The Adventurist Sparks a Nerve….Twice…And You Speak Out!

This past week has seen two pretty controversial pieces here at The Adventurist take center stage.  The first one titled “David Sharp HAD to Die” was recently mentioned on ExplorersWeb and has seen well over 2,000 people stopping by to check it out in the past few days alone.

The David Sharp issue continues to be a very hot topic, even a year after this incident took place.  The media and the Climbing Community have been very vocal on their thoughts and concerns over this incident and it seems like everyone has their own opinions.  I figured I would highlight a couple of these opinions that have been shared here on The Adventurist, just to show you a bit of the differing viewpoints taking place:

First, From reader Yolan:

I am still amazed that people have a problem with climbers dying on Everest…..if you plan to take a risk like that, it is a known factor in the whole “picture”. Expecting a Sherpa (or anyone else for that matter) to risk his/her life to save yours, is way out of line….. ethics be damned…cerebral edema may not be a complication that a climber can prepare for, but as a climber, you have to know it is a potential hazzard in the “death zone” (called that for a reason!!) in a situation like and Everest summit attempt, it should be made very clear…. every person for himself!!!

From reader Leon:

It is unfair for members of the public to have such a negative opinion about how climbers are left in the death zone to die because they have never experienced being at that altitude and in such extreme conditions.

When a climber sets foot on a mountain, he or she SHOULD be awear of the dangers and be prepared for the unexpected.

And Lastly, from reader Helen:

Yolan and Leon have missed the central point here - from all reports 40 climbers passed David Sharp on the way UP. 40 still relatively fresh climbers with Os and Dex, 40 climbers with thoughts ONLY of the summit. You’re damn right the “public” have a negative opinion. Most people I talked to at the time (public all) could not imagine why anyone would think being the 431st or so person on top could possibly outweigh saving another “climber”. What story would YOU rather tell back home ? I made it to a summit thats been climbed a thousand times ? Or I saved a life ?

These comments just tip the surface of this great debate, but none the less, it is very interesting to see the different views expressed.

The second piece that seems to be drawing alot of attention is a piece I wrote just a couple of days ago titled “Dave Hahn, Usha Bista, and How The Mainstream Media Bites a Big One“. Read more

Katsusuke Yanagisawa, 71, Becomes Oldest Everest Summiter Ever!

For the second time in two years, a Japanese climber has become the oldest climber to summit Mt. Everest.

Katsusuke Yanagisawa, 71 years–2 months–and 2 days old has claimed the title after making a successful summit on May 22.  Ang Tshering, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, has confirmed this feat.  Katsasuke beat the previous record of Takao Arayama set last season when Takao was 70 years, 7 months, and 13 days old.

Katsusuke climbed nearby Cho Oyu last season, and from there could look across at Mt. Everest–that is when his new goal started to take shape.

Everest was much more difficult than I expected. It was difficult to breath, hard to walk. Even coming down the mountain was more difficult than I had thought it would be.

Katsusuke further mentioned that he was very tired and had also lost partial mobility in one of his arms during this amazing feat.  He also stated that this was definatley the last High mountain that he would be climbing.

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.

Meagan McGrath Honored for Usha Bista Rescue on Mt. Everest

Meagan McGrath was honored recently for her daring rescue of Usha Bista by the Nepal mountaineering community.

McGrath, who was on her descent after reaching the Mt. Everest Summit, encountered Usha Bista who had become a victim of Cerebral Edema, a build-up of fluid on the brain.

McGrath was the first to come across Bista and soon she was joined by Dave Hahn and a member of his Sherpa team.

Meagan McGrath, 29, from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada was given bouquets of flowers as well as ceremonial scarves by the Nepal Mountaineering Association for her efforts in this rescue and for being the first on the scene.

Usha Bista was able to be brought down to lower altitudes, where currently she is still recovering from the effects of cerebral edema–

Dave Hahn, Usha Bista and How The Mainstream Media Bites a Big One…

First off, let me be the first to say that, quite frankly, I am pissed.  Luckily, I am not mainstream media and can rightfully say whatever I want to on this platform–so, I am pissed.

