Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France Era is Over

The 2007 Tour de France was anything but an easy ride.  Continued allegations of doping surrounding many of the top competitors only brought on more frustration.

Lance Armstrong has thrown in the towel.

Lance, siting the loss of the Discovery Channel team sponsorship at the end of this years Tour de France, as well as the continued controversy surrounding the doping scandals that have rocked the world of cycling, and a victory in this years tour, has disbanded his team.

After a record run of eight victories in nine years, including Armstrong’s own seven before he retired in 2005, the 2007 Tour de France will mark the definate end to the legend surrounding Lance Armstrong.

Lance Armstrong’s decision pretty much leaves the United States without a team in 2008.

As the doping scandals persist to follow around the top competitors in cycling, funding for elite teams is just not coming in.  Nobody wants to be tied to a sport with so much controversy that has plagued it since 2005–Lance Armstrong’s last year.

With a win this year with Discovery Channel Team member Alberto Cantador, Lance has decided that he wants to go out on top rather than take on the hassle of garnering a new sponsor that just might not be the caliber that he is use to.

Armstrong has decided that his efforts will now better serve his cancer foundation and allow him to do a bit more without having to worry about the day to day activities of his team.

As for the members of the Discovery Channel Team, which number roughly 25 of the sports best riders and includes Alberto Cantador and Levi Leipheimer–well, they will now be looking for work and hopefully have a chance to still make the 2008 Tour de France, but with another team.

Harassment on the High Peak: When an Everest Guide Does You Wrong

For many of us, coming up with the $40-50,000 to take a once in a lifetime gamble on Mt. Everest seems like a lifetime away.  What if you spent that kind of cash only to be told that you weren’t climbing?  What if you spent that kind of cash, the guide tells you “No Go”, then deliberately grabs your belongings and scatters them throughout camp?  While he is at it, he might as well do it in front of not only your team, but a film crew to boot and show the whole world how worthless you really are..

This is the news coming from Betsy Huelskamp.  Many of you may remember Betsy as the tough and rugged mountain climbing biker chic that began an Expedition this year with Russell Brice’s Himex Team.  If any of you followed the Expedition’s climbing blogs on Everest this season, then you would have probably thought of Betsy as Himex did:  slow, didn’t know anything about mountaineering–including how to put her crampons on…as well as a bit self-involved.

Well, Betsy has decided to fight back.  The picture she paints is quite different than what Himex would have you believe.  She breaks down everything from the beginning stages where she first contacted Russell Brice about joining the expedition, and Russell seemingly accepts at a reduced rate of nearly 50%–to the final decision to not let her go for the summit push, and the subsequent temper tantram that ensued and left Betsy’s belongings scattered throughout the camp.

If this sounds like odd behavior coming from a guide on Mt. Everest, then perhaps you should reevaluate who you align yourself up with for that big Everest Adventure. Read more

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

The Adventurist Goes Primitive—Camping That Is..

Well, many of you have probably been wondering where I have been over the past week and a half.

My wife and I recently took a “vacation” to southern Tennessee or “Down in the Hills” as they call it…

We decided to do some “Primitive Camping” at the David Crockett State Park near Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

Now when I say Primitive Camping, I am talking no water, no electricity..we didn’t even bring a watch.  We wanted to get away, do some exploring and lose track of time for a week…and we did.

First off, I need to mention that the place we put up camp was amazing!  We placed our tent at the head of two rivers converging..and right across the river was a 300 foot Rock Cliff straight up!  Beautiful scenery.

Over the course of a week we done a fair share of hiking straight into the wilderness.  As some of you may know, I am based in Indiana–so I was looking forward to seeing th wildlife and scenery around southern Tennessee and experiencing it first hand.  Had some nice animal encounters with probably the best being a large Golden Eagle not 10 feet away from us–some how we snuck up on it without it taking off–but then of course it seen us.

We also followed the river one day and ran across a couple of River Otters eating and playing–another first for me in the wild.  There were plenty of Deer and Wild Tukeys, A Sneaky Raccoon that we played flashlight tag with one night..and even an Armadillo–which I am told is very rare there.  It was definately an Armadillo though, I grew up with them in Texas.

Another day, I strolled the Riverbed for rocks and fossils for my daugher’s collection and began finding Geodes…large rocks filled with crystals..I brought maybe 30 nice sized ones back.  I also found my first arrowheads..a nice Native American Axe Head, some “Indian Money” which is essentially beads that the natives would wear around their necks and use to trade with, and a nice large shard of pottery.  This Riverbed seemed to be an untapped resource for the fossil and rock collector.  I also found a few fossilized shells, a mammal tooth fossil, as well as quite possibly two Dinosaur Teeth–which I am still researching to see if my assumptions stand.

