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September 21-30th,1999 Daily Reports
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Daily News: 9/30/99 Report
Everest Autumn 99:
The sky is cloudy as always, but today it
didn't snow. It's getting dark and the cold chills out our bodies, which are looking for
some warmth bundled up in our cherished down parkas. Darkness starts encircling us while
we make a balance of our last days. Today has ended with a positive feeling of
accomplishment. Expedition members Tente, Angel, Nacho and Pedro have topped our
expectations by spending two nights at CII, together with some sherpas. They fixed the
lower part of the Lhotse face, and today they went up to the site of CIII, at 7300 m. To
do so, they used many ice screws, and more than 500 m of fixed line. In the next few days
we will need to stock CIII with tents, ice screws, etc.
Our sherpas are a good group of
accomplished mountaineers. One of them, Ang Nima, has participated in nothing less than 28
Everest expeditions. Sherpas are a very special ethnic group. Originally from Tibet
and Mongolia, with their name meaning those who came from the east, they settled down a
few centuries ago in Nepal, country home of several different ethnic and religious groups.
Without doubt, Nepal is a "slow" country, as the seven days it took us to
reach Everest Base Camp on foot thru Sherpa land prove. There are no roads, and the
wheel is not used there, but this place can teach a lot to westerners, like tolerance,
sensibility, amiability, the law of live and let live.
Sherpas started to accompany the first European
expeditions to the earth giants (in Nepal there are 1,310 mountains above 6,000m,
and 8 above 8,000m) and little by little they acquired good mountaineering technique.
Together with their exceptional acclimatization to living at above 3,000 m, this
makes them indispensable allies in expeditions to the higher peaks.
Tomorrow, the group that has been at CII will
descend to base camp for a well deserved rest, and those of us who are here, Jan Carlos,
Nando , Adelo, and myself will head up at 5 a.m. for CII thru the Khumbu Icefall and its
ladders. The following days we will keep stocking CIII, and fixing the route up to 8,000m.
We realize that, thru internet communication, our expedition has generated a lot of
interest, and we thank everybody for all the sympathy shown to our little group in the
quest for bringing our flag to the top of the world.
An extraordinary tale of
adventure from the man who cycled 7,000 miles from Stockholm to Katmandu, summitted
Everest without supplemental oxygen, and cycled all the way back home.
"I must insist … that Mount Everest is
not 29,028 feet tall if the mountain is scaled by a climber wearing an oxygen mask,"
Goran Kropp writes. It is a bold statement not many can contest: Kropp climbed Everest
without supplemental oxygen during the infamous and tragic 1996 season. Yet Kropp is known
for his bold ambitions—striving for the "ultimate high"—and climbing
Everest without oxygen was only half of his remarkable feat. First he cycled from
Stockholm to Katmandu, then he reached the world’s tallest summit during one of its
most deadly seasons, and then he pedaled his way back home. He is the first person to make
a successful pilgrimage to conquer Everest entirely relying on his own power.
Many were first introduced to Goran Kropp, an
adventurer’s adventurer in Jon Krakauer’s best selling Into Thin Air.
However, Kropp had already created a name for himself among climbers. In 1993 he became
the first Scandinavian to top the menacing K2—and only the (second Scandinavian
climber) in the world to do so without supplemental oxygen. He began climbing mountains
when he was six and developed a true passion for climbing while serving in the Swedish
military. "My heroes are Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler," Kropp admits,
"the first mountaineers to scale Mount Everest without breathing bottled
oxygen."
ULTIMATE HIGH is Kropp’s chronicle both
of the climbs that prepared him for Everest—including the loss of his good friend
Mats Dahlin on Cho Oyo—as well as his outrageous, year-long bike journey
crisscrossing Europe and Asia. Kropp was robbed, stoned, shot at, chased with a baseball
bat, and relentlessly forced to repair his bicycle. He hauled 285 pounds of equipment with
him by bike and carried 161 pounds with him up to the Everest base camp. The book includes
appendices with detailed lists of what Kropp packed, its weight, and the distances he
traveled each day. Frank and revealing, Kropp recounts his memories of the groups on the
mountain in 1996, including the well-known Scott Fisher, Rob Hall, Makalu Gau, Beck
Weathers, and Sandy Pittman—who represents the effects of commercial climbing. Even
before Everest, he "saw what they left behind: ripped tents, discarded oxygen
bottles, old ropes, and empty beer cans." This past May, Kropp and a small team again
summitted Everest but also had a mission to clean up the mountain, which has become
incredibly littered.
