On the way to the turquoise goddess

The challenge8000 team are now approaching the Cho Oyu base camp, trekking from one Tibetan village to another, and should be moving towards the 5,000 metres in the next few days.

This trek should continue for three days unless there were unforseen complications.

Mt Cho Oyu, locally known as 'The Turquoise Goddess', beckoned and the tentative summit day, according to the programme of expedition guide Victor Saunders, was scheduled for September 28. That, however, depended on a number of factors, including weather and group dynamics.

On crossing the Nepal-Tibet, the team had to go through extensive searches by the Chinese border police. All bags were searched for material which could compromise ‘national security’. This meant that security officers were on the lookout for books and other subversive material deemed unfit for Chinese territory and for the minds of people who lived there. Satellite phones had to be hidden.

Internet access was unreliable and China blocked access to Facebook. Even the uploading of pictures was blocked.