Another item of interest, we ran across 3 different Painted Turtles laying eggs in the woods.  Must have hit the prime time for that.

Overall it was in the 90’s for most of the week…not bad unless you were embarking on a 10 mile hike up and down the big hills of Tennessee…

We made a special trip to the Natchez Trace Scenic Byway, kind of stumbling upon an old pioneer cemetary..that had of all people, Meriweather Lewis, from the Lewis & Clark Expedition, buried there.  I say we stumbled upon the cemetary because my wife seen the first gravestone.  She has an interest in Geneology and wanted to stop.  Her family is from this area many years ago.  We had no idea Lewis had killed himself at this spot and was buried here..we simply found it off of a trail.  On Another cool note, she did find a distant relative’s gravestone there as well..

It was definately a memorable trip.  On the way home we decided to stop in at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky.  This was my second time, her first…but the 50 degree temperaure definately made it a nice pit stop before heading home…even though the 500 steps we descended and then climbed out of the cave was a little harsh.

Upon leaving the Caves, there were a few billboards advertising Mike’s Rock Shop, the Biggest in the Midwest.  I told her I wanted to see what this guy had and try to figure out what I had brought back with me.  All I could say was Wow…

Most of you will not find Rocks to interesting, but Mike’s had some great Geodes, standing close to 4 feet tall and selling for $3900 per half…(these rocks are split in half to show the crystal detail, some of nature’s own Bling-bling).  The ones I had found were priced from $20-$40 each, not bad, but I am not planning on getting rid of my finds..haha.

We had a great time, everything went well..didn’t see no Rattle Snakes or Bears, but we did get to fall asleep in our tents to the Who’s of a large Owl and wake up to the rushing of the River for 7 days straight.  I would like to say I am refreshed and ready to go back to work, but you know how that is…we are already planning our next excursion.

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!

Wim Hoff’s Everest Attempt Successful….but Fails?

The crazy Dutchman Wim Hoff, who was attempting to climb Mt. Everest in shorts this season, has finally been found…

Ever since pictures of Wim on Mt. Everest over a month ago began to appear, I have been trying to track down his where-abouts.  I finally have some new information on the Crazy Dutchman, and as far as I know, I am the first to report it.

Wim Hoff’s attempt on Mt. Everest succeeded, in a sense, as Wim was able to go as high as 7,400 meters (yes, in shorts) before having to turn back for Basecamp.  Wim’s ultimate goal, as he so graciously made very clear, was that he wanted to stand on Everest’s summit and shatter the altitude record for someone …yep, in shorts.

Now Wim Hoff is an interesting character and he draws attention wherever he goes for some of the antics that he has carried out over the last few years, but I think a lot of us are still wondering if a high altitude record even existed before Wim made this effort.  For that I don’t have the answer.

All I can say is that Wim had to turn back on his effort as his feet were literally to the point of freezing solid.  We all know Wim is a tough guy, but -30 degrees in sandals?  Now there is something to be said about that…just not sure what it is at this point..

Needless to say, Wim successfully made it back to Basecamp and is not planning a second excursion like this one, though a rumor circulating has him heading for the North Pole in the coming months…just not sure if he is taking a shirt along for this ride or not….as always, it will be interesting none the less.

Everest 2007 Update: Summits, Summits, and More Summits

Yesterday I posted an Interview with David Tait as well as Alan Arnette’s BIG Announcement–both of these items were pretty big news.  I didn’t post my usual update yesterday with all the previously mentioned stuff going on…so guess what.  That means this is going to be one HUGE update covering the events that has been going on for the last couple of days.

Before I get in to that though, I would first like to post a fair warning for anyone coming by this site from the Television Without Pity forum.  There will be at least one Everest: Beyond the Limit spoiler here today.  So if you don’t want to know what has happened–either skip this post, or come back tomorrow.  I do appreciate all of you stopping by though.

Alright, Let’s get to it:

David Hahn Summits for a Record 9th Time

David Hahn, climbing with IMG, has successfully summited Mt. Everest for his record 9th time.  This puts David as the single most productive Everest Summiter ever that is a non-sherpa climber.  Don’t fear though, I am pretty sure that Apa Sherpa’s current record of 17 will be holding for quite a few more years to come.

