Posted: May 14, 2006 08:29 pm EDT
Phew, what a week in exploration! In Himalaya, a bunch of climbers barely survived a chopper crash, but sadly we lost two other - both to climbing falls. With the typical fickle weather this time of the month, summit fever is spiking – and so is the wind. Summits and pushes are roaring all around Himalaya, but the winds blow hard. In addition, thieves sneak around camps and some cooks are armed with knives.

The North side of Everest had summits last week in a short break of good weather, while the south did not - ropes are only set to camp 4. Manaslu got a brand new route, while Shisha and Lhotse had summits as well. On Elbrus, a storm was the cause for a horrible tragedy - claiming 7 lives.

On the oceans, the longest row across the Atlantic is a fact - made by a temperamental Italian dispatching over Contact 3.0, and on the Arctic Ocean - expeditions are lugging ahead, in a hard battle against fog, black water and exhaustion. Finally, a space-series by team ExWeb went up last week, following a four day grilling on the subject in LA.

Czech climber in fatal fall on Lhotse Pavel Kalny and Martin Minarik left Everest BC on May 5, hoping to set C4 at the bottom of the Messner Couloir. Pavel was found in the snow on the face below the Yellow Band May 10 and pronounced dead later that day. It's estimated that he fell between C3 and C4 sometime late afternoon May 9. Details are still unclear, but Minarik might have been lower down the mountain when the accident took place. When he was found by Sherpas heading up to the South Col, Pavel was barely alive and had severe frostbite after spending the night out in the open. They had him on oxygen pretty soon, and moved him over to the fixed line. They were joined by a doctor from the Chilean team (currently climbing Lhotse). They then attempted to get him down to the tents at camp 3, but by the time they got him there he was pronounced dead by the doctor.

Cho Oyu, German climber reported dead May 11, a German climber reportedly fell just above camp 2 on easy ground. He sled into a crevasse and died.

Tragedy on Elbrus: 7 climbers reported dead, 4 missing Seven people were reported dead and 4 others missing on Elbrus, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The dead climbers were part of a group of eight Russians and four Ukrainian mountaineers attempting to reach the summit Tuesday to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. The group later lost contact with expedition organizers at the base of the mountain. The alarm was raised by the only surviving climber in the group, who managed to reach help despite being seriously injured and hypothermic. Rescuers swept the area where the climbers had set up BC at 5300 meters. They eventually found the frozen bodies of 7 climbers buried in the snow, where they were apparently attempting to dig a snow cave after getting caught in adverse weather conditions when they were about 300 meters from the summit. Temperatures in the area had reportedly reached -50°C.

Pauner and team: Chopper down! "Suddenly the chopper started spinning in mid-air, then we dropped. In brief seconds, we hit the ground, and started slipping down the glacier, the chopper losing fuselage pieces and spilling fuel on the way. Finally it stopped right on the edge of a very steep slope. We jumped out and ran, expecting it to blow – which luckily didn’t happen.”

Lhotse, Simone Moro: Thieves strike again “I’m really angry…. I reached the end of the fixed ropes and had a really bad surprise…. my rucksack was not there, neither were all the things I had kept inside it!! I reached Camp 3 in about 2 ½ hours and I felt perfect. "But how can I proceed up to 8000m as I planned, when everything is gone? My down jacket, my ice axes (I don’t have a spare pair in BC), my prototype tent from TNF, my sleeping bag, my batteries for the satellite phone, my walkie-talkies. Everything is gone!!! My morale is shot.”

Cho Oyu, Friendship without Borders: It’s over – expedition aborted due to maniac cooks Climber Nawang Sherpa (a trans-tibial amputee), has called the expedition off. The team reported serious problems with their Chinese cooks as well as their supplies. The local trekking company they had hired, headed by Mr. Guo Jin Wei, came with cheap, broken tents, and “dangerous, maniac-like cooks” - the Sherpas were threatened with knives when they tried to enter the kitchen and prepare their own meals.

Everest North side summits - and a traverse sans ropes! Korean Park Young-Seok Park, Sherap Jangbu Sherpa (37) and Oh Hee-jun summited Everest May 11 via its north side, and proceeded down via Nepal’s side – with no ropes fixed yet! A number of other climbers were reported reaching the summit of Everest via the normal North side route, including Dave Watson who renounced attempting the Fantasy ridge, which he had originally planned.

Everest north, Disabled climber Pepe Blanco: It’s over José (Pepe) Andrés Blanco was forced to call off his attempt on Everest, due to problems with his feet. Pepe reached the North Col feeling strong and motivated, but had to turn back at 7100m. The special boots he used were not adequate for the climb on Everest.

Everest, Philippine climbers: One less in the game Dale Abenojar the fourth man trying to become the first Philippine on the summit of Everest this year, is apparently out of the Game. Francis Lim told ExplorersWeb that Harry Kikstra spotted Abenojar descending on yak-back last week.

