Bear Grylls and the ONE FACT

Everybody has basically been doing their own Bear Grylls investigation of late.  Some trying to prove what it is he has lied about…and yet others trying to prove the naysayers wrong.

The Everest is Ours blog has taken a comment of mine that I posted on the site and done a little investigative work.

I mentioned that Bear Grylls was not the youngest Brit to scale Everest–even though that is what he claims.  It has been well publicized that in fact, James Allen was the youngest Brit to ever do so.

Seemingly, the Everest is Ours blog has done some great investigative work into this issue, and now I must insert my foot into my mouth…with perhaps a few well placed kicks before it gets there…

Come to find out, James Allen was actually from Australia at the time of his summit.  He held duel citizenships in Australia, Britain, and New Zealand.

Originally James claimed that he was Australian.  Then of course Bear Grylls came along and made the claim that he was the youngest Brit to ever summit Everest…then James changed his story claiming that he was legally from three different countries, and thus HE was the youngest Brit to climb Everest.

We can all see how these little bits of information seem to get twisted so many seperate ways.

The Everest is Ours Blog actually took the initiative to contact Mrs. Elizabeth Hawley about this situation.  Mrs. Hawley, who has become famous as the Everest chronicler of Expeditions makes a point to add that the passport they use when they get their permits, essentially sets what country the climber is from.  As such, James Allen is essentially AUSTRALIAN–this leaves Bear Grylls as standing correct.

All I have to say is IT IS ABOUT TIME.  It is about time that one thing can be attributed to fact concerning Bear Grylls, even though it was surrounded by controversy for awhile.

I give the Everest is Ours blog credit for not only proving myself wrong, but for also setting this story straight for all of you as well.  Very nice work.

The Fall of Bear Grylls

ExplorersWeb is at it, yet again.  When I first started following this story, I questioned ExplorersWeb’s intentions.  Well it looks like they just may have been on to something.  Information is coming out of the woodworks on Bear, not only about his supposed flight over the top of Mt. Everest..but now it seems it may just be about his whole career…

I recieved a tip today about Mr. Grylls, in regards to his previous military service–after stopping by ExplorersWeb, it seems that they have recieved the same tip, as they have included this in their lead story…seems like the viewers are starting to get disgruntled at Mr. Grylls and are passing on the tips to sites like this one, The Adventure Blog and ExplorersWeb.  Here is the lowdown:

Mr. Grylls was indeed in the SAS or the British Special Forces, as he claims.  What he doesn’t mention to the public is that he was in the SAS (21)–an easier and less dangerous branch filled with prospects looking to get into the SAS (22)–the hardcore, real deal.

Bear also mentions on his site that he got out because he was in a “horendous” helicopter accident in Africa that left his back broken in three places…  We are still looking to verify this information as well–

So much has been coming out about Bear making up stories, changing words as he pleases–and in a sense trying to create a persona in the media that is a little far from the truth, that nobody is real sure about what to believe…

Even his shows Man vs. Wild and Born Survivor: Bear Grylls try to create him as this mythic superhuman that can and does get out of any situation–Alive.  Over the past couple of weeks, reports of what is really going on during these “Adventure Excursions” is starting to become more clear–they have been meticulously set-up to trick the viewer that Bear was actually doing everything he says, yet in reality, it was prearranged.

ExplorersWebs intentions, I am sure, was not to discredit Mr. Grylls in the beginning, but as the story has come around full circle now and every detail of Bear’s career is being analyzed, I think it is safe that we can all assume that nothing is as it seems.

For the complete breakdown of the truth vs. lies of Bear Grylls, I request that you head on over to the ExplorersWeb site and check out their lead story…

I guess to me, personally, I am now even questioning whether or not their is a Bear Grylls, or if this is all just a made up media blitz as well.  I guess we will all have to wait and see..

From George Mallory–A Quote for Consumption

The first question which you will ask and which I must try to answer is this, ‘What is the use of climbing Mount Everest ?’ And my answer must at once be, ‘It is no use’..

There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it.

We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. It’s no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go.

What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.

                     —-George Mallory, 1922

Lewis Gordon Pugh SWIMS at North Pole

Lewis Gordon Pugh, 37, A british adventure swimmer, has become the first person to ever swim at the North Pole.  Doing the stunt to bring awareness to Global Warming in the Arctic, Pugh dove into the 29 degree water.

His swim lasted aproximately 18 minutes and 50 seconds and went for a distance of 0.6 miles.  The water, at 29 degrees, is the coldest known temperature that a human has ever been able to swim in.