Here is a post that Dave made to his expedition website GreatOutdoors:

Hey Great Outdoors, hey this is Dave and I’m on the summit of Mount Everest, it’s let’s see, see if I can see my watch here, it’s 6:40 now we got here 15 minutes ago. Beautiful morning. Beautiful morning. We beat the crowd, and it gave us some trouble, aggravating coming up in the dark at sunrise up the step part of the South Summit, but everybody rested on the South Summit and me and Phinjo Dorge from . . . right there and we got the jump and then had the traverse and Hillary Steps to ourselves, splendid morning, beautiful shadows, casting big shadow of Everest out to the horizon. Just beautiful, really very thrilling, and uh going to give you another call in a minute here, oh boy, it’s exciting to be here. Think I can see as far as I ever have been able to, Makalu, Kangchenchugka, Shishapangma, maybe that’s Manaslu back there, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, beautiful. Beautiful. Okay call you back in a few minutes when my fingers thaw out again.

Sounds like a great view from the top of the World’s Highest Peak, Mt. Everest.

Gavin Bate’s Near Death Experience…Summit Denied

Gavin Bate, who was trying to pull off his own successful traverse of Everest, going North to South, had to call off his climb after nearly dying at 8300 meters.

To begin to put this into perspective, David was planning on traversing Everest with his “shadow” Sherpa Pasang Tendi, using the bare minimum of essentials–a light-weight single-skin tent, a small stove and bivi sack, and whatever else he could manage to get into his backpack.  Now let’s go to the details of what transpired as he attempted to reach the summit.  First, from May 19: Read more

The Adventurist: The David Tait Interview Pt. 2, Post Everest 2007

In March of this year, The Adventurist had the priviledge of interviewing David Tait before he set off to climb Mt. Everest.  David’s ambitions were made very clear.  He wanted to become the first person to ever “Double-Traverse” Mt. Everest in the same season. 

He was well prepared.  David had summited Mt. Everest previously in 2006 and was feeling in such great shape afterwards that he made a commitment to dedicate himself to the world’s first ever double-traverse of Everest in 2007, all the while donating every penny earned to the NSPCC and trying to draw some much needed attention for his latest life mission– helping children who have been the victims of abuse in his native land.

David’s attempt garnered alot of attention this season.  He was a member of the much touted and often ridiculed Himex Team that is being led by Russell Brice–and who, by chance, was also being followed along by The Discovery Channel Team in hopes of filming their second season of Everest: Beyond the Limit.

Through David’s Expedition Blog this season we were given the rare opportunity to take a look at what goes on behind the scenes.  David’s thoughts, concerns, and daily routine were not only followed by myself, but by thousands of people around the world.  In effect, this attention has garnered David something that he has been trying to get accomplished for well over a year now–and that is helping the NSPCC.

Through David Tait’s great assault on Everest this season, we were all able to learn a little bit about ourselves.  David’s journey began strong.  He put himself in place to make a successful first summit and in essence, he did just that.  Half of his goal was accomplished.  Now all he had to do was go back down the opposite side of Mt. Everest, take a 7-10 day rest, and do it all over again from the South Col.

What surprised alot of people in the world was what happened next.  Upon reaching Camp on the South, David made an announcement that his double-traverse was essentially off–

Over the next couple of days, David would go on to explain his reasonings behind this decision.  He felt that Phurba Sherpa, his climbing partner this season, should be given the credit he was due.  If anyone should be the “first” to do something, David noted, It should be the Sherpa who have been an integeral part of every climbing expedition on Mt. Everest.

Over the past season, David has been looked upon as perhaps a little cocky.  David has been seen, as one climber put it, as the “007″ on Everest this season.  Discovery Channel found in David someone who they originally thought would make for great TV..he was good-looking, well prepared, well spoken, and at times could be a bit controversial..someone the american audiences would surely fall in love with.  But David had other plans…

David Tait is his own man.  From the beginning David stayed focused and knew where he was going.  He had goals and he stuck to them..and in a suprise move David Tait showed the World something that alot of us foresake….humility.

In David’s humility, as much as the decision was so hard for  alot of us to comprehend at the time–David still became the first person to EVER traverse Everest, North to South, from his native UK as well as the first Person to ever do so from Europe.

Two new records, a successful traverse of the world’s tallest peak–and tons and tons of humility…that is David Tait.

It is with great pleasure that I can bring to you the first In-Depth Interview with David since his decision to call off his Double-Traverse.  You will see, undoubtedly, how this all unfolded just days ago.

I will let you make up your own minds on who David Tait is and what he represents, as well as perhaps, show you what part of being great entails.

