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February 1-15th,1999 Daily Reports
For Latest
News. For earlier reports: See the Site Index for a list of
all the Daily Reports plus many other stories. If you are new to the site you will want to
visit the Site Index... along with the homepage...
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Daily News: 2/15/99 Report
Everest Spring 99: Enrique Guallart-Furio, has added
several updates to his site. There are some news and photos about
Enrique Guallart-Furio before depart to Himalaya. http://ww2.encis.es/avent/ever/ever.htm
Sources are telling us that Ed Viesturs is headed to
Dhaulagiri and Manaslu in 1999. But this is not confirmed. Veikka
Gustafsson may be accompanying him again .
Makalu 99: Brigitte Muir who
finished the Seven Summits in 1997 with a summit
of Everest will be on Makalu in 1999. " I am going to Makalu with
Ginette
Harrison's Expedition, can't wait !!! " Brigitte
Please check out the Erik Weihenmayer
page ! Erik has agreed to an interview with EverestNews.com and to
take Questions from You, our readers of EverestNews.com ! Submit questions to : everestnews2004@adelphia.net Erik, is traveling and
will be back in a couple of weeks... but submit those questions !
If you missed it: EverestNews.com Classified Ads !!! Coming
soon EverestNews.com will have Free Classified ads pages for You to list Your gear and other
items for sale. Individuals listing will be free. Commercial listing on expeditions,
treks, and gear will be charged. Submit your add to: everestnews2004@adelphia.net, for commercial
ads
rates just send an e-mail with details on your listing. EverestNews.com reserves the right to
reject any add based on its sole judgment. EverestNews.com also reserves the right to
determine what is a commercial add...
Speaking of Guy and ADVENTURE CONSULTANTS: The word
from down under is: "All well in the super sunny South Pacific with one of the
hottest summers since 1927 apparently ! Plenty of climbing going on in the Southern Alps
on Mt Aspiring, Mt Cook and in the Darran Mountains on Mt Tutoko. We're preparing for an
expedition to Shishapangma led by Guy Cotter in April / May and then Cho
Oyu, Gasherbrum I and II, Great Trango Tower, Ama Dablam, South
Pole on Foot, another NZ summer."
Risk has one Everest expedition page in progress !
http://www.risk.ru/himal/ukr99.html which will soon be added to our 99
Links.
Everest Spring 99: We appear to have at least
two
members of Everest Anonymous headed back to Everest in 1999.
Mike Trueman, as reported earlier, will be back on Everest in Spring
1999 ! Mike, is being commercially sponsored,
and will be using a slot on Henry Todd's permit. The High Adventure web
site is at http://www.prpart.com.hk/highadventure/index.html has
been updated to include details of the programme for 1999 and 2000. Mike
also is offering Everest Base Camp treks... " My Everest Base Camp trek is advertised
at US$ 1,800 on the site - but I would be prepared on a one off to offer this to those who
book saying that they saw the site on EverestNews.com, at US$ 1,500 - almost a 20% reduction.
This will be a trek guided by me as far as Base Camp, with another member of the High
Adventure team leading the return", Mike Trueman. Mike's earlier interview with
Questions from readers of EverestNews.com can be found on the Site
Index.
Pete Athans, will be with the North Face/ National Geo Film
expedition on the South Side this Spring. Hopefully, we will learn more details
on this expedition soon.
Guy Cotter guiding for Adventure Consultants
is headed back to Everest in 2000, so it appears Everest Anonymous has come to an end...
Editorial Note: Some search engines are now charging
web sites to be listed ! Several, are now charging for positioning. EverestNews.com
feels this is Wrong. The Net has grown with search engines, now one of the growth
machines of the net, appears now to becoming a big business money tool.
We encourage you all to e-mail your search engines that you use to tell them to stop this
or you will find another portal to use for the web. Also when you search for Everest you
probably will no longer find EverestNews.com as the number one listing because of this.
