In reply to m0unt41n:
Thanks, I did a sort of training run on the Annapura circuit last month, cranked out 330k's in 14 days, including Tilicho Lake, Tharong La Pass and Annapurna Base Camp. I did it with a view to assessing my fitness for Cho Oyu. I go for regular, hard, 10 or 20 k runs, which would become a daily affair at least two months before the climb. I do other cardio work too, all with a view to performing at altitude. Trust me, I'm under no illusions about how brutally hard this is going to be, or about how deleterious the prolonged effects of altitude can be above 5000m. Just a quick look at wiki shows there have been 50 deaths on Cho Oyu, up to 2011. It's no walk in the park, and to be honest I'm not sure at all if this basic climb option is viable. I'd like to look into it though, discuss it with someone like minded, because I think a lot of what the full package offers might be superfluous to anyone willing to do a bit of extra work. I could be wrong, and I'm very nervously aware of how knackering it's going to be setting up our own tent above BC, along with whatever else is involved. Thanks for the advice though, much appreciated.
Post edited at 18:36