The Adventurist Interviews David Tait

 

The Adventurist:  When I first interviewed you for The Adventurist back in March, you were
just preparing to head off to Mt. Everest.  It has now been two and a half months and you have successfully summited Mt. Everest for a second time. How are you feeling right now and what is your general condition?

David Tait:  I’m feeling more than a little tired -I keep dozing off, but considering i’m still sitting in solitary confinement at the hotel Tibet in Katmandu, i’ve little else to do but read and sleep. I have started to reflect on the successes of the expedition and i’m quite content.

The Adventurist:  This marks the second Expedition to Mt. Everest that you have been on with Himex.  This season was a little bit different though as The Discovery Channel Film Crew was on hand to record what was going on.  Can you elaborate a bit on this experience, and did it in any way influence your day to day activities and preparation?

David Tait:  Yes, I found the film crew to be a nice sociable bunch, but in an ideal world I would have prefered to climb without them. This is for two reasons - firstly, I believe [my opinion only] that they became a little disappointed with the ordinaryiness of the participants, and desperately wanted something to “spice things up”…. i bored them senseless with interviews in which i only referred to the climb and my charity work. i think they hoped for a lot more than this. Secondly, in my opinion again, there was disproportionate attention given to two memebers of the expedition, one complete [literally] novice lady, and one larger than life, but ultimately offensive semi-experienced man. It was clear to me, owing to the coverage that these two got, that the essence of the program [reality tv] would fail without their presence. I found this a little depressing at times.

The Adventurist:  As your summit attempt was taking shape, Russell Brice met with you and
Phurba Sherpa giving you  the go-ahead to start your ascent.  First, can you tell us about this meeting and second, why were you given the go-ahead so far in advance of the rest of the Himex crew?

David Tait:  ———-The meeting was help on the “tigerdome” in the presence once again
of the cameras. Russ, Phurba and i discussed firstly the current state of the fixed ropes, the imminent plans to fix higher, ultimately to the summit, the plans for moving or removing bodies [with permission] from the route, and finally the plans for our traverse/s - this included oxygen, and other minor logisitcs. We had the go ahead to leave earlier owing to the intention of double-traversing inside the proscribed time limit of the end of the season.

The Adventurist:  Upon beginning your ascent there were varied accounts of the projected
“Weather Window” for the summit.  You essentially took a chance by taking off a bit
earlier than everyone else.  Was this planned to beat the crowds or were there other factors involved?

David Tait:  The principal factor was to allow for a second return attempt - hence the early departure. The weather looked a little didgy when we left abc, but in the end it was ideal. We realized there would likely be crowds, but as we both move very fast, we were confident we could outpace most - as we manged.

The Adventurist:  Once you had finally made your successful summit from the North and began to head down the South, did you have any idea that you would be fixing ropes and breaking trail on your descent?  Also, for the uninitiated, can you explain what you had to do and the toll that it eventually took?

David Tait:  Yes, we were aware that the south-side sherpas had only fixed rope to the “balcony”. However, as both of us hadn’t  seen the south-side before, we had no real idea where the balcony was, or how hard it would be to reach. We set off from the summit somewhat blind, moving very slowly and carefully, digging footholds, one at a time, so that the snow wouldn’t mini-avalanche,taking one of us with it. We were joined together by 25 m of rope for safety, and belay-relayed ourselves along the ridge to the Hilary
step. Somehow my oxygen got turned off by hitting the wall, and I thought I was suffocating - I dont know how. Phurba checked for me and turned it back on. That was a weird 10 mins. We were also carrying 150m of rope for possible permanent fixing. We fixed line from the Hillary step, across and up to the south summit - this took an age owing to the need to creep slowly across the ridge-line, cutting footholds. From the south summit to the balcony was
fairly routine, but with quite deep shifting snow. Once at the balcony we discovered the fixed rope….it took us from 6.30 until 11 am approx. to
negotiate the distance from the summit to the balcony….many times longer than it would have done under normal circumstances.

The Adventurist:  In the beginning of this journey, your goal was to “Double-Traverse” the
world’s highest mountain, but after your first successful summit and crossing over to the South you changed your mind.  Can you take us through this process and the reasonings behind your change of mind?

