Edmund Hillary, first atop Everest, dies

Sir Edmund Hillary, who made his historic climb to the top of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest with Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay of Nepal,died Friday, reports the associated press. He was 88.Hillary died at Auckland Hospital about 9 a.m. Friday from a heart attack, said a statement from the Auckland District Health Board.

An Everest Dispatch from The Rainier Club.

Lessons Learned on Mt. Everest
“In 1991, he stood on the summit of the highest peak in the Antarctic with his Kiwi mates, Rob Hall & Gary Ball -- then the world's top mountain guides. They met less than a year earlier on the top of Elbrus, highest mountain in Europe. Now they were inviting him to climb with them on Everest. At age 42, when he started climbing some of the world's highest mountains, all Kopff had climbed the prior 20 years was the corporate ladder. At 25,000’ on Everest, an injury seven weeks into the expedition denied his summit bid. What did this highly competitive, "success-oriented" individual learn about life and about himself as a result? Join us for a multi-media trip up the highest mountain in the Antarctic and on Everest as Kopff shares "lessons learned."
The centerpieces for the tables were ice axes and crampons. Guests entered the dining room via a 200’ hallway lined with two fixed ropes. Gary greeted each guest by attaching prussick ropes around each person’s waist with a ‘biner at the other end and showed them how to “clip on” for safety when traveling through a simulated Khumbu Ice Fall en route to viewing his photos of the ascents on the Vinson Massif in the Antarctic and Everest via the South Col route. While clipped onto the fixed lines, the guests passed a posterboard with the following saying by a famous climber from that region who was on the 1st American ascent team on Everest in 1963:
"Risk, there is no real living without it. Die we all must, but try to knock all risk out of our lives and we lock ourselves tighter and tighter into a safe, comfortable, deadly box, and we die too, without ever having lived." - Willi Unsoeld
Feedback from one climber in the audience for Gary Kopff’s presentation:
“As you nicely made the rounds to the various tables following your presentation, I was the chap who talked about my Denali and Kilimanjaro climbs. I just wanted to again thank you for a job well done and for your level of humbleness when it comes to your various climbing achievements. Over the past decade plus I have met and or read about numerous "check book" climbers, primarily from the east coast, who buy their way to the top. When I read your vitae I was anticipating that you would be one of "those” but was pleasantly surprised to find that not to be the case. P.S. I talked with Brian Nelson [a climber whose two buddies were killed on Kilimanjaro in an accident in 1995 that left Brian severely injured] for several minutes on our way out and he too thoroughly enjoyed the experience and enjoyed your acknowledgement and company.”
Gary Kopff is available through EverestSpeakersBureau.com as a motivational speaker to create the same magic with your group.




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Everest 2008: Walter Laserer returns