The media has picked up the recent story of Dave Hahn’s incredible high altitude rescue and once again turned it in to the David Sharp incident–

For the last two months I have been covering the news from Mt. Everest, I have not seen one…NOT ONE story about anything to do with Everest or the great accomplishments, or the 5 or more other rescues, or the 5 deaths…NOT ONE STORY ON EVEREST until this one in the mainstream media!

What Dave Hahn rightfully done was incredible, he saved a life that probably would have died within hours..but the media has already stepped in and skewed the story.

They have seemingly jumped on the “words” of various climbers claiming that Usha Bista was left by her team on Everest, without knowing ANY of the background, or for that matter, even her name.  They simply call her Usha.

It amazes me that they will report this story, skew it for the public, then cry about climbers rights, climbers etiquette…and try to arouse a reaction out of the public.  This is what is wrong, not only in the climbing world, but in news reporting in general! 

The facts have been stated at least two days ago by myself and a couple of other places about the circumstances surrounding this rescue mission. 

Usha Bista was rescued.  She was rescued by Dave Hahn.  She was found alone and in dire shape.  That is what is known.  NOTHING ELSE at this point.

At the same time, there are two paragraphs in the piece I just got done mentioning, talking about Usha Bista.  Another three about DAVID SHARP.

In a way, I have worked in mainstream media in the past as a journalist.  I know how these things go.  They have pieced this whole scenario on what the IMG team first reported on their Expedition Site.  But they state everything as fact even though it was stated that it was not known if she was left behind and further details would not be known until the IMG team had a chance to talk to her.

One other thing I found interesting in this bit of media circus journalism was the fact that they had a comment about this situation from Dave Hahn himself, as follows:

I was very concerned because her oxygen had run out. She was virtually unresponsive, and in a precarious spot on the mountain, on a steep snowy slope,” Hahn told The Times via satellite phone from Base Camp.

This is ALL Dave had to tell the Times, I guess, about this rescue mission, as nothing else was printed in reference to this conversation.  Now, I am not going “whistle-blowing” here, but do you not think that Dave would have at least talked about the rescue mission and what occured while he was on the phone?  It just seems like the rest should have been included.  Or was it excluded for a reason?  Here is more:

She was at a similar altitude to the cave where Sharp died on May 15, 2006, after an estimated 40 climbers passed him by, most of them without making any attempt to save him. His death sparked an international controversy, with some arguing that a rescue would have cost more lives. Others, including Sir Edmund Hillary, condemned the cynicism of commercial mountaineers.

Usha, like Sharp, was apparently on the sort of barebones expedition that charges clients typically as little as $8,933 and provides them with only basic equipment.

Also like Sharp, she was too weak to move when she was found by David Hahn, a veteran American guide, and his sherpa, Phinjo Dorje, on their way down from the summit. Hahn and Phinjo Dorje decided to risk their own lives by taking her with them, even though she was only semiconscious and suffering from severe cerebral oedema, or water on the brain.

Right there is 90% of this News report!

Do Not believe what you read in the media!  They Over-hype, Over-sensitize…and quite often never give you all the facts.

Alpine Climbing and climber’s ethics have taken a huge hit because of the David Sharp incident last season, perhaps in a way it was good, as this season did see quite a few rescues take place in high altitude..but at the same time not EVERY RESCUE is David Sharp!  Each and every instance is different and unless you are actually on that freakin mountain you have no idea how you would react, so quit your whining and crying and tearing down of a world you know nothing about!

Mountaineering is about risk.  It is about accomplishing the unachievable.  A test of self.

David Sharp did die.  He died in a horrible way that even to this day is still controversial in terms of what is and isn’t known…I just think that it is time we all move beyond David Sharp and quit trying to draw attention and raise opinions, cause a ruckus and deface a lifestyle all for the sake of alittle airtime. 

By the way, this story was featured on FoxNEWS today and is still found on their website, but I don’t suggest you go over their to check it out or you’ll be biting a big one just like they hopefully are.