I hope my swim will inspire world leaders to take climate change seriously. The decisions which they make over the next few years will determine the biodiversity of our world.

I want my children, and their children, to know that polar bears are still living in the Arctic. These creatures are on the front line up here.

I am obviously ecstatic to have succeeded, but this swim is a triumph and a tragedy: a triumph that I could swim in such ferocious conditions but a tragedy that it’s possible to swim at the North Pole.

Pugh’s swim was conducted in a free-flowing waterhole.  The hole was used to demonstrate the effects the climate has been having on the arctic.  He went on to explain that over the next years, waterholes like these will become more prevelent in the Arctic.

Lewis Gordon Pugh is best known for having swam on 5 of the seven known continents of the world, as well as being the first person to ever swim the Sognefjord, Norway’s longest fjord.

The Adventurist: A Call to All Outdoor Writers and Photographers!

I have just put the finishing touches on a new “Submit & Contact” Page here at The Adventurist.  I am hoping that this new feature will be accepted and used by all of my great readers.

This page goes into detail about a few things I am looking for here at The Adventurist–and ways you might be able to get involved.

Do you love Adventure Writing or perhaps Great Outdoors Photography?–Help me share your incredible talents with a much bigger audience!

Head on Over to the “Submit & Contact” Page, found on a tab right up above this article, and Share your Adventures with the World!

Also, if you are looking to put me to work, there is info there as well….

Cheers-

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor

Over or Above? Bear Grylls, ExplorersWeb, and the dispute RESOLVED

ExplorersWeb is currently running an interesting article questioning British Adventurist Bear Grylls’ claims about his supposed flight over Mt. Everest.

If you are not familiar with this flight, here is a link to a couple of posts I made concerning this event during the 2007 Everest Season.

• Paragliding Everest:  Bear Grylls’ Latest Insanity
• Everest 2007 Update:  It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane….It’s  Bear Grylls at 30,000 Feet!!

ExplorersWeb is taking into question the same thing many of us have thought….Where’s the proof?  Here is their Article.

Supposedly Bear Grylls has stated the following to ExplorersWeb:

It is all captured on film!,” Bear Grylls stated over email as a reply to ExplorersWeb’s request for proof on his claimed para-motor flight over Everest. “Discovery & Channel four are releasing the 2 hours-long film documenting the whole adventure at the end of the year… We will see it all then so there is no doubt!”

Perhaps Bear Grylls does not understand what the word “OVER” means.  He is laying claims that he has flown his one-person, Ultra-light aircraft OVER the top of Mt. Everest….Yes, that was the original intention…but not the outcome.

Bear Grylls’ attempt was a very public effort.  As being such, it is also widely known that Bear Grylls decided to not fly “Over” the top of Mt. Everest…but “OVER” the height of the World’s tallest peak. 

He backed out of his original intentions after getting woried about the Chinese authorities apprehending him upon landing in China–which you must do if you fly OVER Mt. Everest.

Many people, including the SummitClimb Expedition team who were present when this took place also lay claim that the flight never went over Everest.

People are asking for proof…and quite frankly there is nothing to prove other than a possible height record for an Ultra-Light aircraft.  Even this will never be verified though as there was no liscensing permitted for this feat…which is required before a new record can be established.  At the same time, Bear Grylls’ instrument panel froze up, leading to only speculation as far as the true height that he was flying.

To make matters worse, there is no visible proof of his height, other than a few photos which prove that he was only in the air–

Bear claims that Discovery Channel and the BBC are currently editing his footage for a special that will appear on TV later in the year…Don’t get me wrong, I think the special will be put out…but I think most of you will be dissappointed that he will not be going OVER Everest, as will be hyped, but rather over the Height of Mt. Everest–as claimed.

The word OVER is the key part in this argument at this point and Bear Grylls is playing it to the nine..

It is mentioned that Bear has hyped up other Adventures of his before in the ExplorersWeb article, so this new play on words should not come as a surprise.

Another thing of interest is why is ExplorersWeb trying so hard to discredit Bear Grylls, when all the facts to the story have been said not only by Bear Grylls, but also the media numerous times?

Here is an example.  This story is coming from The Telegraph in the UK:  Explorer Hits Heights With Himalaya Record

This story also features a video clip as well as photos of this expedition.  Bear Grylls also talks to The Telegraph about his attempt.  Take special notice in his description of not flying OVER Everest, but of being able to fly ABOVE the height of Everest and look over into Tibet.

This should very well end this argument.  Bear Grylls nor ExplorersWeb should be discredited for their information and reporting.  I think both are in the right.  I think the one item that will stand out though is each of their understandings of the word OVER..

