Posted: Nov 09, 2008 10:59 pm EST
“Live your dreams. No one can stop you. Time and time again you hear this refrain but it's the cold truth. Only you can do it so if you want it, make it happen.”

This quote by South Pole skier Kevin Vallely is all the more important in these financial times and probably rings very true with a certain Barack Obama. Tuesday, United States triumphantly elected its first African-American President and change is in the air: in light of pre-election statements mountaineers might want to watch Karakoram, however.

Last week was truly packed at ExplorersWeb. "Critical Skill" kicked off - possibly the coolest training ever offered - and there's an unusual send-off coming up: Don Pettit is going back to the Space Station and ExWeb got VIP invite.

In other news: more interviews with South Pole skiers, Novo touch down, a number of new lines in Himalaya plus serious traffic jam in Lukla. And finally, “I will always remember Iñaki’s eyes” said Nima Nuru Sherpa, one among the climbers awarded a prestigious medal in Spain last week.

Makalu west face ...greeted Steve, Vince and Marko with crossfire of ice. The climbers were considering extending their climbing permit in case the weather improves.

Nuptse: New route on the South face French climbers Patrice Glairon-Rappaz and Stéphane Benoist forged a new route up the South face of Nuptse, alpine style, the French Climbing Federation (FFME) reported. “Patrice and Stéphane climbed the 2,300 meters-long wall up to the summit ridge in a non-stop push, alpine style,” FFME stated. According to the report, the climbers reached the summit ridge on October 28th, after four days on the wall. There is no mention on them proceeding to the 7 861meters’ summit. Stepháne suffered frostbite on the climb, and was airlifted from BC on November 1st.

Fall on Pumori French climber Corinne Favre and her guide suffered a serious accident on Pumori, reported Kairn.com. Sunday November 2, Corinne and her Sherpa guide fell on descent due to a big serac breaking off the wall. The two were found at 5.700 meters and helped down to Gorak Shep at 5.140 meters where they spent the night monitored by friends and a French doctor. Favre seems to have suffered multiple fractures and pulmonary complications. Her overall state was critical and by the time the rescue helicopter arrived on Monday she was unconscious. The mountaineer is currently hospitalized in Kathmandu, no word yet on the state of her guide Sherpa.

Air-traffic jam in Lukla Thick fog kept planes grounded at Lukla airport end last week – leaving trekkers and climbers returning from the Khumbu valley stranded. “There were 1500 people in Lukla, waiting to fly,” IMG reported Thursday.

Mess at Pumori: “We know who you are” Another report has arrived about climbers leaving trash behind, this time on Pumori. “(The mess in BC) has your name on it so we know who you are and we have pictures too!" dispatched Peak Freaks. "You may want to consider reimbursing us for our expenses to clean it up, carry it out and disposal fees.”

Ama Dablam: Weekend summits – and one accident? Alpenglow, IMG, Adventure Consultants reported summits last weekend. Rumors were that there was an accident involving one climber on Ama Dablam Saturday, but this has not been confirmed.

Medals and a toast to Iñaki Ochoa The climbers who risked their lives trying to rescue Iñaki Ochoa de Olza from Annapurna last spring, were awarded the Golden Medal to Sports’ Merits by the local government of Navarra – the Spanish region where Iñaki was born.

“I will always remember Iñaki’s eyes, so transparent,” Nima Nuru Sherpa recalled. “We always treat our costumers as guests, but Iñaki behaved in a different way,” Nima added. “He was just happy in Nepal, felt right at home - and made us feel as equal team members. He was our friend.”

In Seoul, attending the Piolet d'Or Asia ceremony with Boris Dedeshko, rescuer Denis Urubko was unable to attend the Spanish award. To many, the biggest surprise is probably that the Piolet d'Or prize still exists at all. A small team of Japanese climbers are the winners (check in for names and climbing details on RussianClimb.com). Other nominees were Eight women's Peak (Kazakhstan), Batura II (Korean team) and Meru (Korean team).

Tengkangpoche: Spanish young-guns' new route on the north face Manuel Córdova, Silvestre Barrientos and Sidharta Gallego climbed up an ice ramp (70º/90º) to the saddle between Tengkangpoche’s and Ramdung’s summits, opening a new, 2300 meters-long route on the north face. The climbers turned back some meters shy from the summit ridge, due to bad ice conditions.

