Nanga Parbat Winter Expedition Over

Jacek Teler’s team on Nanga Parbat has called it quits.  The team successfully made it to Camp I, but from there it was going to be a very rough climb.  They decided to throw the towel in early and not take the added chance of people getting killed.  Here is the report from ExplorersWeb:

Excess of snow and logistic difficulties have been too much for Jacek Teler’s team on winter Nanga Parbat. “The game is over,” Teler wrote earlier today. “Winter Nanga Parbat looks like a very steep ice-cream,” Teler reckoned. “Menacing seracs hanging from the Mazeno ridge would turn any attempt into a Russian-roulete game.”

“Tomorrow we will retrieve C1 and return to BC.” Jacek stated.

In addition to the difficult conditions on the route, the climbers had to endure bitter cold and loads of snow without part of their gear and supplies – the LO officer (carrying a goat for fresh meat) had been blocked by fresh snow on the way to BC.

I can’t say that I blame them much on the retreat.  Nanga Parbat is one of the tougher peaks to summit in the world, add in the factor that it is winter and the weather hasn’t been great and you have a tough mix.  It is nice to see them playing it safe and not shooting for the top.

From Everest to K2: Climbers Descend on Pakistan

The beginning of June marks the arrival of the Pakistani climbing season. With the climbing season on Mt. Everest over for the Spring, much of the attention in the alpine climbing world will now set it’s sights on Pakistan, home of K2, the Gasherbrums I & II, Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat, and many other peaks that fall just under 8,000 meters.

ExplorersWeb has recently updated their list of Pakistan climbing expeditions and are already reporting some teams in the area. I am not going to do a full rundown of this season’s climbers, but there are some expeditions of note.

K2, perhaps the toughest 8,000 meter peak, as well as the second highest in the world, will be attempted by no less than nine separate expeditions. These include teams from italy, Switzerland, the United States, Australia, Vietnam and Serbia, as well as a few others thrown in the mix.

Gasherbrums I & II, Broad Peak, and Nanga Parbat will feature another 15-20 expeditions that I will be following along with closely.

From the end of one climbing season and on to the next. For the complete run-down of expeditions, climbers, and websites that are heading to Pakistan, go check out ExplorersWeb’s newly updated list of all the action. Some of the top climbers in the world are going to be featured in this season’s action and should be quite interesting to follow along with. For the most part, at least climbers won’t have to deal with the Chinese invasion and can climb on their own free will.

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

Alan Arnette and the BIG Announcement!!

My good friend, Alan Arnette, has made a big announcement today.  Over the course of talking with him this past week, he has quietly given a couple of clues…

Our first clue came by way of his own website a couple of days ago when Alan mentioned his climbing plans for 2007.  We will get to that in a minute.  The second clue came in an email that he would have a further..”Bigger” announcement..

Anyone who has been around The Adventurist knows that I hold Alan Arnette in the highest of esteem.  Alan, not only with his own site but through his emails as well, has definately taught me a thing or two about what I do.  If there is something missing, if a fact is not all correct–or there are more details, Alan is always there to share this information in an informative, yet very encouraging fashion.  I thank him for that.

Alan Arnette symbolizes everything I strive for as an “Adventure” Journalist.  His specialty is Mt. Everest.  Which also happens to be a very high priority of my own–but in my mind I will always be number 2…

Now for the Announcement:

Alan Arnette has informed me through email that he is tentively working out a schedule that will land him back on the slope of Mt. Everest in 2008.  This will make Alan’s 3rd attempt–and hopefully his first successful summit!  On the two previous attempts, Alan has been turned back due to illness.

Alan has set himself a schedule that, to say the least, looks tiring in and of itself–But Alan knows his limits.  In his earlier email, Alan tipped me off to this information and said I may do anything I deem fit with this information, so here is what I am going to do.  I am going to let Alan tell you about this journey and the reasonings behind it..

From Alan Arnette

Standing at 27,200′ on the icy slopes of Mount Everest in 2003, I lectured myself between gags that this was it. No more. I was too old and my body was just not fit for high altitude mountaineering. After all it was only 363 days earlier that I had stood on this exact same spot suffering convulsions and made my own decision to return to the South Col before it was too late. Those experiences have come to shape my life in ways I never imagined. They are memories I never hope to forget. And now I am going back.

Those who have followed my site the past eight years know a lot about me … perhaps too much! I appreciate the special relationship I have with my visitors. I have many new friends and in fact some of my best climbing partners I met by way of this site. So in that spirit, I will be chronicling the next year through a series of reports on my way back to Everest.

However, there is something I think is much more important.