This year Russ has had his Sherpas fix all the rope on the north side of Everest (from the bottom of the North Col wall to the very summit, expeditions reported. "5400m of rope, freight, taxes, anchor gear, Sherpa's wages and their safety gear (including Oxygen), costs over $32,000USD! So far, the ropes have looked like a highway, the only problem is recovering the cost as all climbers are using the ropes. So far, only 12 expeditions have paid up ($11,600), Himex is currently shouldering the extra cost, which is a shame when it is only $100 per climber, Sherpa's are free!" The fixed lines were also reported jammed with up traffic last week.

Everest north, 7Summits/7Summits-club: O2 “After long delays due to the cold Russian winter, finally our oxygen arrived a few days ago and it is now already in ABC,” reported Harry Kikstra. “Many expeditions had delivery problems and apparently the black market prices of 2nd hand and not so trustworthy bottles had increased a lot. But we will only use Poisk, straight from the factory, all 200 bottles!”

Everest south, Mallorca: Meetings Mallorca organized a team leaders’ meeting to coordinate route fixing tasks. “Attempting the summit on May 14 seems too early now. Next possible date could be May 18,” they reported. “Kari Kobler’s Swiss team could be in charge of coordinating a group of Sherpas, in order to fix the route from the South Col to the summit of Everest.”

Everest south, IMG: More on the rope-fixing works “The team had a big meeting at IMG Base Camp to figure out how the rope fixing will be accomplished over the next couple days,” reported Eric Simonson. “Jangbu reports that the Leaders from 12 different teams showed up and that the meeting went well. The Plan for fixing above the Col involves 2 Sherpas from IMG, 1 Sherpa from HG, 1 Sherpa from AAI, 1 Sherpa from AC, 1 Sherpa from Kobler and 1 Sherpa from the Spanish (Mallorca team). All will go to the Col on the 14th and fix up to the Balcony on the 15th. Those teams who don't have Sherpa support contributed with ropes and oxygen bottles. There is a Sirdars’ (Sherpa Leaders) meeting scheduled again tomorrow to coordinate rope/gear collection, etc.”

Everest south, Adventure Consultants: Remembering 1996 tragedy “It is with sadness in my heart that I remember Rob Hall, Andy Harris, Yasuko Namba, Doug Hansen and Scott Fischer who were lost on Everest 10 years ago today,” reported AA’s director Guy Cotter. “I think often about the effect their passing had on my life and the lives of their friends and families. My love and thoughts go out to all.”

Everest south, Mountain Link: Spa recovery “On May 4 we took a helicopter from Pheriche near Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu for a few days of rest. The route is not ready yet, so a few days at the Hyatt in Kathmandu would do the team well by letting everyone restore their health and energy levels. Everyone is maximizing our rest here by having massages, steam baths, and hanging out at the pool.” Also AC’s Canada team decided to hire a chopper and fly all the way to Kathmandu for a five-star rest.

Everest south, Andalusians: Insomnia and low morale The Andalusian climbers’ morale is very low. None of the two summit climbers feels well, and both are unable to sleep at night. They tried to reach C1 last weekend, but had to turn back due to exhaustion. They have not yet reached a definite decision, but they’re considering abandoning the expedition.

British Army West ridge team The British Army expedition has been divided in four groups.
Dave Bunting (expedition leader), Dick Gale, Shaun Phillips, Ian Venables, Brush McComb will depart Tilman’s BC Tuesday, in a straight run for the summit. To clear their way, a second summit team will leave BC one day earlier and head up to C5, to fix the last sections before the top. In addition, the two other teams will be supporting the climbers on their way up, and descent.

Lhotse, Chileans: 11 members and 4 Sherpas on top! The Chilean team enjoyed a massive success. Divided in two groups which left C4 on consecutive days, a total of 15 climbers reached the summit.

Manaslu: Kazakhs Urubko and Samoilov SUMMIT via a new route! Denis Urubko and Serguey Samoilov did it again - the Kazakhs summited Manaslu - only this time they did it via a new route.

Shisha Pangma: Silvio Mondinelli and team reach the main SUMMIT It took three attempts, a few bitter moments and a long struggle, but finally he made it. Italian Silvio ‘Gnaro’ Mondinelli reached Shisha Pangma’s main summit - bagging his 11th 8000er. Mondinelli will now head for Lhotse, where he will join forces with a team of fellow Italians led by Mario Merelli. Eventually, the team’s ranks may increase with Ralf Dujmovits and Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, currently on Kangchenjunga.