Walter Laserer an Austrian is a UIAGM mountain guide for 20 years lives in Graz, Austria. Walter has climbed: El Capitan Nose, Eiger Northface winter, Eiger westface ski descent, westface Husacaran, Cerro Torre, McKinley winter, Vinson, Carstenz Pyramid, Aconcagua, Elbrus. Walter was born 12/19/61
Laserer-Alpin is organising his 3rd Everest expedition from the south side. They successfully climbed Mt Vinson with 10 clients this season and are preparing now for their Everest Southside expedition led by Walter Laserer
Everest from the South Side in Nepal
Base Camp - 17,500 feet (5350 meters)
This is a picture of the popular South Col Route up Mt. Everest. Base camp is located at 17,500 feet. This is where climbers begin their true trip up the mountain. This is also where support staff often remain to monitor the expeditions and provide medical assistance when necessary. Many organizations offer hiking trips which just go to base camp as the trip is not technically challenging (though you must be very fit).
From base camp, climbers typically train and acclimate (permitting the body to adjust to the decreased oxygen in the air) by traveling and bringing supplies back and forth through the often treacherous Khumbu Icefall. This training and recuperation continues throughout the climb, with the final summit push often being the only time to climbers do not go back and forth between camps to train, bring supplies, and recuperate for the next push.
The Icefall is in constant motion. It contains enormous ice seracs, often larger than houses, which dangle precariously over the climbers heads, threatening to fall at any moment without warning, as the climbers cross endless crevasses and listen to continuous ice creaking below. This often acts as a testing ground to judge if less experienced climbers will be capable of continuing. The Icefall is located between 17,500 and 19,500 feet.
Camp I - 5900 meters
After the Icefall, the climbers arrive at Camp I, which is located at 19,500 feet. Depending on the type of expedition, Camp I will either be stocked by the climbers as they ascend and descend the Icefall, or by Sherpas in advance.
The area between Camp I and Camp II is known as the Western Cwm. As the climbers reach Camp II at 21,000 feet, they may be temporarily out of sight of their support at Base camp. Nonetheless, modern communication devises permit the parties to stay in contact.
Camp II - 6500 meters
As the climbers leave Camp II, they travel towards the Lhotse face (Lhotse is a 27,920 foot mountain bordering Everest). The Lhotse face is a steep, shiny icy wall. Though not technically extremely difficult, one misstep or slip could mean a climber's life. Indeed, many climbers have lost their lives through such mishaps.
Camp III - 23,700 feet (7200 meters)
To reach Camp III, climbers must negotiate the Lhotse Face. Climbing a sheer wall of ice demands skill, strength and stamina. It is so steep and treacherous that many Sherpas move directly from Camp II to Camp IV on the South Col, refusing to stay on the Lhotse Face.
Camp IV - 26,300 feet (8000 meters)
As you’re leaving C4…it’s a little bit of a down slope, with the uphill side to the left. There are typically snow on the ledges to walk down on, interspersed with rock, along with some fixed rope. The problem with the rope is that the anchors are bad, and there’s not much holding the rope and a fall could be serious. Fortunately it’s not too steep, but there is a ton of exposure and people are usually tired when walking down from camp. The rock is a little down sloping to the right as well, and with crampons on, it can be bit tricky with any kind of wind. There’s a little short slope on reliable snow which leads to the top of the Geneva Spur, and the wind pressure gradient across the spur can increase there as you’re getting set up for the rappel. Wearing an oxygen mask here can create some footing issues during the rappel, because it’s impossible to see over the mask and down to the feet. For that reason, some people choose to leave Camp 4 without gas, as it’s easier to keep moving down the Spur when it’s important to see all the small rock steps and where the old feet are going. Navigating down through all of the spaghetti of fixed ropes is a bit of a challenge, especially with mush for brains at that point. One lands on some lower ledges which aren’t so steep, where fixed ropes through here are solid. At this point, it’s just a matter of staying upright, and usually, the wind has died significantly after dropping off the Spur. The route turns hard to the left onto the snowfield that leads to the top of the Yellow Bands.
Camp IV, which is at 26,300 on the Lhotse face, is typically the climbers' first overnight stay in the Death Zone. The Death Zone is above 26,000 feet. Though there is nothing magical about that altitude, it is at this altitude that most human bodies lose all ability to acclimate. Accordingly, the body slowly begins to deteriorate and die - thus, the name "Death Zone." The longer a climber stays at this altitude, the more likely illness (HACE - high altitude cerebral edema - or HAPE - high altitude pulmonary edema) or death will occur. Most climbers will use oxygen to climb and sleep at this altitude and above. Generally, Sherpas refuse to sleep on the Lhotse face and will travel to either Camp II or Camp IV.
Camp IV is located at 26,300 feet. This is the final major camp for the summit push. It is at this point that the climbers make their final preparations. It is also a haven for worn-out climbers on their exhausting descent from summit attempts (both successful and not). Sherpas or other climbers will often wait here with supplies and hot tea for returning climbers.
From Camp IV, climbers will push through the Balcony, at 27,500 feet, to the Hillary Step at 28,800 feet. The Hillary Step, an over 70 foot rock step, is named after Sir. Edmond Hillary, who in 1953, along with Tenzing Norgay, became the first people to summit Everest. The Hillary Step, which is climbed with fixed ropes, often becomes a bottleneck as only one climber can climb at a time. Though the Hillary Step would not be difficult at sea level for experienced climbers, at Everest's altitude, it is considered the most technically challenging aspect of the climb.
Summit - 29,028 feet (8848 meters)
Once the climbers ascend the Hillary Step, they slowly and laboriously proceed to the summit at 29,028 feet. The summit sits at the top of the world. Though not the closest place to the sun due to the earth's curve, it is the highest peak on earth. Due to the decreased air pressure, the summit contains less than one third the oxygen as at sea level. If dropped off on the summit directly from sea level (impossible in reality), a person would die within minutes. Typically, climbers achieving the great summit will take pictures, gain their composure, briefly enjoy the view, then return to Camp IV as quickly as possible. The risk of staying at the summit and the exhaustion from achieving the summit is too great to permit climbers to fully enjoy the great accomplishment at that moment.
As most readers of this page know, the return trip can be even more dangerous than the climb to the summit.

