The MountainWorld™ Blog

Andrew Irvine Action Figure

Some friends just made me aware of this - an Andrew Irvine action figure. 

I've got to admit, I never was - nor am - much of one for action figures, but this person really pulled out all the stops to make his version of Irvine pretty realistic. 

Now, if he could just talk and tell us what happened on that famous day in 1924...

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

Overdue Thursday Thought: Simone Moro and the Ethics of Everest

As many of you know, Everest, and the ethical issues surrounding it, have long been a part of my dialogue here on The MountainWorld Blog and elsewhere. I often speak to groups about Everest ethics, and it is a point of discussion in many a conversation. 

And, as 2010 the Everest season ramps up, we find the usual discussion whirling and swirling about: 

• Should commercial expeditions be allowed to operate on Everest?
• How should rescues and emergencies be handled on the mountain? 
• Is it ethical to bring amateur clients to the Top of the World?
• Is oxygen use unethical on Everest, or anywhere?

There is never an easy answer to ethical debates. Much of it comes down to personal style, preference, ability, and situation. And, as a result, ethical debates have a way of simmering for years, and boiling over when the right agitation comes along. (Just look at the sorry, squabbly state of our political system!)

With the high level of debate and sometimes mud-slinging that goes with Everest each year, it was refreshing to me to hear recently on ExplorersWeb from the renowned alpinist and climber, Simone Moro. 

Moro is a climbing veteran, and one of the most respected and successful alpinists in the world today. His climbs are legendary:

• First winter ascent of Makalu in 2009, alpine style without oxygen
• First ascent of 6950 meter Beka Brakai Chhok (Karakoram) in 2008
• First solo traverse of Everest, climbing the Southeast Ridge and descending the Northeast Ridge, in 2006
• First non-Polish winter ascent of an 8,000 meter peak, climbing Shishapangma in January, 2005
• Rescue of Tom Moores on Lhotse in 2001, earning him the Fair Play Pierre de Coubertin trophy from UNESCO, the Civilian Gold Medal from Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and the David Sowles Memorial Award from the American Alpine Club

And the list goes on.

Moro, one would think, might then follow the oft-repeated mantra that commercial expedition climbing, and expedition climbing in general, is simply "not right", that it is a bastardization of the sport, as is the use of supplemental oxygen on the high peaks. These are arguments that have been posed and debated time and time and time again. 

Is there some truth to these statements? Certainly. As I've discussed here before, climbing on Everest and other high peaks of the world needs some rethinking. There are bad decisions being made every year, and people being taken up high beyond their limits and beyond their skill levels.

But, that said, everyone has their own reality in climbing. Not everyone can be a Steve House, a Vince Anderson, or a Simone Moro. And, even Steve, Vince, and Simone had to start somewhere. By demonizing a segment of our industry which gets people into, and enthralled by, the mountains, don't we in the end limit and diminish the very sport we love? 

So, back to the point, and to my Thursday Thought: Simone Moro is hoping to climb Everest this year without oxygen. A veteran of heroic, light ascents on remote peaks, he'll be walking uphill this spring with 500 others, all climbing in different styles with different prerogatives and ideas. But, Simone, in his interview with ExplorersWeb, seems OK with this, saying:

[This spring][ will be an immersion in “high altitude tourism,” but the world and the mountains are - or should be - accessible and free for everybody to live their dreams. The only thing I hope for is that everyone there is honest in declaring and understanding what a summit climb is and what it is not; the difference between a new route vs the classical; and what is oxygen use and what is not. 

Those things should be obvious, but Everest history is full of mistakes, lies, lack of sense, reality and team spirit.

Anyway, I respect everybody and hope to follow my style of alpinism and realize something unusual, different or new, even in that crowded Base Camp. We'll see if I will be able to do it or not… 

What are your thoughts on climbing ethics? I'd love to hear more!

And, for extra credit, here's a cool video of Simone reaching the summit of Makalu:

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

Nagqu Airport: Higher Than Any Peak in the Lower 48!

China recently announced plans to finish construction on Nagqu Dagring Airport. At  4,436 meters, or 14,553 feet, Nagqu Dagring with take over the title of the world's highest airport, and its runways will be higher than anything in the continental USA. Wow.

As with all the recent development and infrastructure improvements in Tibet, however, this will certainly be a mixed blessing. Like the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, completed in 2006, the Nagqu airport will certainly bring more commerce, trade, and development to the largely impoverished Tibetan Plateau. But, it will also bring an added influx of ethnic Han Chinese immigrants, diluting the culture of Tibet and further cementing Beijing's grip on the region.

