Confirmed: Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa Going For Mt. Rainier Speed Ascent Record On Saturday

Nepalese mega-mountaineer, Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, 13-time Mt. Everest climber and former world record holder for fastest ascent to Everest (10Hours, 56 minutes, and 46 seconds) will attempt to break the present world record for fastest ascent to Mt. Rainier on Saturday, August 16 by climbing the mountain in just four 4 hours.

The previous unofficial record is held by Justine Merle, who climbed the mountain and returned to Paradise, WA in just 4 hours, 49 minutes, and 35 seconds. Lhakpa Sherpa, who is 41 years old, will begin his journey to become the fastest human being to ever scale Mt. Rainier, which stands at 14,411 feet, at 5 AM sharp. A press conference and victory celebration is scheduled for 9 AM at Paradise, on the south slope of the mountain. Sherpa, who lives in Sandy, Utah with his wife and three children, is a Goodwill Ambassador to MorePeace Corps, an effort to double the Peace Corps.

Asked why he is doing this, a soft-spoken Sherpa said, “I am doing this for the children of my country, Nepal. I never had a chance to study in my village – I started climbing at a very young age. I want to raise $50,000 so that the students at Mera Elementary School in my village in Solukhumbu can get a new school. I am not an educated man, but if I can help even onechild in my country, that is all that matters.”

Lhakpa, who has also scaled the famed Ama Dablam mountain, is not the only one in his family to scale Everest. In fact, Sherpa’s family holds the World record for the most ascents by a single family: thirty. Sherpa’s olderbrother tragically died in 1991 during an ascent to the top of Annapurna

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Cracking the Sherpa Gene Code: Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa Involved in New Study

Apa Sherpa, the man who has climbed Mt. Everest more than any other human being–17 times–and former Record Holder for the fatest climb up Everest, Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, are currently taking part in a new study at the University of Utah.

Over the years the Sherpa people have become legendary for their abilty to climb high altitudes and carry heavy loads in the Himalayas.  Even today, the Sherpas are relied upon heavily to move camps and supplies up and down Mt. Everest, as well as many other peaks in the Himalayan region.  They can withstand loads up to their own body weight and climb with ease to 29,000 ft.  Now researchers are trying to figure out how and why their abilities are so much more advanced than other climbers.

Apa and Lhakpa Gelu, who have been residing in the United States for a couple of years, are leanding a hand in this research project. 

The study would soon reveal a lot of details about the unique high mountain climbing capabilities of the Sherpas,” Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) said.

Initial research efforts, taken during this past spring’s SuperSherpa Expedition, have shown that the Sherpa Genes may have just evolved after nearly 5,000 years in the high altitude–

This is definately a cool study.  With Apa and Lhakpa Gelu, two of the world’s most famous mountain climbers, on board–it should be a great chance to try to figure out just how they do what they do.  Who knows, we might just learn something new about these amazing people!

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

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

Everest 2007 Update: Confirmation of Deaths Lastnight

Originally there had been a little bit of confusion regarding possible deaths on Everest lastnight–the second night of a big summit push that has thus far seen well over 100 successful summits.

At this time, from a few different sources, I will try to piece together what is known at this time.

Originally, as I posted earlier, there were reports of both a male and female climber who had perished sa well as two Koreans and quite possibly a Czech climber as well.

As it goes on Everest, people report what they are hearing–at this time, it has been confirmed that three people did indeed die lastnight.

Official reports out of Korea and Japan confirm that two climbers from Korea as well as one Japanese Male did die.  This brings the total for this season up to four.

Official news from Asahi.com states the following regarding the fallen Japanese climber:

A 62-year-old man from Tokyo died Tuesday shortly after reaching the summit of Mount Everest on a tour run by a Japanese travel agency, organizers said.

It was the second death on the world’s highest peak of a member of a tour organized by Tokyo-based Adventure Guides Co.

According to the travel agency, Yoshitomi Okura, the party leader, phoned Tuesday morning from Nepal saying the group had scaled the 8,848-meter mountain from the Chinese side.

The man collapsed after taking a few steps on the descent.

A Nepalese Sherpa gave the man a heart massage but he died. His body was buried in the snow near the peak as a temporary measure.

Earlier today, it was being reported that the dead climber was in fact Yoshitomi Okura–the guide on this expdition, but as you can see by this post, that can not be so.  The name of the climber has yet to be released, and this happens quite a bit pending notification of family members after such a death.

Meanwhile, the two Koreans who perished has also been officially identified with this report from Yonhap News, an Independant Korean News Source:

Oh Hee-joon, 37, and Lee Hyun-jo, 35, were both members of a team led by Park Young-seok, who has conquered 14 peaks of 8,000 meters or higher in the Himalayas, according to the branch. Oh, the expedition team’s vice captain, had climbed 10 such peaks.

The two Korean climbers were hit by a rockfall somewhere between 7700 and 8300 meters lastnight.  A couple of different sources have stated that the climber’s bodies will be brought back down for proper burial.