Everest Clinic Tends Ills

The world's highest medical clinic opened on April 1 at Mount Everest Base Camp, just as climbers began to arrive to mark the 50th anniversary of the first ascent. Located at 17,500 feet (5,330 meters), the tent-based clinic will be run by a member of the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA), Luanne Freer, and staffed by volunteer physicians who will treat visiting trekkers, climbers, and Base Camp staff for ailments such as high altitude sickness, frost bite, and snow blindness.
The mission of the HRA, which opened its first clinic in 1973 in the Khumbu village of Pheriche, Nepal, is to reduce casualties due to high-altitude sickness in the Himalaya and to provide low-cost medical care for the Nepali people. Funded by donations and fees generated from Western trekkers, the Everest Base Camp Medical Clinic is the HRA's most recent endeavor. The idea to start a central, organized clinic on Mount Everest originated when Freer, a 45-year-old emergency medical physician, visited Base Camp last year and saw the need for more medical care on the mountain. This year, the clinic will operate from April until climbing permits expire in May, with two board-certified physicians and medical students on site. Before Freer traveled to Nepal to prepare for the April 1 opening, we spoke with her about the state of health care at the top of the world.
How did you become interested in high-altitude medicine?
During medical school on the East Coast, I spent nearly every vacation in the Rockies. On one trip I saw hospital signs in Yellowstone—I couldn't believe you could work in a hospital in a national park. So in 1992, 12 hours after graduation, I literally drove out to Yellowstone to work.
Even at 8,000 feet [2,440 meters], 25 percent of my patients developed some form of altitude sickness, so I started doing an epidemiology study. The more I asked about the subject the more I wanted to know, and I've worked there every summer since. I'm now the park's director of medical care.
How did you become involved in the Himalayan Rescue Association?
I ended up making an impromptu decision to join a group of physicians trekking in Nepal in 1999. While there, I volunteered at a clinic where we treated about 650 Sherpas in five days. This was my first introduction to the needs of the area, and I couldn't wait to get back.
The mission of the HRA is to prevent serious altitude sickness and reduce casualties due to altitude sickness in the Himalaya. What upsets us most is that death from altitude sickness is almost always preventable, so we strive to offer education as well as medical care to visitors and locals.
Why did you want to start a clinic at Base Camp?
When I visited Base Camp last year, I met some expeditions who brought their own physicians, and others who didn't. A light bulb turned on when I discovered that the teams without doctors were trying to wing it and practice medicine without any training. Expedition leaders are basically well-versed with treatment of high-altitude sickness—they see it more often then most physicians—but they have trouble with common ailments like bronchitis and diarrhea. So I thought, Why not set up one clinic that has physicians with altitude training and experience with common local problems, and improve care and reduce expedition costs?
How will the clinic operate?
The staff are all volunteers [except our paid Nepali interpreter]. I will be on staff throughout the climbing season, and there will be two board-certified physicians present at all times. There will also be a resident in emergency medicine and a medical student conducting altitude research and helping out with clinical care. We'll be recruiting volunteers at lower altitude and putting them on medication designed to prevent altitude sickness. Our staff will maintain contact with them during the trek, monitoring their symptoms and the effects of the medication.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first two. Since them, 1,200 men and women from 63 nations have reached the summit. What does it take to st

The radiant blush of a cloud at the summit of Everest, at right, suggests a regal crown—and hints at danger. This is a lenticular cloud, which indicates the presence of strong winds at the summit, perhaps even a jet stream raking the peak. Jet-stream winds can jump quickly from 30 to 175 miles an hour (50 to 280 kilometers an hour) and have been known to blow climbers off their feet.

