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Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC":
I operate a small adventure travel company called Of
Global Interest LLC. My mission is to either
take you around the world or bring the world around
to you. I offer customized adventures in
Nepal, Spain, Hungary and Peru. I sell imports
from Nepal in the Himalayan Bazaar in my Garage and
am the Innkeeper of a small Bed and Breakfast in Ann
Arbor, Michigan called The Eighth Street Trekkers'
Lodge. I also offer monthly educational and
cultural presentations in my home and often visit
schools, community groups, and clubs to share my
experiences. I have a growing mailing list of
adventurous souls to whom I send my E-mail Adventure
Journal: the stories of my travels. I
organize the Of Global Interest Random Acts of
Kindness Fund which provides funds donated for
random acts of kindness benefiting children in
Nepal. Each time I lead a trek to Nepal, we
include some of these activities.
I
spent my junior year abroad in Kathmandu through the
University of Wisconsin in Madison. During
that year, 1986-87, I learned to speak Nepali and
earned a degree in English and South Asian Studies.
I received a Masters Degree in Interdisciplinary
Studies from The University of Texas at El Paso.
While working on my Masters and teaching English as
a Second Language (ESL) full time in a public school
on the border of Mexico, I also completed courses to
become a certified teacher. After teaching ESL
for eight years (in the Peace Corps in Hungary, in
El Paso, Texas, in Spain at The American School of
Madrid and in Ann Arbor, Michigan), I have decided
that my work as an educator extends far beyond the
four walls of a classroom.
Question
from EverestNews.com:
Sean tells us he is "probably" going to
Everest on an expedition you are organizing for him.
Have you organized an expedition to Everest before?
Or on any other 8000 meter peak?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": I
am not organizing the expedition for Sean.
Wongchu Sherpa and his company in Nepal are
organizing this expedition. I am the link
between Wongchu and Sean, between Nepal and America.
My tours and adventures are customized. When
Sean asked if I could help him get to the top of
Everest, I said I would look into it. Now,
almost a year later, I have all the right people
working for him in Nepal, including the Expedition
Leader Wongchu Sherpa. Wongchu and his company
took care of all of the land based operations for
the Everest IMAX expedition as well as several other
Everest successes, expeditions on other mountains
and humanitarian projects. Wongchu's earnings
have mainly gone back to his village where he has
brought clean drinking water, hospitals, schools and
better lives.
Question
from EverestNews.com:
What are you providing for him?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": In
addition to what I mentioned above, I am also
providing Mt. Everest Base Camp Support Team Treks,
cultural orientation, correspondence with Nepal and
paperwork, logistics, itineraries, hotel
reservations, research and information and other
services. I am the bridge between Nepal and
America, between the familiar and the unfamiliar.
Nepal is a very distant land not only geographically
but culturally, politically, religiously. I
have been working with Sean to plan this trip and
this Everest expedition for almost a year.
Based on my knowledge of and expertise in Nepal, I
am hiring qualified and experienced people in
Kathmandu who are well versed, well established and
ready to help Sean realize his dream.
Question
from EverestNews.com:
Does working for a client with Sean's resume with a
lack of experience on
8000 meter peaks or altitude concern you ?
Sean
does not lack experience. He has been training
and working hard to get ready for this climb.
If he is not prepared, he will not make it.
All I can do is offer him the support he needs to
make the best of his attempt. It is up to him
to train hard and put one foot in front of the other
all the way to the top. We have the best
people in Nepal. Any person's individual
reaction to altitude is anyone's guess.
Whether one has been to extreme altitudes many times
before does not predict how the next time will be.
Climbing Everest and/or any other mountain is risky.
No one denies this. Sean's training, the
weather, his climbing guides on the mountain, his
health, and many other variables will determine his
success. I am confident Sean has a good
chance. The statistics say roughly 50% of
those who attempt Everest must turn around before
reaching the summit. Sean knows there are no
guarantees. I feel his determination and hard
work will pay off, not only for him but for millions
of people around the world who are suffering with
cancer. Sean could have chosen to climb
another high peak, however, no other mountain
touches and inspires as much as the word
"Everest".