Kropp is a true adventurer who continues to tempt
fate and push the limits and his account of this ULTIMATE HIGH is sure to impress.
In Conjunction with THE BANFF
CENTRE,
Kropp’s 15-city North American
Tour includes:
Boston 10/25 Salmon Arm, BC 11/8
Chicago 10/27 Vancouver, BC 11/9
Minneapolis 10/28 Prince George, BC 11/10
New York 10/29-30 Seattle 11/11
Denver 11/1 San Diego 11/12
Cleveland 11/2 Los Angeles 11/13
Toronto 11/3-4 Santa Barbara 11/15
Banff 11/5-7 *Keynote Speaker
About the Author: Goran Kropp
achieved his first high-altitude climb in 1988. In 1993, Kropp reached the summit of K2,
the second-highest mountain in the world, without supplemental oxygen. He followed his
record-breaking feat chronicled here with a May 1999 cleanup project on Everest, in which
he collected empty oxygen bottles and other debris and summitted once again. After skiing
to the North Pole in February, Kropp plans to sail from Sweden to the Antarctic and ski to
the South Pole in 2003. He lives in J` nk` ping, Sweden. David Lagercrantz is a
freelance journalist in Sweden.
Note above is his press release...
Daily News: 9/28/99 Report
Adventure Consultants Cho Oyu 1999 Expedition
See - http://www.adventure.co.nz/acl4 for
updates prior to today on our current expedition to 8201m Cho Oyu in Tibet, led by Dr. Jim
Litch. After several days of waiting for the weather to improve and for heavy snow
conditions to settle, the climbers are now preparing to climb to Camp III on the mountain
and then attempt the summit later in the week. Monday 27 September - Weather Improving for
a Summit Attempt on Cho Oyu Dr. Rachel Bishop phoned in this morning, Tibet time, to
announce that the Adventure Consultants Cho Oyu team members are preparing for a departure
early tomorrow morning ( Tuesday ) to Camp I with the aim to try and summit on Friday 1
October ( i.e.. Wednesday to Camp II, Thursday to Camp III ) . The weather has been
improving over the weekend and they have received a weather forecast at ABC which sounds
OK for the next few days, prompting them to make their move. Rachel reported that the
Korean team ( not Japanese as originally reported ) are all alive after their risky summit
attempt yesterday but people at ABC are unsure if they had summitted or not, and three
more climbers were seen moving quickly up to the summit this morning after the Koreans
came down. No avalanches have occurred so the consensus is that the snowpack is now
consolidating. Rachel will accompany the climbers, guides and Sherpas to Camp I and then
she is going to return back to ABC, so she will be able to relay news of their progress to
us later in the week. Report compiled by Suze Kelly @ Adventure Consultants Ltd - High
Altitude Expeditions
As we all been following, the last couple of
weeks have been based around a lot of wait and see on the mountain. Shuffling gear from
camp to camp and doing the daily check in on the physical, mental and emotional status of
team members. Each day demanding an analysis of weather and snow conditions compared to
each climbers skills, physical ability in the moment and amount of time the teams had to
make their decisions. Friday became the day on the mountain for most teams to finally
implement a decisions-the "wait and see" period had come to an end. Chris shared
that since he didn't have clients he could go for it. We saw our very dear friend Russell
and others depart and head down. The summit would not be for them on this trip. Simultaneously
the Korean and Japanese teams made a strong push upwards. Chris and Brad
planned on being one day behind these two teams to take advantage of the shear numbers on
these teams to brake and set the waist deep trail. As Chris and Brad went upward they
would radio back to ABC with their progress. ABC would in turn call me. With each phone
call at odd hours of the day came exciting and hopeful news. Saturday we heard that the
conditions still appeared good up ahead. "All was holding steady!" Chris and
Brad would continue. Early Sunday the word came that the Japanese and Korean teams with
the Sherpas summitted and were on their way back down! Chris and Brad were going for the
final summit push. Midnight Sunday we got the call that Chris and Brad summitted and
were on their way back down. They were at camp three. Rom the cook was on his way up to
meet them at camp one. We anxiously await for the word, hopefully by this afternoon,
saying the guys are back in ABC. Now begins the phone calls to the anxiously awaiting
mothers and mother-in law. How did a boy from Jersey every end up doing this for a living?
