Personal Locator Beacons, or PLB’s as they are often referred to in the press, have been the subject of some highly contested debates in the climbing world, but now that debate is expanding.

For those of you not familiar with what a PLB is or does and how it could potentially help you then perhaps you are not alone.  A PLB, as the name suggests, is a small beacon that is carried on you that will transmit a signal to a satelite and then on to the authorities if you would ever happen to get lost in the wilderness, or on a climb..ect.  I even know some parents who would love to have this technology to keep track of their kids..

PLB’s have become the hot topic in the outdoor world, especially after some very high profile search and rescue efforts over the past couple of years.  It all began in December of 2006 with three climbers who became lost on Mt. Hood, then subsequently perished before they were able to be rescued.  The debate heated up across the climbing community. 

People involved in the search efforts argue that the PLB’s will not only save time and money on search and rescue missions–but they may also save more lives in these scenarios.  Oregon recently passed a law requiring PLB’s on all climbers attempting Mt. Hood. Read the rest of this entry »

I put up a post yesterday about a series that ExplorersWeb is currently running called The Twelve Truths of Everest.  Yesterday the first four were discussed, and you can find them here.  Today, ExWeb takes a look at the statistics of the famed North Ridge vs. The South Col.  Which is better to climb?  Which is safer?  Which offers the highest level of success?

There are some more surprises to be found in today’s article.  As I did yesterday, I will list the next fours facts as stated by ExWeb, but to get to all of the good details, you will have to head on over there and read the article for yourself.  Here they are:

• Truth #5:  Historically, the north side route has been twice as dangerous as the south.
• Truth #6:  South side guided climbers have had twice the support staff (sherpas and guides) as the north.
• Truth #7:  Of all Everest mountaineers, independent climbers on Everest’s north have had the highest fatality rate, while independent climbers on the south have had the lowest.
• Truth #8:  While more climbers overall try Everest’s north side, only 3% try a non standard route.

I think all of these statistics today are quite surprising, not only to myself, but to most others as well. 

Here is another interesting note that was buried in the article.  All of these stats are coming from the years 2000-2006, but of the 3% of independent climbers taking on the non standard routes, no one has died on their expeditions–but, the good comes with the bad:  only 12% of those climbers have actually made a successful summit.

My good friend Alan Arnette is currently sitting at Advanced Base Camp on Shisha Pangma–the 14th tallest peak in the world.  His acclimatization has went well, his communication problems from the mountain have been solved, but now it looks like the weather and time might be his enemy–

The Project Himalaya Team have now been bunkered down at ABC for five days straight.  The weather conditions continue to hamper any further progress for the team and now the questions are beginning to be asked…will they have a shot at the summit?

The weather forecasts moves more than the Ravens. The team energy moves in proportion with the daily weather. Day one was nice, day two it snowed, day three it snowed more and became extremely cold, day four warmer but more snow, day five bright and sunny, that night however it was brutally cold.

The team only has a limited window to make a push for the summit.  They are planning a mid-October return home, yet the days and hours tick by.  Other teams are stranded as well.  Some have even left the mountain.  For them, Shisha Pangma would not relinquish the summit.

Alan has spent time acclimatizing.  After a rough time on Denali, he has questioned his own health, but thus far Alan’s health has proved immaculate.  He has had no problems with the altitude and has now been higher than any mountain in the United States.  He is waiting.  He is ready.  If only the weather would clear…

Alan Arnette’s journey to Shisha Pangma is a personal one.  Last year, Alan learned that his mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimers.  A terrible disease that eats at your thoughts.  It takes away your past and makes you forget everything around you, including who your loved ones are.  Alan has made it his mission to help in the fight for a cure for this dreaded disease.  Alzheimers has affected all of us in one way, shape, or form, but Alan has taken it upon himself to do something about it.

At 53, Alan might not be the youngest climber.  Actually, it is pretty safe to say that he is not.  He does have experience though.  He has been to Everest twice.  He is hoping for a third time in 2008.  The summit still eludes him.  Now,  it isn’t about the summits though.  It isn’t about the glory.  It is about his mother and that dreaded disease.  The memmories and the memmories lost between a mother and child.  Alan will climb on.

Sitting in the mess tent with his fellow teammates, they all contemplate their future.  Alan questions how to bring more awareness to his cause, and if people even care.  Since leaving in August, Alan is brutally honest when stating that his Alzheimers fund has only managed a mere $110 increase in this time.  Is it all for nothing?  No.  To Alan every little bit helps.

When I first began to talk with Alan Arnette just about a year ago, we had alot in common.  I was new on the scene.  Alan had been covering Mt. Everest and his passion for climbing on his own site for a few years.  He became someone I could look to for honesty and a helping hand.  He kept it real.  Over the past few months, Alan has given himself completely to his cause.  Helping his mother.  Helping those of you that have been touched by Alzheimers.  Even in the face of death–being airlifted off the high slope of Denali a few months back–Alan still wanted to climb on.  He knows the importance.  Time is his enemy.

