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ExplorersWeb Week in Review
Mar 13, 2005 11: 40 EST
The past week was all about the North Pole. Teams were grounded in a logistic cold war, battled out between French and Russian tour organizers, when a dark horse all of a sudden announced his departure - from Canada!
In the meantime, climbers are leaving on jet planes as well; target Himalaya. A pirate attack was reported on the oceans, whilst a billionaire acquired miles of Texas land to build a private space port in his own back yard.
Arctic wrap-up: Teams on the ice! The North Pole Russian side expeditions finally got a break after a finale of political battle played out by their outfitter, Cerpolex, in a deja vu of last years delays.
Alternative routes to the North Pole Skip the agent and deal straight with the locals, or go from Canada, we proposed after he French outfitters alleged another paperwork issue. That’s when an unexpected expedition hit the ice – precisely from Canada!
Korean ace Young Seok Park is attempting to complete an adventure “Grand Slam.” After summiting all fourteen 8000ers (which he completed in 2001), and foot-trek to the South Pole (in 2004), Mr. Park is now on his way to the North Pole. If he succeeds, this will be the first true Grand Slam accomplished by anyone. The team departed on March 8, from the starting point at Ward Hunt Island.
The battle for the North Pole - full story In the meantime, over in Russia, Cerpolex now issued a formal statement, claiming they were being actively obstructed by a competitive Moscow based company, and offered re-supplies and extended pick up times as compensation. Then a second e-mail arrived – this time from the local outfitter, polar explorer and Borneo icy runway Chief Victor Boyarsky. In the letter, he offered a brief history of polar logistics in Russia - a detailed thriller including a plane crash killing the entire management of the former logistic providers.
Victor had an opposite version for the cause of the current delays: Broken agreements, bargain attempts; and incompetent paperwork on Cerpolex part, he wrote. Last year, Cerpolex demonstrated serious delays as well, blaming everything from red tape to bad weather. Also the late polar explorer Dominick’s people had complaints. The outfitter had been very unfriendly and unhelpful – and embarked on a damage-control media tour to Finland, as well as a PR trip to France rather than helping out with the search, they said.
Thursday, Borneo Base got a Go This weekend, teams hit the ice.
Magnetic North Pole: The trip will be longer than expected Over in Canada, Matt Coates and Matthew Hancock learned that their trip to the Magnetic North Pole would bring on problems as well – excluding outfitters this time: “We were invited into the office of Larry Newitt, the world expert on the location of the Magnetic Pole. As we feared, the Pole has continued its drift north and now stands at 83.2 degrees North, 118 West. With one hand-waving gesture, Larry had added almost two hundred kilometers to the Expedition. Larry's new position gives us a new target of 491km each way.”
Tanja and Monika's Cerro Torre debrief: What it takes to climb with women Two weeks ago, the report of the first all-female ascent of Cerro Torre hit the news. Slovenian lady climbers Tanja Grmovsek and Monika Kambic-Mali completed the Compressor route on the impressive Patagonian Spire. Perfectly timed for the international woman’s day last week, Tanja wrote up a debrief on the climb.
Everest live - a recap on the holy grail of Everest tech Parts of last years Everest Discovery team will be back this season, to give the top another shot. The Burke/Webster team is sponsored by Telecom Ottawa and will do real-time satellite video from Base camp to schools in Ottawa, which led us nicely to the yearly ExWeb recap on Everest video tech. One hint: Give it a KISS!
Everest 2005: Catalans on the North side Expedition “Esplugues al Everest” will climb Everest North ridge to pay tribute to the Catalan climbers who ascended the same route 20 years ago. Back then, Oscar Cadiach, Carles Vallés, and Toni Sors accomplished the second Spanish and first Catalan climb on Everest… in full monsoon season! They summited on August 28, 1985. Unfortunately, Toni died two years later on Lhotse Shar. Oscar Cadiach led the Magic Line expedition on K2 last summer which has since been awarded the best of 2004 by ExplorersWeb. He is currently planning new climbs.
Iñaki Ochoa reaches Shisha Pangma BC He reached Chinese BC in Tibet on March 4. “Weather conditions are awful with strong wind and indescribable cold,” he stated. Shisha Pangma’s solo ascent will be Iñaki’s first goal this season. Afterwards, he will join climbers on climb Dhaulagiri, and then move to Annapurna’s north side where he will share a permit with American Ed Viesturs.
Everest Traverse and "King of cardboard" - Luis Benitez story 4-time Everest summiteer Luis Benitez and Australian Piers Buck will attempt to scale Everest from the South side and come down the North. In addition, the two climbers will pioneer the new Contact GEO positioning system on the mountain. Guiding for Adventure Consultants, one of the world's leading Everest climbing outfits, Luis Benitez has compiled a story for ExWeb about the upcoming Traverse. But even more, about all of our equal right to the dream of Mount Everest.
New railway will have permanent impact on Tibet The construction of the railway between Qinghai Province (China) and Lhasa, the Capitol City of Tibet, is proceeding at a very fast pace. Chinese authorities say the railway line will begin trial operations in July of 2006. It will clearly affect the climbing community by further enabling access and increased traffic to the Himalayan region north of Nepal – or at any rate, just east of it, to Lhasa.