More updates to follow. As always, yours in the spirit of adventure. Joyce
Many News books below !
Last Climb: The
Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory by David Breashears, Audrey
Salkeld This item will be published in October 1999. You may order
it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives. Amazon.com Book Description
from Amazon: From renowned Everest mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears and
historian Audrey Salkeld, comes the first lavishly illustrated account of Englishman
George Mallory's 1920's Everest expeditions, including the ill-fated 1924 attempt
with Andrew Irvine to be the first to summit Everest. Included are rare,
never-before-published archival photographs, as well as an account of the recent,
sensational discovery of Mallory's body, 75 years after his disappearance.
Last Climb: The
Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory by David Breashears, Audrey
Salkeld This item will be published in October 1999. You may order
it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives. Amazon.com Book Description
from Amazon: From renowned Everest mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears and
historian Audrey Salkeld, comes the first lavishly illustrated account of Englishman
George Mallory's 1920's Everest expeditions, including the ill-fated 1924 attempt
with Andrew Irvine to be the first to summit Everest. Included are rare,
never-before-published archival photographs, as well as an account of the recent,
sensational discovery of Mallory's body, 75 years after his disappearance.
Commercial Expeditions Meet
Together: The Adventure Consultants Cho Oyu 1999 Expedition have spent the past three days
high on Cho Oyu. On Sept 20th they moved up to Camp I and spent the night there and then
continued up to overnight at Camp II on September 21s.t They descended back to ABC
yesterday. The Sherpas have been as high as Camp III and have much of this highest camp
prepared as well as some fixed line above Camp III, working in conjunction with Sherpas
from other expeditions.
Back in ABC the leaders from each of the commercial expeditions met today to discuss their
next moves. So far there have not been any successful summits this season, although a
Japanese team is at present trying to climb to the summit. Conditions on the upper
mountain between Camp III and the summit are treacherous at present with extreme avalanche
danger on these upper slopes. More snow has been falling up high every evening and there
has been no wind at all which is quite unusual. The snow is not consolidated into a stable
snowpack and in places is waist deep to walk through. Hence the Adventure Consultants'
group are staying put in ABC for a few more days and will start the waiting game with the
weather. Three other groups have already been waiting several days to start their summit
attempts and they have reportedly made the decision to leave ABC and return to Kathmandu.
The Adventure Consultants expedition's itinerary is a few days behind the other groups so
they are happy to wait several more days to see what unfolds and if a summit attempt will
then be possible. Once, and if, they do decide to go for it they will move up and
establish their Camp III and then make a move on the summit. They intend to rest for at
least three days in ABC. They have witnessed avalanches and there have been incidents with
other teams on the mountain of climbers being caught in avalanches, see ... Expedition
Leader Dr. Jim Litch reported that the expedition's build up to a summit attempt has been
going very well and if only the weather would let up then they are feeling well acclimatized
and ready for the climb. All are keeping in pretty good health, except for
Teri Elniski who has been suffering from a bad altitude cough, so a few days breathing the
relatively 'fat' air at ABC will be most beneficial.
