Cho Oyu - Southeast Face

Cho Oyu, the 6th highest mountain in the world at 8,201m, is often considered the easiest of the 14 8,000m peaks, and until permits and visas into Tibet became more difficult to obtain, was the traditional first Himalayan mountain for many Everest aspirants. Anyone who has peered up glacier from Gokyo, though, will know that there is another side to Cho Oyu: its incredibly steep, almost 3,000m high south face, on the Nepali side. With only 4 routes to date, all very bold, difficult and dangerous, this is one of the mightiest alpine walls in the world.

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Route List

1: Zakopane Route/Southwest Pillar, M. Danielak, R. Gajewski, P. Konopka, A. Osika, M. Pawlikowski et al., 05/1986
2: South-Southwest Ridge, Chhangba Sherpa, Gelje Sherpa, Lakpa Temba Sherpa, Lakpa Tenji Sherpa, Ngima Ongda Sherpa, Tenjing Gyaljen Sherpa, A. Mckenzie, 06/2024
3: Reincarnation, B. Dedeshko, D. Urubko, 05/2009
4: Polish Route/Southeast Pillar, M. Berbeka, Z. Heinrich, J. Kukuczka, M. Pawlikowski, A. Zawada et al., 02/1985
5: Furtner-Koblmüller, A. Furtner, E. Koblmüller, 10/1978
6: East Ridge, S. Bogomolov, V. Pershin, I. Plotnikov, E. Vinogradsky, A. Yakovlenko, Y. Grebeniuk†, 10/1991

Updates

Oct 17, 2025: Added 2024 route on the SSW ridge (line 2).

Sources

• “Cho Oyu Himal & Kyajo Ri Himal,” Jan Kielkowski, Explo Publishers, 1995
  
• “A Bold New Route on the Southeast Face of Cho Oyu in Nepal,” Denis Urubko, American Alpine Journal, 2010
  
• “Cho Oyu’s Three-Kilometer-High Face,” Andrzej Zawada, Polski Zwiawek Alpinizmu/American Alpine Journal, 1986
  
• “Cho Oyu, East Ridge Ascent and Tragedy,” Elizabeth Hawley, American Alpine Journal, 1992
  
• “Cho-oyu, South-southwest ridge,” Lindsay Griffin, Rodolphe Popier, American Alpine Journal, 2025
  
• Russian Mountain Federation
  
• ExplorersWeb.com
• Himalaya-Info.org
• RussianClimb.com
• TheTrekBlog.com