Everest 2011: A letter from my Congressman and more
I was surprised to receive this personal letter today from my US Senator, try Mark Udall. I didn’t know a lot about his climbing experience but the personal nature of this note led me to find a kindred spirit with my Senator. While my attention was immediately directed to his climbing comment, it was his acknowledgement of the Alzheimer’s work that brought a smile. Senator Udall supported the National Alzheimer’s Project Act recently signed into law by President Obama. He worked for Colorado Outward Bound School as a course director and educator from 1975-85 and as the organization’s executive director from 1985-95. He summited the 28,169′ Kanchenjunga in 1990 and attempted Everest three times without a summit, including reaching 25,500 on the North Face. Also he was stuck near the summit of Denali for 10 days waiting out a fierce storm If the Udall name sounds familiar, politics runs in his family. His father, Morris “Mo” Udall, served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years and ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 1976. His uncle, Stewart, was Secretary of the Interior under U.S. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. In 2008, Mark’s cousin, Tom Udall, was elected as New Mexico’s Senator. Udall serves as the chairman of the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Thank you Senator! and Climb on! To get to know my Senator better, watch this crazy interview with comedian Stephen Colbert. He starts to discuss Everest at 3:16 at in the video. The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Better Know a District – Colorado’s 2nd – Mark Udall www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive
Everest 2011 Final Expediton Report
Everest 2011 is over. This was the third climb of the 7 Summits Climb for Alzheimer’s: Memories are Everything. In my normal tradition, I have written a complete trip report. But this one is a bit different. I wanted to keep my summit in the context of the goal thus the report provides a bit of background on my motivation to return to Everest for a fourth time in spite of being 9 years older after my first attempt in 2002. I also try to describe in more detail than in my dispatches about the actual climbing, conditions and what it was like to actually be climbing the highest slopes of Everest and of course standing on the summit as the sun rose. It is in PDF format that you download and read at your leisure from this link: http://www.alanarnette.com/downloads/Everest%202011%20Report.pdf and as always, I welcome your comments back on this post or with an email. This is an excerpt where I describe standing on the summit: “I took the final steps to the summit and saw a bench carved out the snow just beneath a collection of prayer flags. I saw Mirjam and Minga and three other climbers already on the summit. They had climbed from the north side and were the first of the season from Tibet. Knowing our time was limited due to the current and impending weather, again I focused on mechanics. I unzipped my down suit and took out my satellite phone. I wanted to post an audio dispatch on my website. A button was programmed to call a blogging service to record a message for my Blog. I had to enter the 9 digit ID code and took off my mitten. Immediately, I felt my finger tips go from slightly cold to a tingling freeze. But knew what I wanted to say. “I want to dedicate this summit to my mom and to all the Alzheimer’s moms. We love you and miss you.” The emotion was strong. I had more to say but could not go on. Kami had taken my camera and was clicking pictures as I made my calls. Karma Rita pulled several banners out of my pack, including Flat Stanley given to me from a school in Florida. I tried to hold them steady in the high winds. With the tasks completed, my shoulders slumped as I put my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. My down hood covered my face. I sobbed silently, celebrating the summit and grieving my mom. I thought about my 7 Summits project, all the supporters, all the followers; all the people who believed in me. The feelings were overwhelming. Kami and Karma Rita stood by quietly giving me room. The wind gusted and I started to get cold. Time to leave. I stood up and looked from top of the world for the first time. I stood silent and still. I pulled my goggles up to have a clear view. The eastern horizon was now a long line of soft golden light. The sun was revealing the nearby summits, mountain valleys and glaciers. I looked north into Tibet, west and south to Nepal. The summits had the spotlight of the morning sun casting shadows to the west. There were no higher mountains, no higher spots on earth. I was a tiny spec, it was humbling.” OK, there are more climbs to come. Next up is the climb of the highest peak in North America, Denali aka Mt. McKinely in Alaska. I will be posting regular dispatches during the climb so you can follow along just like on Everest. This will be my third attempt (yes, I know 🙂 ) so there are many stories to tell and memories to share. I will be climbing this one with Mountain Trip. But always remember that this is about the cause: to raise awareness and $1M for Alzheimer’s research. You can once again pledge a penny for every foot I climb or $131 for Denali. Use this link to donate. Thanks everyone! Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2011 Gear Recap