Due to the massive amount of snow
that has continually fell during the past 3 weeks, climbing has been slowed to a virtual
halt. The last few days have been a bit crazy around here. Three of the commercial groups
are pulling out. Their retreat is causing a number of other groups follow them to
Kathmandu. Right now they are headed back up the mountain to making summit bids over the
course of the next few days. Korean and Japanese teams are heading up the normal route and
should arrive at Camp 2 today. They hope to head from 3 to the summit on Sunday. This is
not a particularly strong combination of climbers. Only one is very experienced, but I
believe they will have Sherpa support to the top. A solo Japanese climber is
actually headed to the SW Face to try the same route Brad and I deemed to dangerous for
our liking. We wish him the greatest success and safety. Strong winds blowing across the
summit, have appeared to load even more snow on the upper snow fields of that face over
the last two days. I am even more convinced that Brad and I have made the right the
decision, given its current conditions. Obviously our Japanese friend has a higher
tolerance for risk. That high risk tolerance seems to be a powerful part of the Korean and
Japanese climbing teams. On the normal route, they are going upwards, while the rest of us
feel that the risks of avalanche are still too high. Once again, we wish them a safe and
successful climb. None of us want to be on their teams though. If the Korean and Japanese
teams are successful on the normal route, it will open the floodgates and dozens of
climbers will be racing for the top. Brad and I will be among the first to follow. We are
headed up to Camp 2 on Saturday. On Sunday, we will wait in Camp 2, watching the summit
bid, hoping they don't trigger any avalanches and that they are able to push the route to
the summit plateau. If they can get anywhere close, we will leave Camp 2 at midnight and
climb through the night, hopefully summiting on Monday morning. If we are unsuccessful, we
will return to ABC and wait for the conditions to improve. We are guessing that conditions
on Shishapangma are similar. It hardly makes sense to go there at this stage in the game.
Well, while we've been waiting to climb, we've been busy on the social circuit. You can
imagine that a group of almost 200 climbers and Sherpas can make good use of the down
time. Last night Russell Brice's Himalayan Experience team hosted a party. It was quite a
hoot, with dozens of famous climbers and wild wanna bes twirling about in their down
jackets. Later in the evening, Brad and I were the dinner guests of the Adventure
Consultants Expedition. Yak never tasted better. It will be a lonely place after these
teams of friends depart. I guess I'll have to practice my Slovenian.
On September 17, 1989, I took a five hundred
foot fall on Shivling in the Indian Himalaya. The rappel anchor had popped. I rocketed
through the air, over cliff bands and steep snow slopes. At 450 ft. I hit the snow the
first time, and bounced outward. At 500 ft. I landed like a dart, stuck in the slope past
my knees. I was OK, only a small scratch on my nose. But I wanted to cry like a baby (for
6 weeks that urge persisted). The tenth anniversary of that fall was quite eventful. Brad
and I awoke to a spectacular sunrise at Camp 2. The altitude there was 23,400 ft. Both of
us were feeling pretty good, all things considered. Our plan was to spend a leisurely day
in the sun, perhaps climbing above 24,000 ft. At 10 a.m. we settled in for a nap. At 10:30
snow began to fall lightly. At 11 a.m. the snow picked up and I woke Brad. At 11:30 the
snow was falling at a rate of 4 inches an hour. Visibility was reduced to a few feet. It
was time to descend. We packed up as fast as we could. The trail was filling in. The snow
reached to mid shin as I broke trail. 400 feet from Camp 2, Brad decided to stop and put
his crampons on. I scouted ahead. Rounding a bend, and headed for an icy bulge, I noticed
two cracks radiating through the snow pack. A slab of snow had formed and the cracks
indicated that it was ready to slide. I tried to trigger the slab, jumping up and down
near the fracture lines. It wouldn't go. I estimated the volume of the snow (400 sq. ft),
6 inches deep. It would run if I cut across it. Brad's weight would trigger it. But it was
harmless. I spotted a small ice cliff I needed to get to. If I could get there, before
Brad released the slab, I would be OK. I snugged on my baseball cap and zipped tight my
one piece Moonstone gore tex suit. I was air tight and ready for a fight. At this point it
is important to know that I was clipped to a fixed line (8mm cord anchor at both ends by
giant snow stakes). With this added security I headed down the slope. Out of the blowing
snow appeared another climber. He was heading upward in this dangerous blizzard. I yelled
to him to get out of the way. "Avalanche!!!! Head down!!! Head down!!!!" He
looked at me like I was an idiot: how could I know an avalanche was coming? He tried to
fiddle with his ascender, a device which locks to a rope and provides assistance for
climbing fixed ropes. He couldn't make it budge. And he couldn't move aside to allow me to
share the sanctuary of the small ice cliff. I knew I was going to take the full force of
the small avalanche head on. I braced myself as I felt the snow roll over my boots and
shins. It was no worse than standing on the ocean's edge, resisting the undertow. It
pushed against me for thirty seconds and I was confident of being able to withstand the
