Cho Oyu | 1991 W Ridge-W Face from N (direct)
A France expedition to Cho Oyu in 1991 via W Ridge-W Face from N (direct), led by Hughes Griscelli. Summit reached on 25th September 1991. 10 members recorded.
Expedition Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | 573 |
| Imported | 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634 |
| Expedition ID | CHOY91303 |
| Peak ID | CHOY |
| Year | 1991 |
| Season | 3 |
| Host Country | 2 |
| Route 1 | W Ridge-W Face from N (direct) |
| Route 2 | - |
| Route 3 | - |
| Route 4 | - |
| Nationality | France |
| Leaders | Hughes Griscelli |
| Sponsor | Cho Oyu 1991 |
| Success 1 | True |
| Success 2 | False |
| Success 3 | False |
| Success 4 | False |
| Ascent 1 | 87th,88th,91st |
| Ascent 2 | - |
| Ascent 3 | - |
| Ascent 4 | - |
| Claimed | False |
| Disputed | False |
| Countries | Italy, Poland, Spain |
| Approach | KTM->Tingri->BC |
| Basecamp Date | 1991-09-05 |
| Summit Date | 1991-09-25 |
| Summit Time | 1045 |
| Summit Days | 20 |
| Total Days | 0 |
| Termination Date | - |
| Termination Reason | 1 |
| Termination Notes | - |
| High Point (m) | 8188 |
| Traverse | False |
| Ski | False |
| Paraglide | False |
| Camps | 3 |
| Fixed Rope (m) | 0 |
| Total Members | 9 |
| Summit Members | 4 |
| Member Deaths | 0 |
| Total Hired | 2 |
| Summit Hired | 0 |
| Hired Deaths | 0 |
| No Hired | False |
| O2 Used | False |
| O2 None | True |
| O2 Climb | False |
| O2 Descent | False |
| O2 Sleep | False |
| O2 Medical | False |
| O2 Taken | False |
| O2 Unknown | False |
| Other Summits | - |
| Campsites | ChineseBC(07/09,4900m),ABC(07/09,5650m),C1(14/09,6300m),C2(19/09,6950m),C3(24/09,7500m),Smt(25-26,28/09) |
| Route Notes | BC at normal site C1 at normal site. Wanda Rutkiewicz and yaks arived at ABC while other members arrived only on 10th after more acclimatization. On 15th climbers deposited gear at 6700m and all down to ABC that day for rest. 18th all 8 to C1 and Wanda on up to ice tunnel-depot at 6700m. 19th all to C2. 20th all except Wanda down to ABC to C2. 24th all towards C3 site but Wanda was behind the others, couldn't find their trail and made biv in snowhole 100m below them. 25th 2 to top, while Wanda passed C3 and up to 7700m and back to C3 because of strong wind and poor visibility; that night, 3:15 am (NST) she left C3 in fullmoon light and slight wind and reached [the top at] at 10:45 am. In her descent chose wrong couloir far from her C3 and alone so impossible for her to make trail in deep snow to traverse to C3, so went on down and finally reached expedition's C2 (passing a body in a tent - whose?) and 27th to ABC. On 27th 2 Spaniards going up from ABC to C1 as she passed them; they were heading for top. Wanda left ABC 28th am and with 2 members reached KTM night of 29th. One member had left ABC on 26th, 2 members few days earlier. Fernandez and Quetglas - 13 Oct: De Leo reached summit 25 Sept and when descending met De Dea at 8100m going up - De Leo asked De Dea to help him descend: De Leo very tired and frostbite beginning in his fingers and toes, so De Deo turned back at 8100m to help his friend; "psychologically Guido was on summit." Fernandez, Quetglas and Tirtha Tamang went up to C2 on 27 Sept. 28th Quetglas left C2 6:00 am Chinese time and arrived at C3 9:00 am with very cold toes. Went into Japanese tent, which was empty at the time because Japanese were going to summit, and used Japanese cooker, etc., to heat water to warm his feet. The C3 established by Wanda and Christian was now gone. Stayed 3 hrs until sun was on the face, then at 12:00 up. Met descending Japanese at 8000m at about 3:00 pm, and reached summit at 5:00 pm; returned to C2 and slept there. Fernandez on 28th to C3 with Tirtha Tamang. 29th both to 7800m, then Ferandez developed stomach trouble and both to BC same day and climb finished (this was same day USSR and US climbers reached summit). Quetglas and Fernandez then went to Xixabangma, where they joined Spanish team, but no summit success. De Dea claims to have reached summit bid but did not - Wanda by telephone 1 Oct. Grenier says on 5 Oct only Christian and Sergio on summit on 25 Sept. |
| Accidents | De Leo frostbitten fingers and toes (white); 1 Sherpa altitude sickness |
| Achievement | 1st Polish woman on summit |
| Agency | Trekking International |
| Commercial Route | True |
| Standard Route | True |
| Primary Route | False |
| Primary Member | False |
| Primary Reference | False |
| Primary ID | - |
| Checksum | 2454206 |
| Year | 1991 |
| Summit Success | True |
| O2 Summary | None |
| Route (lowercase) | w ridge-w face from n (direct) |
Members
10 recorded members.