Get a taste of what awaits you in print from this compelling excerpt.A few days after his triumphant ascent of Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay, Ed Hillary received word that Queen Elizabeth planned to make him Sir Edmund. He was taken aback. "Oh, I found it difficult," he recalls now. "I didn't feel I was the ideal sort of person who should have a title." For one thing, he couldn't see strolling around his hometown of Papakura, New Zealand, in his old work clothes, a knight commander of the Order of the British Empire. "My God," he remembers saying to himself, "I'll have to buy a new pair of overalls."Here was a new kind of hero, a tall, rangy beekeeper from the fringes of the empire. One of only two Kiwis on the 1953 Everest expedition—his pal George Lowe was the other—he may have lacked the social graces of his eight English climbing partners. But he more than made up for it with strength and tenacity. Having learned to climb in New Zealand's Southern Alps in the winter (the off-season for bees), Hillary was as bold on ice and snow as anyone on the team. And he and Tenzing had made it to the top.Ed's younger brother, Rex, with whom he shared the beekeeping business, met him in London for the July ceremony at which Ed, Tenzing, and Col. John Hunt, the expedition leader, were to be honored. It followed a garden party at Buckingham Palace, where 7,500 guests in summer frocks and morning coats huddled under umbrellas in the rain. "We were ushered into this room by the staff," Rex remembers. "They were probably lords and ladies and God-knows-what. Then the Queen came in. She was very young and pretty in those days." Ed kneeled on a stool, Elizabeth touched him lightly on both shoulders with a small sword and said, "Arise, Sir Edmund." Staying in Britain for weeks of champagne toasts, Hillary was introduced to his first hangover.Flush with the glow of celebrity, the newly knighted climber stopped off in Sydney on his way back to Auckland to court his future wife, Louise Rose, who was studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He balked at asking for her hand, however. "I was certainly not a ladies' man," he admits. "I was just terrified at the thought of proposing. Fortunately, my future mother-in-law was a very strong lady, and she didn't have any qualms about bringing it up with Louise." So the conqueror of Everest took a backseat while Louise's mother popped the question to her over the telephone from their home in Auckland.In the years that followed, Hillary led expeditions on first ascents of several Himalayan peaks, including Baruntse (23,517 feet/7,168 meters), Chago (22,615 feet/6,893 feet), and Pethangtse (22,106 feet/6,738 meters), drove modified farm tractors to the South Pole in support of a British scientific party crossing Antarctica, went in search of the mythical yeti in Nepal, and wrote books about his adventures. Having given up beekeeping, he signed on as a camping consultant to Sears in 1963, testing new tent designs on vacations with Louise and their three kids, Peter, Sarah, and the youngest, Belinda.Catastrophe struck in 1975, when a small plane carrying Louise and Belinda crashed and burned shortly after takeoff from Kathmandu. The two were on their way to join Sir Edmund in the village of Phaphlu, where he and Rex were building a hospital with local Sherpas and volunteers. "Ed was thunderstruck," says Rex. "It was so damn sad." It took many years for Sir Edmund to recover, but he took some comfort in the physical labor of his aid projects in the Everest region.Those projects—to build schools, hospitals, bridges, and other improvements in Sherpa villages—grew out of Hillary's affection for the mountain people. "Ed's the sort of person who, if he's asked to do something and he can't think of a reason not to, he'll go ahead and do it," says Jim Wilson, a longtime friend from New Zealand. To help fund this private aid program, Hillary and several buddies created the Himalayan Trust, which continues to this day.In 1989, at the age of 70, Sir Edmund married June Mulgrew. Today many Sherpas in the Everest region consider them both to be part of their families. A few years ago at a banquet in the village of Khumjung, Sir Edmund told his Sherpa friends that for June and him, coming back was like coming home. "When he said that, all the old people had tears in their eyes," says lifelong resident Doma Chamji, in part because they knew Hillary was increasingly sensitive to altitude. Each visit to the village at 12,300 feet (3,700 meters) might be his last.Even now, at 83, with his trademark bushy eyebrows, white sideburns, and longish flyaway hair, Sir Edmund is still frequently called upon to be the hero of Everest—whether he's cutting an Everest-shaped cake at the Auckland Museum or giving a pep talk to New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks. "The thing that amazes me, in a way, is that it all keeps going," he says. "But I think I have a clear idea why. I think a lot of people rather like the fact that I haven't just climbed mountains but also built schools, hospitals, and all the rest of it. So in a way I've given back to the people all the help they gave me on the mountain."

Everest Time Line: 80 Years of Triumph

Everest Cents

Thinking of adding your name to the list of 1,200 climbers to summit Everest since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's first ascent in 1953? You'll need a healthy savings account (not to mention conditioning and experience). The oft-quoted fee for a guided climb is $65,000, though the price varies depending on the size of the expedition and the outfitter. Here, seven-summiter Eric Simonson, co-owner of International , gives us a glimpse of his hidden costs.
Thinking of adding your name to the list of 1,200 climbers to summit Everest since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's first ascent in 1953? You'll need a healthy savings account (not to mention conditioning and experience). The oft-quoted fee for a guided climb is $65,000, though the price varies depending on the size of the expedition and the outfitter. Here, seven-summiter Eric Simonson, co-owner of International Mountain Guides , gives us a glimpse of his hidden costs.

