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To
the Edge of The Impossible" Everest 2000 Expedition
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Juan Oiarzabal, "To
the Edge of The Impossible" or AL FILO DE LO IMPOSIBLE in Spanish
Two objectives of the Expedition:
| Recently the program
of the TVE "To the Edge of The Impossible"
announced its intention to recreate the
ascent of 1924 of Mallory and Irvine of Everest. This expedition is
already underway. Last Tuesday, 15 of March TVE
publicly presented in the studies of Prado
of the King, the expedition " To the Edge of the Impossible to Everest ". This
poses many challenges including high altitude cinematography, a historical re-creation of
the June 1924 attempt and a sporting challenge to ascend without oxygen. No member of the expedition, neither mountain climbers, nor technicians,
will take bottled oxygen. From 7000 meters and above mountain climbers will
be in charge of shooting film. For this
complicated project they have reunited to an outstanding
team, seven mountain climbers: Juanito Oiarzabal, Inaki Querejeta, Josu Bereziartua, Juan Vallejo, Ferrαn Latorre, Oscar Cadiach and
Alberto Cerain; and four technicians: the cameramen Antonio
Pιrez-Grueso and Manolo Rojo, the sound technician Daniel Salas and Sebastiαn
Alvaro as producer. Oscar Cadiach will play of
Mallory and Alberto Ceraνn will be his companion representing Irvine. The expedition is taking more than 6000 kilos of
material (equipment, food and cameras) including 6000 meters of 16mm film and six cameras
for high altitude filming that is needed to allow the group to climb Everest and
record their entire adventure. |
Oscar
Cadiach and Alberto Ceraνn
|
Interview
with Juanito:
| The ascent will once
again match Oiarzabal against Everest. A summit of which he recognizes that
he does not have good memories from his two previous expeditions. On the first expedition, by not being able to reach the summit and
on the second, in 1993, when a few
hours of stepping on the Summit an expedition member ran into tragedy. Antonio Miranda died
during the decent." I
keep
no resentment. I return to enjoy the mountain and because I want to make this 8000 meter mountain without oxygen like the others
", Juanito comments. |
|
To the Edge Of the Impossible and Everest:
| The television program
already has a long history in common with the
highest mountain on Earth. The first
expedition in 1987 was not able to
reach the summit. In the 1992 the TVE expedition returned next with members of the Mountain Military School of Jaca. On
this occasion the expedition summited, the 15 of
May, the 8848 meters of the top of Everest, following the complex Route of the Poles. This
year the expedition will undertake a new sporting
challenge, climbing without oxygen via the North Face route along with the cinematographic challenge to reproduce what could be the first human
expedition to reach the top of the mountain
called Goddess Mother of the Earth. |
|
Until
the last detail...
| Amongst the more than
6000 kilos of material that the expedition will bring for
this project, are two period costumes
made of wool, similar to which the members of the British expedition 1920's wore. Ice axes, ropes, and other material from
the expedition also has been made of for the project. Boxes of wood of the
time, lamps, old gas cylinders of oxygen, chairs and tables, notebooks, pencils, pipes,
pens, clocks, compasses, old maps, and other many materials of the past will serve to
reproduce in images any moment of the old expedition. With all the necessary details that
the spectators who traveled in 1924 to the Base Camp to witness and adventures with
Mallory and Irvine will see what it was like. costumes
made of wool, similar to which the members of the British expedition 1920's wore. Ice axes, ropes, and other material from
the expedition also has been made of for the project. Boxes of wood of the
time, lamps, old gas cylinders of oxygen, chairs and tables, notebooks, pencils, pipes,
pens, clocks, compasses, old maps, and other many materials of the past will serve to
reproduce in images any moment of the old expedition. With all the necessary details that
the spectators who traveled in 1924 to the Base Camp to witness and adventures with
Mallory and Irvine will see what it was like. costumes
made of wool, similar to which the members of the British expedition 1920's wore. Ice axes, ropes, and other material from
the expedition also has been made of for the project. Boxes of wood of the
time, lamps, old gas cylinders of oxygen, chairs and tables, notebooks, pencils, pipes,
pens, clocks, compasses, old maps, and other many materials of the past will serve to
reproduce in images any moment of the old expedition. With all the necessary details that
the spectators who traveled in 1924 to the Base Camp to witness and adventures with
Mallory and Irvine will see what it was like. EverestNews.com will report on Juan Oiarzabal, "To the Edge
of The Impossible" expedition thanks to our friends in Spain, which we have
agreed to exchange certain information and other sources. Desnivel source of images and
interview with additions and modifications by EverestNews.com. |
|
More on this expedition soon
including their comments on Graham return to Everest to find the camera. The Expedition
left on the 23th !
