The MountainWorld™ Blog

New video of 1938 high camp and views from the Northeast Shoulder of Everest

Nearly a year ago, I posted a video showing my May 20, 2004, discovery of the 1938 high camp on the Northeast Shoulder of Everest (see the post here). It was an exciting day - my friend, Dave Hahn, was en route to his 5th summit of Everest (he now has 10!) with our amazing Sherpas, Danuru and Tashi.

I had the option of going for the top again, but, having been there twice already, and being far more interested in the history of Everest and the artifacts I knew were still strewn about the upper North Face, I decided to forego another summit attempt and instead do some high-altitude exploring.

On previous expeditions in 1999 and 2001, I had been able to discover and unearth the 1924 and 1933 high camps. The remaining one that I hadn't visited, however, was from the 1938 expedition, a camp perched in one of the most inhospitable, wind-blown areas of the North Face - atop the North Ridge, just below the Pinnacles and the Yellow Band, on the crest of the Northeast Shoulder.

It took some looking and scouring - especially, as you'll see in the video, since it was a nasty day with high winds, snow, and poor visibility - but eventually the effort paid off. At the fringe of the Northeast Shoulder, just before the grand drop down the Rongbuk Face some 6000 feet to Advanced Basecamp, I saw a bit of wood sticking out of the rubble.

Wood had surprised me before, and led to neat discoveries, like in 1999 with the 1933 high camp, and in 2001 when the wooden tent pole of the 1924 high camp signaled to me that Brent Okita and I had found Mallory & Irvine's final camp. This time, however, I knew the wind was playing tricks on me. No matter how tough (and possibly crazy!) the climbers were in 1938, perching their pup tent on the Shoulder, I knew they would not have placed it where I found the bit of wood, which turned out to be a 2-section tent pole that now sits in my office. It was far too rugged, jagged, and not a flat place to be found.

No, the wind - the ferocious, jetstream wind of the upper reaches of Everest - had carried the pole away from its tent. Nonetheless, it was a clue, and i knew all I had to do was walk back, into the wind, and I'd be led by the prevailing wind direction to the rough site of the camp.

Another 45 minutes of searching, scouring, and being battered by the wind finally led me to the remains - small, sad, and beaten - of the 1938 High Camp.

The video posted last year was pretty poor in quality, and my voice barely audible. So, I took the time this week to edit a new cut of the same, this time adding in some more footage showing the view up to the Pinnacles - where Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker disappeared in 1982 - and the view up into the Yellow Band from the Shoulder along the route most likely taken by George Mallory & Andrew Irvine on their final, fateful summit bid on June 8, 1924.

It's a fun video - enjoy! The YouTube version is posted below, but feel free to check out the same video on DailyMotion, perhaps in a bit better quality.



- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

Everest records: Apa - 18, Hahn - 10, and a 76 year old on Top of the World!

Everest has always been a place of dreams - some won, some lost, some renewed, some shattered. Regardless of how the popular media like to portray the mountain as "easy", the reality is it is still 29,035 feet high, and an unforgiving place even on a good day. And, as yet there is no escalator - everyone still has to climb, one foot in front of the other, to the top.

Last week, legendary Nepali climber Apa Sherpa reached the top for the 18th time. Yes, that's right, the eighteenth time on the summit of Everest!

While Apa said a few years back after his 14th time reaching the top that he would never return, he obviously did for another 4 successful summits. And, my hunch is he'll be back yet again and will hit the 20 summits mark in 2009 or 2010.

What is amazing about Apa - aside from his record - is his quiet, humble nature. Thin and wiry, Apa has a ready laugh, a great smile, and a disarming demeanor that is tough to reconcile with his amazing accomplishments. Quite a guy, to say the least. Read more about Apa in my blog and on the Super Sherpas website.

Not to be outdone, my good friend Dave Hahn just broke his own record, too. Dave just reached the summit of Everest for the 10th time, a record for any non-Nepali person. Like Apa, Dave is a low-key, mild-mannered guy who you'd never guess is one of the world's most accomplished high-altitude climbers.

Along with his Everest record, Dave also holds the record for the most ascents of Mount Vinson in Antarctica. He's also made the Shackleton Crossing of South Georgia many times, climbed Mount McKinley some 20 times, and made hundreds of ascents of Mount Rainier. Not a bad resume, Dave!

Dave reached the top with Nicky Messner, a client of mine from IMG's Ouray Ice Climbing programs, and Sherpas Samduk Dorje and Phinjo Dorje, both of Pangboche. Read about the expedition in IMG's website, here.

On another amazing Everest note, the record for the oldest person to reach the summit was set on Sunday, May 25th, by Nepali Min Bahadur Sherchan...76 years old. Born on June 20, 1931, in the remote hinterlands of the Myagdi District of western Nepal, Min Bahadur had always dreamed of reaching the summit of Everest. His dream finally came true, and he is certainly a hero to the people of Nepal, and to people everywhere: never give up on your dreams!

(As an interesting side note, Min Bahadur is not a Sherpa, but rather hails ethnically from the Thakali tribe. I've written before about the misinterpretation of the word "Sherpa" on my blog, here.)

Despite all the complications with the Olympic Torch run and the mountain being closed, it seems to have been another banner year on Everest. Congratulations to all!

- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

New website up & running!

