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Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth

Adversity Adventurer, Motivational Resilience Speaker, Author and Mental Health Activist

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Cho Oyu 2016

You are here: Home / Portfolio Items / Cho Oyu 2016

December 31, 2018 by AdversityAdventurer

In September 2016 I joined an expedition team to climb Cho Oyu in Tibet, the sixth highest peak in the world (8,201m) with 360 Expeditions, led by Rolfe Oostra.

Cho Oyu is known to be the ‘easiest’ and safest of all the fourteen 8,000-metre peaks. After Everest, I felt that Cho Oyu would give my best chance of reaching 8,000 metres altitude and putting my bad experiences to bed.

Like my other expeditions – and high-altitude mountaineering in general – things didn’t go to plan. I was badly ill with altitude sickness before we reached Advanced Base Camp, our main base camp at approx. 5,700m. Fortunately I was given the chance to acclimatise for longer at the lower Chinese Base Camp and managed to join the team again a few days later.

I was paired up with the highly-respected Dorje Gyalgen Sherpa and made our summit attempt on the early hours of 1st October from Camp 2 at approx. 7,125m altitude, my highest altitude to date. Unfortunately I had again succumbed to the altitude and quickly abandoned the attempt, descending to ABC later that day, whilst the remainder of the team made successful summits.

Nonetheless, a wonderful adventure with great company in a truly remote part of the world, that taught me so much and would ultimately change my entire direction and goals.

Lakpa Thunda Sherpa

Lakpa Thundu Sherpa – A legend made and lost in the mountains

November 29, 2016
This isn’t my usual blog post, and certainly not one I wanted to write either. Yesterday my friend Lakpa Thundu ...
Read More

Cho Oyu expedition: so close yet so far…

October 2, 2016
We left ABC on 27th September for Camp 1 where I felt strong and confident. It then emerged that I’d ...
Read More

SUMMIT PUSH IS ON!

September 29, 2016
The SUMMIT PUSH IS ON! After a number of days, and few updates, we are pleased to say Alex is ...
Read More

Camp 1 Update

September 19, 2016
At Camp 1 for a second night, feeling strong. The Ice cliff and Cho Oyu is right behind me. Climbing an ...
Read More

Ready, steady, Cho…

September 17, 2016
Ready, steady, Cho Oyu… our first rotation and six days on ‘the hill’ to acclimatise for the summit bid has ...
Read More

Cho Oyu First Glimpse!

September 14, 2016
Cho Oyu nearly had Alex falling out of his tent today, when he got his first view of the big ...
Read More
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Cho Oyu Time Lapse
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Camp 2 - Cho Oyu 2016
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Advanced Base Camp, Cho Oyu 2016
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Alex Staniforth - Adventurer
You can't beat a good walk with great friends - an You can't beat a good walk with great friends - and a dog.

Grateful to get back on proper hills this week. There's something about being outside that makes it easier to open up and share what's really going on in our lives. We have less eye contact than face-to-face conversations, where we normally avoid showing emotions. That's the whole ethos @mindomountains - creating safe spaces to walk & talk, and a chance to leave some mental baggage behind.

Next Thursday 2nd Feb is #TimeToTalkDay. If you know someone who's struggling or withdrawn, make some time to talk - and get out for a walk if you can. 

Thanks @hatching_a_plan_ @danobeaumont for the company today.

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Excited to continue as an @inov_8 athlete in 2023! Excited to continue as an @inov_8 athlete in 2023!

Super grateful for the faith & support, when I still don’t know when I’ll be back running again. Even beforehand I was only really an average runner, not exactly winning races or breaking records - but hopefully what I CAN do for now is help everyone else going through their own setbacks, physically and mentally. We all know that running itself is the straightforward part. Holding on through the setbacks is the hardest training we’ll ever do.

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4:01pm. Still light! Walking with my friend @ric 4:01pm. Still light! 

Walking with my friend @richjjones today we chatted about the paradox of choice. When the conditions are great you want to make the most of them. But living on the edge of the Lakes, there's too many good options! We're incredibly lucky that even our 'boring' route is probably a day trip out for others.

Sometimes I've dragged myself out for a sunrise run, changed my route (at least twice) and ended up missing it altogether... Anyone else?! 

Too many choices = decision fatigue. 

Barack Obama was famously known for having just 2 colours of suit so he could focus his energy on more important decisions. 

Moral of the story: cut out the noise, get outside and find the beauty in every moment. 

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Throwback to last January, prancing around in the Howgills. My favourite training ground: a quiet kingdom of runnable hills, mindless descents, and once you're up, you're alone on the tops for miles. 

My photo archive is getting a little thin now so hopefully I'm running again soon, or you'll end up getting dog photos and trips to Ikea instead...

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