It will be interesting how this plays out on Discovery and the BBC as they try to build this program.  Just keep in mind what I have said and don’t be to dissappointed in the outcome.

As far as I am concerned, there shouldn’t even be a discussion taking place over this if you truly read this story as it has come out in numerous other places…this issue is OVER.

Free-Climbing the Second Step: A New Controversy Brewing..

In the past two weeks, numerous reports of Conrad Anker and Leo Haulding’s, successful summit of Everest have been reported.

Many of you will know that Conrad Anker and Leo Haulding set out a couple weeks ago to try to prove that George Mallory could have successfully summited Mt. Everest, by doing it themselves in equipment that would have been used in Mallory’s day–although made more recent.

Their findings are being reported two different ways.  The first, is that they were successful…the second is that they had to put aside the look-alike 1920’s equipment and make their final push in high tech gear of today.  To be honest, this would lead you to believe that Mallory and Irvine couldn’t have summited in the gear that they had.

Another controversy has seemed to have erupted recently over Conrad Anker and Leo Haulding’s subsequent free-climb up the Second Step.  The two, in order to do it as Mallory and Irvine, removed the ladder ascending the Second Step and decided to free climb it.  Many people, including Elizabeth Hawley, the Mt. Everest Expeditions local historian and news source, seem to be confused on the merits of free climbing the second step…

The Adventure Blog has posted a nice piece on whether this was the first free climb ever, the first one since the 1960’s as Elizabeth Hawley claims, or just another one that has fallen into the cracks of misreporting.  ExplorersWeb contends that there are actually a few people who have done this on the Second Step and that Anker and Haulding are just the most recent.

We all know it isn’t done often.  More people go for the much easier and safer, by using the ladder, but the controversy arises in part, by a message left by The Altitude Everest Team claiming that this was a true first.  No matter how it plays out–it is very unlikely this is a true first as way more than one source agrees that it has been done at least once before and possibly numerous times.

I credit Kraig over at The Adventure Blog for this fine piece of investigative reporting–I will be watching to see if he can come up with some truth and what the facts are surrounding this situation–well done Kraig.  Now go read his fine piece HERE.

David Tait on Top of the World–The Photo

David Tait, who I covered extensively throughout this past Mt. Everest season has finally posted a photo of himself on the summit of Mt. Everest on his Everest Expedition Blog.

I had the priviledge of conducting not one, but two exclusive interviews with David–one before his attempt to make the first ever Double-Traverse of Mt. Everest and one after his aborted effort after successfully summiting from the famed North Ridge Route then crossing ver and heading down the South Col.

David’s original plan was to go from the north to the south…rest at South Basecamp for a few days then head back from South to North…a feat many considered suicide in one season and an attempt that has never even been done before.  But as fate would have it, David ended up having to break trail and fix ropes upon reaching the South side to finish his descent on his first attempt.  This process inevitably left David more tired than he had planned, and also allowed him time to rethink why it was that he was trying to do this.

David’s story, is a true revelation into a man’s soul as he fought with himself and ego and eventually decided that his climbing partner deserved all the credit…not himself.

Head on over to his site and check out the cool summit picture–just goes to show that David inevitably kept his one goal in mind.  While your there, feel free to check out his posts as he successfully became the first person from the UK and Europe to make a successful Traverse from Everest North to South.

Let’s not also forget that through David’s efforts this season, The climbers on the south were able to launch their bids for the summit–without him, they may not have had a chance till very late in May.  This was definately an incredible adventure!

Everest 2007 Update: Summit Push Winding Down

The huge summit push to the top of the world’s highest peak is finally beginning to wind down with a major storm forecast for tomorrow.

Both Basecamps are starting to empty as the vast amount of teams that have already went up are packing their bags and heading home, but that doesn’t mean all of the action is over just yet..

In the past day there have been a few more summits of note.

Paul Adler Finally Makes the Top

Paul Adler has finally completed his journey to the summit that began with his first venture to Everest in 2006.  He did run in to a few problems upon the descent though including a bad bout with snowblindness, some O2 problems, and a case of altitude sickness-But Paul made it and is safely back down to BC after going through the Khumbu Icefall lastnight.

A Few Double Summits of Note

It doesn’t happen very often but this season has seen quite a few people go up and summit more than once..

Willie Benegas from Mountain Madness made his second successful summit bid as he led two more to the summit yesterday, Tendi Sherpa and Brian Smith.  Willie went back up for a second summit after two of his clients had seemingly fell behind everyone else–good job on making it a success!

The London School of Business is also reporting that Rob Casserly and Kenton Cool have made a successful second summit as well, having doing so within the same week.