Finally, after much hard work and effort, I finally finished designing my new website and putting together a new demo video for my speaking. 

While on the one hand it was a lot of fun, like all big projects (climbing Everest included!), it wasn't without its headaches. And, probably not without its errors, either.

But, that said, I am quite happy with how it turned out, and learned a great deal in the design process.

Please stop on by the new MountainWorld Productions and let me know what you think!

And, below is a little teaser for my new video:

~ Click here for the full video ~

- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

The Greatest Honor

As many of you know, I do a lot of speaking around the world. From Colorado to Kathmandu, I have had the honor to address tens of thousands of people from all walks of life and share my experiences with them. My audiences have included Fortune 500 companies, large multi-nationals, and massive associations.

But, tonight, I have the greatest honor - speaking to 200 students from Manitou High School in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Why is this such an honor? Well, it's twofold.

First and foremost, it has always been both an honor - and a priority - for me to work with young people and inspire them to pursue their dreams, to climb the Everests in their lives. As a partner with Colorado PTA, I have dedicated a lot of time and effort to working with students in Colorado and across the country, and enjoy every minute of it.

But, tonight is even more special because I spoke to these very same young men and women nearly 8 years ago at their 5th Grade Promotion from Manitou Elementary. And, tonight, they want me back to speak again, this time as they step out of high school and into a new world...one of opportunity, one of dreams.

It is truly an honor beyond words.

- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

Success through outside-the-box thinking: LG India

Nine years and 14 days ago, my teammates had an amazing day: we discovered the 75 year old remains of George Leigh Mallory at 27,000 feet on Mount Everest.

There were many things that happened during the expedition's prior 6 weeks that led to that amazing success: teamwork, planning, and of course some luck. But the most important thing was a team-wide ability to think outside of the box, to approach a huge task a little bit differently, and to empower each member of the team to do the same.

Take, for example, the genesis of the expedition as a whole. Eric Simonson, our team leader, had to think outside the box from the start. An experienced and successful commercial outfitter on Everest, Eric could have simply gone back to Everest with the same model: bring clients, get them up - or not, and cash a paycheck. But, instead, he had a vision - a vision that went against all the norms and standard practices of Everest climbing - and saw that vision through. True outside the box thinking and action.

Another example of both components is Eric's choice of team members. With the exception of Conrad Anker, none of us were regulars on the pages of Climbing Magazine. Dave Hahn, Andy Politz, Tap Richards, and I weren't out making bold first ascents in remote areas. But, we were passionate. We were dedicated. And, together, with Eric's and team historian Jochen Hemmleb's leadership and vision, we pulled off what to most seemed impossible.

Today in my inbox I found my weekly copy of Knowledge@Wharton, the weekly newsletter of the Wharton School of Business an the University of Pennsylvania. In this issue was a wonderful interview with YashoV. Verma, Director of Human Resources for LG India. Verma's interview and comments resonated with me, echoing much of what I mentioned above and know to be true harbingers of success from my years in the mountains. And, his comments rang even truer given the success LG India has seen through using these methods: the industry leader in India with control of 30% of the market share.

Verma began by affirming that LG India's business model has always been "absolutely non-traditional." He expanded, saying: "Anything that is not in the management book...we have done it." LG India's approach to business has always been outside the box, and has proven the most successful model in the field.

Verma also talked about what he and his team look for in recruits. Traditionally, a top manager would come from the ranks of other top managers; HR recruiters would look for a deep background of knowledge and experience. Verma, however, took the opposite track.

Instead of knowledge and experience, Verma and his team look first and foremost for passion, attitude, and the will to succeed. Says Verma:

Knowledge is something which can be learned. But it is passion, it is attitude and the will to succeed which is much more important. These are the 3 qualities we look for in recruits.

Passion. Attitude. The will to succeed. Simple, yet often forgotten as the essential fodder for success...in business or in the mountains.

What box do you need to think outside of?

Do you and your team have passion, attitude, and the will to succeed? Or just knowledge and experience?

Listen to Verma's interview with Knowledge@Wharton here:

- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

Climb Everest's Northeast Ridge with Jake Norton's images & Conrad Anker's voice!

I am an avid listener to National Public Radio, and here in Colorado we are fortunate to have a station that delivers news and information 24/7. One of my favorite programs is Public Radio International's The World, a wonderful daily look into the issues facing the greater world we live in.

Two weeks ago, I was surprised to hear the same voice on my voicemail as I was hearing through my radio: Carol Hills. A producer and journalist for The World, Carol was putting together an audio slideshow of a climb of the Northeast Ridge of Everest, narrated by my friend Conrad Anker.

Having been fortunate enough - or simply dumb enough - to photograph more assignments on Everest's Northeast Ridge than almost anyone else, Conrad suggested Carol get images from me.

It was a fun project, culling through the literally tens of thousands of images in my stock files from my trips to the Tibetan side of Everest in 1999, 2001, 2003, & 2004. It wasn't easy to pull the images, as each one of them tells a unique story and has a personal meaning to me. But, finally, I got the images selected and sent off to Carol.

She finished the audio slideshow and got it uploaded just before the Chinese brought the Olympic Torch to the summit of Everest - and I think she did a wonderful job!

Take a look at it below, or visit PRI's The World to see the show on their site and watch other audio slideshows as well.

Enjoy!

- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.