EverestNews.com is not going to pay this money.... So when you search and find
"junk" you know why .... Tell them about it. Thank You !
Autumn Shishapangma 1999: EverestNews.com was very happy
to learn that one of our web sites of the week: The 1999 American Ski
Expedition http://www.bdel.com/Shishapangma/SPIntro.htm is going to be
featured in one
of upcoming The North Face/NBC adventure series, which means it's going
to be filmed. "We will probably still be a group of eight and the idea is to
film the approach, base camp life and some of the acclimatization ski descents, then have
the climbers/skiers film the actual chute with DVD cameras. " Source Andrew McLean
Spring 1999: The www.risk.ru
web site should be updated soon with their Spring Expeditions ! Check
them out.
Please check out the Erik Weihenmayer
page ! Erik has agreed to an interview with EverestNews.com and to
take Questions from You, our readers of EverestNews.com ! Submit questions to : everestnews2004@adelphia.net Erik, is traveling and
will be back in a couple of weeks... but submit those questions !
A.C. Sherpa New Sherpa Restaurant : Namaste,
Dear Northwest friends,
Namaste !
Welcome to Himalayan Sherpa Restaurant, one of the first ever Sherpa restaurant in the
U.S.! We're excited to bring you the taste from Shangrila ! Sherpas are from eastern
Nepal, the land of Mt. Everest. In Sherpa language, "Sher" means East and
"Pa" means High. Nepal is a kingdom of high Himalayas, artistic monuments,
exotic wildlife, diverse cultures and brave Gurkha soldiers. It is the land where Lord
Buddha was born over 2,500 years ago. Himalayan Sherpa Restaurant is proud to serve
you delicious Nepalese, Sherpa, Tibetan and Bhutanese cuisine. Welcome and enjoy our
authentic cuisine with Sherpa hospitality ! Thanks for asking, We are open. And, hours are
Monday through Saturday 10:30 to 10:30 pm.
We give the best service for our customers, 5 star Hotel. Ang Tsering Sherpa the
restaurant owner, Who has work four years four season Hotel in Seattle And, Five years
Assistance manager of Banquet Department over 5,000 peoples. He brings The Best Service
for everyone. Sometimes you deserve what you pay for meal. Our price also the lowest as
$5.95 to highest $9.95 come and enjoy. AC Sherpa
4214 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105 Tel.(206) 633-2100
Daily News: 2/10/99 Report
Everest Spring South Side 99: The BBC has
big plans for Everest in 1999. The BBC will be featuring Graham
Ratcliffe's reports as part of Henry Todd's Expedition from Everest as Graham's
attempt to become the first Brit to Summit Everest from the North and South Sides.
Graham's reports will be shown on BBC television and the BBC Everest web site (not active
yet) as EverestNews.com understands it. EverestNews.com also hears the BBC will be part of the
Eric Simonson North Side Expedition but we are unclear of the details. EverestNews.com
will be working with the BBC on the South Side ... We will let you know as soon as
their web site is active. A number of experienced climbers are expected to be part of
Henry's Expedition in 1999.
If you missed it: EverestNews.com Classified Ads !!! Coming
soon EverestNews.com will have Free Classified ads pages for You to list Your gear and other
items for sale. Individuals listing will be free. Commercial listing on expeditions,
treks, and gear will be charged. Submit your add to: everestnews2004@adelphia.net, for commercial
ads
rates just send an e-mail with details on your listing. EverestNews.com reserves the right to
reject any add based on its sole judgment. EverestNews.com also reserves the right to
determine what is a commercial add...
Everest Spring North Side 98: EverestNews.com
has
learned in our investigation of the deaths of Fran and Sergi on the North Side this Spring
1998, that Pemba Sherpa, did not reach the Summit of Everest this last
Spring. Pemba Sherpa, who was supporting the South African expedition,
was widely reported to have reached the Summit. However, when asking Asian-Trekking to
review our Summit List to "triple confirm or more" these summits. Ang Tshering
Sherpa, the director of Asian-Trekking has informed EverestNews.com that "The one
who is at number 59 (Pemba Sherpa), however, did not go all the way to the summit.