pressure. Brad, meanwhile, saw the fracture line propagate back to his left and across a
higher dome of snow. The fracture line traveled at the speed of sound, cutting a few acres
of snow and causing this to begin to flow. It picked up speed as it leapt a cliff above
me. The snow was flowing six feet deep and hit me like a train. I was catapulted from the
slope. My legs twisted, my body smacked into the ice bulge. I couldn't tell which way was
up or down. I thought for a second that my legs were broken. Five seconds, ten seconds
later, I was left dangling on the rope. I crawled to the edge of the avalanche, to the
other climber. I was hyperventilating, the air was knocked out of me. Between gulps of
breaths, I told the other climber to yell to Brad and let him know I was OK. This came out
in bursts of incoherent syllables. Brad was yelling, afraid I was dead or buried and
needed help. The other climber still hadn't processed the events he witnessed. On my third
try he finally figured out what I was saying and called up to Brad. I unclipped my
carabiner from the rope and hurried past this climber. With my breathing under control, I
insisted that he follow me down the mountain. He did as he was told. Instinctively we obey
mad men. The slopes below us were now buried in avalanche debris. I was running down hill,
in snow past my knees. When I reached a flat, safe place I turned back to check on Brad
and the other climber. Brad too was running down the slope. The climber had stopped in the
middle of the fresh avalanche debris and took his pack off. I yelled and yelled at him at
the top of my lungs. "Run, run!!! Avalanches!!!!" He put his pack back on and
slowly followed. I waited for Brad and the climber to reach me. I looked at Brad and then
the other climber. "I'm going to give you the lecture your mother should
have........!!!!!!" Hours later I told Brad about the fall on Shivling taking place
on the 17th of Sept. Then it dawned on me: it was exactly ten years ago. What dumb luck 6
inches of snow fell on Camp 1 last night. We missed it, cuddled in our sleeping bags at
ABC. The adrenaline has worn off. There isn't a scratch on my body. The sun is shining. A
few lessons are deeply engrained in my brain. The most important of which is September
17th will forever more be rest day. And on September 17, 2009, I'm going to the beach.
Chris
You,
our readers of EverestNews.com continue to post lectures on the lectures
page... Thank You
Many News books below !
Last Climb: The
Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory by David Breashears, Audrey
Salkeld This item will be published in October 1999. You may order
it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives. Amazon.com Book Description
from Amazon: From renowned Everest mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears and
historian Audrey Salkeld, comes the first lavishly illustrated account of Englishman
George Mallory's 1920's Everest expeditions, including the ill-fated 1924 attempt
with Andrew Irvine to be the first to summit Everest. Included are rare,
never-before-published archival photographs, as well as an account of the recent,
sensational discovery of Mallory's body, 75 years after his disappearance.
The question of whether George Mallory and Andrew
Irvine reached the summit of Everest in June 1924, thirty years before Edmund Hillary
remains one of the great mysteries of twentieth century exploration. That mystery was
partially solved on May 3, 1999 when the body of George Mallory was found on a rocky ledge
about 2,000 feet below the summit. But was he on the way up, or down, when he died in a
fall? David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld have culled remarkably evocative archival
photography from Mallory's expeditions to Everest and, by virtue of their long familiarity
with Everest, bring a uniquely insightful perspective to this dramatic story.
The world's tallest mountain, lying on the border
between Tibet and Nepal-though it had been identified since 1856 and its summit was
distantly visible as a small bump on the Himalayan horizon from the Indian hill station of
Darjeeling-had remained remote because both countries were at the time strictly out of
bounds to travelers. Having negotiated permission to enter Tibet, three expeditions in the
1920s (1921, 1922, 1924) succeeded in surveying and mapping territory unknown to
outsiders, and climbing to heights above 28,000 feet-and just maybe all the way to the top
of Mount Everest. All in all, while it was a magnificent achievement, these first three
ventures cost the lives of at least twelve men. These brave explorers brought home the
magnificent images of Himalayan mountains and a medieval way of life on the roof of the
world, which are dramatically showcased in this book. AUTHOR BIO: David Breashears is a
world-class filmmaker and mountaineer, who has worked on such feature films as Seven Years
in Tibet and the award-winning documentary Red Flag over Tibet. In 1983 he transmitted the
first live pictures from the summit of Mount Everest. Breashears is the recipient of four
Emmy awards for his achievements in cinematography. In 1987 he directed and produced the
documentary film, "Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine." In 1996, he
co-directed, photographed, and co-produced the acclaimed IMAX large-format film Everest,
and contributed his still photographs from that climb, as well as a foreword, to the
best-selling National Geographic book Everest: Mountain Without Mercy. David is largely
credited with spearheading rescue efforts during the harrowing tragedy of May 10, 1996.