As far as the Japanese woman and The Czech being reported as perishing, at this time it is believed that both of these incidents were in fact reference to the fallen Japanese Climber near the summit. For more on this, I suggest you head over to Alan Arnette’s great site. Stories have a way of changing as it filters through the camps–unless you wait for an official word…which we now have.

These three climbers along with Dawa Sherpa, respectively, are the only confirmed deaths on Everest this season.

We wish the families, friends, and associates of these fallen climbers our thoughts and prayers.

Everest 2007 Update: Summits and Death on Everest

Everyone knew that lastnight was going to be as busy or busier than the night before on the world’s highest mountain.  Here is a rundown to get everyone up to date on the happenings on Mt. Everest lastnight.

Sadly, Three People Have Died

It is being widely reported that there were a few deaths on Everest lastnight.  Two Koreans and a Japanese climber perished.  Here is what is known at this time:

The Koreans–Ho Hee-Joon, 37, as well as Lee Hyun-Jo, 35, both perished from a rockfall incident.  The two climbers were well respected in the climbing community and had many accomplishments under their belts.  They were both members of Park Young-Seok’s Expedition. Ho Hee-Joon had successfully summited 10 of the world’s 14 8,000 meter peaks and was making an attempt at his 11th, Everest.  The two were climbing from the Southwest Face and the accident occured between 7,700 and 8,300 meters.  At this time it is not known if the two were ascending or descending.

The third climber to perish lastnight on Everest was a 62 year old Japanese climber that died just a few meters from the summit upon his descent.

Yoshitomi Okura, had successfully summited Everest but died while trying to descend.  A sherpa tried to help him out but it was to late.  Mr. Okura was a member of the Tokyo based Adventure Guides Co. and he had successfully climbed Cho Oyu in 2003 and was making his 3rd attempt on Everest.

Many people lastnight were mentioning that there had been reports of death and perhaps a high-altitude rescue in progress.  At this time, with the names being released, I can confirm the three deaths.  The rescue attempt that many were noticing from below, could very well have been from one of these incidents.

Alan Arnette, is also reporting two more incidents-One involving a Japanese Girl on the North Side and the other a Czech climber.  I have not been able to confirm either of these at this time.

With so many people heading to the summit at once, news of this nature is not unusual.  In the coming days, I am sure more facts will be coming out related to these accidents.

The Adventurist gives it’s condolences to the family, friends, and associates of these fallen climbers and our prayers are with you tonight.

Now on to the good news..

SUMMITS GALORE!!

The night began rather quickly lastnight with teams on the North and South both looking for their summit pushes.

SuperSherpas and Mountain Madness teamed up to place all of each teams members at the summit from the South.  Apa, from SuperSherpas, claimed his 17th Everest summit breaking his own world record for most Everest summits ever.  Lhakpa Gelu, his partner, claimed his 13th successful summit of Everest.

Following this news came the news that fellow Sherpa, Tashi Tenzing, had made a successful summit as well along with his client.  This is reportedly Tashi’s last time on Everest.  Tashi Tenzing is Tenzing Norgay’s grandson, the man who first stepped upon the summit of Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary.

So the night began very historical in nature..

Other teams to summit included a team of Philipine Women, who were the only other team besides David Tait to traverse Everest this season and go from one side to the other…they also became the first women to ever do so.  Great Job ladies.

Other climbers of note to summit:

Andy Pizzarro of Learning Without Limits as well as Andy van der Velde from South Africa.

Overall there were roughly another 50 summits coming from the North as well as 27 coming from the South.  In the coming days more will be said about this courageous night.

Don’t Think it is Over though

We have just crossed the 100 summits mark on Everest this season, but as EverestNews reminds us, last year there were around 480 successful summits.  They are also speculating that there could be anywhere from 1-200 more summits coming in the next two days.

The deaths reported on Everest lastnight, anywhere from 3-5 depending on the sources, will put the total of deaths on Everest at roughly half of what they were last season at 11.  If you will remember, Dawa Sherpa perished earlier this season and up until lastnight night had been the only confirmed death on Everest.

As far as the two Koreans who died, sources are saying that their bodies will be brought back down for proper burial, so there will be some activity in that direction in the coming days.

For everyone that summited lastnight:  CONGRATULATIONS!  and for all the ones to come: GOOD LUCK< The World is watching!

Everest 2007 Update: Weather Good or Bad on South Side?

I am hearing mixed reports of the weather on Mt. Everest tonight.  If you have stopped by earlier, than obviously you are aware of the current push to the summit taking place on both the North and South sides–

Right around 50 people summited this morning on the North and more teams on both the North and South Sides are currently heading up..

Bill Burke with SummitClimb is reporting the following:

“The weather has not been cooperating so most of the teams are still at Everest Base Camp. It snowed really hard this afternoon and it is snowing as I send in this report. Our current plan is to start up the mountain on May 18 for our final push to the summit. I understand that there are four teams currently on the South Col and they may make their run for the summit tonight. We are all wishing them well.”

