{"id":20326,"date":"2015-01-01T06:18:07","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T12:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=20326"},"modified":"2015-03-13T09:49:09","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T15:49:09","slug":"project-8000-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/01\/project-8000-alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"Project 8000 for Alzheimer’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Project<\/a>First, click<\/a> I want to wish everyone a wonderful 2015.<\/p>\n

As many of you know, K2 was a tough climb for me causing me to go to places I never knew existed within myself. Now that I have taken time to reflect on that experience, I want to build upon what I learned.<\/p>\n

The fight to find a cure for Alzheimer’s needs our unified support, caregivers need more help than ever and for me, I want to feed my passion for climbing.<\/p>\n

I am driven by the intersection of purpose and passion thus with great excitement I want to share the details of Project 8000 for Alzheimer\u2019s<\/strong> where over the next 5 years I will attempt the 11 remaining mountains above 8000 meters that I haven\u2019t summited.<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

I saw first hand what Alzheimer’s does to individuals and families when I lost my mom, Ida, and two aunts (my mom’s sisters) to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in 2009. The more I learned about AD, the more helpless I felt. Now six years later there is still no reliable means of diagnoses, no way of stopping it once a person has it and Alzheimer’s is 100% fatal – this is totally unacceptable in 2015.<\/p>\n

\"Ida
Ida Arnette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That experience moved to to redefine my life’s purpose to become an Alzheimer’s Advocate using my passion of mountain climbing as the method to reach people.<\/p>\n

My Memories are Everything \u2122 climbs have reached 50 million people with a message of hope, need and urgency around AD.\u00a0 Through your generosity, we have raised over $250,000 that went 100% to Alzheimer\u2019s non-profits, including the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund who uses the funds exclusively for research. Other non profits that have benefited included the Alzheimer’s Association, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and the Caregivers Action Network.<\/p>\n

Thanks to these organizations and others, progress has been made in understanding Alzheimer’s yet due to lack of money, not ideas, a cure remains elusive. Meanwhile every 4 seconds, another family in the world begins the same fatal journey my family did with my mom.<\/p>\n

It is with this urgency, I remain committed to making a difference. While climbing is an unusual method to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s, I have been able to reach an audience not usually touched by\u00a0 many Alzheimer\u2019s non-profits. These include youth and young adults who are usually forgotten as caregivers. My partners have asked me to continue my efforts as it compliments their own.<\/p>\n

Project 8000 for Alzheimer’s<\/h3>\n

There are 14 mountains above 8000 meters or 26,246 feet. 34 people have summited all 14, including only one American, Ed Viesturs. I will attempt to summit them from 2015 to 2020.<\/p>\n

With my summits of Everest, K2 and Manaslu and good efforts on Shishapangma, Broad Peak and Cho Oyu, I feel well prepared to attempt these 11 mountains and optimistic we can reach the $1M goal for Alzheimer\u2019s research.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cure<\/a>
Cure Alzheimer’s Fund on Everest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My objectives for each climb include: safety, cause results, and climb success. To minimize costs, I will try to organize the climbs leveraging logistics from local organizations. Each climb will be conducted in small, safe teams utilizing proven Sherpa support, hopefully including Kami Sherpa whom I summited both Everest and K2 with in 2011 and 2014. I will utilize the services of Garrett Madison for some of the climbs.<\/p>\n

As the 18th and oldest American to summit K2, I attracted world-wide attention, reached 5 million people and raised $70K in just 6 weeks. The Cure Alzheimer’s Fund said this was one of “most successful campaign ever\u201d of its type. This combined with my 7 Summits campaign in 2011 that reached 30 million people, validated my model of using climbing to raise awareness and critically needed funds.<\/p>\n

I want to again thank Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy<\/span> and Abila for their support on those campaigns.<\/p>\n

Sponsor Opportunities<\/h3>\n
\"Abila<\/a>
Abila on K2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am ing sponsors for Project 8000. The expenses are modest when spread over five years, but the public relations need is large.<\/p>\n

Ideally, one company will see the opportunity and support the entire project but individual climbs are still available to reduce the size of the investment. With the proper PR backing, I believe we can conservatively reach 100 million people. Using my website and social media, I can document a strong connection with my followers resulting in over 2.5 million annual interactions.<\/p>\n