The first American to summit Mount Everest twice, he has made four successful ascents of
the world's highest mountain. David Breashears is the author of High Exposure: An Enduring
Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places, recently published by Simon & Schuster.
Audrey Salkeld maintains one of the most comprehensive private archives on mountaineering.
She has written the scripts for a number of films including David Breashears' The Mystery
of Mallory and Irvine, for which she took part in Tom Holzel's 1986 expedition and climbed
to the North Col of Everest. With Holzel she is the author of The Mystery of Mallory and
Irvine. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed book on her Himalayan travels in
Mustang and Tibet, People in High Places.
Physician Climbs Mount Everest With No
Oxygen Irving, Texas, --- Denis Brown, M.D., 47, a family physician living in
British Columbia, made his third attempt in eight years to climb Mt. Everest without
supplemental Oxygen. This time, adding a potent new antioxidant to his regime, and despite
being older, he made it!
Denis Brown was just an infant when
Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, first ascended Mount Everest. The
mountain continues to be as challenging to climbers as in the past. Bad weather and
treacherous conditions still claim lives. "On my first trip to Everest in 1991,
I reached 26,000 feet. On my second trip to Everest in 1994, I reached 28,000 feet before
hypothermia, exhaustion and total lack of energy forced me to abandon my attempt. This
year, I reached the south summit at 28,750 feet. I suffer from exercise-induced asthma and
I was not using bottled oxygen, so I am very pleased with that achievement." Everest
is the world's tallest mountain with a north summit at 29,028 feet. The air is so thin
near the top of the mountain, that even the strongest climbers carry oxygen tanks to help
them breath and to protect them from altitude sickness. During altitude sickness, the
decreased oxygen in the atmosphere produces symptoms such as shortness of breath,
headaches and nosebleeds. When the brain experiences a pathological deficiency of oxygen,
called hypoxia, a climber may experience disorientation, hallucinations and, in the rugged
conditions of Everest, almost certain death. In his practice, Dr. Brown had begun to
use an antioxidant named Microhydrin*. He was impressed with the increased energy
experienced by his patients, and with studies indicating increased cellular hydration,
NADH production (energy), and reduced oxidative stress. He decided to see if this
antioxidant would help his own endurance and oxygen efficiency during the climb.
Dr. Brown began taking Microhydrin two
weeks before his departure for the Himalayan Mountains and continued daily dosages during
his climb. "I initially started on four capsules a day, and increased that to six.
Two weeks prior to the actual summit attempt, I began taking four capsules twice
daily." With the use of Microhydrin*, he not only climbed higher than he ever had
before, but he felt stronger and recovered more quickly. "There is no question in my
mind," says Dr. Brown, "that I felt much fitter and healthier on this
trip." Microhydrin*, is a dietary supplement in the form of an extremely small
mineral colloid processed by proprietary technology with food-grade minerals, to which
hydrogen anions have been attached. Anions are hydrogen atoms which carry extra electrons.
Like electrons available in fresh fruits and vegetables, the electrons in this
concentrated form provide nutritional support to the biophysical characteristics of
body fluids. Electrons, supplied by hydrogen anions, were called "The Fuel Of
Life" by Nobel Laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi. They are necessary for optimal cell
function, energy, oxygen exchange, absorption of nutrients, and the removal of toxins.
Electrons also support cell hydration which is critical to the development of muscle
tissue, and neutralize free radicals, such as lactic acid, which tend to build up during
exercise or other forms of stress. Microhydrin* is a registered trade mark of Royal
BodyCare, Inc. (RBC) a subsidiary of GlobeNet International I Inc. (OTC GNII:BB). RBC
develops and markets advanced nutritional supplements through its headquarters in Irving,
Texas and nine foreign offices.