- Everest Spring 2000: Juan Oiarzabal, "To the Edge of The Impossible" or AL
FILO DE LO IMPOSIBLE in Spanish
Part 2: In
search of the camera of Mallory:
Last spring an expedition lead by Eric Simonson found the
frozen body of George Mallory who disappeared in the Everest 75 years ago. The
"Investigating Expedition Mallory and Irvine 1999 " mainly intended to find
convincing evidence that demonstrated that Mallory and Irvine were first to climbing
to the top of the world. On April 1st search for evidence started
and Mallory's body was located on May 1st 1999, about 521 meters from the
summit. Mallory was found in a jacket and trousers of wool. The investigators looked
for the camera but without success. The photos that this camera MIGHT contain could
show that M&I had summited or at least show that they died on descent (photo being
taken above where the body was found). According to the specialists, the impression on the
film that could be in good state and be preserved by the low temperatures.
This
would prove Mallory and Irvine the first
men who climbed a mountain of 8000 meters
(since Maurice Herzog climbed the Annapurna
in 1950) and first in arriving at the summit of the highest mountain of the world,
almost three decades before famous Edmund Hillary
and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Graham Hoyland, great
nephew of Somervell who was intimate friend of Mallory, to try to recover the
camera. Graham is returning to Everest, where he summited in 1993, and who
will count on the support of the BBC. The BBC team, sponsored by the English public
television station, will leave at the end of March to the base camp of the North of the
Everest, to ascend by its northeast route and to try to recover the camera George Mallory
carried. According to Graham, the BBC was also the major sponsor of last year's M&I
expedition.
Can the answers be found in the
camera?
We asked
Sebastiαn Alvaro, director of the program of television To the Edge of
the Impossible, what he thinks of the
search of the all-important camera.
Note his answers are
translations from Spanish !
What do you think about the fact that the BBC organizes an
expedition to look for the camera of Mallory?
"We knew that the great nephew of Somervell had
been the initiator of the idea last year, when they were in the Americas, and this year
they have been put in contact with us to ask for aid
and our cooperation in the search. "
Is "To the Edge" interested in looking for the
camera?
"Our objective never has been to look the
camera nor bodies. Our objective is to
climb Everest without oxygen and to reconstruct and narrate to the viewers the fascinating
history of Irvine and Mallory. "
If the camera is found it would solve the great mystery of
the ascent?
"No, I believe that there are many possibilities that the
camera had broken and therefore the material inside is unimportant. In addition, in my
opinion, the camera is going to have no test, neither in a sense nor in another one, that
it contributes any more light on the situation which we know about. "
EverestNews.com should add that in
our research we discovered that Juan
Oiarzabal had a plan to reconstruct the fascinating history of Irvine and Mallory before last year. In fact, he had been working on
this for several years, EverestNews.com has learned. Many thanks for our friends at Desnivel for the source of the interview with additions and
modifications by EverestNews.com.
Current Status 3/30/2000, Expedition Delayed: A general strike
with the new government of Nepal has delayed Juan and his expedition. They are being
prevented from leaving the airport of Tribhuvan.
This general strike is
affecting many trekkers. Almost the norm in Nepal for issues of this kind it seems every
year.
A earlier Report is below:
- AL FILO DE LO IMPOSIBLE (Irvine & Mallory)
In Spring 2000, Juan Oiarzabal from
Spain will head an expedition to emulate Mallory & Irvine's 1924 attempt on Everest. Juan is one of only 6 men to Summit all of the 14 8000 meter peaks. This
expedition will film their climb while attempting to reproduce Mallory & Irvine's
ascents. Juan and his expedition will attempt the same route as Mallory & Irvine
without the use of bottled oxygen. Juan Oiarzabal is clearly one of the greatest H. A.
climbers ever, gives this group hope and credibility.
What is their Everest experience?
Alberto climbed Everest (S Col) in May 1993. Oscar climbed Everest in Aug 1985 (N Col
route) and May 1993 (S Col). Juan did the 14 8000m peaks between 1985 (Cho Oyu) and 1993
(Everest S Col with oxygen.).
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