Archive for August, 2010 « The Blog on alanarnette.com

Fall Himalayan Climbs: Everest and More

Aug 302010

It is that time of year for climbing to resume on the Himalayan 8000m peaks. Fall brings attention to the ‘other’ 8000m mountains near Everest: Makalu, Manaslu, Pumori and Ama Dablam in Nepal and Cho Oyu and Shishapangma in Tibet. And of course, Everest. Fall climbing in Nepal and Tibet is dramatically different than in the Spring. The season starts soon after the summer monsoons let up leaving the area clean, clear and crisp. It is an absolutely beautiful season for trekkers and some climbers. But each day is shorter and slightly colder – just the opposite from the spring. continue reading

Fall Himalayan Update from Ang Tshering

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Aug 262010

Ang Tshering Sherpa is the Chairman and Founder of Asian Trekking, one of the oldest expedition companies in Nepal. He is perhaps the most influential Nepali in mountaineering. He sends a few letters out during the year with updates on the Himalayan climbing scene. His most recent letter has a few interesting tidbits sadly including the recent crash of an aircraft with trekkers heading to Luka for a trek to Everest Base Camp. Dear Mr. Alan Arnette, Namaste and warm greetings from Nepal. It is with a very heavy heart that I’m writing to you. As many of you may continue reading

Finishing the 14ers; What’s Next?

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Aug 212010

For not being a goal, the satisfaction I feel for just completing climbing all 54 Colorado mountains over 14,000′ is deep. As I posted last week, I went to southwest Colorado’s San Juan range to climb Windom Peak (14082′), Sunlight Peak (14059′), Mt. Eolus (14083′) and North Eolus (14039′). I was fortunate to have my regular partners, Patrick and Robert along and some new friends, Anne and Kevin plus John Little from Houston, Texas. There are new trip reports for all the climbs on my main site. Mt. Eolus and North Eolus Windom Peak Sunlight Peak The plan was to continue reading

Long Shadows

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Aug 162010

My favorite time of day is when the sun slowly disappears below the western horizon. Long shadows appear behind the trees, the bushes, houses – anything and everything. Holding the lessons of the day, these shadows reveal the personalities of their owners. Some tall and straight, others short and bent. They reflect what we see. I like these shadows, no matter the shape. The serenity, the depth, the complexity of their story. One year ago today, my mother, Ida, died after an 8 year battle with Alzheimer’s. She was a strong person with immense influence. Her shadow was indeed long. continue reading

Aerogel – Should Geese Start Celebrating? Updated

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Aug 152010

Aerogel - Should Geese Start Celebrating? Updated

Update: 8/23/2010 Hanesbrands did use their aerogel based SuperSuit on Everest in the spring of 2010. Now three months later they have released the results to the public. It is mixed as I read it. On the positives, climber Jamie Clark did use their product and did not suffer any ill effects which was no surprise. Of note he wore a traditionally ‘puffy’ down suit on his summit push. Jamie only wore the external Supersuit to camp 3 which is still in the limited protection of the Western Cwm and not subject to the harshest summit winds. I was under continue reading

The Final 14ers

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Aug 112010

Sometimes a goal is not a goal until you near the end. That is my story for climbing all of Colorado’s Mountains over 14,000 feet. My first 14er was Longs Peak in 1992, then a few more in 2002. I got serious after meeting Patrick Vall and Robert LeClair. They both wanted to climb all the 14ers and I needed the training for my Himalayan climbs throughout the decade. Thus one by one, we started climbing them all. This weekend I will travel to an area named the Chicago Basin and climb three of the ranked 14ers thus competing my continue reading

A Test for Alzheimer’s?

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Aug 102010

There is great excitement in the Alzheimer’s world that a new test can predict if a person will have the disease with 100% certainty. This according to a study published in the Archives of Neurology . Simply put, the study looked for indications of Alzheimer’s in spinal fluid taken from a group of 300 individuals all over 70 years of age. 114 had normal memories, 200 had memory problems and 102 actually already had Alzheimer’s disease. It was blind study where individuals and researchers did not know the status of the subjects. The New York Times summarized the results: Nearly continue reading

The 3rd Pole: Everest this Fall for Eric Larsen

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Aug 092010

Eric Larsen is not your average Polar explorer. Yes he has already made difficult and successful trips to both poles, yet he is not satisfied. Next up is what he calls the 3rd Pole, Mt. Everest. What is a lifetime goal for some, is a year-long one for Eric. I recently caught up with him at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake to talk about his Fall, 2010 Everest expedition. What is driving this 39 year-old man from Minnesota? Eric has a long fascination of Polar travel and was seeing his beloved terrain slowly slip away. So he felt continue reading