Posted: Dec 03, 2006 08:46 pm EST
Last week brought some interesting Everest stats, a secret Patagonia climb, a few additions to the 8000er list, a 7 summit ski descent, a number of exploration poems - and a song.

So you lived to die another day: Now what's under your Christmas tree? "The eagle has landed! I have received the package and am blown away by how James Bond like it all is!" Getting ready to row across an ocean, British Stuart Turnbull typed this email straight after opening his Contact 4.0 case. Christmas around the corner, there's no better gift to a globe-trotting climber and adventurer than a little something from HumanEdgeTech.com.

Statistics show Everest not exclusive to commercial clients The increasing role of commercial (guided) expeditions on Everest has led many people to think Everest is a private play-ground for powerful outfitters and their clients. Stats however show a different reality. 50% of the non-sherpa climbers that summited Everest in spring 2006 from Nepal were unguided - the numbers showing Everest is still an option for free climbing.

14x8000ers update: Hey, what about us? Kazakh young guns on top list Barely 30 years old, they have already summited 10 out of the 14, 8000ers; Kazakh young guns Maxut Zhumayev and Vassiliy Pivtsov, regular climbing mates from the Central Sport Club of Kazakhstan Army are serious contenders in the battle for the highest peaks on Earth.

Salvaterra, Beltrami and Garibotti back to Patagonia – on a secret mission In 2004, Italians Ermanno Salvaterra, 50, and Alessandro Beltrami, 24, opened a new route on Cerro Torre. The next year the two climbers together with friend Rolando ‘Rolo’ Garibotti carved another new route on the peak, hoping to repeat Cesare Maestri 's controversial line from 1959. Back again in the region of Cerro Torre, "my own mountain, the most beautiful lady in the world," the climbers have revealed they are up for a goal more ambitious than ever…but refuse details.

Markus Kronthaler's brother to bring back his body from Broad Peak: "They can't be left there like garbage" Dead mountaineers are often left on the peaks which claimed their lives. For safety reasons - but also because many wish to remain in the big open places they loved. Sometimes though, climbers' bodies rest right on the trail, in plain view. This can be hard to accept for relatives. "Markus’ remains are lying exposed at 8000 meters, in a place all climbers pass by," Markus' brother Georg Kronthaler says. "Many will take pictures I'm sure – this is something my family and I just can’t accept. Thus, my goal on Broad will be to take my brother down and bring him back home, where he will be properly buried.”

Ocean cloud - Marillion's tribute to the unsung heroes of exploration "Everybody knows of Edmund Hillary, but no one heard of Don - that's why I decided to write the song, because he needs recognition." The longest song that UK super group Marillion has ever recorded(18-minutes) is about ocean rower Don and closes the disc “Ocean Cloud.” In an interview posted on youtube, group leader Steve Hogarth explains why he wrote the song, telling the story of the late Don Allum, a man who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean twice.

What if Aconcagua isn't the highest Peak in South America? Aconcagua, considered highest peak of the American continent, should be relegated to a “second best” status according to some Chilean sources who have created a heated controversy in the country. Local “Andes magazine” has published testimonies from climbing pioneers stating that nevado Ojos del Salado is not only taller than Aconcagua, but also a 7000er – the only one in America.

Wintering the Big White - Tara's dispatch from the North Pole: Finding drinking water on a top frozen ocean The aluminum hulled boat sits locked in sea ice, drifting through eternal night towards the North Pole. Early September, Tara reached its destination of 80 degrees North latitude and became frozen into the multi-year ice. In his latest dispatch, team member Grant describes a well-know task to all North Pole skiers - how to collect drinking water on the Arctic ocean.

Banff Festival World Tour hits the road Once again, immediately following the final film screenings of the 31st Banff Mountain Film Festival in Alberta, Canada, a set of the best movies are packed up and sent off to tour 270 locations around the world.

South Pole teams: Starting points Polar Quest's start from the Patriot Hill camp and one drop at the pole leaves only Kiwi oceanrowers Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald to try ski to the South Pole and kite back in a full trip (starting and ending at the coast), without resupplies.

More SP skiers: Ray and Jenny Jardine Arizona-based couple Ray and Jenny Jardine are skiing to the pole with a resupply. The active couple makes outdoor gear, and Ray has also patented his version of the climbing device known as "friend." The two first skied to the coast (Hercules inlet), then turned around and set off for the Pole.

There is sportsmanship on the ice. Before they left for the pole, the Kiwis wrote a poem on Hannah's tent canvas, "You must do your best to beat us there, Cause we'll eat all their food and drink all their beer." Hopefully though, the South Pole station scientists removed their banner of previous years, spelling "Don't feed the explorers."

John Wilton-Davies, the father of two from Exeter, UK, with no previous polar experience at all who - at the tender age of 44 - one day rose from his couch and announced, "I'm going to ski to the South Pole," has reached the ice to attempt the pole alone and unsupported. “Well, this is an interesting experience,” is his initial observation.

Vinson summit and ski descent Slovenian Davo Karnicar and Franc Oderlap acomplished a midnight ascent (and ski descent) of Vinson. With that Davo became the first person to ski the 7 Summits (Davo is the only person in the world to have done a complete ski descent of Everest.)

The Meteorite hunters + astronaut Don arrive in Antarctica "We were very lucky this year and made it to McMurdo in record time on Thursday," reported the meteorite hunters. "We landed at Pegasus field, a landing strip on the Ross Ice Shelf, which is permanent sea ice tens of meters thick.”

Amazon Queen refuses to abdicate "Overall damage to the hull is minimal however upper decks and cabins will require months of work,” reports Captain Phil. “Water damage to the wiring will have to be assessed as we go, as will damage to the diesel engine."

Ralph and Michael Tuijn: Ten days from victory? It has been a rocky ride - failing communications, a wrecked attempt to beach on Cape Verde for repairs - and then weeks of scorching heat on a perfectly flat sea. When conditions finally changed - the problem turned out the opposite: Strong winds and high waves kept the two brothers busy, while a strong South-East current pushed their boat far too northwards from the targeted finish line at Curacao. Now it seems that luck has turned for Ralph and Michael however. November 23 the wind started rolling towards east, putting the boat back on course. In the current conditions, the brothers are confident they may reach their goal next week.

Vagabond update: Nicole settles in for a 3 month solo deep-freeze Currently, Vagabond is docked under Spitsbergen's polar night, left in the care of a single crew: Nicole Van de Kerchove. "The water just starts to be pasty, between small plates of ice. If the weather stays cold for a while, and the devil's wind doesn't return, it should freeze up soon and I can't wait enough," Nicole dispatched.

UP Aerospace scrubs second 2006 launch attempt; XCOR and SpaceX next up? UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket crashed in September after hitting 40,000ft from New Mexico's 'Spaceport America'. Last week, the announced second attempt was scrubbed by UP Aerospace, while the number of flights scheduled for next year has doubled.

Happy Birthday Spaceweather.com - and THANKS They update us on new solar cycles; they issue solar activity alerts and heads up on monster flares, they point us to the Harvest moon, send a mail when a dying comet is approaching earth, they explain the Blue sun over Egypt, the Green skies in Norway, and the fireballs in Utah. Without them, we'd have no clue what the holy light is. Turns out, one of our most favorite websites - Spaceweather.com - was nine years old last week. We can only agree with one of the readers, "Here's to nine more!"

Hannah McKeand: The captain of my soul She's going hard, covering double the distance of many unsupported expeditions. But her speed takes its toll. To cheer her on, Hannah's mother sent the following Henley’s poem:

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond the place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Read these stories - and more! - at ExplorersWeb.com

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