As mentioned on the home page, I have two areas of interest now that I have retired: Alzheimer research and the environment. My Father passed away in late 2006 and my Mother is now 81 and suffers from Alzheimer. This is a devastating disease that we know little about. It impacts over 5 million Americans today and a new case is diagnosed every 72 seconds! The funding for research is very low compared to Cancer and heart disease. I want to use this site to raise money for research and raise the public’s awareness of Alzheimer’s, the impact on individuals and their families and ways you can get involved before it is too late. To make this as real as I can over the internet, please visit my “Memories are Everything” page on my personal experience and I think you will see why this is a cause worth supporting.

I am finalizing the details of how to raise money and to make sure it is spent in the most efficient, effective and honest manner possible. My goal is to identify a promising research project or Doctor and target the funding in a specific and measurable manner. I want to avoid the large organizations that take too much of a donation for their overhead. I will announce the details soon.

At age 50, I fully understand what I am signing up for! And I am dedicating the next year of my life to these goals. However, my climbing priority, as it always has been, is to do my best and return home safely to my family. If it becomes obvious that I can no longer perform at altitude or some other factor enters into this plan, I will stop. It is as simple as that.

I will be doing a series of climbs to tune my body to be in the best possible shape for the Everest attempt. I have designed a schedule that provides time at altitude, builds new skills and allows for sufficient recovery times between climbs. Here is the plan:

First, I am so fortunate to live in Colorado. So Patrick, Robert - my closest climbing partners - and I will go for 14 - 14ers this year. We already have a traverse of Pikes Peak under our belts.

In June, 2007, I will return to Alaska for Mt. McKinley or Denali, as it is better known. I climbed Denali, 20,320 feet or 6,193 meters, in 2001 but was forced back due to bad weather at 17,200′ at Denali Pass. So the first step on the Everest road is to reach the summit of Denali.

Next I will be climbing the 14th highest peak in the world, Shishapangma in Tibet. Shisha is 26,335 feet or 8027 meters. This will be a true test of my ability to perform at high altitude. I will take my time and carefully acclimatize to give me the best possible chance. The expedition will start in Katmandu, fly to Lhasa and the drive over the Steps of the Tibetan Steps. The six week expedition will be my fifth climb on an 8000m mountain.

January 2008, along with my closest climbing friends, we will travel to Mexico and climb the 18,880 foot, 5754 meter volcano, Orizaba. This will be a nice warm up for Everest but it will be great to spend time with my friends who will go for their personal altitude records.

Finally, comes Everest. I have not made my decision on which side to climb or who to go with. There are many details still to be worked out.

Please make regular visits to the site for updates and especially consider donating to the Alzheimer fund when it is established. The goal is to raise $100,000 before my summit bid in May 2008. If you are already make donations elsewhere, perhaps this is a year you can consider an alternative or a little bit more for this important cause.

If you are interested in making an early donation to the research fund, pursuing sponsoring this effort or joining a climb, please contact me. Or just say hello!

Kraig over at The Adventure Blog has taken particular notice to the issues that Alan is trying to raise with his next journey to Everest. I, myself, am taking notice as well. Both of my great-grandparents died of this terrible disease. Imagine, if you will, having a very large life–filled with family, friends, loved ones…for 70+ years….now imagine waking up and not knowing the husband/wife laying next to you–the history you have shared for 50 years–imagine not remembering anyone. Each experience after 70 becomes new again–yet each time, you just don’t remember doing it before..This disease is a terrible, terrible thing…

Let’s all take the time to head on over to Alan Arnette’s and wish him our support for this great cause and the coming years as he tries to make the Everest Summit a reality…He deserves it.

The Adventurist will be covering Alan’s Journey in the days ahead, so be on the lookout for the latest updates–or just head on over to Alan’s yourself and check out his wonderful site.

I would also like to put out a personal invitation for Alan.  I would love to Interview you as I have recently done with David Tait (found just below this post) about this adventure..drop me a line and we will work it out.  Wishing you the Best Alan!

ExplorersWeb Taking a Stand…The Adventurist: A Call for Change

ExplorersWeb has published a very strong editorial today about people dying on Everest…Here is a question they pose:

“The questions is though, how many times will we have to witness a Kazakh, a Pole, a Spaniard or any other of the world’s foremost climbers rescue people in the death zone while we keep hearing amateur climbers (preferably Anglo-Saxon) and Everest business folks repeating into Discovery’s cameras that it’s impossible? “

This question of Ethics from such a highly public site as ExplorersWeb will definately be reverberated throughout the climbing community in the days ahead.

This Editorial comes on the heels of one I put up yesterday examining the same issue, yet in a slightly different way.