He actually turned around from 190 meter below the summit. He is, therefore, 190
meter short of achieving the summit record." The other two Sherpa climbers (Jangmu
Sherpa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa) in the EverestNews.com Summit list, (60 & 61) did reach
the Summit of Everest as earlier reported.
EverestNews.com would like to take a second and
thank
Asian-Trekking and Pemba Sherpa for stating that he did not
reach the Summit when it was widely reported and unquestioned by anyone
whether he did or not. But out of honesty and respect for the achievement
they "pulled down their own Summit". Something some climbers
might not do. EverestNews.com says Thank YOU ! Thank You !
EverestNews.com continues to work on Fran/Sergi story.
Thousands
on top of thousands of hours has been put into this story. EverestNews.com believes the
"Facts are in" as earlier stated. However, the writing of this story with all
the details, and the confirmation of others actions and/or non-actions is expected to take
several more months to complete. EverestNews.com is committed to make sure Fran and Sergi's
story is told and we want it told right. Several readers of EverestNews.com has submitted
questions....We understand You want the truth. One way or another the truth will be
printed !!! . Your understanding is appreciated.
Please check out the Erik Weihenmayer
page ! Erik has agreed to an interview with EverestNews.com and to
take Questions from You, our readers of EverestNews.com ! Submit questions to : everestnews2004@adelphia.net Erik, is traveling and
will be back in a couple of weeks... but submit those questions !
Update (See 2/5/98 report) from
http://www.aconcagua.net
: The two day period on which this climber died started with no wind and high
temperatures (the ice on the lake at base camp melted). I turned round from near Berlin at
3.30 pm with the wind just beginning to blow. I returned to base camp in 30 feet of
visibility and snow in a thunderstorm. Through the night the wind blew hard enough to
break the flag pole at Plaza De Mulas Hotel. Early the next morning all the North Face
geodesic storm tents belonging to our group were destroyed at Berlin. Fortunately nobody
was hurt.
The following day we had zero winds and blue sky
and a perfect summit day. The weather forecast for this period was good both from the
Chilean and the Argentinean sides. The weather we faced was a local system.
The lesson here is to be prepared, carry a good stove. with plenty
of high energy food. Keep your intake of water high and keep warm. Lastly, don't
be afraid to turn round, the mountain will be there another day. Dave
Source:
Mariano, http://www.aconcagua.net Climbing
mountains is dangerous !
EverestNews.com Week site of the week: www.alwaysadventure.net
Jamie Clarke who previously reached the Summit of Everest is off on his current trek.
They'll be posting updates regularly via sat phone to the Web site. More soon on Jamie !
Submit your web site to everestnews2004@adelphia.net
!
Everest Autumn 98: As reported earlier sources have
informed EverestNews.com that Kazi Sherpa speed summit of Everest this Autumn is
being questioned. Kazi's speed ascent is being challenged by a Japanese team that
claims he produced a 5 year old photo as evidence. It should be noted, that the
tension and stress on the expedition teams on Everest this autumn were at
what could have been a all time high.
It was
apparent very early in Autumn Everest 98 that few people were to attempt the South Col,
only 4 camps were at the rocky and uneven base camp, two Japanese expeditions, one
Spanish, and Kazi Sherpa expedition. The Spanish team set their efforts to the mountain
and on the way had a very tense number of days as one of the sherpas was labeled a
"criminal" by the Japanese team. Why? He touched one of their ladders
on the ice fall which was a crime as they wanted there own unique route
through the ice fall and no one was permitted to go near their ropes or ladders. This
“crime”
was taken so serious that long meetings and a jury was set and it took
the highest level of diplomacy to cool things off. The result was two parallel
routes on the ice fall this autumn.