Jarle Traa SUMMITS Shisha Pangma Despite the reportedly worsening weather conditions, Norwegian Jarle Traa summited Shisha Pangma last week. "It was the right strategy to not go to the Central summit and then to the Main summit. The ridge between those two summits looks totally insane - impossible to pass today," he added. Ed. Note: Some teams on Shisha have recently planned on a variation route on Shisha. Instead of reaching the Central summit and then crossing the ridge to the Main point, they cross the slope or follow couloirs from C3, heading strait for the Main Summit. It is unclear though which line Jarle climbed.

Dhaulagiri, Camilo Lopez: It's over Colombian Camilo Lopez launched a summit attempt on his own on May 5. A storm forced him to stop, and he eventually turned around. Back in BC, he decided to call the expedition off.

Summit pushes on for Kangchenjunga, Makalu, Manaslu and Shisha A storm kept Ralf and Gerlinde’s team stuck in their tents at 7400m for 36 hours last week. The snow entered through the breathing slits of the tents, covering the sleepless climbers. "The high humidity, the synthetic fibers, and the friction caused by the movement of the storm - all this together led to the phenomenon of many small flashes of light and discharges zigzagging across the tents," reported a journalist accompanying the team. Gerlinde, Ralf, Hiro, Veikka, plus Andrew and Joao hoped to reach the summit of Kangchenjunga from C3 Sunday. On Manaslu, Peter Guggemos was helped down with HAPE symptoms by Serguey and Gia.

Oceanrower Alex Bellini crosses the Atlantic after 225 days After 225 days of ocean and solitude, Alex Bellini touched the sands of Brazil at 16:30 (local time) on Tuesday, May 2. Among the local fishing boats and resounding horns of Navy ships, the Italian rower stepped off what has been his floating home for the last seven and a half months and onto Beira Beach, Fortaleza. Fireworks and celebrations quickly began. The city’s Samba Orchestra including 80 musicians welcomed the Italian rower in true Brazilian style. Media crowded around Alex to get a glimpse of the newly landed Italian ‘Robinson Crusoe’ – his golden mane, thick beard and weathered face – a testimony to his lone 10,000 kilometer crossing. According to the Ocean Rowing Society, Alex Bellini’s row is the longest row across the Atlantic on record. He departed Genova on September 18, 2005.

Oceanrower Erden waits in Guadaloupe to finish Atlantic crossing On May 2, at 18:00 GMT Erden Eruç passed the Northern point of Dominica and completed the crossing of the Atlantic. Headed for Limon, Costa Rica to officially finish his row, the Turkish solo rower has stopped in Guadeloupe for 7-10 days awaiting a tropical storm forecast to blow over. “I have achieved a major milestone, rowing across the Atlantic Ocean by myself, not talking face to face to another person until two fishermen arrived from the island of Dominica on May 2” reported the American/Turkish rower.

Adrian arrives in Hawaii for resupply and mast repairsFor the first time in six months, Adrian stepped off his boat Barrabas. In addition to accepting a resupply, Adrian will stop for several days in Oahu to allow for repairs on his mast and other maintenance work to be carried out on the boat. As a result, Adrian’s expedition will lose its ‘non-stop’ status.

Arctic wrap-up Despite sharing the same final destination, the two Russia-Canada crossing teams currently on the ice are approximately 140 km from each other. That being said, each team is facing very different conditions: While Landry’s team is covering good distances with their dogs and a southerly drift helping them out, Bettina and Jean Gabriel are having a tough time. Lonnie and Eric are tired – and they’ve barely been on the ice for a week. But then again, the frozen Arctic ocean is considered one of the toughest terrains on Earth, and with spring in full swing - the ice is melting and fog is rising from the black waters. Whiteout has made things even more difficult for all.

ExWeb NSS report: Space Adventures - the Seven Summits of Space It will take a big pile of sold tickets to return all those SpaceAdventure investments - closing in on half a billion by now - spaceports and all. Will Eric be able to pull it off? Space Adventures and Virgin Galactic are not about space, at least not at this point. But together they might build the world's ultimate futuristic amusement park. Will the joy rides make people more interested in real space? Not likely. A seven summits experience very rarely spurs adventurers to continue to the big summits and full polar expeditions. But fun has a place too in this world.

ExWeb NSS report: Alpine style in science, Solar panels in space, Google maps and the Japanese man What if you could have your own, personal satellite, skip the expensive airtimes and add some cool features to your K2 climb? Actually - you can. Sort of. Check out the big ExWeb special on the satellites of the future, and how they'll affect you.

ExWeb NSS report, final: Gold, War and a huge Ego will take us there Believer or not, ask if it is technically possible to build a rocket to go to Mars? You'll get a Yes - from top space engineers. How long time will it take? 6-8 years. Do we have to wait for Bush? That's a No. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the charismatic Astronomer and Director for the cool Hayden Planetarium on Manhattan went straight for the heart of the beast: Doubt and money. Check the thrilling ExWeb end report straight from the horse's mouth on the latest in space - life, travel, and (near) future.

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

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