North Face Triology Expedition Underway on Cho Oyu

by Kraig Becker on

In the High Himalaya the Monsoon has moved on at last and the fall climbing season is well underway, with mountaineering teams already taking up position on the world’s highest peaks as they prepare to make their climbs before the frigid winter sets in.

One such expedition, sponsored by gear company The North Face, has set its goals very high. While most are content with reaching the summit on any one of the very tall mountains in the region, which includes Everest, topping out at 29,029 feet. But for the Cho Oyu Trilogy Expedition the summit is just the start of the adventure.

Cho Oyu is the sixth tallest mountain in the world and falls on the border of Nepal and Tibet. It stands 26,906 feet in height, and sits just ten miles to the west of Everest. It is often regarded as the easiest of the fourteen 8000 meter peaks to climb, which may be why the Trilogy team has decided that after they reach the summit, they needed to add a little more excitement to their expedition.

The plan is for climbers Simone Moro, Elizabeth Hawker, Herve Barmasse, and Emilio Prevatali to summit the mountain along two different routes. Upon reaching the top, Prevatali will climb onto his snowboard and attempt to make his descent along Cho Oyu’s north face, while the rest of the team descends on foot.

Once everyone is safely back in base camp, the second phase of the expedition will begin, with Moro and Hawker putting on running shoes and running all the way back to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, while their companions, Barmasse and Prevatali, make that same journey on mountain bikes. That journey is approximately 275 miles in length, with an average elevation above 15,000 feet, ensuring quite the aerobic workout.

Needless to say, this will be an incredible adventure for the team, and along the way they’ll not only pass through some of the most scenic spots on the planet, they’ll also be exposed to Tibetan culture in the form of tea houses, Buddhist temples, and quaint mountain villages.

Blind Climbers Summit Kilimanjaro

by Kraig Becker on

A team of visually impaired climbers representing the See Kili Our Way organization reached the summit of Africa’s highest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, last week, claiming two records in the process. The group consisted of eight blind mountaineers and 17 sighted guides, and their successful summit was remarkable for putting the most blind climbers on top of Kilimanjaro ever. 13-year old Max Ashton claimed the record for youngest visually impaired climber to achieve the summit as well.

Standing 19,340 feet in height, Kilimanjaro is the tallest free standing mountain in the world and has become a major destination for adventure travelers. A typical climb takes roughly seven days to complete and there are a variety of routes to the summit, and while the mountain doesn’t require any technical skills to climb, its altitude often poses problems for those trekking its approach trails.

That didn’t seem to be the case for these 25 climbers, who kept an interesting blog of their adventures, and managed to summit as a single unit. The group was climbing to raise awareness and funds for the Foundation for Blind Children, an Arizona organization dedicated to helping the blind live full and enriched lives, often by beginning to assist them at a very young age.

Congratulations to the entire team. They are an inspiration to all of us.

[via Backpacker]

Climbing Kilimanjaro with Roadmonkey

by Kraig Becker on

A few months back we wrote about travel company Roadmonkey, which offered unique travel experiences that combined adventure with the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the places you visit. For instance, one of their 2009 expeditions is a mountain biking tour through the remote jungles of Vietnam that culminates with a volunteer project to build a farm that will grow fruits and vegetables on the campus of a boarding school in that country.

Their other 2009 expedition combines a project to build a clean water system to a school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with a climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Roadmonkey was founded by Paul von Zielbauer, who formerly worked as a war correspondent in Iraq. He is currently in Tanzania and guiding the team up Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. Throughout the trip he is providing regular updates on their progress for the National Geographic Adventure Blog.

The first of Paul’s blog entires can be found here. He reports that the team has arrived in Moshi, Tanzania, where he and nine other adventure travelers were just about to begin their six day trek up the mountain. On the morning that the post was written, it was raining quite hard, but everyone was eager to hit the trail and begin their climb none the less.

Over the course of the expedition, Paul and the others are expected to check-in and report on their progress, both on Kilimanjaro itself, and again while they are working on the new water system. The dispatches should be very interesting to follow and give some good insights what it is like to travel with Roadmonkey. Check in with the NG Adventure blog over the next week or so to follow their progress, and to see “voluntourism” in action.

American summits Everest for record 11th time

by Kraig Becker on

Last week we mentioned that Apa Sherpa, the legendary mountain guide, reached the summit of Mt. Everest, extending his record to an impressive 19th time on top of the world. A few days later, we noted that British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes also reached the summit, on his third attempt, at the age of 65.

Over the weekend, American mountaineer Dave Hahn, climbing with the First Ascent Team, also successfully topped out on the mountain, reaching the 29,035 foot summit, which is the highest point on the planet. For Hahn, this is his 11th trip up the mountain, a record for a non-Sherpa.

Hahn is a professional mountain guide who has scaled big mountains all over the world, and his resume includes 26 ascents of Mt. Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica, and 18 summits of Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. He’s also been to the top of Mt. Rainier nearly 250 times in his illustrous career.

Congratulations to Dave, and the rest of the First Ascent Team for an amazing effort this year on Everest. With the entire team now down safely off the mountain, they are preparing for the trek back to Lukla, where they’ll catch a flight to Kathmandu, and finally, after nearly two months in Nepal, they’ll head home.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes conquers Everest at 65

by Sean McLachlan on

A 65 year-old man who suffers from vertigo has climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest.

He is the famous English adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who adds this latest feat to a long string of successes such as crossing Antarctica unaided. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Sir Ranulph says the key to avoiding vertigo is “not looking down” but he managed to take a peek when he reached the summit because “when you’re in that particular spot it would be a shame not to.”

The adventurer tried to scale the summit in 2005 but suffered a heart attack. Only a few months after his first heart attack in 2003, he ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, battling both exhaustion and jetlag. So it really wasn’t a great surprise that this guy made it up Everest eventually.

The BBC has also posted videos on the journey to get to the Everest base camp, which at 5,300 meters above sea level is a popular destination for hardy trekkers, and the journey to the summit via the South Col route. The summit stands at 8850 meters above sea level and is the highest point on Earth. The BBC, which always rises to the occasion when an Englishman truly rocks, has posted a detailed biography on Sir Ranulph.

The climb was done to raise money for the Marie Curie Cancer Care, a charity for which Sir Ranulph has raised huge sums of money in memory of his wife, who died from stomach cancer.

While Sir Ranulph has shown himself to be one of the world’s greatest living adventurers, he’s not the King of Everest. That honor goes to Apa Sherpa, who recently climbed Everest for the 19th time.