The weather was extremely bad all Autumn,
with no summits on the North Side of Everest. Only
Carlos Pitarch Francisco reached
the Summit of Everest from the South Side this Autumn before Kazi Sherpa attempt.
Now sources report to EverestNews.com that the Japanese are questioning
Kazi Sherpa's summit.
Update: Sources are telling EverestNews.com
that the Japanese
were/are questioning that Kazi wore the same clothes on as the an earlier summit ,
reported to us as five years ago. Kazi, according to sources, is saying he always wears
the same clothes...
EverestNews.com suggestion that Kazi Sherpa picture be
submitted to the proper labs to determine the age has not happened to EverestNews.com
knowledge. It appears a "cloud" will hang over this Summit and record forever.
What a shame...
Please check out the Erik Weihenmayer
page ! Erik has agreed to an interview with EverestNews.com and to take Questions
from You, our readers of EverestNews.com ! Submit questions to : everestnews2004@adelphia.net
Horrible News again. http://www.aconcagua.net,
"Unfortunately I have to inform that 2 climbers died in 2 different accidents on the
Mountain. Argin Zlatibo (42 ) , from Croatia and Milam Palov ( 38)from
checoslovaquia died yesterday in 2 different accidents on Aconcagua. According with
Information provided by Pablo Perello, a parkranger , Milan Palov was in really bad
conditions in his tent. A pulmonary edema pushed the rangers to start with the
evacuation. They begun with the rescue very late, almost at night but when the
rangers were bringing the climber , he died. Argin Zlatibo, was member of a 8
member's expedition from Croatia. The rest of the team went down because the
weather. Argin decided to wait alone in order to attempt the summit but the bad weather ,
the wind and the high level of snow would be the cause of his dead. Until now 5
climbers have lost their lives in this season." Mariano,
http://www.aconcagua.net
Climbing mountains is dangerous !
Please check out the Erik Weihenmayer
page ! Erik has agreed to an interview with EverestNews.com and to take Questions
from You, our readers of EverestNews.com ! Submit questions to : everestnews2004@adelphia.net
Erik Weihenmayer, could have
been just an athlete. Just a teacher. Just a public speaker. He could have been remembered
as just "the blind kid." Instead, he’s a hero.
Erik was born in 1968 with a rare eye disease called
retinoschisis.
The disease rendered him legally blind. It progressed into glaucoma, and by age 13
Erik
was totally blind.
Erik’s father, Ed Weihenmayer, encouraged Erik to challenge the
ideas of what a blind person can and cannot do. Ed took Erik and his brother hiking often
and sent Erik to adventure camps for blind youth where he learned to mountain climb. The
seeds were planted early for a life of exploration and adventure.
In 1987 Erik graduated from Weston High School in Connecticut. As
the school’s wrestling captain, Erik represented the state in National Freestyle
Wrestling Championships. His efforts garnered national attention and Erik was profiled on
ABC’s 20/20 with Barbara Walters. That same year he became the first blind person to
trek the 50-mile Inca Trail into Machu Picchu. He was also named "Connecticut’s
Most Courageous Athlete."
Erik attended Boston College and graduated in 1991. Two years later
he received a master’s degree in Middle School Education from Lesley College. As Erik
learned the ins and outs of classroom control, he continued learning how to master his own
movement in nature.
In 1991 Erik trekked in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. In 1993
he crossed the Batura Glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of Northern Pakistan. The same
year he joined the staff at Phoenix Country Day School as an instructor.
In 1995 the world was introduced to Erik when he attempted
Mt. McKinley, North America’s highest peak. Sponsored by the American Foundation for
the Blind, Erik reached the 20,320’ summit. His triumph was featured on
Today with Katie Couric and the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.
Television coverage of Erik’s miraculous efforts was just the
beginning. He began touring the speakers’ circuit – addressing Fortune 500
companies and not-for-profit conventions as well as schools, churches and community
organizations. His subsequent honors read like a "Who’s Who" list.
