Fourteen members of the advance team from the China University of Geosciences (CUG) Mount Everest Expedition Team departed from Lhasa on April 5 and headed straight for the Everest Base Camp. This marked the official start of the Everest climb.
On March 19 and 20, the CUG climbing team departed from Wuhan in two groups to enter Tibet. After arriving in Lhasa, the entire team stationed at the Tibet Mountaineering School, using it as their base to carry out high-altitude acclimatization training while actively preparing various types of supplies needed for entering the mountains.
On April 3 and 4, all team members focused on organizing and packing climbing supplies such as equipment and food, and some of the supplies were loaded onto vehicles yesterday afternoon. According to the plan, the advance team will set off early this morning, passing through Shigatse and Dingri, and is expected to arrive at the Everest Base Camp, 700 kilometers away, on the 7th.
The entire advance team consists of 18 people, 14 of whom departed from Lhasa, including team members Li Lun, Deqing Ouzhu, Tsering Dandar, Zhang Yu, Yuan Fudong, Wang Bing, Song Hong, Wen Xu, Ma Chao, as well as five high-altitude guides dispatched by the Sacred Mountain Mountaineering Expedition Service Company. The remaining four are high-altitude chefs and kitchen assistants, who will join the advance team at the foot of Everest.
As the “pioneers” of the CUG Everest Expedition Team, the main task of the advance team is to establish a safe and solid home for the main team at the Everest Base Camp, Intermediate Camp, and Advance Camp. “Setting up camps is quite a tough job, especially at the Advance Camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters,” said Dong Fan, the overall commander of the climbing team, yesterday. “Therefore, we selected advance team members who mostly have extensive mountaineering experience and strong high-altitude adaptability.”
Dong Fan stated that the departure of the advance team signifies a substantial step forward in this Everest climbing expedition.