I am confident we can raise significant money from each climb reaching a total of $1 million from my Memories are Everything\u2122 climbs. Please contact<\/a> me for overall budgets and marketing opportunities.<\/p>\n

Schedule<\/h3>\n

I would attempt approximately two climbs each year. My first climb is already scheduled for April\/May 2015 of Lhotse, the world\u2019s 4th highest. More on this soon but please note I will be doing my Everest season coverage as usual but this time from Everest Base Camp. Lhotse and Everest share 90% of the same route.<\/p>\n

This is the proposed schedule, and I’m positive it will change.<\/p>\n

\"Project<\/a>
Project 8000 Schedule<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next Steps<\/h3>\n

I believe I can be used as living proof that if we live an active life, fully engaged, we can do amazing activities as we age. Please remember I am living with the fact that my mom and two aunts have died from Alzheimer\u2019s and I may very well have the gene.<\/p>\n

I hope you are as excited about Project 8000 as I am. I strongly believe we will raise awareness for Alzheimer’s but more importantly fund the search for a cure.<\/p>\n

Climb On!
\nAlan
\nMemories are Everything<\/p>\n

\n

The 8000 meter Mountains<\/h3>\n

1-Everest<\/h2>\n

\"North-east<\/a>Other names: <\/strong>Sagamartha, Chomolangma or Qomolangma
\nAltitude:<\/strong> 8848 m, 29,028 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>Tibet \/ Nepal
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> May 29, 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay with a British expedition
\nSummits\/Deaths:<\/strong> 7,000\/276 or 4.14%
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Challenge<\/strong> : The two normal routes are mostly non-technical climbs but it is the altitude that makes Everest difficult. The south has the Khumbu Icefall that has claimed many lives and on the summit push, the Hillary Step, a short section of rock, challenges some people. The North side is windy and cold with a lot of exposed rock. On both routes fixed ropes are used from Base
\nCamp to the summit. Nowadays crowding is mentioned as a factor.<\/p>\n

My Experience<\/strong>: I summited Everest on May 21, 2011. I climbed fast with IMG’s Kami Sherpa, making the climb from the South Col to the summit in 7:40 and returned in 3:20. This was my 4th attempt with non-summits in 2002, 2003 and 2008. read more<\/a><\/p>\n

2-K2<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/a>Other names:<\/strong> Mount Godwin-Austen or Chogori or Dapsang
\nAltitude: <\/strong>8611 m, 28,251 feet
\nLocation:<\/strong> China \/ Pakistan
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> July 31, 1954 by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, Italian
\nSummits\/Deaths:<\/strong> 354\/82 or 23.16%
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Challenge<\/strong>: Arguably the world\u2019s most difficult mountain to climb. It\u2019s high, steep, with a high risk for avalanches and rock fall. The weather is often bad and there are no easy route to the peak\u2019s summit. It is technical climbing from start to end. The North Ridge is a bit easier but the approach through China is demanding and long.<\/p>\n

My Experience:<\/strong> I summited K2 on July 27, 2014. I climbed with Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering and Kami Sherpa once again.. It was an incredible climbed that started steep and never let up. The most fun was technical rock climbing on the Black Pyramid at 23,000′.<\/p>\n

3-Kangchenjunga<\/h2>\n

\"The<\/a>Other names: <\/strong>Kanchanfanga
\nAltitude<\/strong>: 8586 m, 28,169 feet
\nLocation:<\/strong> India \/ Nepal
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> May 25, 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown
\nExpedition:<\/strong> Great Britain
\nSummits\/Deaths:<\/strong> 284\/43 or 15.14%
\nChallenge: <\/strong>It\u2019s one of the largest of the peaks of the 8000ers and the route to the summit is long. This fact and the many short, but technical sections place Kangchenjunga firmly in the higher end of the difficulty list. The altitude is also a factor.<\/p>\n

