Russell Brice Continues to Guide, but with Caveats
Last week, I made a post about Russell Brice’s public statement that he will “hang up the guiding boots.” In that post I also hoped this was an emotional reaction to cancelling his second expedition on K2 in three years. Well we now have the answer. Brice to “Stay” Russell Brice, stung by his decision […]
Russell Brice Announces End of Guiding Career – Update
UPDATE: It appears that Russell Brice’s comments last update from K2 left us with an incorrect impression. He now clarifies his intent that he is not leaving guiding altogether but rather spending less time at base camp. He now says (emphasis is mine): And of course I need to discuss my flippant comment that I […]
Everest 2017: Russell Brice “Old School” Prepares for Another Season
Russell Brice is a legend on Everest. He came to notoriety on the Discovery Channel’s “Everest Beyond the Limits” series about 10 years ago. But few people know that Russ is a world-class climber in his own right. Born in New Zealand in 1952, he now lives in London. He started climbing as a young boy in […]
Everest 2012 Starts with a Dual Summit Reenactment
Well it is Everest 2012 time! We are starting to see more information on blogs, ed interviews and through press releases as teams go into their final preparations. Many climbers will leave their home countries next week. Everest Base Camp IMG posted that their annual shipment of oxygen bottles and tons of supplies are already […]
Everest Base Camp – Himex Style
I’ve been in many base camps but I knew I was somewhere special when I was told “… and this is our garbage tent.” Welcome to Everest Base Camp, Russell Brice style. In 2011 while climbing Everest, I spent the afternoon with Brice getting to know this man and how he runs his expedition base […]
Everest 2011 Approaches
I know I am busy with my preparations for Everest in a little over a month and so are many others. There is a never ending series of tasks from planning to packing and of course training. I am pleased that I am making contact with many of my future teammates and fellow climbers. It […]
Focus on Everest
Teams are all over Everest today, no some climbing; other stuck. High winds on both sides made progress difficult and sometimes impossible for some teams as they continue to push hard to avoid the impending weather. It is snowing at Base Camp on the south and the winds are pummeling the north side; stopping some […]
Everest 2010 Weekend Update May 9 (updated)
This was a busy week on Everest with the first summits for the 2010 season along with a risky gamble. And several accidents and, sadly, a reported death on nearby Lhotse. A team of nine Sherpas fixed the ropes to the summit on the south side. They included Sherpas from IMG, Alpine Ascents and Himex. One western guide who was doing route work high on the mountain also joined them to the summit. Over on the north, it is an entirely different story. According to teams, the ropes are currently fixed only to camp 3 or about 27,300′, far short of the summit and thus stopping most summit attempts. The weather has been difficult this year. As usual, the north receives more snow and wind than the south and increases the difficultly of climbing on that side. It appears no summits attempts until May 11th when the winds could begin to ease but more likely it will be a few days later than that.
Climbing for a Cause
As we spend the last day of April monitoring the climbers on both sides of Everest, I thought it would be good to look at their motivations. Climbing historians know of the famous 1923 George Mallory quote, “Because it’s there” but others have more personal reasons. The primary action on both sides right now is working on their acclimatization through rotations to from low to high camps.
Avalanche Update and Icefall Incident (updated)
UPDATE: In a statement by climber David Klein on expeditions.hu, he and his partner Laszlo Várkonyi were involved in the avalanche and Laszlo is still missing. Original story: I received an email overnight from Duncan Chessell of Chessell Adventures. He is leading an expedition along with Adventure Dynamics on the north. Jamie McGuinness of Project Himalaya, passed through Duncan a first hand account of yesterday’s accident on the North Col. Over on the south, the Icefall continues to be tricky with a small incident that did not hurt any climbers but created a period of anxiety.