Swimmer to attempt high altitude swim in the Himalaya

by Kraig Becker on

British long distance swimmer Lewis Pugh has traveled to Nepal, where he is preparing to make the highest altitude swim ever, as he works to raise awareness of global climate change and the effects it is having on glaciers in the Himalaya. The long time environmental activist will make his historic swim, which has been called the hardest ever by some, in an icy glacial lake in the shadow of Mt. Everest.

Widely considered to be the finest cold water swimmer in the world, Pugh has gone for long distance swims in icy conditions before. In 2007 he became the first person to swim across the North Pole and back in 2005 he went for a 1km dip off of the Antarctic Peninsula. He also swam across the English Channel, as well around the North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe, and Cape Horn at the tip of South America. Pugh is the only person to have taken a long distance swim, meaning 1km or more, in all five of the Earth’s oceans, and he does it just wearing a Speedo, goggles, and swim cap, even in the cold water swims.

Pugh is currently in Gorak Shep, a high mountain village located at 17,000 feet, that is the last stop before Everest Base Camp. He is spending his time acclimatizing and taking a few practice swims in the nearby Lake Pumori, which sits at 17,700 feet, where he’ll attempt the official swim too. That swim will be at least 1km in length as well.

In the most recent updates to his blog, Lewis has commented on his first test swim, calling it the most frightening day of his career. He went for a 300 meter swim, and discovered that he was having a tough time breathing and that his stamina was lacking at such a high altitude. Even on that short swim, he feared for his own life on more than one occasion. For a man who is use to feeling ultra fit, it was a scary situation.

The plan was to make the swim yesterday, but another update indicated that Lewis is suffering from altitude sickness, and has delayed the attempt for now. Forecasts indicate that the weather in the region will take a turn for the worse in a few days time as well, ushering in the monsoon season, and effectively shutting the door on these kinds of activities. Stay tuned to see if Lewis can complete his swim before that happens.

13-year old Jordan Romero summits Everest

by Kraig Becker on

13-year old Jordan Romero reached the summit of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, earlier today, setting a new record for the youngest person to achieve that feat. The successful summit also leaves him just one peak shy of his ultimate goal, to become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits.

For much of the week, high winds buffeted the mountain, preventing climbers from going to the summit. But today, as predicted, a new weather window opened, granting access to the peak once again. This change in the weather has spurred another round of summit bids from both the north and south sides of the mountain. Jordan, and his team, topped out on the north, or Tibetan, side of Everest.

With Everest now added to his resume, Jordan can now turn his attention to the one mountain that remains on his list of the Seven Summits. This fall, he’ll travel to Antarctica to climb the 16,050 foot tall Mt. Vinson, the tallest peak on that continent. While not nearly as high as Everest, which stands at 29,029 feet, the extreme cold and harsh Antarctic conditions give the mountain its own unique challenges.

Jordan’s summit of Everest wasn’t the only one of note today. Climbing legend Apa Sherpa claimed his 20th summit of the mountain, extending his own record in the process. Apa first climbed Everest back in 1990, and has not failed to reach the top of the mountain in any year since then, an impressive feat of skill and endurance.

Congratulations to both Jordan and Apa on their amazing accomplishments.

First summits of the year on Everest

by Kraig Becker on

The first summits of the spring season on Everest took place two days ago when a group of Sherpas completed fixing ropes to the summit of the world’s tallest mountain. In all, nine Sherpas, from three different commercial climbing teams, stood on the peak at an altitude of 29,029 feet. With their work complete, the door is now open for other climbers to soon follow.

The nine Sherpas were working cooperatively on the South Side of Everest to place the all important ropes for their paying clients, who will begin making their way up the mountain sometime next week. The team consisted of three Sherpas from each of the three largest mountain guide companies operating on Everest, Himalayan Experience, Alpine Ascents, and International Mountain Guides, who joined forces to ensure a safe climbing environment for all the teams.