| Name | Sex | Year of Birth | Citizenship | Status | Residence | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guido De Dea | M | 1962 | Italy | Climber | Aosta, Italy | Alpine guide | Details Other expeditions |
| Sergio De Leo | M | 1963 | Italy | Climber | Aosta, Aosta, Italy | Alpine guide | Details Other expeditions |
| Ramon Alfredo Fernandez Corcoces | M | 1959 | Spain | Climber | Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares, Spain | Photojournalist | Details Other expeditions |
| Aldo Garioni | M | 1955 | Italy | Climber | Brescia, Italy | Financial consultant | Details Other expeditions |
| Pierre Hughes Griscelli | M | 1953 | France | Leader | Calenzana, Corsica, France | Alpine guide | Details Other expeditions |
| Christian Kuntner | M | 1962 | Italy | Climber | Prad am Stilfserjoch, Bolzano, Italy | Teacher | Details Other expeditions |
| Bartolome (Tolo) Quetglas Riera | M | 1959 | Spain | Climber | Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares, Spain | Justice | Details Other expeditions |
| Wanda Rutkiewicz | F | 1943 | Poland | Climber | Warsaw, Poland | Photographer, writer & lecturer | Details Other expeditions |
| Annie Shintu | M | 1956 | France | Exp Doctor | Calvi, Corsica, Italy | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Tirtha Tamang | M | 1965 | Nepal | H-A Worker | Lapcha, Gorakhani, Solukhumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
References
9 recorded references.
| Expedition ID | Journal | Author | Title | Publisher | Citation | Yak 94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHOY91303 | AAJ | Hawley, Elizabeth | - | - | 66:265-266 (1992) | - |
| CHOY91303 | AAJ | - | - | - | 66:266 (1992) | - |
| CHOY91303 | MM | - | - | - | 143:5 (Jan 1992) | - |
| CHOY91303 | - | Rutkiewicz, Wanda | Karawana Do Marzen | Hudowski & Marcisz, Krokow | - | - |
| CHOY91303 | - | Reinisch, Gertrude | Wanda Rutkiewicz, Karawane der Traume | Bergverlag Rother, Munich | - | - |
| CHOY91303 | - | Reinisch, Gertrude | Wanda Rutkiewicz, A Caravan of Dreams | Carreg Ltd, Ross-on-Wye, Hereford, UK | - | - |
| CHOY91303 | - | Kuntner, Christian | 13-1/2 Achttausender | Provinz Verlag, Brixen, Bolzano, Italy | - | - |
| CHOY91303 | - | - | http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199226503/Asia-Tibet-Cho-Oyu-West-Side-from-the-North-Ascents-and-Attempts-Post-Monsoon | - | - | - |
| CHOY91303 | - | - | http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199226601/Asia-Tibet-Chu-Oyu-Ascent-and-Shisha-Pangma-Attempt | - | - | - |