It's always a mixed feeling for me when I see this development in Tibet. On the one hand, I am excited to see the lives of everyday Tibetans potentially bettered by such improvements. But, having actually seen and traveled in much of Tibet, I also know that little of the development manages to trickle down to the local population.

What are your thoughts...Are these improvements good, bad, or indifferent for Tibet and Tibetans? 

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

Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival

Most of us, understandably, think of Nepal as a place where films are shot, not really where films are watched.

But, starting back in 2000, the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) changed all that. A truly world-class festival, KIMFF each year shows some of the best films from the world of mountains.

I first went back in 2001, where my friends Pemba Sherpa and Ang Jangbu Sherpa and I were dazzled by great films, like He Dances for his Cormorants, about a cormorant fisherman on the Lijiang River in Yunnan Province, China. Another great film that year was the old - but still fascinating - Honey Hunters of Nepal. A film version of the book by Eric Valli and Diane Summers, it documents the Gurung people's annual hunt for honey from the giant, cliffside hives of Himalayan black bees.

Here's some of the film from YouTube:

This year's KIMFF, scheduled to run December 10-14, 2009, will surely be great as well. The film list sounds very interesting, including Dolpo Tulku (see the main website, in German, here), a film about the return of a young, reincarnate lama returning to his monastery in Dho Tarap. Here's a trailer of this film, too:

If you're fortunate enough to be in Kathmandu now, definitely check out KIMFF...I know you won't be disappointed! And, you just might get inspired for your next adventure!

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

Blind and Naked

I've heard, strangely, many people remark about Erik Weihenmayer's 2001 climb of Everest that it really wasn't that remarkable.

Sure, he's blind, people say, but it's only Everest...and he had a ton of guides dragging him up.

Guides or not, the reality is Erik climbed Everest. He crossed ladders in the Khumbu Icefall, scurried up the Lhotse Face, climbed the Hillary Step, and stood on top of the world. Blind or not, Erik's a pretty darn good climber.

But, Everest, schmeverest. That wasn't enough for him. Since 2001 (and before), Erik has done some amazing climbs, like Losar, the 14 pitch stunning ice climb near Namche Bazaar, which he climbed with Rob Raker in 2008.

But, probably his most impressive climb that I know of happened just recently when he did the famed and feared Naked Edge in Eldorado Canyon to raise money and awareness for The Access Fund. Filmmaker Cedar Wright was on hand to document it (along with my friend Charley Mace, who said it was a stunning climb, too!)

Check out the video below...and let me know if you still think Erik's accomplishments are trivial!! Oh, a while you're telling me that, write down when you last climbed the Naked Edge...with a blindfold on.

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

The Wildest Dream preview screening

The Wildest Dream is a new film on the story of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, starring Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding and filmed primarily on Everest in 2007.

There has been quite a bit of buzz about it on the web since it's debut at Banff last month, and it is due to be released by National Geographic and Atlantic Productions in 2010. 

 

There will also be a special screening of the film in Bozeman, Montana, on December 20th, to benefit the Khumbu Climbing School and their construction of a new, passive solar, earthquake-proof building in the village of Phortse. Great stuff!

Check out the trailer to The Wildest Dream below, and get a ticket to the special preview screening...and let me know how it is! And, keep your eye out for the film in your neck of the woods sometime in 2010!

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

National Geographic Adventure...is no more...

Some sad news coming today from Steve Casimiro, West Coast Editor at National  Geographic Adventure. On his blog, The Adventure Life, Steve reports today that National Geographic decided to end Adventure's ten year run as one of the top adventure and outdoor magazines in the world.

According to Steve, it's final issue is the December/January issue, which is on newsstands now.

I've had a great time not only reading, but also contributing to, Adventure over the years, and my heart goes out to Steve, founding Editor John Rasmus, and all the others affected by the closing.

Steve put it quite well at the end of his post:

For those of you who are just passing readers of the magazine, its demise might be a mere curiosity or random note of economic discord. But for those of us who care about good writing, great photography, insight and curiosity and advocacy for an engaged relationship with the world at large, it is a truly remorseful day. The outdoor culture is far emptier for this news. Magazines are, of course, businesses, and some of them are nakedly commercial. But some are built around an idea or a calling, and these, the best of them, can create an emotional bond with their readership based on shared philosophy, common passion, and mutual respect. National Geographic Adventure’s tagline, “Dream It. Plan It. Do It.”, is a powerful call to action. More critically, it puts the focus on the reader, where it should be, to get up, get out, and get going. If past experience is any guide, those of us who have been connected to National Geographic Adventure, either as readers, contributors, or both, will carry fragments of that DNA with us, whether we’re writing, shooting photos, or simply out in the world. The magazine might not have survived this economy, but its ideals will. And for that, we should be thankful.