For their part, the climbers on the Nepali side of the mountain are finishing up their acclimatization process and are preparing to make their summit bids. Early indications are that those bids will begin next Thursday, on May 13th, weather permitting. After years of planning and weeks of preparation, the finish line is in sight, for these mountaineers, many of whom have payed upwards of $50,000 for the chance to stand at the top of the world.

The story is a bit different on the North Side of the mountain, which falls in Tibet. Bad weather on that side of the mountain has prevented the Sherpas from fixing the ropes, so for now, there is no access to the summit. The climbers approaching the summit from the north, including 13-year old Jordan Romero, must be patient and wait for now. Once the weather clears however, there is sure to be a rush to the summit on that side of the mountain as well.

Korean woman becomes first to climb all 8000 meter peaks

by Kraig Becker on

44 year-old Korean climber Oh Eun-Sun put her name in the record books last week, and joined very elite mountaineering company in the process. On Tuesday, she reached the summit of Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain in the world at 26,545 feet, and in doing so, became the first woman to climb all fourteen of the worlds mountains over 8000 meters (26,246 feet) in height.

For Oh, who climbed with a South Korean television crew in tow, the summit was the culmination of more than a decade of preparation, training, and climbing. In her home country, she was already a celebrity, and millions watched live on television as she made those final steps to the top of the mountain. Having completed her task, she is now likely to be one of the most famous athletes in South Korea.

Located in Nepal, Annapurna is widely considered to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest, of the 8000 meter peaks to climb. While shorter in stature than its more famous cousin, Mt. Everest, it is far more technical to climb. Additionally, the mountain is notorious for its poor weather and avalanches are common on the steep upper slopes. Oh herself failed to summit Annapurna last fall, prompting a return trip this spring to give it another go.

Oh Eun-Sun’s claim to being the first woman to summit the world’s highest peaks is not without controversy however. Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban has called into question Oh’s summit of Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world at 28,169 feet. Pasaban cites a lack of photo evidence and interviews with Sherpas who say that the Korean climber didn’t reach the summit on that mountain. Pasaban has been in pursuit of the 8000 meters peaks herself, and is likely to summit her final mountain, the 26,289 foot Shisha Pangma, located in Tibet, this week.

13-year old eyes Everest, Seven Summits

by Kraig Becker on

13-year old mountaineer Jordan Romero set off for Kathmandu yesterday, where he hopes to not only become the youngest climber to ever summit Mt. Everest but the Seven Summits as well.

We first mentioned Jordan more than a year ago. At the time, he had already well into his quest to climb the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, having completed Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), and Kosciuszko (Australia). He has since added Carstensz Pyramid in Papua New Guinea, considered the highest peak in Oceania to his resume. That leaves just Everest and Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. left to conquer. If successful on Everest, he’ll go for Vinson in the fall.

Jordan and his team, which includes his father, will be climbing from the North Side of Everest, located in Tibet. The South Side falls under the jurisdiction of Nepal, who enforce an age requirement of 16 years or older on all climbers, but the Chinese have no such restrictions on their side of the mountain, which is why Jordan and company have elected to take on the mountain from the North. Curiously, the team is also making the climb with out the support of guides.

A few days back, we had a little fun here at Gadling with a host of April Fool’s Day travel posts. My contribution to those posts was written in the spirit of good fun of course, but was also meant as a bit of social commentary. While I completely respect what Jordan has accomplished as a climber already, I’m not a huge fan of the recent trend to have younger and younger kids attempting dangerous things in order to claim some dubious “youngest” record. Climbing Everest will be unlike any of the other mountains that he has summitted, and spending time above 26,000 feet, dubbed the “Death Zone” in popular culture, is dangerous for a full grown man or woman. It could be potentially disastrous for a young, still developing teen. Hopefully everything will go well, and he’ll come home safe and sound. Reaching the summit is optional, coming back home is not.