“David Sharp HAD to Die” goes in to detail about how the death of David Sharp is currently influencing the thoughts and a slight change of attitude that I think is taking place, regarding these high-altitude rescues and leaving people to die.

It is a controversial issue, I agree.

ExplorersWeb has called out a couple of people and expedition companies for the way that they handle their “business”, not only on Everest, but in the climbing community in general–when it comes to someone in trouble on the mountain.

I feel like change is starting to take place in the way people are now seeing these incidents–for years people have been told that in the Death Zone, that there is no chance for rescue…

Let me say that they may be right…but, how do you know that a life can not be saved unless you actually stop and give an effort?

Forty People walked by David Sharp.  Forty.  All on their personal mission to the summit.

I like to think that perhaps my editorial influenced ExplorersWeb to also express themselves publicly on this issue, but perhaps it isn’t an “influence”.  Perhaps there are more of us out there that are tired of seeing these people die needlessly–than was previously thought. 

IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE

In 2007, you can not tell me that we can not develope a system to get these people off of Everest or any other mountain where someone has been injured.

The technology is out there if people are willing to put it together in order to save a life.  The way rescues are carried out today is almost the exact same as it was twenty years ago.

A lot of people are influenced by what they hear–when they hear someone can’t be brought down from the Death Zone–they take that as fact, without questioning it, or for that matter, without trying.

The summit is the most important thing to those that are trying their luck at Everest.  Some that have been there say it isn’t, some that fail say it isn’t, but you would not spend that kind of cash to not have a shot at the summit–plain and simple.

Everest brings immediate fame and noteriety to those that succeed.  Everest is still portrayed as inaccessable, yet well over 200 people made it to the top last year alone.

If those 200 people had made a sacrifice of something that will still be there tomorrow–Everest’s Summit–then perhaps they could have saved even one life from perishing.

What is more important, The summit or a life?

Right now there are at least 4 different people having a lot of issues on Everest, according to their daily reports.  Some of them are so sick that they can do nothing but throw up, yet the summit lingers in their minds.  The summit. 

I can’t put all of the blame on the the one’s not in trouble.  The one’s in trouble sometimes put themselves in the position that they eventually find themselves in.

If you are unhealthy.  If your sickness has lasted longer than 2 days…then get off the mountian.  Your body obviously is already at the breaking point.  Suck it up and make a decision, get down to a lower level, and live to climb another day.

Everest eats people.  If you aren’t prepared in every way possible, you stand a good chance of dying come summit day.

Everyone needs to come together on this issue and take a stand.  People have died needlessly–people have been left behind.  Without making a second guess about these situations, people will continue to die needlessly.

David Sharp HAD to Die on Everest

People die on Mt. Everest.  That is a fact.  In fact until the last few years the statistic was that for every four people to make the summit, one would die.  In recent times (the 2007 Everest climbing season involves close to 1,000 individuals) that number has grown to one in twenty.

Last season brought the tragic death of David Sharp and the controversy of climbers not helping a fellow climber in need to the forefront of media institutions around the world.  Perhaps this is because people never  really knew what went on at 28,000 ft. or they never really thought about it until the media picked up the story.

I am not going to go in to detail on what happened to David Sharp.  By now the world over knows this story and  a year later it still lingers in the minds and bemoans an outpouring of controversy.  Everyone has an opinion.  I will leave it at that.

What I would like to mention is that David Sharp has not been the only climber to be left behind.  It has happened before and more than likely it will happen again.  Read more

The Adventurist: Double Exposure

It has been brought to my attention that this site, “The Adventurist”, is once again being mentioned in a couple of different places around the climbing community.

As always, it is a great honor to be recieving recognition for something that is so enjoyable to do–as well as to know that I do have so many dedicated readers of this site, that not only enjoy the articles, but that are also spreading the word about “The Adventurist”.

The first site, “The MountainWorld Blog“, has been talked about recently on here as well.  This blog is ran by Jake Norton, a two-time Everest Summiter as well as fulltime Mountain Guide, Speaker, and Professional Photographer.

Jake is also giving kudos and recognition to some more of my friends as well, including Alan Arnette, Kraig over at The Adventure Blog, and Everest News. 

Here are a couple of posts I have done about Jake and “The MountainWorld Blog“:

Responsibility and Death on Everest:  A Response Comes In…”

Everest Trash or Treasure:  Climbers Debris Tells of Historical Past

I also suggest checking out Jake’s Blog, not only the front page, but dig into those archives–there is plenty of great Everest stuff to be found, as well as issues delving in to day to day motivation.  A great site and one that I have barely began to break the surface of.