Cauldwell Extreme Doctors Summit

The Expedition to study how altitude plays on the human body–has also landed a few of the Docs on the summit.  Here is a report coming from them:

Dr Mike Grocott, Dr Sundeep Dhillon (Climbing Leader), Dr Daniel Martin, Mr Chris Imray and Dr Nigel Hart from Britain summitted yesterday (May 23) and Dr Jeremy Windsor from Britain and Dr Roger McMorrow and Dr Mick O’Dwyer from Ireland summitted today (May 24). Dr Paul Gunning from Britain also reached 8,400 metres (27,600 feet) today but turned back.

The scientists and doctors are investigating hypoxia – a deficiency of oxygen in the blood - to help future patients in intensive care and have set a world record by taking arterial blood samples near the summit of the world’s highest mountain. The samples were taken on the Balcony at 8,400 metres rather than the summit for safety reasons, due to low temperatures and high winds. In addition, the Caudwell Xtreme Everest team constructed the world’s highest laboratory at 8,000 metres (26,246 feet) on the mountain’s South Col.

Project Himalaya

The Project Himalaya Expedtion has effectly called off their summit bids at this point.  They were planning on a summit push today but with the weather coming in they have decided to try to wait it out and make a late push around June 2nd.

The Weather

As has been predicted, the large weather window that has seen well over 450 summits this past week has began to close.  There are reports of a large weather system moving in and deteriorating conditions higher up Everest.  Lungevity has reported in excess of 130 MPH winds at the higher camp–and this is before the storm.  A couple of teams are going to try to stick around and make a late summit push–but other than these few, most are now packing up and heading home. 

One Expedition of note, Conrad Anker’s attempt to recreate the 1924 George Mallory Expedition is still on track and scheduled to begin at the beginning of June, pending the weather.  He will be climbing in the same general gear as Mallory on this attempt in order to see if a summit was actually a feasable option in 1924 as some have suggested.

2007 Everest Season Not Quite Over–but Almost

Some sites have already began to do their yearly look back at the 2007 Mt. Everest Summit season.  Alan Arnette has done an exceptional recap of what has happened thus far, calling it a “normal year”. 

I will be making my own wrap-up to this season towards the beginning of June and discussing some of the major stories that have come off the world’s highest peak.  Until then, I will try to feature what I can about what is going on on Everest–but with the storm coming in, it probably won’t amount to much..I guess we will all have to wait till the beginning of June for any more major summit news.

Everest 2007 Update: Two High Altitude Rescues, More Summits, and a Possible Weather Change?

Over the past day, two amazing rescues have occured at high-altitude, one each on the North and the South.  One rescue is cause for concern though, as we will see:

Female Nepali Climber Abandoned at 27,500 Feet

An Unknown female climber with the Democratic Nepal Everest Expedition was seemingly left for dead by her own team near the Balcony at 27,500 feet on Everest’s South Side yesterday.  At this time, this is all that is known of the actual incident other than details from the IMG Expedition Team who went up to try to make a high-altitude rescue.

Dave Hahn–who incidentally has some of the most famous High-Altitude rescues ever to his credit–went back up with both Mike and Casey from the Coleman Everest 2007 Expedition on an attempt to save this female climber.  Here are the details coming from the IMG Expedition website:

Dave, Mike N., Mike H., and Casey have descended to Camp 2. On the way they helped a climber from another team, who had been abandoned at the Balcony (27,500′,) and who was in very bad shape. They managed to get her to Camp 3, where she was turned over to climbers from the Everest Expreme (medical research) team. We are proud of these guys for doing a great job on the way up, and the way down!! We’ll keep you posted!

This comes on the heels of a tragedy that occured last season when a similar incident occured with climber David Sharp…the difference this year?  People went back up to help and the climber was saved.  The David Sharp incident last season brought International attention to climber ethics and how these rescues were handled on Mt. Everest.  Over the past few weeks, we have all witnessed some great high altitude rescues taking place…and all I can attribute that to is the memory of David Sharp…

While I am talking about IMG, today they are reporting that their final team has successfully made the summit today and will shortly be heading back to basecamp. This is great news that has seen well over 33 IMG team members make the summit this year.  Congratulations!

Italian Climber Found Near Death at High Camp

An Italian Climber on North Everest was found today near the Camp at 8300 Meters.  Marco, as he has simply been known thus far, was found unconscience and had apparently spent close to 48 hours lying in the snow before he was discovered by members of Alex Abramov’s 7Summits Expedition.  Here is what 7Summits reported: Read more

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