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

Lost on Everest & "Thin Air" at the American Mountaineering Museum

Mallory & Irvine at the North Col, June 6, 1924.

This Thursday, December 3rd, please come on down to the  American Mountaineering Museum to help celebrate the opening of our newest exhibit, THIN AIR: An Exhibit on Altitude and Oxygen. 

And, if you're interested, stay after the reception to hear me share Lost on Everest: The Enduring Mystery of Mallory & Irvine.

The reception, opening, and my presentation are free for Friends of the Museum and the American Alpine Club Library, $3.00 for AAC and CMC Members, and $5.00 for non-members.

It'll be a fun evening, so come on down to the Museum!

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

Hidden Histories of Exploration by the RGS

A few weeks ago, I posted about some previously unseen images from the 1922 Everest Expedition having been found by the Royal Geographic Society. As mentioned then, the website and exhibit went live on October 15, 2009.

The Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibit is going on now at the RGS headquarters in London. But, since London is a bit of a journey from here in Colorado, fortunately the good folks at the RGS put some bits of the exhibit up on the website. Amazing photographs and previously unseen film footage from 1922 can is available (see the video below).

In addition to the 1922 expedition materials, there is a whole host of other fascinating stories of exploration, including Thomas Baines' sketches from his expeditions to Africa and Australasia, 1855-57; a collection on Maritime Exploration; a history of early photography in exploration, called Exploration on Camera; and, as mentioned, one entitled Filming on Everest, which highlights John Noel's amazing footage from the 1922 expedition.

So, check out the video below, and then head on over to the Royal Geographic's Hidden Histories of Exploration online, or, if you're near London, be smarter and see it in person! And, then, be sure to stop back by here and let me know how it is...I'll be jealous!

 

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

First Ascent launches in 183 stores!!

Ed Viesturs on Everest, May, 2009. Photo by Jake Norton.

As most of you know, I've been working closely with Eddie Bauer and the First Ascent team for about a year now, helping with product development, marketing, and serving as the expedition photographer for our expeditions to Cotopaxi in Ecuador, Aconcagua in Argentina, and to Mount Everest last spring.

Well, the exciting time has come...While the First Ascent product has been online and in a few select stores for some time now, it will officially launch nationwide in 183 Eddie Bauer stores on October 12, 2009! (Read the official press release here.)

Is the gear any good? Well, I think so...I helped design and test it, using it in my backyard here in Colorado and up to the tippy-top of Everest this spring. In my opinion, it is the best gear out there, period.

But, sure, I'm a bit biased. So, check out what some others have said:

• Steve Casimiro puts the Hangfire Hoodie in his "Top Performers" list in National Geographic Adventure.
• Backpacker Magazine gave the Big Tahoma packa thumbs up in their October issue, saying: "This versatile pack is supportive and comfortable enough for a week-long trek, but simple and light enough for tackling big alpine peaks…The (removable) hipbelt never interfered with high-stepping, and two aluminum stays transfer loads up to 40 pounds directly to the hips. And the double ripstop nylon used in the packbag is not only superdurable, it’s highly waterproof.”
• Backpacker also loved the Downlight Sweater, saying: "This ultra-ultralight insulator nails the essentials: high draftproof collar, grapefruit-size packability, roomy zipped pockets, and light rain resistance–without layering on doodads that add weight or bulk." And, their Associate Editor, Shannon Davis, loved the warm and functional Peak XV down jacket for her climb of Rainier.
• And, Outside Magazine's "Gear Girl", Stephanie Pearson, recommends the First Ascent BC-100 for climbs in wet weather, like Kilimanjaro, where you need to stay dry but not carry too much weight. Read her recommendation here.

OK...you're getting the picture. The First Ascent line was built by guides, tested in some of the harshest conditions in the world, and reviewed by some pretty tough critics. And, it came out on top in all situations.

So, on October 12th, waltz into your local Eddie Bauer store and check out the new gear. It's great stuff, and comes with the legendary Eddie Bauer lifetime guarantee...so you just can't go wrong!

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