Also, Alan Arnette is reporting that Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, with the SuperSherpa Expedition is also reporting some high winds–upwards of 40 knots towards the summit.

I am sure everyone is watching the weather situation very carefully, as quite a few teams now have members heading up.  I am hoping that the weather holds out and this second group of summiters will make as well as the first group did.

So far no major incidents have occured–maybe we can actually have a “safe” year this time around–pending any weather problems.  Keeping the fingers crossed.

Everest 2007 Update: Mass Exodus For Summit, as Day 2 Summit Push Begins

Day two is shaping up to be busier than today as far as Everest and the push for the summit go.

From the North Side, there will possibly be another 50-60 people attempting the climb up the North Ridge Route, and from the South, many are expecting the same.

Here are the teams to look for:

From the North

The female team of Philipines are sitting at 8300 meters now and are planning their final push tonight.  Also on the North, Cato Pederson, will be planning his “Unarmed” Everest Push has he tries to make a successfull summit attempt after losing both of his arms many years ago.  Other teams:

Manny Pizzaro, SummitClimb (second phase), Scottish Scouts, Nives Meroi and Romana Benet, as well as Kari Kobler to name a few…

From the South Col

Supersherpas, who will be ascending around 9 pm tonight, IMG, Adventure Consultants, Exploradus…all of them are in the works to make an attempt, if not tonight, then definately by morning.

The Weather

As mentioned earlier today, many expeditions and climbers are predicting a small 48 hour window here before bad weather sets back in.  Many teams are trying a scramble for the top, while others are trying to use their “sixth sense” and hope for a better opportunity and hopefully less crowds as well..

It is noted that after David Tait successfully crossed from the North Ridge to The South Col and eventually down to Camp 2–that the teams on the South have been busy, busy.  David was able to break trail and fix the rest of the ropes that the South needed in order to finish their push to the summit.   The South now has plenty of trail to follow and ropes leading their way..

Great job David on making this all possible and jumpstarting the South Summit Push as well..

As Always I will bring you the latest as I hear it.

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.

Everest 2007: Inside Himex Basecamp, From The Outside

Nick Heil, a journalist for Outside magazine, has recently joined up with Russell Brice and his Himex team at Everest Basecamp and will be chronicling the Himex Everest Expedition this season for Outside magazine.  All of this is taking place in the Outside Blog.

Some quick observations about Nick Heil’s Blog about this Expedition.

First, is the shear size of Russell Brice’s Expedition this season.  Here are a few details:

1. The Himex team’s camp consists of 87 tents.
2. Of those 87–67 are two-person dome tents provided by Mountain Experience.
3. The rest are divided among “specialty” tents.  One each for the following:  Communications, Medical, Russell Brice’s Personal Bedroom, One kitchen for climbers, as well as one for the Discovery Channel Film Team, A Food storage tent, 3 mess tents, 2 client bathroom tents, 3 client storage tents, One Sherpa Kitchen, One Sherpa Dining Tent and 4 Sherpa Dorm Tents, and 2 Sherpa Bathroom tents.   They also have a make-shift film studio made of plywood, as well as “The Tiger Room”, which has been getting publicity for it’s geodesic shape, as well as it’s size..24 by 24 by 24 ft. high.

At this point I would like to mention that a lot of people, including myself, have been speculating about the big size of the chinese expedition team.  At this time, in comparison, the chinese team consists of 90 people, of which ten will be making a summit bid.

If the Himex team has less people–why so much room, and why has this not been mentioned in the press until now?

Also interesting to note, I recently had the chance to discuss the Chinese team with David Tait, a member of this season’s Himex team.  David told me that the Chinese really had no real “prescence” at Basecamp that was noticable.  Maybe this is because Brice’s Himex team is so large itself…

As far as why there is such a big layout of the Himex team, Nick Heil goes on to add:

“While this may seem excessive for a mountaineering expedition, it serves a functional and necessary purpose too. In the calculus of high-altitude climbing, discomfort and even boredom can feed stress and anxiety, and that costs energy. And in this game, the more reserves of energy you can take up high, the better your chances of success—and safety. Ultimately, it doesn’t make the climbing any easier, but it can make it more feasible. When you consider that climbing Everest necessarily entails putting your life on the line, why not do everything possible to stack the deck in your favor?”

The Outside Blog has been updated four times since it began on May 1st.  Other notable mentions on this blog include the recent summit and struggled descent of Maxut and Vissily just a few days ago–which to make a small matter clear–Alex Abramov , from 7Summits went to Russell Brice’s Himex tent to ask for help in getting Maxut and Vissily back down safely–as well as a good post on a meeting Nick Heil conducted with a good friend of The Adventurist, David Tait.

The Outside Blog becomes the fourth Blog to be covering this Himex Expedition.  It is definately getting some wide coverage, especially through the Discovery Channel Site, where they are keeping a blog as well.  It is nice to see yet another perspective that, to this point, doesn’t seem to be biased in the least.  This willd efinately be a nice addition as the Himex team starts to prepare for it’s summit bids in the coming days.

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