In reply to asdf123:
> ... how an experienced mountaineer (who might have started out by going through agencies) would do it.
An experienced mountaineer would definitely use a local agency. An inexperienced mountaineer would try to do it all herself out of a misguided sense of tradition, 'purity' of style and independence.
The only justifiable reason to do it is to save money, but you end up working for that saving, and in the dirty 40C heat of Islamabad with oblivious officials ignoring you that is no way to spend your holiday.
In theory you can do it all yourself with no local agency involved, let alone not paying a western operator, but it's not worth the trouble. I've come pretty close to doing it that way, with only the most minimal agency involvement (due to trying to save money) but it's getting increasingly harder to do. The system is set up for agencies offering full-service trips where they take care of everything, for a higher price obviously, or people going on western guided trips via a local agency, so the govt departments are not used a giant white guy bowling in with an armful of paperwork and odd demands - speaking no Nepali, or Urdu. This is one concrete way that commercialization of climbing has changed it for everyone, not just those on commercial trips.
The agencies don't like or want people just doing this minimal thing as there is no money in it for them, but still some work. They don't get to make money off the sub-contracting of kitchen staff, other staff, transport, porters and the red tape process. In most cases (not all) they can do this much better than you anyway, so it's wise to have them do it.
If going super-minimal via an agency they will probably charge you an admin fee which is for them to process the minimal red-tape you are getting them to do, such as get the actual permit from the govt or arrange porter insurance, and for me this has been like $40 or $70 per expedition member. This only works at all because $70 goes a lot further in KTM than it does in London.
The logistics of Cho Oyu (north side) and Shishapanmga are relatively restricted as they are in Tibet and the Chinese are running things pretty strictly nowadays. I dealt with the CTMA personally for trip to a remote high 7000er in 2005 and they were quite good then, but we still needed a local agent in KTM to arrange a group visa for us and get us to the border to cross and swap, and return again.
Foreign mountaineers have always used local agents to some degree - Shipton, Bonington, Fowler, all of them - it's just a question of degree.
The cheapest
and best most independent way to do an 8000er now is to get a small group of you together, at least four, and join onto the permit of one of the local agencies providing a BC-only service. By joining in a group you not just have reliable teammates but more sway in how things go - as opposed to joining alone when you really are at the mercy of what everyone else does. Because, as Tom implied, there will be problems.
In addition to that, you really need to take more time to pre-acclimatise by trekking in the Khumbu, Langtang, Lakakh or somewhere hassle-free where you can easily spend time up high, eating good food in a village lodge, not cooking in a tent. Then return to KTM/ISB for a day or two and then go on the main trip. You avoid wasting time and energy acclimatising for the main objective and can get on with it. Even more so because most commercial itineraries are too short to allow for weather delays, a failed summit attempt, then a second attempt. It gives you more flexibility to circumvent the people-problems that will inevitably arise and mess things up, as you are not so reliant on the timetables of others.
