Cho Oyu | 2003 NW side

A USA expedition to Cho Oyu in 2003 via NW side, led by Eric Larson. Summit reached on 24th September 2003. 8 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	4447
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
Host Country	2
Route 1	NW side
Route 2	-
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	USA
Leaders	Eric Larson
Sponsor	Alpine Ascents International (AAI) Cho Oyu Expedition 2003
Success 1	True
Success 2	False
Success 3	False
Success 4	False
Ascent 1	-
Ascent 2	-
Ascent 3	-
Ascent 4	-
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Countries	Canada
Approach	Ktm->Lhasa->Tingri->CBC
Basecamp Date	2003-09-01
Summit Date	2003-09-24
Summit Time	1330
Summit Days	23
Total Days	28
Termination Date	2003-09-29
Termination Reason	1
Termination Notes	-
High Point (m)	8188
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	3
Fixed Rope (m)	200
Total Members	6
Summit Members	4
Member Deaths	0
Total Hired	3
Summit Hired	2
Hired Deaths	0
No Hired	False
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Taken	False
O2 Unknown	False
Other Summits	-
Campsites	BC(01/09,4700m),ABC(05/09,5700m),C1(08/09,6500m),C2(16/09,7080m),C3(24/09,7400m),Smt(24-25/09)
Route Notes	24 Sept - 0:15 am from C2, summit 1:30 pm, stayed 30 minutes, no other expeditions, 13 knots wind from Everest. Left 1 picture on the summit. Met with the other members at C3 at 3 pm, C2 at 5:15 pm. 25 Sept - 5:30 am from C3, summit 12:00, stayed 30 minutes, bad weather conditions, found the picture left on 24th, C2 at 5 pm. Very clean mountain and summit. Daniel Buck, ABC, left to KTM 10 Sept Andy Tyson, Holton Hunter, Tsering Dorje arrived C3 24 Sept, stayed there, summited on 24th. Eric Larson, Solmonson, Lhakpa summited on 25th, returned to C2. MacDonald only to C2 16 Sept 03 Sherpas: Lhakpa Rita Sherpa, sirdar, Thami, 37 years Tshering Dorje Sherpa, Kharikhola, 33 years Dil Bahadur, cook
Accidents	-
Achievement	-
Agency	Sherpa Shangri-La Trekking
Commercial Route	True
Standard Route	True
Primary Route	False
Primary Member	False
Primary Reference	False
Primary ID	-
Checksum	2458285
Year	2003
Summit Success	True
O2 Summary	Used
Route (lowercase)	nw side

Members

Field	Value
ID	34518
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	03
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Daniel C.
Last Name	Buck
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1958
Calculated Age	44
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Wayne, Maine
Occupation	Physician
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	True
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	5700
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	19
HCN	0
Checksum	2434614
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	daniel c. buck
Year of Birth	1958
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	45
Role	BC Only

Field	Value
ID	34519
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	04
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Donald Holton (Holt)
Last Name	Hunter
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1972
Calculated Age	30
Citizenship	Canada
Status	Climber
Residence	Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies
Occupation	Financial funds advisor
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	2003-09-25
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1200
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	From C2-C3 (sleep), to summit, to C2
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2439573
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	donald holton (holt) hunter
Year of Birth	1972
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	31
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	34520
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	01
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Eric Allen
Last Name	Larson
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1973
Calculated Age	30
Citizenship	USA
Status	Leader
Residence	Telluride, Colorado
Occupation	Alpine guide
Leader	True
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	2003-09-24
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1330
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	From C2-C3 (sleep), to summit, to C2
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2439809
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	eric allen larson
Year of Birth	1973
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	30
Role	Leader

Field	Value
ID	34521
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	05
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Matthew F. (Matt)
Last Name	McDonald
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1953
Calculated Age	50
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Vancouver, Washington
Occupation	Dental industry sales representative
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	7080
Summit Date 1	2003-09-16
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	19
HCN	0
Checksum	2432471
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	matthew f. (matt) mcdonald
Year of Birth	1953
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	50
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	34522
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	06
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Perry Jon
Last Name	Solmonson
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1961
Calculated Age	42
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Brush Prairie, Washington
Occupation	Pilot
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	2003-09-24
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1330
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	From C2-C3 (sleep), to summit, to C2
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2435351
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	perry jon solmonson
Year of Birth	1961
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	42
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	34523
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	02
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Andrew David (Andy)
Last Name	Tyson
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1968
Calculated Age	34
Citizenship	USA
Status	Deputy Leader
Residence	Seattle, Washington
Occupation	Alpine guide
Leader	False
Deputy	True
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	2003-09-25
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1200
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	From C2-C3 (sleep), to summit, to C2
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	(1968-2015) Died 10 April 2015 in Idaho from plane crash
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2438111
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	andrew david (andy) tyson
Year of Birth	1968
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	35
Role	Deputy

Field	Value
ID	34524
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	08
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Tshering Dorje
Last Name	Sherpa
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1970
Calculated Age	33
Citizenship	Nepal
Status	H-A Worker
Residence	Kharikhola, Solukhumbu
Occupation	-
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	True
Sherpa	True
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	2003-09-24
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1330
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	From C2-C3 (sleep), to summit, to C2
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2438752
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	tshering dorje sherpa
Year of Birth	1970
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	33
Role	Hired

Field	Value
ID	34525
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Member ID	07
Peak ID	CHOY
Year	2003
Season	3
First Name	Lhakpa Rita
Last Name	Sherpa
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1966
Calculated Age	37
Citizenship	Nepal
Status	H-A Worker
Residence	Thami, Khumbu
Occupation	-
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	True
Sherpa	True
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8188
Summit Date 1	2003-09-25
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	1200
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	From C2-C3 (sleep), to summit, to C2
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	3rd ascent of Cho Oyu; brother of Kami Rita (Topke)
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2437346
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	lhakpa rita sherpa
Year of Birth	1966
Year	2003
Age at Expedition	37
Role	Hired

8 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Daniel C. Buck	M	1958	USA	Climber	Wayne, Maine	Physician	Details Other expeditions
Donald Holton (Holt) Hunter	M	1972	Canada	Climber	Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies	Financial funds advisor	Details Other expeditions
Eric Allen Larson	M	1973	USA	Leader	Telluride, Colorado	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
Matthew F. (Matt) McDonald	M	1953	USA	Climber	Vancouver, Washington	Dental industry sales representative	Details Other expeditions
Perry Jon Solmonson	M	1961	USA	Climber	Brush Prairie, Washington	Pilot	Details Other expeditions
Andrew David (Andy) Tyson	M	1968	USA	Deputy Leader	Seattle, Washington	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
Tshering Dorje Sherpa	M	1970	Nepal	H-A Worker	Kharikhola, Solukhumbu	-	Details Other expeditions
Lhakpa Rita Sherpa	M	1966	Nepal	H-A Worker	Thami, Khumbu	-	Details Other expeditions

References

Field	Value
ID	7973
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	CHOY03303
Reference ID	01
Year	2003
Type	5
Journal	-
Author	-
Title	http://www.alpineascents.com/cho-oyu-cybercast03.asp
Publisher	-
Publication Date	-
Language	-
Citation	-
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID	Journal	Author	Title	Publisher	Citation	Yak 94
CHOY03303	-	-	http://www.alpineascents.com/cho-oyu-cybercast03.asp	-	-	-