BaseCampMD: A new season and an Everest baby! The Doc is once again heading for her annual clinic at the foot of Mount Everest. Last year, Luanne Freer was so popular with the South side climbers, a climbing couple even named their first newborn for her. Tara Luanne was born November 28, 2004. Go check the story and the pic, courtesy of proud parents and mountaineers Joe & Liz.
Korea: The climbing dragon Korean expeditions, though commonly not well known, are frequent in the Himalayas. Some Korean climbers have achieved remarkable feats, such as first climbs. Three, in fact, have summited the 14 8000ers: Young-Seok Park (currently skiing to the North Pole), Um Hong-Gil, and Han Wang-Yong. Read ExWeb’s special history report on Korean climbers, notoriously famous for their fighting spirit, and do-or-die attitude.
ExWeb interview: Everest 2005 - Indian Air Force ExWeb checked in with the expedition leader, Wing Commander Amit Chowdhury, to get the scoop on the upcoming Everest expedition: Is it a defense strategy? A battle to cure severe fear of heights? Read why the Air Force now is joining the ranks of military guys filing for Everest climbing permits.
The return of the Snow Leopard In 1999, there were reports of suspected snow leopard tracks in the lower part of the Everest ice fall. And last year, an American student spotted two cats on Everest south side, and has pictures to prove it. This would be the first confirmed sighting of a snow leopard on the Nepal side of Mount Everest since the 1960s.
The silent aces of Annapurna: Blanc and Kuntner going for final It’s confirmed:
Italian Abele Blanc and Western Tyrolean Christian Kuntner will climb Annapurna’s north side together this spring. If they succeed, they both will have completed the 14, 8000ers!
Maximo Kaush: Lhotse, not Kangchenjunga It’s another no go for Kangchenjunga. Argentinean climber Maximo Kaush has postponed his plans to climb the mountain until 2006. Instead, he is working as a ‘training leader’ for SummitClimb on Lhotse this spring. The Lhotse ascent will be the first 8000m experience for young Maximo, who has summited Ama Dablam and several peaks in the Andes and Alps.
Karakorum: First glimpse of a promising 2005 climbing season Everest season is about to start, but teams are also getting ready for the summer. Low prices and a relatively quiet political situation in Pakistan have laid the groundwork for a most exciting 2005 climbing season. Our Pakistan source has provided ExplorersWeb with a preliminary list of Karakorum expeditions this summer.
Menno Boermans: Frozen images from Broad Peak “I want my pictures to show why I am so passionate about mountaineering. It’s more than a sport,” Menno says. “It’s a way of life.” Go check his astonishing pictures from last year’s climb.
Yacht pursued by Pirates on Panama - Galapagos Route The Australian yacht "Cardonnay" had a narrow escape from possible pirates en route from Panama to the Galapagos Islands last month.
Too close to call, Saito points to Perth As we approach the middle of March, sentimental favorite Minoru Saito and his under-funded Shuten-dohji II still remains neck-and-neck with Kenichi Horie’s newly purchased vessel, on a course pointed straight towards Perth, on Australia’s western shore.
Fedor: Repairs complete, sail continues After 5 days of repairs in Hobart (Tasmania), Fedor Konyukhov announced that he would indeed like to continue his single-handed round the world sail on maxi boat “Trading Network Alye Parusa.” He is happy with the repairs and ready for the leg 2: “Hobart via Cape Horn to Falmouth.”
The Space race is on - first private launch from Fla in 2006? The XPrize competitor and private space travel outfitter AERA corp. (XPrize American Astronautics), founded by space veteran Bill Sprague, has signed up with US Air Force to use Cape Canaveral in Florida for take-off. Not only are they the first private space tour organizers to sign up a launch port, they claim that they might be ready to fly as soon as February 15, 2006. The 7 person rocket, "Altairis" is scheduled to be unveiled in New York City in April 2005.
Jeff Bezos to build rocket pad in Texas ranch backyard If you think that John Travolta is cool with three Jets in his backyard, think again. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos has bought 165,000 acres of desolate ranch land in Van Horn, West Texas. The plan? A family ranch with rockets on it. The long-term idea very simply: Colonizing Space. You've got to give it to him - this guy knows how to have fun!
Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com
Image from an ExplorersWeb North Pole expedition, ExWeb files.
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| OneWorld expedition: It's over Jun 3, 2005 | | Vancouver to Moscow - 1 year anniversary! Jun 2, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: The Single ski Weight Watchers Greenland program Jun 1, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: Rain and world record May 31, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 30, 2005 | | 12 year old doing well on Greenland ice cap crossing May 27, 2005 | | Vagabond update - Polar bears, 200 candles and ice melting in Inglefieldbukta May 26, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: Polar hygiene, and Napoleon on ice May 26, 2005 | | Contact GEO hits Greenland May 25, 2005 | | Iridium: "Invalid battery - matches found, 0" May 24, 2005 |
| | Arctic wrap-up: Adventure family kites 162 km, reaches halfway point May 23, 2005 |
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