Crew:
1 Lead Guide
$25,000
"This is a starting point," Simonson says. "Big names command bigger bucks."
2 Assistant Guides
$10,000 to $15,000 each

7 Climbing Sherpas
$5,000 each
This is an all-inclusive figure, accounting for food, equipment and "bonus" carries, when a Sherpa goes beyond his required number of trips from camp to camp.
3-4 Cooks
$3,500 each

1 Liaison Officer
$3,000
This mandatory agent ensures all expeditions are in full compliance with local regulations. One was even present on Reinhold Messner's 1980 "solo" climb.
Doctor
$4,000
Simonson, like other expedition operators, seeks out doctors willing to volunteer their services for six to eight weeks in the Himalaya.
Transportation and Lodging en route to Base Camp:
Travel for Guides from U.S. to Kathmandu
$2,500
Includes plane tickets, travel expenses, and meals.
Excess Baggage
$8,300
Includes 60 duffels at $120 per bag on Thai Airways and $840 to haul the bags from Seattle to Los Angeles by truck.
Hotel in Kathmandu
$600
Two nights' accommodations before and after the climb for entire expedition.
3 Helicopter Charters
$16,500 R/T
Transportation for gear and climbers from Kathmandu to Lukla, a two-week trek to Base Camp.
1 Plane Charter
$600-$700 R/T
Shuttle from Kathmandu to Lukla for excess gear
150 Yaks
$7,500
Each yak carries up to 120 pounds while negotiating Nepal's rugged terrain on trip from Lukla to Base Camp, an expedition in itself.
Trip to and from Base Camp
$5,000-$6,000
Food and fuel during march from Lukla to Base Camp.
Permits and Fees in Nepal:
Climbing Permit
1 person - $25,000
(Prorated per person)
2 people - $40,000
3 people - $48,000
4 people - $56,000
5 people - $60,000
6 people - $66,000
7 people - $70,000

Sagarmatha National Park Entrance Fee
$100 per team

Khumbu Icefall Fee
$2,375 per team
Paid to Sagarmatha Park, which maintains the route.
Radio Permit
$400 for 8 walkie-talkies
$50 per walkie-talkie paid to the Nepalese Ministry of Communications.
Satellite Phone Permit
$2,300 per phone
Paid to the Nepalese Ministry of Communications.
Sat Phone Rate
roughly $2.50 per minute
A modest e-mail takes about two minutes.
Insurance
$100 per Nepalese staff member
Clients can get theirs through the American Alpine Club,
Garbage and Human Waste Disposal
$4,000
Includes deposit, returned after Sagarmatha Park officials weigh incoming and outgoing waste. Then, burnable garbage is taken to the nearby town of Namche; bottles, cans, and batteries are transported to Kathmandu; and human waste is carted to Gorak Shep, where it is buried in bundles at $1 per kilo.
Supplies:
Fuel
$3,000
(Base Camp runs on kerosene and propane tanks. Fuel cartridges, at $6 each, power stoves and lanterns.
Oxygen
$30,000
Oxygen costs and requirements vary per climb and per climber. This tally includes 65 1,100-liter bottles, split between Camps 3 and 4 and a 10-bottle emergency reserve.
Oxygen Masks and Regulators
$300 per set
Seldom replaced but constantly monitored.
Batteries
$1,500
Lithium batteries can be a lifesaver by illuminating a dark descent or reviving a walkie-talkie that could lead a lost climber to teammates and safety.
Base Stations
$400
Powerful radios that form the communications hub of Base Camp and Advanced Base Camp.
Food Bought in Nepal
$3,000
Fresh fruit, meats, vegetables, and grains.
Food Brought from U.S.
$3,000
High-tech, high-nutrition meals.
Medical supplies
$1,000
To replace outdated medications or to buy improved ones.
Climbing Gear
$500
Each team contributes rope and anchors for the Lhotse Face route and above.
Tents
$4,000
Simonson replaces about a third of his 50 tents each year.
Miscellaneous Expenses:
Ritual Expenses
$300
Sherpas perform a wide array of rituals to appease the mountain, considered the great protector of the Khumbu Valley and a purveyor of long life. A donation is made to the local monastery, juniper is burned by the bundle, prayer flags color Base Camp and a day-long puja, or ceremony, led by a lama from Pangboche Gompa, marks the beginning of an ascent.
Helicopter Evacuation
$5,000
"It comes down to your teammates to get you to Base Camp," Simonson says. After that, it's a precarious ride in the thin air with the Royal Nepalese Army.
Emergency Contingency
$1,000
"Just-in-case" petty cash
Climber's Costs:
In addition to the semi-standard $65,000 guided climb, climbers must account for a mountain of equipment. Starting from scratch, a climber can expect to pay roughly $8,000 just to get the basics (See Alpine Ascents International's gear recommendations at Tack on a sat phone, digital camera, laptop and other luxury items and the bill rockets to about $15,500. But no one climbs Everest from scratch. Most expedition operators require an extensive climbing resume, which often includes an 8,000-meter summit bid with the company before an Everest attempt is made