What The….That is one BIG PIG!!

This is something just a little bit different than my usual posts on this site, but this was definately to good to pass up!

Jamison Stone, 11, yes that is right–Eleven–brought down this humongous pig recently in near Delta, Alabama.  This above photo is REAL!

This was a WILD pig found in the woods near where Jamison was hunting and could actually set a new world record for size and weight. 

Jamison seemingly hit the pig with 8 .50 caliber rounds, chased it through the woods for three hours then casually walked up to it and shot it point blank in the face! 

This wild pig weighs in excess of 1,060 lbs and it took some tree clearing and a backhoe to get it up and out of the woods.  The Hams alone on this pig would be as big as car tires!

So what is Jamison planning to do with his Prize Hog?  First he is going to have the head mounted by a local taxidermy company and then the rest will be mde into nearly 700 lbs of the best sausage Jamison has probably ever had.

By the way, even at 11 years old, Jamison is a seasoned hunter.  He bagged his first deer at age 5.

This just has me wondering in amazement right now how a wild pig, first off, can grow to this size, and secondly..how in the world had nobody found this creature before?

I told you this wasn’t like my usual posts found here, but I think you will have to agree with me when I say that this defiantely had to be an adventure.

Jamison, when asked about his plans for the future, said that he would probably never bag something that big again, but he will keep on hunting.  As for the present, he seems to be enjoying the attention that this has brought to him and has even been cast a small part in a small horror flick coming out about what else?  A Killer Pig.

Well, The Adventurist hopes that this is the first of many adventures for this youngster to come, but I think all of you will agree when I say that, right now, all he should be worrying about is bringing home the bacon. (sorry, but had to get it in there.)

The Adventurist: New Directions Leading to the Same Horizon

Many of you have noticed over the past couple of months that I have pretty much been exclusivly covering the Mt. Everest Season.  Well, that season is beginning to wrap up and it will be time to venture out into a few new directions.

I guess in order to comprehend my goals with this site, first you must realize what Adventure means to me.  Adventure comes in many shapes and forms, but most generally when speaking of Adventure, it involves the outdoors.

I have previously covered stories from the North and South Poles, Mt. Everest and the world’s highest mountains.  This will continue as always, but for many of you the thought of venturing to these places is merely a dream or positive thinking.

Adventure to many of us can be found much closer to home.  Mountain Biking, Trail Running, Hiking, Camping, Fishing, Kayaking–on and on.  We are all attracted to the great outdoors, but many of us aren’t neccessarily the “Ironman” type.

With this in mind, I will be broadening my approach around here in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Each day will bring coverage of a new topic–and perhaps daily themes as I get this off the ground and start heading in the direction I want this site to go.

There are many places to explore–sports that just about any of us can take part in–Gear to help us along the way–and issues that we all believe in and respect–such as the environment, that I will be delving into.

It will be a journey for all of us.  Yes, it will be a little bit different, some things will stay the same…but it will all lead to that one goal I first set out with–Adventure.

On another note, this past week I surpassed the 75,000 visitors mark to this site and have done so in 6 months!  That is incredible to me.  When I began this site 6 months ago, my first goal was to get 100 readers–haha.  Little did I know the far reaching abilities that a site like this could garner.

This just goes to show that there were and are a large number of people interested in the very things that I have come to value.

Adventure is about setting goals.  Achieving the unachievable.  Seeing places as no others have seen them before, but in a sense, Adventure is also, quite simply, about having fun.

Teva Mountain Games–May 30-June 3, 2007

The Teva Mountain Games held in Vail, Colorado will be kicking off in less than a week.

This week long competition will be featuring some of the best athletes in the world in a number of disciplines associated with the Vail, Colorado mountain scene.

You will get plenty of climbing action as well as Mountain Biking, Kayaking, Trailrunning, and yes, even flyfishing in this week long tournament. 

The true highlight of this competiton though has to lie with the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, a two day event featuring groups of 1-4 individuals competing in four different events.  The events will include a down river kayak sprint, the Nature Valley XC Mountain Bike Championships, The Cytomax 10k Trailrunning Championships and the Trek Hill Climb to finish things off.