In 1996 Erik carried the Olympic Torch through Phoenix and was
selected for the first annual Distinguished Arizonan Award by the Governors Council. He
was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and received its first Medal
of Courage.
A year later Erik climbed his second continental summit,
Kilimanjaro. He said "I do," in a marriage ceremony at 13,000’. Erik and
his wife Ellen live outside of Denver, Colorado.
Besides his wife, climbing is Erik’s greatest passion. However,
always eager to test himself, Erik is also a certified sky and scuba diver. And in 1998,
he rode a tandem bike from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with his father, a Vietnam veteran.
Last year Erik attempted Argentina’s Mt. Aconcagua. Poor
weather conditions forced his team to turn around just short of the summit. This January,
he will again attempt the highest peak outside of Asia. The Glaucoma Research Foundation
sponsors his "Vision to Succeed."
Update: Blind Mountain Climber Reaches Highest Peak in the
Americas Glaucoma Research Foundation sponsors "vision to succeed"
For Immediate Release – Teacher and athlete Erik
Weihenmayer has the vision to succeed. Last week he became the first blind person to
reach the summit of Argentina’s 22,850’ Mount Aconcagua. His
efforts, during January 1999’s Glaucoma Awareness Month, are sponsored by the
San-Francisco based Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF).
Weihenmayer, 30, was born legally blind with an eye disease called
retinochisis. The disease progressed into glaucoma and Weihenmayer was totally blind
by age 13. Although blind, Weihenmayer feels the effects of glaucoma – such as
increased pressure in his eyes.
In fact, last year Weihenmayer turned back short of Aconcagua’s
summit. He cited poor weather conditions and pain in his eyes at high altitude among
the reasons. (One characteristic of the most common types of glaucoma is increased
pressure in the eyes which ultimately damages the optic nerve.) This year
Weihenmayer had laser surgery treatments for his glaucoma prior to the climb.
"It made all the difference. I didn’t feel pain
until I hit 19,000’. But when I did, it felt like someone stabbed me in the eye
with a fork. Drugs and eye drops made it manageable this time," Weihenmayer
says.
Weihenmayer is an experienced climber, boasting Mount McKinley,
Kilimanjaro and El Capitan among his conquests.
For Aconcagua, he and his climbing partner and lead, Chris
Morris, braved severe winds, minus 70 degrees below zero weather, and a 4 a.m. departure
time, to enjoy 20 minutes at the summit. At one point, Weihenmayer spent nearly
three hours climbing an exposed ridge, un-roped to his partner, and unable to hear his
lead due to high winds. His only guide was packed snow. He knew if he was
walking on rock, rather than snow, he was off the path.
Only 20 percent of climbers made it to the top that same day.
"When you go blind, you wonder what you will be capable of. Climbing begins to
answer those questions," Weihenmayer says.
In the same way, "Part of my motivation on this climb was
trying to understand this disease and its limitations. What can one expect from
their life, living with glaucoma?" Weihenmayer explains. "If I can
go to such high altitudes with such high pressure in my eyes….that’s pretty
encouraging for everyone living with glaucoma."
Tara Steele, Executive Director of GRF, agrees, adding "For me,
what is so impressive is that this was Erik’s second attempt. It shows that
success takes vision, skill and persistence.
"It’s a wonderful reminder when we are tempted to give up
too soon. In the same way, GRF won’t give up until we have found a cure for
glaucoma."
Erik has agreed to an interview with EverestNews.com
and to
take Questions from You, our readers of EverestNews.com ! Submit questions to : everestnews2004@adelphia.net We talked
with Erik yesterday. He is a truly special person. We think you are going
to really like talking with him. He is very exciting about taking questions from
You !
If you missed it, and are interested in Everest Spring 98
South Side you will really want to check out the reports on http://www.everest98.co.uk/
as described in yesterday's news. This reports are straight forward and detailed
without being "press releases'. Very interesting details. On one page they refer to
Baoo this is Babu.