Question
from EverestNews.com:
Are you providing Sherpas or others to guide and stay
with Sean on his summit climb?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": Because
he is connected with Wongchu, Sean will have many
Sherpas working for him. His personal climbing
guide, Mingmar Tsering Sherpa, has been chosen to
take him to the summit. Mingmar is 30 years
old and has been to the summit of Everest six times.
There are not too many people with this kind of
experience. Sean will be in very good hands.
[Note since this interview Sean tells EverestNews.com
that Mingmar Tsering Sherpa, who is a very strong and
famous Sherpa will NOT be his personal Sherpa. He has
not been told who will replace him.]
Question
from EverestNews.com:
Who will be climbing with Sean? Will there be other
team members or
will he be on his own on the mountain?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": The
number of trekkers and climbers is down in Nepal
right now mainly due to the recent world
circumstances. Therefore, Sean will be part of
his own expedition. Wongchu is organizing
everything. Sean will have a lot of
individualized attention.
Question
from EverestNews.com:
Everest is a dangerous place where climbers die
every year. Do you feel Sean understands the risk of
climbing Everest, and knows he might not come home ?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": Sean
has done and is doing plenty of training, research
and preparation for this climb. I don't think
anyone climbs Everest without knowing the risks. Yes,
I feel Sean understands the prospects of death
better than anyone. He has spent much of his
life in a hospital bed -- clinging to life.
This is the main reason he is climbing.
Question
from EverestNews.com:
How have you determined Sean's abilities to climb
Everest? Do you feel like you, as his expedition
organizer, should check out his abilities?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": Sean
and I have been corresponding nearly everyday for a
year now. I know him pretty well. I know
him well enough to know he's not one to waste his
money, his time, his energy. He is an
experienced mountain climber. He has exactly
what it takes to do whatever he wants -- and to
succeed. I trust Sean has confidence in his
abilities.
Question
from EverestNews.com:
Does it concern you that Sean will most likely be
criticized for not having experience at altitude?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": One
does not gain lung capacity by breathing thin air.
If this were the case, climbers would train by
running on a treadmill while breathing through a
coffee-stir straw. (I heard/read a quote by
David Breashears I believe, that said climbing
Everest was much like this.) Altitude is a
strange thing. No real amount of readiness can
prepare one for the effects of altitude. Acclimatization
takes time. Sean will spend many weeks
acclimatizing before the summit attempt. The
best way to prevent altitude problems is to climb
slowly, spending many days climbing up and down, up
and down, slowly, slowly, gradually to higher and
higher altitudes. The body needs time to
adjust to the thin air. Some people adjust
more easily, based on their physiology, not based on
their experience or training. In the past,
Sean has not had trouble acclimatizing. If his
body is not able to adjust on Everest, he will have
to turn around. Our itinerary is especially
designed to allow the body time to acclimatize
properly. It doesn't seem like something one
would be criticized for, unless one were too eager
and were to ascend too quickly. Sean has a lot
of common sense which, for most things in life,
solves many problems.
Question
from EverestNews.com:
Some will say "He is NOT ready to try to climb
Everest on a non-guided or non-coached basis, that
is the bottom line." Reply?
Answer
Heather O'Neal, "Of Global Interest LLC": Sean
will be guided. He will not be alone. He
has the best people in Nepal working for him.
He has many coaches. His training is going
well. He has a good chance of succeeding.
I am rooting for him and for all those cancer
patients whom he will inspire just by making the
attempt. His message is to dream big, go for
your dreams and don't let cancer or a hospital bed
get in your way. Adventure and adrenaline are
life.
Heather
O'Neal
Of Global Interest LLC
Ann Arbor, Michigan
The story continues
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