David Tait:  The reasons I changed my mind are twofold. Firstly, and most importantly,  as I mentioned on my site, the only way I was personally going to claim “first to double traverse” was if i asked a superior climber and human being [Phurba] to effectively “step-aside” and let me ” win”. This has been gnawing away at me for months. Having watched Phurba fix ropes to the
summit on April 30th, and then descend to bc in 6 hours, i knew in my heart that he deserved all plaudits. He is an extrordinary chap, honest,
generous, patient and modest to a point that the Dalai Lama could learn things from him. There was no way, especially in the context of my charity work, that I could pretend to supercede him.
The second thing, closely connected was that I was also very tired from the descent - much more than I had anticipated. In the context of not wanting to usurp Phurba, I knew that there was little if any point in forcing my way over this mountain yet again, to come in second. I also feel strongly that such “titles” are there for the sherpas to take and legitimately own….. they
are streets ahead of ALL westerners, so I contented myself with “the first Brit” or if i’m lucky ” the first westerner” to traverse north-south.[ maybe you could help me with a clearer verification? I'd be grateful]. I’ve been told by many many informed people that im the first brit, but id like to know for dead-sure?

The Adventurist:  How different was this experience compared to your first successful summit? Was it easier or harder?

David Tait:   Harder - only in as much as I underestimated the south side descent…. 17 hours of arm-wrapping in both snow-storms and blazing sun - in a down suit….

The Adventurist:  Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently on this
Expedition, or did everything pretty much go as planned?

David Tait:  Everything went better than planned - I managed to summit/traverse after
only 35 days of acclimatization, and the summit day climb was relatively easy…I was suprised.

The Adventurist:  The NSPCC, your charity that you were doing this for, has been able to gain
alot of publicity through yourself and The Discovery Film Team.  If you had a few words for these kids you are trying to help, what would you say?

David Tait:   For the abused kids out there : you have a choice, as I once did. Your life can go south or it can go north - the choice is up to you. Stop blaming others and focus on yourself. I carried my secrets for 30 years - a wasted thirty years. let things go, and start climbing life.

The Adventurist:  Well, Once again David, I will congratulate you on a great climb and a successful second Mt. Everest summit!  It has been a pleasure to follow along with you on this fantastic journey and we are all looking forward to hearing more from you soon.  Hope your recovery goes well.. I am sure Vanessa can’t wait to see you!!  Now hurry Home…Safely!

 Bonus Questions

The Adventurist:  Since this is now over, do you think you will ever try Everest again?

David Tait:  Maybe, if my son or daughter wanted company etc…. but not for
any other reason.

The Adventurist:  In your opinion, what website brings the best “Adventure” coverage in
the world?    This may or may not be published depending on answer.  Ha,ha.

 David Tait:  You definately have a great site - i’m honestly only familiar with you and Ex-web. Yours is far more interesting owing to the manner in which you apparently obtain your info.  You are accurate, Ex-web isnt….dt

Editor’s Note:  At this time, David Tait has been confirmed as being the first person from the UK to make a successful Traverse of  Mt. Everest. 

I would also like to make a point to say that the opinions and viewpoints represented on The Adventurist are not neccessarily those of this site. In the context of  representing all viewpoints in the most accurate fashion, nothing has been left out, and except for a couple of minor spelling changes..everything is being presented as it was.

If you are interested in reading David’s first interview, just days before he began this incredible journey in March, you may do so by clicking HERE.

And Lastly, David Tait is currently in Kathmandu awaiting the arrival of his equipment so that he may leave for home.  David has mentioned that there just may be a book in the works about his two successful summits of Mt. Everest as well his work with the NSPCC…We will keep our eyes out for this project and I will bring more to you when I find out further.

Everest 2007 Update: David Tait Calls Off Double-Traverse, Bandits on the High Hill, and more…

I really have some mixed emotions reporting this news today and have waited in order to get my own thoughts in line..

David Tait Calls Off Double-Traverse

David Tait has called off his Double-Traverse of Everest after successfully summiting from the North to the South side two days ago.  I will let David explain from his own post on his Expedition Blog:

We had achieved Bc to Bc - at last.

However, during the later part of the endless painful descent I realised two things. Firstly, I was not going to be able, in all seriousness to motivate both mind and body to turn around and do it all again, at least not in the time-scale allowed. There might be some supermen in this world, but I discovered that I am frankly not one of them. The men who are however, are people like Phurba Tashi, and his band of awesome cohorts, who day-in day-out climb, stock, rope and carry loads up and down Everest without the slightest hint of complaint - in fact they appear to accept it as a priviledge. The have an almost alien mindset, and a work-ethic, no-one in Britain can even imagine.