It is very rare–actually, I don’t remember a time where I have made such a plea in the past–yet, for Alan, I am going to.  100% of the money given to Alan’s Alzheimers fund goes directly to the doctors..to the researchers trying to come up with a cure.  Alan is climbing on his own money.  $50,000.  That is a cheap rate for climbing Mt. Everest.  Add in Denali, Shisha Pangma, and 12 14,000 Ft. peaks in Colorado and you can begin to see the time and money Alan is putting towards his goal.

It isn’t about the summit.  It is about his mother!  It is about your family and friends.  It is about the memmories. 

We have all enjoyed following Alan and his tremendous efforts.  His brutally honest dispatches have taken all of us to Shisha in a way that few of us have ever experienced before.  Let’s give him a hand.  Let’s show our support.  Let’s give—even if it is a dollar–I average over 10,000 readers a month.  If each of us would give a dollar..that is $10,000.  A far cry from the $110 thus given during this Shisha Pangma expedition.  Now imagine if we each gave $5.00, or perhaps even a bit more.  I am not rich.  I don’t have money flying out of my ass, but I do think all of us could sacrifice that Bigmac to help out a worthy cause.  To help out a friend.  I am sure Alan would appreciate the efforts.

To help out, you can make your donations by following the link found below.  As Alan always says “Memmories are Everything”.

Gifts to support breakthrough research in Alan Arnette’s campaign to raise $100,000 can be made through online donations, or checks can be mailed directly to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (please be sure to designate your gift to The Road Back to Everest: Memories are Everything). Feel free to call 1-877-Cure Alz (287-3259) with any questions or if you’d rather make your credit card gift over the phone.

You can follow this link to make your donation now:  The Cure Alzheimers Fund.

A process that has taken an unusually long 10 months is finally about to end.  The body of legendary climber and owner of the world reknown expedition company, Mountain Madness, is finally coming home.

Christine Boskoff, who went missing in China last December with her climbing partner Charlie Fowler, will finally be heading back to Appleton, Wisconsin for a proper burial and ceremony.

You may all remember the headlines last December for the search of Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler, that began on December 14, when the pair failed to return for a flight home.  The news did make a few headlines in the papers, but for the most part was masked over by the ongoing search and rescue efforts of three lost climbers on Mt. Hood.

The ensuing search for Boskoff and Fowler soon hit a snag that left people wondering just where the two could have been.  They had left to climb a few unknown peaks in the Sichuan Province of China, but left little clue as to where exactly they were heading.

In the coming days, luggage of the climbers would be located in a small village.  This little clue led people to start wondering about the health of the climbers, but also led them to a few people who had seen Boskoff and Fowler in the area.

The search soon narrowed down to Genyen Peak.  On December 27, bad news broke as it was learned that the body of Charlie Fowler had been discovered. 

From an earlier report on The Adventurist:

“From what rescuers were saying, Charlie Fowler was the victim of an avalanche on the remote mountain.  Fowler was not wearing a harness or ropes when he was found.  It is thought that he was heading up the mountain to build a new basecamp when the avalanche struck.  The only thing that Fowler had on was crampons and a large pack indicating that this could be the reason.

Christine Boskoff would not be found until eight months later on July 9 of 2007.  Mountain Madness soon issued a press release of the finding of Christina Boskoff’s body, but it would not be until today, that her body would finally be coming off the mountain in China.  The impending recovery efforts had been hampered by bad weather in the region for close to two months.

Christine Boskoff, a world reknown climber, had made successful summits of Everest twice, as well as five other 8,000 meter peaks.  Christina was also the first North American female to top out on Lhotse, an Everest neighbor, and the fourth highest peak in the world.

From this article in The Appleton Post-Crescent today, it is learned that Christina Boskoff was cremated in China.  Her ashes are currently making their way overseas where the family is planning on hosting a memmorial service in three weeks, then laying her to rest in a Sheboygan cemetary next to her late father.

We know that this ws not the outcome that everyone pictured for Boskoff, or Fowler for that matter, but we can all rest a bit easier knowing that some closure has come in this long ordeal for Christina’s family, friends, and associates.  Let’s keep all of them in our thoughts.

ExplorersWeb has put up an interesting article today discussing how the media covers Mt. Everest and also twelve little known facts about climbing the world’s tallest peak.

The reasonings behind this article is how the main stream media in 2007 jumped on four seperate stories that, in the end, proved false even though the correct information was out there.

I am guessing that this is going to be a three part series from ExWeb, as today’s article only goes to the fourth fact about Everest.  It is definately interesting reading, including a couple of surprises.

Here are the first four facts.  To get the statistics behind each and why they are relevent, check out Part I of The Twelve Truths of Everest.

• Truth 1:  One out of three climbers who tried Everest reached the summit.
• Truth 2: The majority of ALL Everest climbers have not been a part of a commercial expedition.
• Truth 3:  Guided expeditions have not been safer.
• Truth 4:  Guided climbers as well as climbers on the South Side have had slightly higher summit success.