I know many readers are self proclaimed Gear Junkies so I thought a brief review of my gear I used to summit Everest would be of interest. As usual, search these are not endorsements and I always paid for my gear unless noted otherwise. Overall, I used the same items and techniques I have on 30 expeditions the past 10 years. There were four parts to my Everest expedition: trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC), life at EBC, acclimatization climbs from EBC to Camp 3 at 24,000’ and the climb from the South Col (26,300’) to the summit (29,035’). One more intro note. I tend to use the same clothes day in, day out and week in, week out. Many climbers bring changes for different situations and/or wash clothes often. I don’t. I have my favorites that I know I can count on. Trek The trek was on dirt trails that were very uneven sometimes requiring big steps over boulders but nothing technical or extremely strenuous. The temps were mostly mild but were cold in the early morning or after the sun went down, even in the teahouses which were not heated. I used my Mountain Hardwear Mesa convertible pants but never took the lower legs off. They wore well and never showed the dirt. My top was an Ibex pullover of merino wool with full neck zip. It was versatile for both warm and cool weather plus did not retain odors. I carried a second one in my pack to change into upon arrival to the teahouses each day and reused the other one the next day. My boots were the Kayland Vertigo High. They protected my ankles on the rough trails and were comfortable. Underneath, were Patagonia capilene briefs and REI merino wool expedition socks for padding. A key item was my Buff. I always wore it while walking the dusty trails and sometimes inside the teahouses depending on coughs and hacks. I wore a pair of Injinji poly/lycra gloves but they developed holes on the finger tips quickly; still looking for a lightweight glove that won’t wear out. I almost always wore a wool knit cap and my sunglasses were an inexpensive pair of Oakleys. My shell layers included the Marmot Ion windshirt, which I love for cool temps or breezes and the Patagonia Micropuff jacket with hood – this was my most used item for the entire 9 week expedition. I lived in it and climbed in it because it is warm, durable and lightweight. The current version is the Nano Puff jacket. In my pack was my computer (MacBook Air), Thuraya satellite phone, solar panel with cords (Feather 20), MSR hydration bag (Dromedary), sunscreen, a few Honey Stinger bars and gels, and the SPOT Locator clipped onto my pack top. I had rain pants but never used them. I brought my trekking poles but never used them the entire expedition. I had my Patagonia Hoody in my pack but rarely used it finding it too hot or too cold and my other layers worked better. Also I carried my Patagonia Jetstream hardshell for rain or extreme wind but never used it on the trek. Base Camp Life Base Camp conditions were a bit cold in 2011 with cloudy afternoons and snow showers. Night time temps were below freezing even in the tents. There was snow on the ground some of the time but mostly dirt and rock. I wore the same things 99% of the time. I usually wore a pair of merino long underwear bottoms, then the Mountain Hardwear Chugach (now called compressor) pant. This was comfortable and warm. Some people prefer jeans these days at EBC. My tops alternated between zip merino thin tops like I trekked with or a heavier fleece top depending on the weather and smell. My shoes were lined Chuggs, other wore running shoes. Same knit cap and sunglasses used on the trek and the Patagonia Micro Puff jacket when it was cold and every night at dinner. I had a pair of 40 Below synthetic booties but they did not keep my feet warm. In my tent was my ExPed down air mattress, which I loved and the Mountain Hardwear Phantom sleeping bag (0F). I put Nalgene water bottles filled with hot water at dinner plus put my MH Chugach pants at the bottom of my sleeping bag. This helped keep my toes warm. Acclimatization Rotations These climbs were on Lobuche Peak (20,000’), through the Khumbu Icefall, to Camps 1 and 2 in the Western Cwm on to 24,000’ on the Lhotse Face. The temps ranged from near 0F to over 100F in clouds and direct sun and on various snow and ice conditions. I started with the merino wool top and bottom base layer from First Ascent and REI merino wool expedition socks. I lived in my Patagonia Alpine Guide softshell pants. These are lined so they are warm and also protected me from wind and cold. I like their suspenders especially as I lost weight. My top was a heavier merino wool pullover with zipper for ventilation. Once again, I climbed in my Patagonia Micro Puff jacket occasionally using the Jetstream softshell in very windy conditions. I packed my Feather Friends 800 fill Volant jacket but rarely used it. I used the Hestra Alpine Pro gloves and they held up well with the tough constant clipping into and off the fixed line; occasionally my fingers got cold. Again, my head was protected with the knit cap but I now used the Jublo Explorer sunglasses which worked extremely well. My Buff was always around my nose and mouth warming the air as I inhaled. My boots were the Kayland 8001 (supplied by Kayland) which worked well until the zipper broke on one boot at Camp 2 and on the South Col causing serious problems. We held the boot together with duct tape and string; literally. I took the Mountain Hardwear Wraith -20F (supplied by MH) down
