Oldest and Youngest American Summit
Seventeen-year-old Johnny Collinson from Snowbird, Utah became the youngest American to summit Everest, and Dawes Eddy, 66, of Spokane, Washington became the oldest American to bag the peak. Collinson reached the top with Damien Benegas on May 19th, and Eddy peaked the next day with IMG.
The two are pictured together above.
--Joe Spring
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Apa Sherpa Summits Everest 19th Time
Apa Sherpa set a new world record for the most summits of Everest with his 19th trip to the top. The 5'4 120-pound Sherpa from the village of Thame carried a sacred vase to the top of the mountain and a flag that said, "Stop Climate Change. Let the Himalayas Live!" For more information on Apa, check out this article in his hometown Salt Lake Tribune. For more on Sherpas that live in the U.S., check out Christian DeBenedetti's November 2007 article, "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Hale, Hearty, Tough-As-Nails, Acclimatized-At-Birth Mountain People..."
--Joe Spring
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May 12, 2009
Everest: Latest On Sherpa's Death
Poor weather continues to plague Everest climbers. The First Ascent team made the best of it and climbed to Advanced Base Camp. Most teams are hunkered down in a holding pattern, or descending from higher camps.
There's more news surrounding the tragic death of the sherpa cook yesterday morning. According to IMG expedition leader Eric Simonson, who has been in touch with local sherpas, this is the third or fourth poisonings in the Khumba area in the last six months. The word around camp is that somebody is selling poisoned whiskey with counterfeit tax labels attached (labels are required by Nepalese law). An investigation is being conducted by Liaison Officers at Base Camp.
We'll see what they turn up. In the meantime...
"The Everest whiskey business is grinding to a standstill," Simonson said.
--Kyle Dickman
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Lack Of Swell Holding Up Billabong Pro
Three foot waves and windy conditions have resulted in the second straight lay day at the Billabong Pro Tahiti. This is the third time in four days the event has been delayed, with four surfers still waiting for their first round ripping to commence.
“We thought the swell would have filled in by now but it hasn’t hit yet so we’ve called competition off for today,” Luke Egan, Billabong Pro Tahiti Contest Director, said. “We’re monitoring some swell energy that could be filling in over the next few days so we’ll be back tomorrow to make another call.”
Event officials are calling for a moderate WSW swell today. Look for a possible 7:30 a.m. start tomorrow. For more info go to billabongpro.com.
--Ivan Miller
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May 11, 2009
Everest: Bad Weather and Bad News
Bad weather has socked in Everest, putting a brief delay on many teams summit hopes. Dave Hahn and the First Ascent crew had a training climb planned to Advanced Base Camp but were forced to turn back. IMG's team on the South Col woke to more snowfall and are returning to Base Camp where the majority of climbers are anxiously waiting out the storm.
A second tragedy has hit the mountain. Last night, there was the death of a sherpa cook and the near fatal poisoning of another after the pair consumed bootleg whiskey made with methyl alcohol. The bad weather prohibited a helicopter rescue and despite efforts from in camp doctors the status of the surviving sherpa remains uncertain.
In related news, IMG will organize a relief fund to support the family of Lhapka Nuru Sherpa, who was lost last week during the avalanche and is presumed dead. If you wish to support his family, send tax deductible donations to AFFIMER-Lhapka Fund. You can mail directly to AFFIMER P.O. Box 155, Ashford, WA 98304 USA.
--Kyle Dickman
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May 08, 2009
Everest: Avalanche Hits Climbers
An ice fall on the morning of May 7 led to major problems on Everest. IMG sherpas reported an avalanche sweeping off the west shoulder and onto the lower icefall. Twenty two climbers were in the vicinity of the avalanche when it released. Austrian Walter Lasser was blown into a crevasse by an accompanying powerful blast of wind, one climber was knocked unconscious and there was a resulting helicopter rescue of those injured. After the successful rescue, climbers searched for two and half hours for the missing Lhakpa Sherpa, but found only one boot and his backpack. Since then, subsequent search teams have returned to the glacier; no further evidence has been upturned. Lasser continues to report chest pains and has called off his summit attempt.
The accident took place soon after the first westerner, Britain's David Tait, summitted, according to EverestNet. Though the death dampens the mood, many teams are planning their summit push for the coming week. Depending on weather, Peak Freaks is hoping to summit on May 16 or 17 and IMG has a tentative plan to reach Camp 3 in the coming days. Teams on the north side are planning mid-May summit as well.
--Kyle Dickman
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May 06, 2009
Everest: 2009's First Summit
IMG sherpa Mingma Tenzig claimed 2009's first Everest summit. Minga was with a sherpa team that included Panuru of IMG, Kami Rita of AAI, and Dorje and Nima Tsering of Himex. The team was fixing new lines from the South Col to the summit and, as a part of continuing clean up of mountain's most frequently climbed route, was cutting away fixed ropes that have become weathered and dangerous over the years. From the South Kol to the summit took the sherpas just over ten hours and they descended all the way to Camp 2. Their effort garnered praise from Everest veteran and IMG's Expedition Leader Eric Simonson, "A very impressive performance." It's certainly a remarkable commute to work.
-Kyle Dickman
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May 04, 2009
Everest: Viesturs and Whittaker Establish Camp III
A number of teams on the mountain have established themselves at Camp III. On the First Ascent team, Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker established Camp III at 23,400 feet, while Dave Hahn's team remained hunkered down at Camp II to wait out a blizzard. The weather was fairly cooperative as Viesturs, Whittaker, and co. made their way up to the base of the Lhotse Face. A whiteout occurred as they were setting up their tents, but the crew accomplished what they needed.
The other teams that have moved up to Camp III are: Adventure Consultants, Alpine Ascents International, the Croatian Women's Team, the Finnish Ranger Club, Himalayan Experience with Russell Brice, IMG, the Singapore Women, Jagged Globe, Peak Freaks, Summit Climb, 7 Summits Club, and Lhotse-Everest Traverse.
To see a full layout of where teams are located on the mountain, check out Alan Arnette's blog.
Adventure Consultants predicts "that the first Everest summit of the 2009 season from Nepal will happen tomorrow (May 5), and this will be mostly a Sherpa team from the three largest expeditions on the mountain. This small window will be followed by a period of relatively high winds in the summit region, and the first large-scale ascents could be approximately one week later."
--Aileen Torres
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May 01, 2009
Italian Climber Perishes
(Previous information on this post has been removed as much of it was inaccurate. We sincerely apologize for the earlier mistakes in this post.)
According to a report picked up by mounteverest.net, Italian climber Giuseppe Antonelli perished on Manaslu yesterday. We will post additional updates as they become available.
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April 29, 2009
Everest: Interview with an Astronaut
Astronaut Scott Parazynski is now a few weeks into his second attempt up Everest. Last year, after 15 years of planning, the 47-year old medical doctor and five time space traveler took a break from his regular astronaut duties so he could attempt to summit the world's highest peak. After getting turned back 24 hours from the summit in 2008, Parazynski is back on Everest's flanks. Watch the video to find out what's motivating Scott and why his sherpa would make a better astronaut than either Ed Viesturs or Dave Hahn. Follow his progress at NASA's blog.
--Kyle Dickman
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