The Ultimate Mountain Challenge will be handing out prize totals in excess of $11,500 this year.

Floyd Landis, the controversial Tour de France Winner last year is also said to be competing in this years Teva Mountain Games.

Closing out the ceremoney will be one of my favorite bands, The Samples.  If you have never heard these guys live, you have definately been missing out.  These guys can flat-out Jam!

It looks like it will be a great time in Vail this year.  If you would like more info on the events, participation, or even volunteering, stop by their site.

As these games begin, I will be following along and trying to bring you the latest updates.  Should be a very interesting time to say the least.

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.

The Adventurist Welcomes ExplorersWeb With a Call to Action

I would just like to take a minute to welcome everyone stopping by from ExplorersWeb.  As always, it is nice to be mentioned on such a great site and in turn, I am hoping all of you find something of interest here as well.

ExplorersWeb has seemingly taken an interest in an article I wrote awhile back titled “David Sharp Had to Die“.  It was an interesting piece although to be quite honest, I was afraid to post it.

Controversy can either be an advantage or a disadvantage–depending upon how you look at it.  For the guides heading these teams up Mt. Everest–it was a disadvantage.  They were overwhelmed with an outpouring of bad publicity resulting from people continually wanting to question this incident…by the media.

To myself, there has got to be a point where the circus needs to stop.  Everyone is always searching for the bad, without trying to take a personal stand to help change the problems that started the whole fiasco to begin with.

Russell Brice took a hit last year for the way the David Sharp incident was supposedly handled-this season it has been publicly known that Russell along with Alex Abramov from 7summits have been the first to line up for these rescues..

They have exemplified what mountaineering should be about.  People helping people.  They are all there for their ultimate goal, and all of them want to preach the team ethic..but unless they are seemingly all working together as a team, it can only be as strong as each individual effort put in.

That is why these tragedies, such as David Sharp have happened.  When 20 or 50 teams are all trying to do what benefits their team and no one else, it breeds chaos when these situations occur.

With my article, I want people to look past this one incident.  Granted David Sharp died on Everest in very bad circumstances, but so have alot of other individuals.  It is time to move on and try to make the team stronger…

There are a few things that can happen to make this disadvantage an advantage for the future…

The biggest one would be communication!  These teams need to come together and set up a radio relay so to speak–sort of like what we have here in the states with the “Amber Alert System”.  If a climber gets in trouble, one message will be relayed to every team.

Also, perhaps there needs to be a “Rescue Unit” in place on each side of Mt. Everest.  The Sherpa’s are great climbers.  Why not pay them to do what they do best…help people and pay them proper wages to do so.  That way if a climber gets in trouble or stranded they are not spread all over the mountain.  They should be trained and know what to do and be at one spot where everyone knows where to turn.  They would be outfitted with extra oxygen, and all the supplies needed to make a high-altitude rescue.

Yes, it costs money.  To me though, it would seem like these Expedition companies would want to pay $20,000 for the good publicity of saving lives than nothing for an ungodly amount of bad publicity…when someone perishes.

Every person on Everest can not be saved when they get into trouble…but, for most, a rescue IS an option.  It will only be made possible though if people are willing to work at this as a team and do something about it.

I wrote the David Sharp article in hopes of stirring up what could be done today..It has gained quite a bit of interest, and until something is done that could quite possibly save someones life, I will continue to be outspoken…

I have a great medium here on which to work.  I have no advertisers to upset or people that are behind the scenes.  It is only me.  One person. One person with a voice for change and, if at times, that wants to be looked upon as controversial, then so be it.  That’s my stand.

My hope would be that others will follow suit in expressing what can be done on this situation.  ExplorersWeb has surprising stood along side me on this issue and I thank them for bringing this to an even bigger audience as well as expressing themselves so well on this issue.

We have a chance to save lives.  I am tired of reporting deaths that could have very well been rescues, if only all the pieces would be put into place..

J. Alan Hendricks

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