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Everest 2003: Charlie Wittmack Dispatch Two
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A new group of Iowa
Mountaineers...
I'm 25 years old, which means that my "lifelong
dream" spans a little more than a decade. My
childhood heroes were Bonnington, Habeler,
Messner, Boardman and Tasker. I memorized
Unsworth in high school and his bibliography
became my reading list. When my friends were
reading Sports Illustrated I was reading the
American Alpine Journal and the only sports stats
I know to this day are from the book Accidents in
North American Mountaineering.
Growing up in Iowa, most people found this a bit
unusual. I always tell people that the benefit of
being an Iowa climber is that we get to travel.
The Iowa Mountaineers paved that route over sixty
years ago as one of the largest climbing clubs in
the world and pioneers of new routes from Devil's
Tower to the Andes. Iowans are a passionate group
and that passion tends to be contagious.
Several of my friends from Iowa are on the
mountain this year, and I'll be bringing you their
greetings and news from time to time. Iowa City
physician, Chuck Huss, is returning to the
mountain for the third time this spring with an
expedition led by Bob Hoffman. Don Briggs is an
outdoor educator for the University of Northern
Iowa and will be there with Chuck, acting as the
Base camp manager for the expedition. Ben Caskey,
the climbing manager for the Fin and Feather store
in Iowa City, plans to lead a trek to the Base
camp before setting off for some of the smaller
peaks in the area. Brooks Reynolds will also be
joining us at Base camp in May to handle
communications and dispatches during the summit
bids. While we had originally all planned to
climb together, the economics of the climb made
that difficult. We will be spending a great deal
of time together in Base camp and sending out news
and dispatches from our Iowa communications tent.
Over the weeks and months ahead, I'll be bringing
you photos, interviews, and articles about our
adventures, both on the mountain and off. If you
have questions about a specific topic, please
don't hesitate to email.
Email Charlie
(Photo: Native
Iowan and climbing buddy, John Richard, heads up
the fixed line on the West Face of Leaning Tower.
Photo credit: Charlie Wittmack) |
 Dispatches
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