Benedikt Böhm and Prakash Sherpa reach the summit in 12 hours and 35 minutes – no bottled oxygen, no high-altitude camps, but a single push from base camp to the summit and back again.

No oxygen, no high-altitude camps, but a single push from Base Camp to the summit and back: extreme mountaineer Benedikt Böhm and his partner, the Nepalese alpinist and mountain guide Prakash Sherpa, are celebrating their successful speed ascent of Cho Oyu. On 7 October at 11:33 am local time, the pair stood on the world’s sixth-highest mountain in record time. The DYNAFIT managing director and his partner took just 12 hours and 35 minutes to climb from base camp at 5,600 m to the summit at 8,188 m. After a total of 19 hours, the extreme athletes were already back at base camp. They did so without high-altitude or intermediate camps, support from porters or artificial oxygen.

For their ascent, the two athletes chose the classic route on the Tibetan north-west face of Cho Oyu. Mountaineers usually take between three and five days to climb this challenging 8,000-metre peak. With their speed ascent in 12 hours and 35 minutes, Benedikt Böhm and Prakash Sherpa have set new standards on the ‘Turquoise Goddess’. According to current research, no one before them had ever attempted to reach the summit non-stop from base camp.

“Tracing a path through broken ice, numerous technical sections and plenty of wind – Cho Oyu certainly didn’t make it easy for us. That makes us all the happier about our summit success and the fast time. Prakash and I worked really well together as a team and were able to support and push each other. It was a very long and very hard day for us, but we really put our foot down and mobilised all our strength. The descent and the seemingly endless moraine in front of base camp really finished me off, though. Now it’s time to warm my feet and recover a bit before I head back to Germany in just a few days,” said Böhm.

An Expedition Fraught With Obstacles

During their speed ascent, Benedikt Böhm and Prakash Sherpa had to overcome a number of challenges – ranging from the necessary permits to the conditions on the mountain itself. Since China’s annexation of Tibet, there have been repeated political tensions and tightened entry regulations, which had already caused Böhm’s planned expedition to Cho Oyu in 2012 to fail. Since 2019, China had not issued any permits for Cho Oyu to foreign climbers. In autumn 2023, international expeditions were permitted again for the first time. For Böhm himself, it remained uncertain until his arrival in Kathmandu whether the expedition to Cho Oyu would actually take place. Due to the long wait for the entry visa to Tibet, the athletes had less time than originally planned for acclimatisation. Böhm in particular struggled greatly with this:

“I’ve never suffered physically as much on any expedition as I did on this one. We were already at just under 8,000 metres after only a few days on our acclimatisation tours. Normally, you’d allow two or three weeks for that. But we didn’t have that time, and I definitely felt the effects. Prakash was born in Nepal and lives at altitude here. He’s naturally perfectly acclimatised and sleeps like a baby even at over 7,000 metres. I really had to grit my teeth, especially in the first few days, whilst Prakash was still doing interval training at 7,000 metres,” reveals Böhm with a wink.

On the mountain itself, conditions were at times extreme, with strong winds and snowfall. On 2 October, Benedikt Böhm and Prakash Sherpa had almost reached the summit as part of an acclimatisation tour, but had to turn back just under 100 metres below the summit due to a complete whiteout. For the summit push, however, a window of good weather opened up for the pair, which they skilfully took advantage of – including a clear view of Everest and Lhotse from the summit.

“Cho Oyu is a fascinating mountain, and for me, this successful ascent fulfils a long-cherished dream. I hope that future generations will be able to experience the beauty of the mountains and nature in exactly the same way. That is why it is a matter close to my heart to advocate for a mindful approach to our planet as part of this expedition,” explains Böhm.

Anyone wishing to support Benedikt Böhm can do so very easily via an auction: Böhm’s entire expedition kit is being auctioned off in aid of the Helping Band initiative, which he founded. The organisation is committed to environmental and nature conservation and works in partnership with the WWF, amongst others. Böhm has been a WWF ambassador since 2022, focusing on the Himalayan region. Further information at: helpingband.com.

Facts About the Speed Ascent of Cho Oyu

• Arrival in Kathmandu: 15 September 2023
• Arrival at Base Camp: 26 September 2023
• Summit day: 7 October 2023
• Start of speed ascent: 7 October, 22:58
• Total distance Base Camp – Summit – Base Camp: approx. 18 kilometres
• Elevation gain: 3,400 m (ascent and descent)
• Cho Oyu summit: 8,188 m
• Time Base Camp – Summit: 12 hours, 35 minutes
• Total time: 19 hours