New book is News !
Last Climb: The
Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory by David Breashears, Audrey
Salkeld This item will be published in October 1999.
You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives.
Amazon.com Book Description from Amazon: From renowned Everest mountaineer
and filmmaker David Breashears and historian Audrey Salkeld, comes the first
lavishly illustrated account of Englishman George Mallory's 1920's Everest
expeditions, including the ill-fated 1924 attempt with Andrew Irvine to be
the first to summit Everest. Included are rare, never-before-published
archival photographs, as well as an account of the recent, sensational
discovery of Mallory's body, 75 years after his disappearance.
The question of whether George Mallory and Andrew
Irvine reached the summit of Everest in June 1924, thirty years before Edmund Hillary
remains one of the great mysteries of twentieth century exploration. That mystery was
partially solved on May 3, 1999 when the body of George Mallory was found on a rocky ledge
about 2,000 feet below the summit. But was he on the way up, or down, when he died in a
fall? David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld have culled remarkably evocative archival
photography from Mallory's expeditions to Everest and, by virtue of their long familiarity
with Everest, bring a uniquely insightful perspective to this dramatic story.
The world's tallest mountain, lying on the border
between Tibet and Nepal-though it had been identified since 1856 and its summit was
distantly visible as a small bump on the Himalayan horizon from the Indian hill station of
Darjeeling-had remained remote because both countries were at the time strictly out of
bounds to travelers. Having negotiated permission to enter Tibet, three expeditions in the
1920s (1921, 1922, 1924) succeeded in surveying and mapping territory unknown to
outsiders, and climbing to heights above 28,000 feet-and just maybe all the way to the top
of Mount Everest. All in all, while it was a magnificent achievement, these first three
ventures cost the lives of at least twelve men. These brave explorers brought home the
magnificent images of Himalayan mountains and a medieval way of life on the roof of the
world, which are dramatically showcased in this book. AUTHOR BIO: David Breashears is a
world-class filmmaker and mountaineer, who has worked on such feature films as Seven Years
in Tibet and the award-winning documentary Red Flag over Tibet. In 1983 he transmitted the
first live pictures from the summit of Mount Everest. Breashears is the recipient of four
Emmy awards for his achievements in cinematography. In 1987 he directed and produced the
documentary film, "Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine." In 1996, he
co-directed, photographed, and co-produced the acclaimed IMAX large-format film Everest,
and contributed his still photographs from that climb, as well as a foreword, to the
best-selling National Geographic book Everest: Mountain Without Mercy. David is largely
credited with spearheading rescue efforts during the harrowing tragedy of May 10, 1996.
The first American to summit Mount Everest twice, he has made four successful ascents of
the world's highest mountain. David Breashears is the author of High Exposure: An Enduring
Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places, recently published by Simon & Schuster.
Audrey Salkeld maintains one of the most comprehensive private archives on mountaineering.
She has written the scripts for a number of films including David Breashears' The Mystery
of Mallory and Irvine, for which she took part in Tom Holzel's 1986 expedition and climbed
to the North Col of Everest. With Holzel she is the author of The Mystery of Mallory and
Irvine. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed book on her Himalayan travels in
Mustang and Tibet, People in High Places.
The night, with its black veil, is extending from the lowest part
of the earth and little by little ascending. It
hides glaciers, mountains and replaces the blue with the black in the sky. The snow falls
rhythmically and quickly a white blanket is covering our Base Camp. The stones, the ice
blocks, the tents are not but white projections that the light of the lantern makes look
like smooth little hills.
All this while, in our places of origin (the different localities
from Castilla and Leon) are still by day because it is the four of afternoon there. Here,
at 5,300 meters of altitude, the day has finalized for us. Each one of us takes refuge in
his or her own thoughts that sometimes are very far from here while in the heat and the
comfortableness that to our coats provide us.
The
night is long, sometimes too long. For background music we hear the snowflakes that
invariably strike the fine nylon walls of our tents every night. Once in a while an avalanche that has come off the
walls of Pumori or Nuptse breaks the monotony and brings us back to the
reality of the place in which we are.
