When 24-year-old Marianne Chapuisat of Switzerland reached the summit of 8,188m Cho Oyu on February 10, 1993, she became the first woman to climb an 8,000m peak in winter.
The world’s sixth-highest mountain, Cho Oyu lies on the Nepal-Tibet border and is often described as one of the more approachable 8,000m peaks, at least by its standard route. Yet winter conditions transform it into a far more formidable challenge.
In 1993, Chapuisat joined an international team led by Spain’s Manuel Gonzalez. The team included six Spaniards, Miguel Angel Sanchez of Argentina, and Chapuisat herself. The group approached from the Tibetan side, crossing the Nangpa La pass. Heavy snow forced them to establish Base Camp lower than usual, at about 5,070m. They climbed without supplemental oxygen or high-altitude Sherpa support for the final push, embracing a relatively lightweight style.
Cho Oyu from the Tibetan side, near the town of Old Tingri. Photo: Jamin York
On February 8, Gonzalez, Fernando Guerra, Jose Manuel Morales, and Manuel Salazar topped out. Two days later, on February 10, Chapuisat summited with Arbues and Sanchez. For Sanchez, it was also a milestone: the first Argentine and first Latin American winter ascent of an 8,000’er.
Despite her youth, Chapuisat already had high-altitude experience. She had summited Aconcagua at age 21, gaining her valuable insight into how the body responds to altitude. Her Cho Oyu success stood alone for more than two decades. It was not until 2018 that French climber Elisabeth Revol became the second woman to summit a winter 8,000er, on Nanga Parbat.
Chapuisat, a teacher of French literature and physical education, has always approached the mountains thoughtfully. She has described high peaks as spaces for introspection rather than conquest. After her historic climb, she remained engaged with the alpine world, serving on juries at mountaineering film festivals and sharing her perspective through interviews and writings.
The Polish Southeast Pillar route. Photo: Summitpost. Topo by Janusz Kurczab
The legacy of the ‘Ice Warriors’
It’s worth noting that Chapuisat was walking in the footsteps of the legendary Polish “Ice Warriors.” Cho Oyu was first summited in winter on February 12, 1985, by Polish mountaineers Maciej Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski, members of a Polish-Canadian team led by Andrzej Zawada. They climbed a new route via the Southeast Pillar from the Nepalese side, without supplemental oxygen.
Three days later, on February 15, 1985, team members Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich and Jerzy Kukuczka repeated the ascent. (Kukuczka had summited Dhaulagiri earlier that winter, making him the first to climb two 8,000ers in one winter.)
Cho Oyu had had one winter attempt before the successful first winter ascent of 1985: In December 1982, Reinhold Messner led the South Tyrolean Cho Oyu Winter Expedition targeting the Southeast Face, without supplemental oxygen. Ultimately, they abandoned the attempt due to dangerous seracs after reaching 7,500m.
Marianne Chapuisat. Photo: issuu.com
