Cho Oyu and the Mountain Kingdom expedition

At times expeditions finish like this, without the summit. In fact, this is how many Himalayan expeditions come to an end. We're saying this just to remind you that, all things considered, these giants aren't as easy to climb as they may seem. And as Silvano Spinelli recounts, the Mountain Kingdom expedition to Cho Oyu led by Italian Mountain Guide and Himalayan veteran Cesare Cesa Bianchi concluded in this manner. What remains is the experience as a while. The first Himalayan experience for many team members. But also the first ski descent of the Messner variation by Fabio Beozzi...

On 1 October the ski instructor from Sestrière with a penchant for extreme skiing left Camp 2 at 7127m and attempted to reach the summit with his skis strapped to his rucksack, but he was stopped at 8100m by the intense cold (-38°) and the beginning of frostbite (despite being modified his ski mountaineering boots failed to insulate sufficiently). nevertheless, Fabio skied down the Normal route to Camp 2, spent the night there and on 2 October continued down the Messner variation. This is a steep 40-50° gully wedged between seracs and rocks which plunges down from 6900m to 6000m to join the bottom of the so-called
"killer slope", at the end of the snow. Beozzi's run is the first-ever descent down the spectacular line with reserves plenty of surprises due to the snow conditions and the complex terrain.

On 2 October Cesare Cesa Bianchi, Marco Marroni and Mario Josè Marescalchi together with Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa, retreated from Camp 3 at 7546m due to a sudden storm (ah, those unreliable weather forecasts) which waged throughout the night and continued all the next day. An ironic twist of fate, seeing that the weather on the 1st and 3rd proved far more stable.