nepal-China border west of Everest in the Khumbu region, was first climbed by Dr. Herbert Tichy, Sepp Jöchler, and Pasang Dawa Sherpa in 1954.