4-Lhotse<\/h2>\n

\"the<\/a>Altitude: <\/strong>8516 m, 27.940 feet
\nLocation:<\/strong> Tibet \/ Nepal
\nFirst ascent: <\/strong>May 18, 1956 by Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger
\nExpedition:<\/strong> Switzerland
\nSummits\/Deaths:<\/strong> 525\/14 or 2.67%
\nChallenge: <\/strong>The normal route share the South Col route on Everest and starts with the Khumbu Icefall. The altitude and exposure on the final climb to the summit are contributing to the peak\u2019s reputation of being one in the middle of the list in terms of difficulty.<\/p>\n

5-Makalu<\/h2>\n

\"close-up<\/a>Other names: <\/strong>Makalufeng
\nAltitude: <\/strong>8463 m, 27,838 feet
\nLocation:<\/strong> Tibet \/ Nepal
\nFirst ascent: <\/strong>May 15, 1955 by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy
\nExpedition:<\/strong> French
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong>377\/39 or 10.34%
\n<\/strong>
\nChallenge: <\/strong>One of the more technical peaks and is amongst those considered hard climbs. Steep passages, both on rock and snow, exposure and avalanche danger makes this peak a tough target.<\/p>\n

6-Cho Oyu<\/h2>\n

\"Cho<\/a>Altitude:<\/strong> 8201 m, 26,906 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>Tibet \/ Nepal
\nFirst ascent: <\/strong>October 19, 1954 by Joseph Joechler, Pasang, Dawa Lama and Herbert Tichy
\nExpedition: <\/strong>Austrian
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong> 3,171\/49 or 1.55%
\nChallenge: <\/strong>Technically speaking the easiest of the 14. No technical climbing, but large snowfields and long distances. Many climbers don\u2019t reach the true summit, as it\u2019s located some distance from where you enter the summit plateau and is only marginally higher than the fore summit.<\/p>\n

My Experience:<\/strong> My first 8,000m peak. I climbed it from Tibet with IMG. A 5 week expedition, I reached 26,600′ (8,060m) on the summit plateau before turning back. It was a learning experience that I never forgot.<\/p>\n

7-Dhaulagiri<\/h2>\n

\"Dhaulagiri<\/a>Other names:<\/strong> Aulagiri
\nAltitude: <\/strong>8167 m, 26,795 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>Nepal
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> May 19, 1960 by Kurt Diemberger, Peter Diener, Nawang Dorje, Nima Dorje, Ernst Forrer and Albin Schelbert
\nExpedition:<\/strong>Switzerland
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong>448\/69 or 15.40%
\nChallenge: <\/strong>Considered to be a hard peak to climb by the pioneers in the area, but it\u2019s nowadays considered as one on the lower half of the list. The normal route on the peak has some short technical sections and some avalanche danger, but overall it\u2019s a quite straight forward climb.<\/p>\n

8-Manaslu<\/h2>\n

\"Sunset<\/a>Other names: <\/strong>Kutang
\nAltitude:<\/strong> 8163 m, 26,781 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>Nepal
\nFirst ascent: <\/strong>May 9, 1956 by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu
\nExpedition: <\/strong>Japanese
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong>672\/67 or 9.97%
\nChallenge: <\/strong>On the lower half of the peak\u2019s normal route, avalanche danger is usually a main problem. Higher on the peak, the climb is mostly non-technical and easy. Manaslu has one of the higher death rates and is considered a dangerous peak.<\/p>\n

My Experience<\/strong>: I summited Manaslu on September 25, 2013. The route was the most difficult in years due to a large avalanche in 2012 plus other mountain movements and a low snow year. The tiny summit was scary indeed!<\/p>\n

9-Nanga Parbat<\/h2>\n

\"Nanga<\/a>Other names:<\/strong> Diamir
\nAltitude: <\/strong>8126 m, 26,660 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>Pakistan
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> July 3, 1953 by Hermann Buhl
\nExpedition: <\/strong>Austrian
\nSummits\/Deaths:<\/strong> 335\/68 or 20.30%
\n<\/strong>
\nChallenge: <\/strong>Nanga Parbat\u2019s normal route is not extremely technical, but it\u2019s long and exposed. The mountain is infamous for bad weather and the route offers many tricky sections. It\u2019s considered as one of the harder peaks.<\/p>\n

