![\"The](\"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8465-2.jpg\")
The normal route on Cho Oyu. Photo: Animal de Ruta<\/p><\/div>\n
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The team<\/h2>\n
Sepp Joechler, 31, was a bricklayer from Tyrol. Born in Landeck, he started climbing at 17 with his brother Hans. By the 1940s, he was carrying out bold winter climbs in the Lechtal Alps. He climbed the Eiger\u2019s North Face in 1952 with Hermann Buhl.<\/p>\n
Pasang Dawa Lama, 42, from Namche Bazaar, was already an experienced mountaineer. In 1937, he carried out the first ascent of a 7,000\u2019er. Together with Spencer Chapman, he summited Chomolhari, surviving a challenging descent. He carried loads to 8,000m on early Everest trips and climbed Nanda Devi. He joined as the Sherpa leader of the expedition.<\/p>\n
The Austrian party included Dr. Helmut Heuberger from Innsbruck, as well as Ajiba Sherpa, Angnima Sherpa, and Gyaltsen Sherpa.<\/p>\n
![\"Pasang](\"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8467-2.jpg\")
Pasang Dawa Lama. Photo: Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n
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Approach and establishing camps<\/h2>\n
The team left Austria in early September and flew to Kathmandu before heading to Namche Bazaar. During their approach, the monsoon brought rain and mist that turned to snow above 3,900m. On September 19, they reached Namche Bazaar for final preparations. Four days later, after a trek over moraines and frozen glaciers, they crossed the Nangpa La (Nangpa Pass) into Tibet.<\/p>\n
They established Base Camp at 5,500m on the Gyabrag Glacier, below Cho Oyu\u2019s Northwest Ridge. Using Shipton\u2019s maps, they planned a better route.<\/p>\n
“We studied the mistakes of earlier expeditions and chose a line that avoided the worst of the icefall,” wrote Tichy. In the first week of October, they set up Camps 1 and 2.<\/p>\n
The icefall below Camp 3 (at around 6,560m) was the hardest part. Pasang and Ajiba spent two days finding a way through, tying ropes. Soon after, a storm hit Camp 3 during the night. Tichy\u2019s mittens came off as he tried to save the Sherpas\u2019 tent, and his hands froze within minutes. Pasang and Angnima warmed Tichy’s hands between their thighs, while Ajiba found his gloves. They abandoned the tents, roping up for a desperate retreat.<\/p>\n
They descended to Camp 2 and the storm eased, but Tichy\u2019s hands were “misshapen and hurt.” He couldn\u2019t undo a button or eat without help. The doctor and the Sherpas moved to Camp 1 to give him space. Tichy despaired.<\/p>\n
![\"Cho](\"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8468.jpg\")
Cho Oyu from Base Camp, in 1954. Photo: Herbert Tichy<\/p><\/div>\n
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Regrouping and waiting<\/h2>\n
At Camp 1, the team regrouped. Tichy\u2019s hands needed hospital care, but Kathmandu was three weeks away. They decided Pasang and a few Sherpas would bring supplies from Marlung, while Tichy rested.<\/p>\n
Camp 1 was “idyllically situated,” with views of Cho Oyu and other peaks. Each day, they watched Cho Oyu\u2019s snow plume to gauge the summit winds.<\/p>\n
“We knew that only an almost windless day would make an ascent possible,” Tichy wrote. The weather stayed clear but wild, with fierce winds signaling winter\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n
They waited for Pasang. Tichy\u2019s hands, wrapped in fleece and three pairs of gloves, remained useless but protected. The team\u2019s hope wavered after the storm\u2019s brutality, but Pasang\u2019s return sparked new determination. He had trekked from Marlung over the Nangpa La in just three days, driven by fear that a Swiss expedition led by Raymond Lambert, now nearby, might beat them to the summit.<\/p>\n
The second attempt<\/h2>\n
The team planned a second summit push, learning from their earlier failure. Instead of tents at Camp 3, they dug an ice cave, inspired by Arctic igloos. Once, Joechler and two Sherpas tried to reach Camp 4 at 7,010m, but returned. Supplies were low, and Pasang\u2019s earlier absence had limited their options. The Swiss team\u2019s presence added pressure; they had only one shot at the summit.<\/p>\n
They finally set a new Camp 4 a little bit higher, but digging another ice cave was impossible in the hard snow, so they anchored their tents tightly. Joechler and Pasang were chosen for the summit push, while Tichy debated joining them.<\/p>\n
“I hated my helplessness,” he admitted. He decided to climb without a rope, so he could turn back without slowing the others. “If I found I was not fit enough myself to grapple with Lady Luck, I would at any rate still not have cost them the summit,” he reasoned.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8470-1.jpg\")
![\"Herbert](\"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8472-2.jpg\")