Everest Spring 98 South Side ! An interesting site about
Neil
Laughton's 1998 Summit of Everest as a
member of Henry Todd's team. Neil was also one of the survivors of Everest
1996... Note, this site only had 6000 visitors so far ??? But appears to have been
updated during the climb. http://www.everest98.co.uk/ Other interesting
pages are : http://www.everest98.co.uk/update_07_06.html Discusses his
summit day and http://www.everest98.co.uk/update_21_5.html.
Everest Spring 98 North Side: Martin Brasg,
expedition base-camp manager and technician of the South African Mount Everest
Expedition 1998. He was invited by Ian Woodall and Cathy O’Dowd to join them
on their 1998 Mount Everest Expedition. This expedition was commonly referred to as the
“Mr. Price Himalayan Challenge” as they (Mr. Price) were one of
the major sponsors. He recently updated his site, with many reports from the climbs....
http://users.iafrica.com/m/mb/mbrasg/theteam.html
We will let you read and judge for yourself !
EverestNews.com feature books are some New
Titles on K2:
Book Description Now known as one of the great Himalayan
mountaineers, Greg Child started out as purely a big-wall climber, famous for his ascents
in the Yosemite Valley. His reputation in the valley earned him his first invitation to
the Himalayas to climb with an elite class of mountaineers. With eloquent prose, Child
describes his first three Himalayan climbs and his transformation into the climber he is
today.
From the Publisher Above an eerie realm of endless snow
covered spires . . . Each step appears increasingly impossible. Disorientation and fatigue
make the climber's head swim and the body threaten to collapse. For Greg Child it happened
at 8,000 meters on an all-out alpine-style climb marked by tragic loss. In this
spellbinding chronicle, Greg Child takes us step by nerve-shattering step through the
world's most remote regions - as he cracks the "death zone" above 26,000 feet,
and attacks "by fair means" the world's most perilous pinnacles.
From Child's
assault on Gasherbrum IV to a season of tragedy and carnage on K2, Thin Air is more
than one man's story - it is an intimate portrait of mountains and those who climb them:
what bonds clients together and what separates them, and what the mountains teach us all
about life -- and death . . . --
Every mountaineer in the western U.S. has heard of Paul Petzoldt and
his pioneering climbs and guide trips in Wyoming's Tetons. Most know of his founding of
the highly regarded National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) programs. But even those who
know this "mountain original" well will find new information in this
wide-ranging biography by one of Petzoldt's former NOLS students.
Ringholz recounts the stories of both Petzoldt's mountaineering
exploits (the Grand Teton, the Matterhorn, K2) and his innovations in outdoor education
(Colorado Outward Bound, NOLS, Wilderness Education Association). Furthermore, the book
provides a wealth of fascinating personal details; you'll marvel at the twists and turns
in Petzoldt's adventurous life that resulted from an often-serendipitous combination of
economic privation, world events, wanderlust, curiosity, coincidence, and just plain luck.
The book bills Petzoldt as a controversial figure, apparently in two
connections--some bizarre events involving a murder charge in India and Byzantine
struggles for control over NOLS properties and leadership--and sets out to "correct
the record." Because its an authorized biography, the book may be a bit light on
objective analysis of its subject and other conflicting opinions, but nonetheless it's
competently done. --Donna DeShazo
Everest Spring 99 Expeditions Links
page has been updated ! It should be noted several national teams are expected at
Everest in addition to the listed links. EverestNews.com is awaiting confirmation on
their expeditions.
A report on Erik Weihenmayer is coming to EverestNews.com
soon
The EverestNews.com web site of the week is: Vertical ! http://www.glenat.com/concerto/concerto.htm;
This site is mostly in French but is one of the most highly respected companies in Europe
that covers climbing. EverestNews.com and Vertical worked together when Eric Escoffier became
lost this past summer...