The second site mentioning “The Adventurist” this week was Kraig’s “The Adventure Blog“.  It is basically mentioning my coverage of the recent death of Dawa Sherpa on Everest, you may find this article here:

Everest Claims First Life of the Season

You may also read not only ‘The Adventurist” coverage of this tragic event, but also all of the previous 2007 Everest Coverage by clicking

The Complete Coverage!  Everest 2007! 

A couple of things Kraig’s blog has been covering recently is his magnificent trip and excursion up Mt. Kilimanjaro and The Top 10 Gear of the past 5 years from Gear Junkie.  Both pieces are great and well worth the read.

The third and final mention for today comes from 7Summits.  For those of you not familiar with the 7Summits website, here is a little bit of information.  The 7Summits website, as it would suggest, pertains to the highest peak on each of the seven continents.

Currently 7Summits has a team in place on this years Mount Everest Expedition being ran by Alex Abramov and they are also sending out daily reports via their site.

“The Adventurist” was recently mentioned in the 7Summits Forum.  This forum is a congregation of climbers from all over the world, speaking whatever is on their minds, but particularly pertaining to the seven summits.

This particular 7Summits forum thread is dedicated to Everest: Beyond the Limit, The Discovery Channel’s successful Reality Show taking place in Real-Time on Everest.  You may find the Story they are discussing here:

Unarmed on Everest 2007

Once again, I want to give a big THANK-YOU to all three of these sites and my dedicated readers for bringing me such recognition in public.  Each and every mention of this website on other places around the Web is truly an honor and I am very humbled.  Thank-you.

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor

Responsibility and Death on Everest: A Response Comes In…

Yesterday I posted an editorial titled “Responsibility and Death on Everest”.  I am not going to go back and rehash what was said, but I will let you click the title and read it for yourselves.

It seems like this issue is drawing some interest here as well as possibly opening up further dicussions in the climbing community.  My good friend Kraig over at “The Adventure Blog” quickly linked up to the story and shared his opinion on the issue I raised on his own site.  I thank him for sharing his personal insight into this discussion.

I have also been contacted by Jake Norton from Mountain World Productions.  Now those of you not familiar with Jake or his incredibly enlightening personal blog are in for a treat!

Here is a little background on Jake.  Jake Norton is an Everest Veteran.  He has been on five seperate expeditions to the world’s highest mountain, including 2 successful summits.  He has also participated in many expeditions all around the Himalayas.  Jake has been a mountain guide since 1993 working with some of the best companies in the business including Rainier Mountaineering and International Mountain Guides (IMG) to name a few.  Jake now spends his time as a professional climber, speaker, and photographer while also maintaining his Blog “The MountainWorld Blog”.

Here is what Jake Norton had to say about “Responsibility and Death on Everest”–

Thanks for your great post, and your excellent articles - lots of great information out here, and it is nice to see good opinion, thoughts, and ideas on Everest and climbing in general in a new format with fresh ideas! (And, thanks for the link to The
MountainWorld Blog!)

As an Everest veteran (5 expeditions, 2 summits, and many other trips to the Himalaya), I had some thoughts to share regarding the expedition leaders on Everest, Russell Brice, etc. Read more

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BREAKING NEWS! MT. EVEREST CLAIMS FIRST LIFE OF 2007. UPDATED 12:13 pm 04/26/07

It is being reported today, April 26, 2007, that Mt. Everest has claimed it’s first life of 2007.

Details are still sketchy at this moment as this story is just beginning to break, but it seems that a sherpa has been killed on Mt. Everest while making his way to camp 3 on the Everest’s famed South Col Route. 

At this time it is being noted that only 1 person was involved in this accident and that it did involve a big ice block falling…(UPDATE:  Everestnews.com reported the big iceblock falling, on the other hand Paul Adler, whom this story originated from said it was an avalanche and that it occured on the Lhotse Face.)

More details of today’s tragedy will be given when more is known.  Please stay tuned…

As always after a mountain tragedy The Adventurist will go in to “black mode” for the next 3 days in respect and in mourning for this fallen climber.  I personally wish his family, friends, and the climber community my prayers upon hearing todays tragic news.

UPDATE:  Alan Arnette is reporting that the Sherpa was with the Thamserku Team, a local expedition company out of Kathmandu. 