Finishing Everest
Climbing Everest has many parts: training, trekking, climbing and then a traditional unique to the tallest mountain in the world – signing a white board at the Rum Doodle restaurant in Kathmandu. Hanging on the wall behind the bar are two large boards filled with signatures of summiters. Off to the right, ambulance under a bit thicker glass, is another frame holding the signatures of Hillary, Rob Hall, Messner and a few others with a “bit” more history than the rest of us. Last night, Heiko, Mirjam, Suzanna and I went there to complete our mission. First we had to show proof we summited, a statement from the Ministry of Tourism with our names and expedition. Then proof of identification, our passport, and finally two pictures used to issue a card that identifies us for free food for life! Not bad if you live in Kathmandu 🙂 We enjoyed a nice meal, shared summit stories and took in the moment. The final stage of climbing Everest was to register our feat with Ms. Elizabeth Hawley. Known for decades as the keeper of all things Himalaya, Ms. Hawley lives in Kathmandu and keeps a running total of every Himalaya summit. It is well known that if she said you summited, you summtied; otherwise you are out. In the past she would grill each person individually as to what they saw, what time the made it and other specifics that only the summiter might know. But now in her 80’s, she only speaks with the expedition leader to verify the list. I did meet her in 2008 as her driver in her blue Volkswagen Bug waited outside. She was dapper, polite and full of questions. A true legend. I am leaving Kathmandu’s Hotel Tibet in a moment to catch my flight, TG320 to Bangkok then on to LA and Denver to meet my incredible wife at the top of the stairs. It has been a wonderful experience that can be summarized in one word: humbling. A full Everest report is still on tap but up next is the 4th climb of The 7 Summits Climb for Alzheimer’s: Memories are Everything – Mount McKinley or Denali. I leave on June 25th. Let’s hope I gain a little of the weight I lost before then! As always, thanks for your support and more importantly your generous donations and identification for Alzheimer’s. The summit was nice but this is all about the cause. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2011 – Your Questions
I am back in Lukla on our 3rd of 3 days trek from Everest Base Camp. This is an important time for me to process any Himalaya experience. I love walking the Khumbu trails, ambulance sharing them with the Yak trains going to or return from Everest Base Camp; seeing the porters with loads taller than they are and of course, the mountains. The weather has been perfect and I am hopeful to fly out of Lukla on Thursday (tomorrow) morning to catch my Friday flight home. I am trekking with Jay and Mirjam and thoroughly enjoying their company. The vast majority of the rest of the IMG team is either home or in transit. Some took the $7500 helicopter ride from BC to Kathmandu! IMG had 37 Everest summits this year including Sherpas. We stopped by to see Lama Geshi again yesterday. He seemed so happy that people he had blessed going up would stop after their summit to say hello. The old Lama’s big hands were warm, his smile crisp, eyes dark and clear; and his laugh deep and genuine as he called me “Ellen” for “Alan”. I was so pleased to see him back in his old form. As I walked the dirt trails, I was thinking of how I can somehow repay in a tiny way your kindness and support for me as I climb the 7 Summits this year. I am forever grateful for every donation to your choice of Alzheimer’s non-profit. I hope to get a tally when I get home. But another thought was to try to share my Everest experience through a Q&A on this Blog. Just post a question in the comment section and I will do my to answer it. If you prefer something less public, send me an email at climbing@alanarnette.com. Remember I am still in transit and will answer as quickly as possible. Obviously, I am not a professional climber, mountain guide, Alzheimer’s spets or physician so some topics I am not qualified to respond to and other resources are better suited for those topics. But I am glad to share my experiences as I have for the last decade through my site. To get things started, Paul Adler asked a poignant question about my Everest performance: “I would love to know what you attribute your fast times this year compared with past attempts? Was