I think the most interesting of the first four facts has to be numbers 2 & 3.  So much information is pushed out to the media by the commercial expeditions that most would assume that both of these statements couldn’t possibly be right.

I am looking forward to seeing the next two parts in this series and will be updating you when they are posted.

Mountain Madness has been given credit for the first successful summit of the 2007 Fall Himalayan climbing season.  The Mountain Madness team successfully reached the summit of Cho Oyu on September 23 at 11:00 am.

From Mountain Madness

“We reached the plateau at 7:30 a.m but the snow was so deep that it took Thumba, Gonga and myself another 3-1/2 hours to break trail in knee to waist deep snow on the plateau.”

“The conditions were not too bad on summit day, but the weather has deteriorated dramatically and last night we stayed at Camp 1 where both of our tents received damage from the strong winds that blasted the camp all night. We are all safe now at ABC and all that is left is for our sherpas to go to Camp 1 and clear our remaining gear.

The Mountain Madness summit team became the first team to successfully reach a Himalayan summit this fall.  Many other teams and individuals are currently in the Himalayas preparing for their own summit attempts on a vast array of peaks in the region including Shisha Pangma, Mt. Everest, Makalu and a host of others.  I will be updating as I get more information.

Complaints over the number of climbers going nude on Mt. Everest has resulted in a call to ban nudity on the world’s tallest peak.

Ang Tshering, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, has stated that complaints from villagers surrounding Mt. Everest over “obscene” behavior have been registered with Nepal’s government.

This reaction is attribute to a Nepali climber supposedly stripping on the summit of Mt. Everest last season in what many have considered a publicity stunt.

To read more on this issue, check out Australia’s largest newspaper, The Herald-Sun.

Eric Larson, one of the famed members of the One World Expedition to the North Pole, will be leading a presentation in New London, Wisconsin on October 13, 2007.

Larson and his expedition team single-handedly pushed and pulled specially modified canoes over 600 miles across the Arctic terrain in 2006 to successfully become the first team to navigate the North Pole adventure in summer.  Eric Larson is currently planning is second great adventure, traversing the “Three Poles”, which includes both the North and South Poles, as well as the world’s highest pole on Mt. Everest.

The presentation taking place in New London, Wisconsin will offer people insight into how to prepare for camping in winter conditions, including food planning, equipment requirements, travel strategies, and proper dressing for the elements.

The second part of the presentation will focus on Mr. Larson’s Expedition experiences, how to set up camp, sleeping in the cold, Mr. Larson’s “Leave No Trace” philosophy, as well as how to handle emergencies in extreme weather conditions.

Each session of this special workshop and presentation will be limited to 25 participants and will cost $15 for each session or $25 for both.

Event Details

Date: October 13, 2007

Time: 9:00am-Noon; 1:00pm-4:00pm

Location: Mosquito Hill Nature Center, New London

Adult Price: $15 per person or $25 for both sessions

Organization: Mosquito Hill Nature Center

For More information on this very special even with Eric Larson, you may call the Mosquito Hill Nature Center at (920) 779-6433.

Future generations undoubtedly will love the Alps in a new way, but to see these mountains and to climb among them the way we have since mountaineering was born—to witness and share the collective experience of more than 200 years of mountaineers—you have to go now. You simply can’t wait.

The above sentence is coming from an article over on The Mountain World about their recent excursion into the Alps.

The famous Alps glaciers are dissappearing at an extremely fast rate.  Some are already gone, while others will be in the very near future.

As governments clamour for studies on global warming–questioning adding money to places that they know little about, our world, as we know it is slowly disappearing.

Stop on over and read this eyewitness report of some of the events taking place due to these glaciers disappearing.  Local businesses as well as whole economies are beginning to be affected by what many question as global warming.  Read the report and decide for yourself.

So this really isn’t a “tale” so to speak, but rather a true story.

An accomplished mountaineer from Italy is planning on tackling Japan’s Mt. Fuji this next year, and he is going to do it barefoot.

Antonio Peretti, 47, is  a forest guard in his native country, but a part-time adventurer in his spare time.  He has scaled some of the world’s top peaks in his “off” time including Mt. Blanc, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Mt. Makalu in the Himalayas–and he has done it all barefoot.

For some reason, when I first seen this bit of information automatic images of Wim Hoff started appearing in my mind.  Then I remembered Wim is Dutch.  If you will remember, Wim is the one who was trying to summit Everest in shorts this last season.

Back to Peretti.  He began his barefoot quest in 2002 when he first decided to kick off his boots and run down a mountain he had recently summited.  The bug never quit biting, and now it will take the Italian to Japan’s famed Mt. Fuji.  Peretti feels that the earth transfers it’s energy through Peretti’s feet, hence the barefoot phenomena.  He has done many of the peaks barefoot all while trying to raise money for many environmental groups as well.  So call it crazy, but at least he is trying to do it for a good cause–