10-Annapurna<\/h2>\n

\"The<\/a>Other names: <\/strong>Morshiadi
\nAltitude:<\/strong> 8091 m, 26,545 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>Nepal
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> June 3, 1950 by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal
\nExpedition:<\/strong> French
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong>191\/67 or 35.08%
\n<\/strong>
\nChallenge: <\/strong>Considered the most dangerous of the 14. The north and its original route is not that technical, but extremely avalanche prone. The south is of high technical Challenge and also holds lots of objective danger.<\/p>\n

11-Gasherbrum I<\/h2>\n

\"Two<\/a>Other names:<\/strong> Hidden Peak or K5
\nAltitude:<\/strong> 8068 m, 26,444 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>China \/ Pakistan
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> July 5, 1958 by Andrew Kauffman and Peter Schoening
\nExpedition:<\/strong> U.S.
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong>334\/29 or 8.68%
\n<\/strong>
\nChallenge: <\/strong>When the icefall and some easy ground have been covered, the climb gets more difficult. Steep mixed climbing and some objective danger makes Gasherbrum I a peak which belongs with the more difficult 8000ers.<\/p>\n

12-Broad Peak<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/a>Other names: <\/strong>Falchen Kangri or K3
\nAltitude:<\/strong> 8047 m, 26,414 feet
\nLocation:<\/strong> China \/ Pakistan
\nFirst ascent:<\/strong> June 9, 1957 by Hermann Buhl, Kurt Diemberger, Marcus Schmuck and Fritz wintersteller
\nExpedition:<\/strong> Austrian
\nSummits\/Deaths:<\/strong> 404\/21 or 5.20%
\nChallenge: <\/strong>Considered a straight forward climb. The constant, but quite low angled steepness to the summit ridge can hold avalanche danger, but apart from that no technical surprises. Some rocky sections around the false summits and exposure offers the final test before reaching the true summit.<\/p>\n

My Experience: <\/strong>I organized this expedition to climb Broad Peak and then to “have a good showing” on K2. I reached 21,000′ on Broad or Camp 2 before abandoning the climb due to weakness that resulted from a severe bug I contracted on the trek in. The Karakorum ranges was magnificent and I was very lucky to have unbelievable weather for the month I spent there. It was instrumental having this experience for my summit of K2 in 2014.<\/p>\n

13-Gasherbrum II<\/h2>\n

\"The<\/a>Other names:<\/strong> K4
\nAltitude:<\/strong> 8035 m, 26,358 feet
\nLocation:<\/strong> China \/ Pakistan
\nFirst ascent: <\/strong>July 9, 1956 by Josef Larch, Fritz Moravec, Hans Willenpart
\nExpedition:<\/strong> Austrian
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong>930\/21 or 2.26%
\n<\/strong>
\nChallenge: <\/strong>Some years back G II was mentioned as one of the easiest 8000m peaks, usually together with Shishapamgma and Cho Oyu. After the \u201cBanana Ridge\u2019s\u201d collapse the climb has become more difficult. The main obstacles are the huge icefall, crevasses, some steep climbing on snow and the exposure on the final part.<\/p>\n

14-Shishapangma<\/h2>\n

\"Xixa<\/a>Other names:<\/strong> Gosainthan or Xixabangma
\nAltitude:<\/strong> 8027 m, 26,335 feet
\nLocation: <\/strong>Tibet
\nFirst ascent: <\/strong>May 2, 1964 by ten climbers led by Hsu Ching
\nExpedition:<\/strong> China
\nSummits\/Deaths: <\/strong>302\/25 or 8.28%
\n<\/strong>
\nChallenge: <\/strong>Considered as one of the easiest and it is a non-technical climb, to the fore summit, that is. The final part to the true summit is an airy and sometimes dangerous walk on a knife edge ridge and therefore a majority of climbers only reach the fore summit. The rest of the climb is easy, but sometimes avalanche prone.<\/p>\n

My Experience<\/strong>: I attempted Shishapangma in September 2007. Weather conspired to stop all but two climbers that year and no one reached the true summit. I topped out at 7000m or 23,000′ in excellent health and raised some money for the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund – so I was pleased.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First, click I want to wish everyone a wonderful 2015. As many of you know, K2 was a tough climb for me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[413,411],"tags":[412],"class_list":["post-20326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lhotse-2015","category-project-8000","tag-project-8000"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}