it comparatively good health? Paul, I was thinking a lot about this and can identify four areas. Obviously these are my thoughts and don’t apply to everyone. PACE: Thanks to advice from many people (John Dahlem) and my own experience of pushing too hard and succumbing to the pressure of the guide clock; this year I climbed at a pace I was comfortable with. IMG never put any pressure on me to meet climb times between camps and Kami’s favorite word was “slowly”. Obviously I knew that I needed to be able to go fast through dangerous sections or if the weather turned but allowing my body to acclimatize naturally was a huge advantage and I did not waste energy competing against the clock or other climbers. Also when I got sick, I gave myself permission to be sick and get well. This was critical in that I did not stress over schedules and got the necessary rest, food and hydration my body so desperately needed. As my friend Brad Jackson commented, it was better that it happened early in the expeditions than later. Allowing myself to recover allowed me to enter the final acclimatization rotations strong. A final factor in pace was that I employed every trick and technique I new throughout the expedition from sleeping to gear to eating, drinking, foot placement (simple, small steps), clothing layers, attitude, who I hung out with, etc. One proof of how it worked was that I never lost my appetite, rare for me. PREPARATION: My fitness was at a different level than on the previous attempts even though I was 9 years older. In the previous 18 months, I climbed over 30 14,000 Colorado and California mountains with 30-50lb packs. Also climbed Vinson and Aconcagua in the prior 4 months. I lost about 10 pounds before coming to EBC then lost another 15 pounds in the early expedition time; which was a bit too much. It is said you have to be in the shape of your life to climb Everest. Well, I thought I was before but now know I had to be in Everest shape to climb Everest. Paul, you had a hand in this one through thinking through the way to climb Everest. For example, I always stayed at Camp 1 around 19,500′ on each rotation based on your suggestion. The standard program is to stay there once, but I found by staying there each rotation, I was able to manage my energy more evenly and not wear myself out trying to go from BC to C2 in one big push. Also, I pushed the envelope a bit by staying at Camp 2 three nights instead of the normal two on the first rotation. Reviewing my own prior performance, I changed my supplemental oxygen plan. I was very glad that IMG used the TopOut mask instead of the old Posix one that leaked 50% of the air. Also, I used an extra bottle of oxygen on the final summit push from the South Col. These two factors, mask and O’s, allowed me to climb using 4lpm flow from Col to Summit and back instead of a leaky 2lpm in my previous climbs – this was a huge difference. PERSONAL SHERPA: This should be no surprise to anyone who has been reading along. Kami (Ang Chhiring Sherpa – Pangboche) was a perfect match for me. At age 46 with 12 Everest summits, K2, Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam, and many other climbs, he had the maturity, experience and personality I needed. We spent time getting to know each other with local climbs,
Everest Summit Recap – more than a summit
I stood on the summit of Mount Everest at 5:00 AM, malady May 21, 2011. To say this event had a personal meaning is an understatement. To say it had a broader meaning leaves much to be explained. I will write a complete trip report in my usual standard once I get home but for now here is an overview from my summit push. The weather played havoc with every team in 2011. High winds were forecasted and changed plans but then never materialized. Sudden storms did appear without notice causing great discomfort, > concern and in some cases, frostbite and blindness. So when our IMG expedition leader announced at 9:00 PM May 15, the weather forecast had changed for the positive and we needed to leave base camp in 5 hours, we were skeptical to say the least. But we moved ahead spending a night a Camp 1 and then moved to Camp 2. But the forecast changed yet again, this time calling for high winds the morning, May 19, we were supposed to summit. While other teams ignored this revision, we stood down and spent another night at Camp 2. Not all bad since this gave our bodies more time to rest, hydrate and prepare for our ultimate summit push. But now our summit was at the end of a 3 day window of low winds so the margin for error was reduced to zero – assuming the forecast were valid. But we moved forward and on to Camp 3, then to the South Col, a harsh camp at nearly 8000m where the body no longer functions properly. My climb from C3 to the Col was fast, over twice as fast as my previous climb; about 3 hours. The recent snows had made the route over the Yellow Band, a limestone strata that crosses the Himalaya in the area, and on the Geneva Spur slightly easier instead of climb on rock. Arriving at the South Col is more like landing on a distance planet. The ground is covered with small slate