Alan was contacted this morning by Paul Adler’s team about the situation so for more please visit his site  Alan Arnette

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Responsibility and Death on Everest: An Adventurist Editorial

I am finding something a little bit disturbing as the 2007 Everest climbing season takes shape.  First, I am going to post three little snippets and then I will go in to more detail:

“Gazing up at the Col we were mesmerized by the slow train of “black dots”, gasping their way higher - sometimes so close together they looked conjoined. It looked to me as there were far too many climbers per rope section for things to be “safe” - it would only take one to slip and fall, dragging others, for the anchors to be ripped free from the ice owing to the obvious overload.”  David Tait

“Betsy raised everyone’s eyebrows when she tried to attach her crampons to her boots upside down. “I’m not a climber,” she later admitted, qualifying that ten years ago she wore crampons on a trekking peak in Nepal, but that guides and Sherpas had looked after her climbing needs.”  Discovery Channel Everest Team Blog

“Everest isn’t the place to learn how to climb. Betsy misrepresented her mountaineering experience to me.”   Himex Expedition Leader Russell Brice

First off, David Tait’s comment is not surprising.  I have mentioned previously how crowded Everest was going to be this season.  There are pretty close to 1,000 people on Mt. Everest right now stationed in various camps.

What does surprise me is that after so many previous problems with Expeditions trying to manuever large groups of people on Everest–that they are still doing this.  This is looking for a disaster! 

The ropes these climbers are currently using to move their way up higher on Everest are not made to support weight.  Yes, they are anchored in the ground…well, in ice and snow anyways, but as we all know ice and snow has a tendency to shift and melt.  These ropes are suppose to be used as guide ropes to keep people on track and let them know where they are going.

And David is right, one false move by someone higher up and…well it is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Secondly, David Tait is climbing with Russell Brice’s Himex team, which by the way is being filmed by The Discovery Channel this season for another episode of Everest: Beyond the Limits.

It seems that the Himex team, and maybe this is due to more publicity coming their way with the Discovery crew on hand, is having a problem with a couple of people and their general knowledge and know-how of mountain climbing.

With Russell Brice’s previous experiences on Everest it would seem that he would be taking better precautions against disaster, especially when his own Expedition Company is involved.

I don’t know Russell personally.  I have read about Russell though in print and on the internet and many people are pretty harsh on their feelings with him–the reasonings, I am not so sure of.  I know he was there for the David Sharp tragedy and I also know people were very critical for the way he handled things early on with this tragic death.

Everest has a magic that draws people in.  The life and death challenge–the struggle to accomplish something enormous in the world and leave a legacy of sorts behind.

A lot of people have questioned why some of these “inexperienced” climbers are allowed to attempt something that has brought about so much death to even some of the greatest of climbers, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer in ‘96 for example.

Plain and simple, money and prestige.  These companies earn tens of thousands of dollars per person for a try at the elusive and sometimes deadly Everest summit.

If disaster strikes someone with little experience, it is chalked up to “inexperience”, but my feelings on this are that the Expedition leaders must have a responsibility to know their clients and also know that their clients have previous experience in these sorts of situations.

Should a climber be blamed if they do perish on the mountain or should the Expedition leader in some way be held responsible if it is shown to be caused from a lack of experience from a climber on their team?

These are both tough questions.  The Expedition leaders are running a business.  They make money doing this for a living.  If someone asks me to take them to Everest and offers me $75,000 to do so, you bet I would do it.  Experience or no experience, $75,000 is a lot of money to turn away.

On the other hand, these people that are paying for this “experience” are buying the knowledge and know-how of these great climbers–in other words, putting their lives in someone else’s hands–and hoping that they may have an attempt to summit Everest.

Yes, everyone knows Everest can be deadly.  Every year people perish trying to accomplish their dreams, but year after year, more and more people are flocking for the opportunity that these climbs offer.

I personally feel that it should be the responsibility of the Expedition leaders to know who they are leading…and also have a say if that person should be allowed to continue on.  If one person puts themselves in danger, that is one thing.  If one person puts a whole party of say 20 people in danger than that person should be held accountable for their actions and not allowed to continue on.

As these climbing expeditions seem to get bigger and bigger every year, so are the inherit dangers.  As David Tait mentioned–one false move- and 20 people could die.  Who should be held responsible?  Plain and simple–the Expedition Leaders.

They are the ones in command.  They know the ins and outs of Everest like no one else–and they are being paid to provide the services they are giving. 

The Expedition leaders know, or they should anyways, when things are not looking good.  Twenty people on one line–the expedition leader should be held responsible for not sending up “groups” rather than the whole army at once, so to speak, and putting so many people’s lives in unnecessary danger.

I am not bashing on Himex or Russell Brice. These same scenes of overcrowding and climber “inexperience” are taking place in different camps and expeditions all over Everest at this time.  I am just afraid that hindsight is not being evaluated as strongly as foresight and it will continue to be this way until more lives are lost in what bystanders will later call a “predictable tragedy”.

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