Day 22. Before the break of dawn, four members of the expedition
and some sherpas started between the lights and the shades of that early hour. The cascade
of seracs
of the Khumbu icefall is formed by the interminable landslides of the chaotic
glacier. These are an amalgamation of disordered form and make an incredible labyrinth. It
is beautiful, and at the same time, very dangerous. The
sherpas’ hard work at installing the fixed ropes and ladders and the accumulated
experience of the expedition members (through climbing in diverse mountains of the world)
cause the risk to be diminished and the progression possible.
At
the moment of writing this chronicle from Base Camp, we heard that these members of the
attack group arrived at Camp I, at 6,000 meters. They indicated to us that they will
continue until Camp II (6.500 ms) and as was predicted, just fallen snow
hinders the advance and has buried the fixed ropes.
Meanwhile at Base Camp, the rest of the group took care of less
prosaic works. Everest follows our movements more and more, watching our actions, becoming
familiar to us, but the time continues to roll ... The technology makes the life in Base
Camp much more bearable, besides providing a great security to us in case there’s a
mishap.
Thanks to the collaboration of Retecal, we have four solar panels
that provide the energy necessary to have five charged batteries that feed diverse
electrical apparatuses. The external communications are made over a telephone via
satellite that, with the aid of two computers allows us to have connection with our
country via Internet. Thus, it is possible to send the official notices with the
photographs obtained with a digital camera. Simultaneously, we have received more than two
hundred messages of diverse support. This, as
well as letters from our friends and loved ones who make our stay in this inhospitable
place more bearable.
Thanks to Kenwood, we have installed an internal communication
network. In the large mess tent contains the transmitter in direct contact with
walkie-talkies (each expedition member has one, as well as the head of sherpas.
In addition, there is a solar panel at Camp II).
As it can be seen, the logistics are perfectly rich to the
necessities, sherpas are an experienced group, the expedition members’ spirits are
high and the acclimatization is developing according to the anticipated plans...
Only what we cannot control, like the climatologic conditions,
will be able to prevent that we manage to fulfill our dream to reach with our feet which
we have in our mind … to arrive at the highest point on Earth. Isidoro
Source: EXPEDICIΣN CASTELLANO LEONESA AL EVEREST 1999 Expediciσn
Samuel Rubio http://server3.servicios.retecal.es/everest99/
More Pictures from Everest on Thursday
Chris and Brad are moving on up on Cho Oyu:
Their web site is: www.earthtreksclimbing.com.
Check them out !
Monday, day 20 of September of
1999: Right now, most people are still asleep in our cities of origin. However, at
Everest Base Camp, everything is full of joy and luminosity. The day is splendid and while
the climbers shower, others surprise us by making delicious desserts to eat. At the same
time, others take advantage of the time to remove and the sun their things. The
electronics are playing Brazilian music as we write this chronicle.
Yesterday, the last contingent
that was on the high part of the mountain came down. The current balance is as
follows: All the expedition members have already spent at least one night over the 6,000
meters of altitude. This has happened in a tent installed on a serac between a
labyrinth of cracks. More than half have reached 6,500 ms where a tent is installed that
will serve like refuge as Camp II. The health and the acclimatization of all is excellent.
Tomorrow sherpas will carry loads to supply Camp II and to begin to work Lhotse Face that
will lead us to the South Col. This will lead us to reach the mythical height of the 8,000
ms, and provide a key to the door with the access to the top. At the moment, everything
has developed according to the predicted plans. The weather is improving, and although
there is no day in which clouds leave to us, yesterday, it do not snow of appreciable form
in Base Camp.
The nine climbers have been
through the Khumbu Icefall’s dangerous labyrinth of seracs four times (two ascents
and two descents). This is 50% of the times that we must make this journey. We are
assured that the abyss-like crevasses only increase in number and in incalculable size.
In the upcoming days, a group of the mountain climbers will climb to stay a few
days at Camp II and to try to reach Camp III located on the inclined wall of Lhotse.
Source: EXPEDICIΣN CASTELLANO LEONESA AL EVEREST 1999 Expediciσn
Samuel Rubio http://server3.servicios.retecal.es/everest99/