The second moment of clarity amidst the pain, was the simple [and previously much considered] fact that in order for me to pander to my ego and claim to be the “First person to Double-Traverse Everest’
I would have to simply ask Phurba to step aside, the moment before we hypothetically summitted a second time. This was frankly unacceptable to me. I’m sure there are many people out there who claim success, when in fact everything is owed to some obscure unmentioned Sherpa. Well, the fact is we both traversed Everest the first time as equals, despite his immeasurably superior experience and skills, but if I indeed had the surplus energy to attempt a second summit, I would have been a fraud in asking him to let me summit first. This wasnt going to happen.

So David decided to ditch his plans and do what was right for his body…his mind…and his soul.  It was a very valiant effort on his part.

David, in a sense, made it possible for so many climbers after him to be able to achieve their dream of reaching the South Summit.  On David’s trip down the South Col, he managed to break trail and fix ropes that would eventually allow many other expeditions to follow up in his tracks-

I do feel it was the right call though.  David has been here before–he knows his body is these conditions and is a better judge than any of us could be.

It would have been nice if David would have set a new first on Everest, but after reading his post we can all understand his thinking and hopfully offer him a little more respect for his call and his judgement.  Well done on a great Expedition David.

As some of you may or may not know, I had the opportunity to Interview David before this Expedition began.  You may find this Interview here.

Bandits on the High Hill

DCXP is reporting that one of their Sherpa once again got involved in helping out another climber.  Namgia Sherpa, who was also quite possibly the Life-saver when Maxut and Vissily’s Expedition got in to trouble , has also been of dire help as noted here as well:

News from the Hill
Manwell - a.k.a. Manni the Canadian, on base services from Arun treks - with his own Sherpa - summited today (17th May) with borrowed crampons (from DCXP) after his first pair were stolen and while he ran out of oxygen at the second step on the way down and his Sherpa adandoned him, worse was to come -in fact when he got back to 8300m high camp his tent, stove, extra oxygen was all cleaned out and his faithless Sherpa no where to been seen….. cavet emptor - buyer beware…..

I think that if there were a “Humanitarian Award” in the climbing Community, Namgia Sherpa has more than proven he deserves the title.

More Teams on a Summit Push

Tonight should be another exciting night as more teams will be trying to make their own summit bids.  We will have more on this as the news becomes available, but so far, today has been very quiet from many Expeditions.

Everest 2007 Second Update, May 15, 2007: 50 Summits Reported Today..David Tait Update…and more

David Tait Update

David Tait has made it to lower ground on the South Side, arriving at Camp 2, along with his Sherpa Phurba Tashi, after successfully reaching the summit of Mt. Everest around 1:30 am this morning.

Adventure Consultants, The team that will run David’s logistics on the South, are reporting that David and Phurba Tashi Sherpa are both very excited to have the first leg of the Double-Traverse finished and are now enjoying some time in the Dining tent celebrating.  Here is what the Adventure Consultants Team had to say:

“All members of the AC Team wish to offer massive congratulations to English climber David Tait and Phurba Tashi Sherpa who successfully traversed Mt Everest today from North to South. This is a huge and rarely accomplished feat. David and Phurba Tashi are members of the Himalayan Experience Expedition (HIMEX) on the North Side of Everest. Adventure Consultants are providing logistical support on the South Side. As David and Phurba Tashi sit in our heated C2 dining tent, they are elated and understandably, exhausted. Tomorrow they will have their first experience of the Khumbu Icefall as they descend to BC.”

50 Summits Reported Today

ExplorersWeb is reporting 50 summits thus far today from the North Side alone.  We all knew it would come fast and furious when it hit–and it definately has…

At this time, I can not confirm all 50 but that is definately not saying it hasn’t happened.  I am just waiting to recieve confirmation.

The South Side

Climbers on the South Side are gearing up for their first projected summit attempts tonight..SuperSherpas will be leading the way with Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa set to arrive at the Summit around 7 pm–this will be their combined 30th summit of Everest!

The Weather Window

Earlier today, I had the opportunity to ask Alan Arnette how big of a weather window the climbers had before the forthcoming bad weather comes in that we have all been hearing about…

From his own site, here is what he had to say:

“Looks like the winds will be tolerable for the next 24 hours at least so expect a big push on both sides. What worries me is that they are forecasted to increase again on the 18th (48 hours from right now - 7:00AM GMT -7 or MDT) and a lot of teams are still low on the mountain. If they push to catch the tail end of this window, they could get caught. But they are there and I am in Colorado so they know best!”

Let’s just all hope that everyone can be safe and make it through this window in one piece, and at least be at a safe place when the weather does decide to come back.

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