Top American alpinist perishes in the Himalaya

by Kraig Becker on

Joe Puryear, one of America’s top mountaineers, fell to his death last week while climbing in the Himalaya. He was just 37 years old, but had earned himself a reputation as one of world’s elite climbers, having put up routes in all of the planet’s major mountain ranges, including the Andes, the Himalaya, and the Alps. Joe had reached the summit of more than 30 mountains in the Alaskan Range alone and made more than 80 successful climbs up Mt. Rainier in the state of Washington, where he was a mountain ranger.

Puryear was attempting to make just the second ascent of the remote Labuche Kang, located in Tibet. The 24,170 foot (7367 meter) tall mountain remains largely unexplored even in this day and age, which made it all the more alluring to Joe and his climbing partner David Gottlieb. In the midst of that challenging climb, Puryear fell through a cornice and plummeted hundreds of feet to his death, bringing a premature end to his adventurous life.

Joe is survived by his wife Michelle, who shared his passion for adventure and climbing. She posted her final goodbye to her husband on the expedition’s blog.

The video below comes to us courtesy of the Today Show and offers more insights into Joe’s life.

[Photo credit: Joe Puryear]

Veteran Everest guide lost in the Himalaya

by Kraig Becker on

Over the weekend the mountaineering community lost a legendary climber when Chhewang Nima Sherpa was swept off a remote Himalayan peak by an avalanche. The mountain guide, who has reached the summit of Everest on 19 separate occasions, was helping to set the all important ropes to the summit of a peak called Baruntse, located in eastern Nepal, at the time of his disappearance.

On Saturday,Nima was leading a team of Sherpas, working in advance of their paying clients who focus on acclimatizing in the early stages of the climb. The men were busy fixing lines up the mountain, which will eventually be used by the climbers to reach the summit, when the avalanche hit, knocking Nima off the Baruntse’s northeast face.

Other guides and climbers immediately went into action, organizing a search and rescue operation, but they found no trace of the missing Sherpa. Yesterday, a helicopter was brought in to sweep the mountain, but after just a few hours the search was called off. After surveying the area, the SAR teams determined that there was no possible way that anyone had survived the avalanche.

Baruntse is one of the “lesser” Himalayan peaks, rising 23,389 feet. It is often used as a training mountain for those aspiring for bigger mountains such as Everest. Nima was the lead guide for the Shangri-la Trekking and Climbing company who are taking a team of paying customers to the summit of the mountain.

[Photo credit: Mathias Zehring via WikiMedia]

Explorer visits “three poles” in one calendar year

by Kraig Becker on

Last Friday, polar explorer and mountaineer Eric Larsen completed a rare fall summit on Mt. Everest. For most climbers, that would be a big enough accomplishment for any given year, but for Larsen, it was simply the third, and final, leg of a major expedition that saw him become the first person to reach both the North and South Pole, as well as the summit of the highest mountain on the planet, in a single calendar year.

Larsen launched his Save the Poles Expedition in November of last year, beginning the long journey across the desolate Antarctic continent to reach the South Pole. On January 2nd, 2010 he accomplished that feat, wrapping up the first leg of his planned expedition. In late April, he followed up his success at the bottom of the world by reaching the top, completing the second stage of the expedition by reaching the North Pole after 51 days out on the ice.

With the first two stages of the expedition out of the way, Larson had just Everest, which is sometimes referred to as the Third Pole, to conquer. Standing 29,035 feet in height, the mountain is a considerable challenge during it’s traditional climbing season, which falls in the spring. But that season also happens to overlap with the annual window to reach the North Pole, so Larsen was forced to schedule the climb in the fall, which has far fewer climbers on the mountain and offers more unpredictable weather. During the spring season it is not uncommon for 500 climbers to reach the summit of Everest from both the Nepali and Tibetan sides of the mountain. This fall, Larsen, along with his two Sherpa guides, were the only people to stand at the top of the world.

The Save the Poles Expedition was designed to raise awareness of the impact of global climate change on the extreme environments of our planet, something that Larsen has now experienced first hand. The explorer now hopes to take that message to the masses as he hits the speaking circuit to share his adventures with others.

Considering the very active year he’s had so far, I think it is also safe to say that Larsen has earned some much deserved downtime on a warm beach somewhere.

[Photo credit: Eric Larsen]

Fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa by climbing Kilimanjaro

by Kraig Becker on

Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is an amazing experience that deserves to be on the “life list” for any adventure traveler. Standing 19,340 feet in height, Kili is the tallest mountain in Africa and the highest free standing volcano in the world. Located just a few degrees off the equator, its snow capped summit is the stuff of legends, even inspiring Ernest Hemingway to write about it. Now, you can combine your desire for a great adventure with the opportunity to have a positive impact on the place you visit.

In 2011, the American Foundation for Children with AIDS is sponsoring four charity climbs up Kilimanjaro, delivering an unprecedented opportunity for travelers to experience that adventure while helping young people in Africa as well. The AFCA is a non-profit organization that raises awareness and fund for children affected by AIDS on that continent, and in recent years they’ve made an annual climb up the mountain as one of their primary fundraisers. Participants on those climbs are expected to raise a minimum of $8000 to take part in the expedition. That money is used to pay for transportation and lodging while on the trip, food while climbing the mountain, including water and snacks and hiring guides. Additionally a $5000 donation is made to the AFCA’s to help fund their work in sub-Saharan Africa.

The dates for next year’s climb are as follows;

February 28 – March 10, 2011
August 6- 17, 2011
September 11-20, 2011
Women’s Only Climb: October 1 – 12, 2011

Each of the expeditions can accept up to 14 travelers and with several options available, there is some flexibility for when participants can take part in the adventure. With dates as far out as October of next year, there is still plenty of time to get signed up and start the fund raising process.

For more information on the organization and these great charitable climbs, click here.

Spanish climber sets new speed record on Kilimanjaro

by Kraig Becker on

Kilian Jornet, a Spanish mountain climber and endurance athlete, set a new record for the fastest climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro earlier this week, making his way from the base to summit, and back again, in just 7 hours and 14 minutes. The previous record for the climb was held by Tanzanian Simon Mtuy, who made the round-trip journey in 8 hours and 27 minutes.

Standing at 19,340 feet, Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and a popular trekking destination amongst adventure travelers. Most hikers who go to the summit take six or seven days to complete the trip, which means Jornet was moving at a pace of roughly one days worth of climbing per hour. A pretty impressive feat no matter what the trail conditions are.

Jornet set out on his record-breaking attempt at 8AM local time on Tuesday and reached the summit just five hours and 23 minutes later. Running past the famous Uhuru Peak sign, he immediately started back down the mountain, finishing up an hour and fifty minutes later.

Kilimanjaro is famous for its five climate zones that begin in at the base on the savannah, which gives way to cloud forests and then marshlands. From there, climbers proceed up into high alpine desert and finally arctic conditions at the top. Jornet had to not only deal with those changes in climate along the way, but also large fields of rock left over from the last time that the volcanic Kilimanjaro erupted.

Upon reaching the finish line after his record breaking run, Jornet was greeted by the previous record holder who embraced the man who just shattered his old mark by an hour and thirteen minutes. I guess even he was impressed by this amazing display of strength and endurance.

[Photo credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim via WikiMedia]