First ascent of Kang Nachugo: debrief and stunning images Alpinists David Gottlieb and Joe Puryear made the first ascent of Kang Nachugo (6,735 m) in the Rolwaling Himal over 5 days alpine style, summiting on October 17. In their well-written debrief, the amazing climb is also illustrated by stunning images.

Kang Guru: too windy Altitude Junkies/Project-Himalaya team was forced back from high camp on Kang Guru due to increasing winds which flattened some tents and made it impossible for the Sherpas to fix ropes on the upper sections. The team hoped to launch a new summit bid as soon as the winds subside.

First skiers hit the ice: Novo touch down! Last Sunday (Nov 2), Armin and Dieter were dropped at Novo Airbase, fighting off Russian offers of shots of Vodka at the ALCI guesthouse Schirrmacher Oasis while waiting for final lift to Neumayer Station from where the skiing will commence. Meanwhile in Chile, two teams hoped to fly out to Patriot Hills BC by the end of the week with ALE staff.

ExWeb interview with Ray Zahab: From the Sahara to the South Pole North Pole explorer Richard Weber and two accomplished long distance endurance athletes, Ray Zahab and Kevin Vallely, will be attempting a speed record to the South Pole. A few years ago Ray Zahab made a life changing decision, which eventually led to ultra-marathons. After running and winning the first one in 2004 he never looked back. More ultra runs followed: 250 km in the Amazon; 333 km in Niger, 190 km in Libya, 250 km the Gobi Desert, 7500 km in 111 days across the Sahara, 80 km for 13 days in Canada; and soon Ray will put on a different kind of running shoe when he will be running to the South Pole. ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer caught up with Ray while he was in New York for the premiere release of a documentary about his run across the Sahara.

ExWeb interview with Kevin Vallely Kevin Vallely started his extreme adventure life with skiing the Iditarod. This experience was followed by, among others, a 2000 km bike ride in the middle of winter and walk through South East Asian jungles retracing the brutal WW2 Sandakan Death March. ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer caught up with Kevin during the final days of his preparations for the South Pole. “I visualize a trip to Mars to be honest. Antarctica is so utterly remote that it's like going to another planet. I love this idea.” Kevin said.

Popular reruns Three re-runs were aired last week; South Pole speed record special about starting points; What is Solo? plus Antarctica monster sastrugi and John's Hill.

ExplorersWeb presents: Critical Skill "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining," said JFK. Imagine having seven of the world's foremost experts drill you over one intense weekend, making sure that you know what to do even in the most terrifying circumstances. HumanEdgeTech, Remote Medical International and Serac Adventure Films have set up a strategy simulator for extreme survival, satellite technology and film making. Combined, the Special Skill team has 13 Everest summits, a big number of "Seven Summits", both poles, ocean crossings and jungle treks. Members are all leaders in their fields and have been widely publicized in media and books. They will train you hands-on at a mountain pass 11,500 feet above sea level in Colorado during an intense weekend in January.

ExWeb Special: T-7, sending off a friend to Space He built galaxies in soap bubbles while taking weightless showers; shot images of Everest for Google maps; made abstract paintings using new techniques available by the physics of the Universe - and returned home in a ball of fire, crashing on the Kazakh tundra in a scorched rocket head. Now Don Pettit is going back up again. ExWeb's founders are invited to the launch next week, complete with T-1 party at Cocoa beach. Stay tuned for updates.

"We were the fools who could not rest" The Shackleton Centenary team was invited to a house in Punta Arenas, which used to belong to a local influential family. In their visitor's book was an entry from Ernest Shackleton written in July 1916 after the Endurance journey when he was arranging the rescue from Elephant Island. The poem closes this edition of ExplorersWeb's WIR:

We were the fools who could not rest
In the dull earth we left behind
But burned with passion for the South
And drank strange frenzy from its wind
The world where wise men sit at ease
Fades from our unregretful eyes
And thus across unchartered seas
We stagger on our enterprise.

(EH Shackleton July 1916)

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

 EMAIL   PRINT   SHARE   TEXT