Episode 035: Picking Up The Pieces
Posted on Jan 24, 2007 | Comments Off on Episode 035: Picking Up The Pieces
Yard Sale at 23,000 Feet. Lhawang, Lhakpa and Ben were finally able to return to the North Col today. It was a scary climb, not because of any technical moves but because of what they might find at the top. The news had been spreading around BC that almost everyone’s gear had been blown off of the mountain. This...
Episode 034: New Friends, Old Weather
Posted on Jan 17, 2007 | Comments Off on Episode 034: New Friends, Old Weather
Hot Males, Hotmail And Virucide. Not long after Ben left camp this morning we were visited by some Chinese military officials. Apparently there were here to disinfect Base Camp. I mean that literally–they were clothed in their crisp green dress uniforms, boots, paper masks and spraying apparatus. SARS, or Severe Acute...
Episode 033: Climb On!
Posted on Jan 9, 2007 | Comments Off on Episode 033: Climb On!
There Are Butterflies At Everest. It was a long time coming, but the wind has finally calmed down enough for the climb to resume. It’s not gone, mind you, but just diminished enough to step outside again and for the team to return to ABC. I have to say that I have really mixed feelings about the climb moving forward....
Episode 032: French Cooking, Part 2
Posted on Jan 3, 2007 | Comments Off on Episode 032: French Cooking, Part 2
“The People With the Boat, They Coming With the Fish”. Tonight Ben, Bertrand, Allan and I were treated to some fine French Cuisine at Denis’ camp. It was wonderful. Our camp has the finest Nepali food in town, and Dawa’s a true master, but this was a very pleasant change of pace. We’ve all become...
Episode 031: Weather Report
Posted on Dec 19, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 031: Weather Report
“The train is coming tomorrow…”. The weather reports we are getting are dismal. The thing is, you can’t just keep waiting and waiting for good weather. It’s time to put up or shut up. Tomorrow, Ben and Lhawang will return to ABC to see what can be done about getting to the top of this...
Episode 030: A Little Help From My Friends
Posted on Dec 13, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 030: A Little Help From My Friends
It’s All About Communication. I don’t know when the team is going to be able to resume the climb again, or even if their gear has been blown off the mountain. This storm is still raging and it feels like there’s no end in sight. If the gear cached on the North Col or above is gone, then it’s game over....
Episode 029: Waiting Out The Weather
Posted on Dec 5, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 029: Waiting Out The Weather
Everest Is Boring. It turns out that Everest can be as much about sitting around on your duff as it is about climbing. Why are we here, again? You mean we didn’t come up here to sit around drinking tea and surf the internet over an unbelievably expensive satellite modem? Oh, that’s right. We’re here to stress...
Episode 028: “He Was Good Boy”
Posted on Nov 29, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 028: “He Was Good Boy”
This Is The Turning Point. It’s become obvious that Everest is trying to separate the wheat from the chaff up here. The wind is non-stop and it’s starting to affect more than our morale. Not long ago, Lhawang spoke to Lhakpa who is still up at ABC. There are only a few climbers up there right now as almost every...
Episode 027: You’ve Got Mail!
Posted on Nov 16, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 027: You’ve Got Mail!
Mountain Man. Wow is it windy these days. We’re experiencing some of the worst weather events in recent memory up here! It wouldn’t be so bad if you could just be outside a little bit. I don’t think anyone comes to Everest to sit in a tent all day when there’s a blue sky. It’s strange, the sky has...
Episode 026: Trouble By The Foot
Posted on Nov 8, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 026: Trouble By The Foot
My Meat Foot. Ok, Ok, Ok, so maybe I shouldn’t have gone all the way to ABC at 21,000 feet. The funny thing is that the altitude wasn’t a problem. Only in the morning. I’d wake up and would have my vision be somewhat spotty, strobing and tracing. After I’d stumble down the path to the...
Episode 025: Back To Base Camp
Posted on Nov 1, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 025: Back To Base Camp
Give It a Rest. Even here at ABC, I still can’t believe I’m here at Everest! This is one of the problems with being a photographer: sometimes you need to put the camera down and experience things for real. It’s too easy to view your world as an outside observer through the lens. This is why, after so much...
Episode 024: 7900 Meters
Posted on Oct 25, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 024: 7900 Meters
A Personal Altitude Record. I awoke on this first morning at Everest’s North Side ABC with the most beautiful sight. No, it wasn’t the world’s highest peak, but the intricate lace of frost that had formed on the inside of my tent. Up here at 6400 meters, or 21,000 feet the temperature drops dramatically...
Episode 023: Climbing The North Col
Posted on Oct 17, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 023: Climbing The North Col
Seeing Spots. I might not be a mountaineer, but it’s time for me to climb Everest. Well, up to ABC anyway. The altitude up high is making my vision and balance a little funny. We left BC a couple of days ago and headed up the well worn path leading up to Interim Camp. Man, not my favorite place in the world but only had...
Episode 022: French Cooking, Part 1
Posted on Oct 11, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 022: French Cooking, Part 1
Do You Want Fries With That? A few days ago the final 4 members of our Everest expedition arrived at BC. Two Frenchmen, a Belgian and a Sherpa drove up from Tingri. Kind of sounds like the opening to a bad joke, but I have no idea what the punch line would be! The two French climbers are Bertrand and Alain, the Belgian is...
Episode 021: ABC FYI
Posted on Oct 4, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 021: ABC FYI
“Pretty Mellow”. A climb of Mount Everest truly begins at ABC. Advanced Base Camp is the first major camp past BC, and where many climbers spend most of their time. It is about 22km from this gravel pit we call Base Camp, but like most things around here, it’s a world away. Most climbers take a couple of days...
Bonus Episode: The Dalai Lama
Posted on Sep 29, 2006 | Comments Off on Bonus Episode: The Dalai Lama
Special Bonus Episode: The Dalai Lama Visits Colorado. On September 17th, 2006, His Holiness, Tendzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama visited the Shamhala Mountain Center near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. Before a crowd of 2,500 onlookers, he blessed the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya. At 108 feet tall, the Great Stupa is the...
Episode 020: Technical Technicalities
Posted on Sep 27, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 020: Technical Technicalities
O Generator, Where Art Thou? Everest Base Camp might be in the wilderness, but there’s more technology here than in some small countries. Luckily, our little generator has arrived from Kathmandu. When you’re shooting a film about Everest, the one thing you always need is the ability to charge your batteries....
Episode 019: The Climb Begins
Posted on Sep 20, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 019: The Climb Begins
Time To Climb! Finally, the Everest climb has begun in earnest. Today, the team consisting of Lhawang, Ben, Lhakpa, Boca Lama and Pasang started up the trail to Advanced Base Camp. Well, the five of them and 40-50 yaks and their herders, or “Yak Boys” as Lhawang calls them. I feel like I’ve been gone from the...
Episode 018: Yak-Tastic!
Posted on Sep 13, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 018: Yak-Tastic!
Yak Yak Yak. Yesterday everything we own here was weighed to discover how many yaks will be needed for the trip up to ABC. Today, it’s time to pack up and ship out! All of our yaks and their herders are on scene this morning to load all of our materials on these hearty animals. I thought the yaks would actually be...
Episode 017: Weighing The Expedition
Posted on Aug 9, 2006 | Comments Off on Episode 017: Weighing The Expedition
Things Are Getting Heavy. Climbing Everest is not like a typical backpacking trip. We have so much gear and food that you can almost hear the mountain groan under our weight. This is pretty much par for the course. Imagine packing up everything you own and moving it to a gravel pit in the middle of nowhere. This is what...
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