tablets revealing a history of being underwater at some point – amazing. But the overriding feature is the route up the Triangular Face to the Balcony. From there the route follows the Southeast ridge to the South Summit. You cannot see the true summit of Everest from the South Col – but you know it is there. As we settled into our tents at 9:00 AM, we knew we would leave about 12 hours later – weather depending. Then the call came; the winds which had been forecasted to be calm, were now called to pick up in the afternoon and then die down in the night; when we were climbing. But more unsettling were that extremely high winds were called for the next day – after our summit. The tension mounted as our window became much shorter. On schedule, the winds started up Friday afternoon. We heard of over 100 summits that same morning with perfect conditions. I was tenting with Mirjam and we just lay in our sleeping bags trying to sleep. My overriding thoughts were of the winds and if they did not stop. IMG was not set up for us to stay at the Col for another day. After 2 months of preparation, it could all come to an end. But as the sun set, the winds seem to start to calm. At this point there were less than 30 people at the South Col meaning crowds would not be a huge issue. We set a departure time of 9:00 PM. My personal thought was it would take me between 12 to 14 hours to reach the summit, at my pace, putting me there at mid morning on May 21. I lay in my tent, my stomach churned; I was getting more and more nervous with each passing gust. The summit meant a lot to me given I had tried three times. I had made climbing a priority and I found great satisfaction from the expedition life to meeting fellow climbers to actually climbing; yet Everest remained a goal seemingly far out of my skills and ability. I had climb just below the Balcony in each previous attempt turning back due to not being strong enough either physically or mentally. But Alzheimer’s changed my life forever. As my mom spent 8 difficult years with disease, I saw the lack of knowledge in the public, the lack of funding for research, the lack of tools to the disease. More was needed and there was no tomorrow for Alzheimer’s. Outstanding non-profits existed but I wanted to be aggressive with my mission of fund raising, awareness building and education, thus combining it with my climbing, I felt I could reach people otherwise missed or not having an outlet for their personal stories. In the 60 days I would take to climb Everest, 74,057 would be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s just in the US. The 7 Summits Climb for Alzheimer’s: Memories are everything was born with the support of Janssen AI and Pfizer. I made it to the top of Vinson in Antarctica and Aconcagua in South America and now was laying in a -20F sleeping bag at 26,400′ in gale force winds. My supporters had made it clear that safety was the top priority, however, I knew if I did not summit Everest, the underlying premise of my 7 Summits mission was damaged. After all who got the bronze medal in the 100 meter sprint in the last Olympics? As the winds dyed, I filled my thermos with hot water and turned on my batteries for my foot warmers. I put hand warmers in my gloves, pulled on my wool cap, positioned my goggles around my down hood and stepped out of the tent and onto the South Col. In the total darkness, the stars shown brightly in between the strong gusts. At this point we were a team of 14, 7 members and 7 Sherpas.
Audio Dispatch from Mt. Everest
This is the latest audio dispatch live from Mt. Everest; the third of Alan’s 7 Summits climbs. Click to hear the audio: Everest 2011 Summit Call These climbs are to raise Alzheimer’s awareness and $1M for research. Please donate today. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Summit: Everest Audio Dispatch
I summited Everest on May 21, 2011 and posted this audio dispatch directly from the top of the world using a satellite phone. This was the third of my 7 Summits climbs for Alzheimer’s. It was an emotional experience from a mountaineering perspective but more so on behalf of Alzheimer’s individuals, their families, caregivers and researchers. Read the full trip report for all the details. Click to listen: [audio:http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Everest-2011-Summit-Call.mp3|titles=Everest Summit Audio Dispatch|artists=Alan Arnette] I lost my mom and two aunts to Alzheimer’s. Please join me to end Alzheimer’s by making a donation today. Read the details. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Audio Dispatch from Mt. Everest
This is the latest audio dispatch live from Mt. Everest; the third of Alan's 7 Summits climbs. These climbs are to raise Alzheimer's awareness and $1M for research. Please donate today. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Audio Dispatch from Mt. Everest
This is the latest audio dispatch live from Mt. Everest; the third of Alan's 7 Summits climbs. These climbs are to raise Alzheimer's awareness and $1M for research. Please donate today. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything