Everest(8848) - Page 31

The famous Russian high-altitude climber Gleb Sokolov visited the Moscow office of NPF BASK company, his lead sponsor. He spoke to the press about their plans. This year Gleb will be under Everest with the expedition of 7 Summits Club. He plans to made a new route via the middle of Kanchung face in alpine style.

Gleb Sokolov was a member of the Russian team on the north face of Everest, on the west face of K2, on the first ascent of Lhotse Middle. Plus he climbed also Makalu, Lhotse Shar, Lhotse Main, Cho Oyu and Manaslu. He became famous in Russia after high speed record climbs of Peak Communisma and Pobeda in late 80th. He is an author of two new routes on the northernmost seventhousander Peak Pobeda, made solo traverse of it. At least 40 times climbed peaks above 7000 meters. In short, Sokolov is the leading high-altitude climber of Russia. Gleb lives in Novosibirsk, this year he will celebrate 60 years anniversary, with four children, and at least one grandchildren.

"Last year for me was sad and unfortunate. Very people close to me left us: my friends, first Vitaly Gorelik February 6 on K2, then Ilyas Tukhvatullin and Vanya Lobanov October 7 at Annapurna. All my plans were broken….

Trek to Annapurna, with Ilyas

In April-June this year, I and Alexander Kirikov plan a new route on Everest on the east face and in the alpine style + without oxygen (photo 1). We will prepare for climbing with the great company of climbers from the 7 Summits Club. We will go up to the Changtse Peak (7550m), hike on the "northern classics route."

After acclimatization we get to the glacier Kanchung, to go climb the main goal. The descent we plan to the north side.
Summer - nothing serious. May be – Aktru mountaineering camp. For support of acclimatization, in July and August, I plan to climb Lenin Peak.

In September-November, we organize an expedition to Shisha Pangma. With Alexander Kirikov, and maybe with someone else, we want to go via a new route on the two peak of Shisha Pangma starting from a traverse of Molamenking peak (7661m) (photo 2). Remaining members of the expedition will follow the classical way, and will also try to climb the two peaks (8008m and 8027m).

Of course, plans are plans, and what you get is what you get. The mood is great, and then - let's see ... It better 10 times turn back, then ....

Vladimir Putin participated in the opening ceremony of the Russian Geographical Society headquarters in Moscow.

The President toured the library and lecture-hall, and visited the multi-purpose media studio, which connects the headquarters via videoconference with all of the Society’s offices throughout the nation.

The ceremony was also attended by the Russian Geographical Society president and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, and members of the Society’s Board of Trustees, which is chaired by Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Geographical Society was founded by the Russian Emperor Nicholas I in 1845. Since its creation, its goal has been to collect and disseminate geographical data onRussia. With historic headquarters inSt Petersburg, the Society has offices operating in 81 Russian regions.

Source: eng.kremlin.ru

Rarely is to be found in one place such a high-level company. Surprising. Red.

* * *

PRESIDENT OFRUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN:

Friends, I congratulate you all on the opening of the Russian Geographical Society headquarters inMoscow. This is a pleasing and important event for everyone who loves our country, who is interested in its history and its culture, who cares about and values the traditions of our peoples.

I would like to particularly thank the Mayor of Moscow as it wasMoscowcity hall who provided this building, allocated funding for its renovation and organised the repairs. I also want to thank members of the Board of Trustees for helping to bring together everything that we have on these premises today.

I must also note that we have Russian Geographical Society offices open in 81 of theRussian Federation’s regions. But unfortunately, not all of these offices have their own buildings, even though that is very important and would not be difficult to achieve. Russian Geographical Society offices would certainly fill a very significant niche for those people who, as I said earlier, are truly and actively interested in the history, ethnography and traditions of our peoples.

These offices could serve as gathering places for scientists, public figures and, first and foremost, young people who want to devote part of their lives – or their entire lives – to their nation. Without the knowledge that is provided by the Russian Geographical Society, it would be actually impossible to do this properly and enjoyably.

The Russian Geographical Society has always had a tradition which was maintained even when the Society nearly ceased its existence, but its premises still remained inSt Petersburg, the tradition of accumulating and effectively using various items. These are not just materials pertaining to scientific research, although that, too, is very important; they also include libraries, which have already been mentioned and which are starting to be replenished or created anew.

I am asking all the members of the Board of Trustees to aid in replenishing these pools, and some of our colleagues are already actively participating in their replenishment. I promise that for my part, I will do the same, and I hope that the stocks will be much in demand.

We certainly should apply a modern approach; we should transfer all the holdings to a digital format and establish effective partnerships with archiving institutions, regional museums and other regional centres in order to set up a modern, highly accessible method for allowing these materials to be used by everyone who would like to use them.

I sincerely congratulate all of us on this event; I wish the new home of the Russian Geographical Society success and very much count on both the people present today and everyone who loves our country to get involved in the Society’s work. Of course, this will largely depend on the media. In this respect, I would like to thank Mr Dobrodeyev [CEO of the National State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK)]. You have come up with a brilliant TV programme, and the team consists of very interesting people who are enthusiastic about their work. The TV programme really is designed for millions of our people and, in my view, has a very good approach to presenting interesting facts and information that are of significance for our society.

Once again, I congratulate all of you. Thank you very much.

The Seven Summits records!

The Team made up of Lyudmila Korobeshko, Ivan Dusharin and Maxim Shakirov battled frigid Antarctic winds for two long weeks, barely managing to get in a shot at the summit before a brutal snowstorm began. "The journey was an entirely new experience for us, but it was difficult too – technically, physically and emotionally – in large part due to the cold", said Ivan Dusharin about the expedition:

They’ve done it on December 11, 2012 (coincidentally International Mountain Day). Russian climbing trio reached the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest mountain inAntarctica, capping off their year-long mountain-climbing marathon, "Alpari: On Top of the World".

The Vinson expedition was Lyudmila Korobeshko’s second trip toAntarcticathis year. In January she took part in a ski expedition to the South Pole. About her experience on Vinson, Lyudmila said, "I was the only one from the team that had already been to the summit of Vinson, so I had a pretty good idea of the difficulty and the danger that were in store for us. The toughest parts had to be going two weeks without a shower and dragging sleds filled with our own waste. Well, that and the cold, of course. Everything else was fun."

The Team now holds a number of new records, having completed the Seven Summits in only 300 days.

First and foremost, our captain, Lyudmila Korobeshko, is the new holder of the women’s Seven Summits speed record, meaning she climbed the highest mountain on each of the planet’s seven continents faster than any woman in history. This year, she also became the first woman fromRussiato climb Everest twice. Ivan Dusharin also set the Russian Seven Summits "age" record. Ivan turned 65 this fall. In addition to the remarkable individual achievements of Lyudmila and Ivan, our trio also set the Russian Seven Summits team speed record. What better way to bring in the holidays?

If you would like to learn more about our team’s adventures throughout the year and access exclusive photos and video content, you can find all this and more on Team official site.

www.Alpari-life.ru

 http://www.m24.ru/videos/9461

Dear friends,

I wish you a Healthy, Prosperous and Happy New Year 2013!!!!

Asian Trekking's Celebration of 30th Anniversary:

Completing the year 2012, was a landmark for Asian Trekking. It marked the completion of our 30 year journey since being established in 1982.

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Asian Trekking in adventure tourism, we organised a tree plantation programme followed by a picnic on 30th Dec 2012 at Lakhuri Bhanjyang, above Kathmandu Valley. Among our 122 staffs (office and permanent field staff) most of them were present on the occasion.

On the occasion we felicitated, with certificates and rewards, our staffs who have been with us since the beginning in 1982. I feel proud to mention that these loyal and hard working staff are Suk Bahadur Ale (Sukre), Kali Bahadur Basnet (Kalu), Mingmar Tamang, Bhai Kaji Tamang (Maila Tamang) and Bala Bahadur Magar (Maila Magar). And, to my great surprise and honour, the field staff presented me with a mini stupa as a "token of love." It is because of our staffs' hard work, honesty, passion and dedication that Asian Trekking is where it is today.

An interaction program between office staff and field staffs were also held on that day. Various topics were discussed such as improvement in Asian Trekking’s services, welfare of the staffs, upgrading equipment to meet the existing requirement, required training for the climbing guide as well as trekking guides, cooks, kitchen boy etc. Though we completed 30 years, we are excitedly looking forward to the next 30 years.

Joint Tourism Coordination Meeting Between Nepal and China

On 17th and 18th December I attended the Sixth Meeting of the Joint Tourism Coordination Committee between the Government of Nepal and the People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) which was held in Lhasa. I was a member of the Nepalese delegation, in the capacity Mountain and Adventure Tourism Expert.

The meeting was held in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere. The 17 member Nepalese delegation was headed by Mr. Mohan Krishna Sapkota, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of the Government of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region delegation was led by Mr. Yu Yun Gui, Director of Tibet Tourism Administration of the People’s Government of Tibet Autonomous Region.

The purpose of the meeting was to promote and expand cooperation in the areas of tourism and trade to the mutual benefits of both Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region.

Meeting with China Tibet Mountaineering Association

Also, on 19th December 2012 I had a meeting with China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) general secretary including other authorities of CTMA over the Tibet Expedition.

We discussed about the cooperation of future expeditions and how to run the expeditions smoothly without disruptions, visa issues and border closures. We also discussed over the issues of rope fixing, route making and permit fees on Mt. Everest, Mt. Ch-oyu, Mt.. Shishapangma and other mountains inTibet. CTMA assured me that the future expedition will run smoothly. I firmly believe that our mutual cooperation and our frequent dialogue will bring fruitful results in the development of mountain tourism both in Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region. I will continue to voice our concerns with the authorities for the betterment of mountaineering and tourism in the Himalayas.

First Aid and Medical Training:

Continuing our committment of safety in the mountains, this year again Asian Trekking organized first aid and medical training for the staff. A total of 40 staff participated in a two day training program.

The course focused on First Aid, Patient Stabilization, CPR, High Altitude Sickness and Response, etc.

Our sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Pranav Koirala, Dr. Kamal Thapa and Dr. Simant Thapa of the Mountain Medicine Society for conducting the training.

Maurice Herzog, French mountain climber, dies at 93:

I also have sad news to share. Legendary French mountaineer and author Maurice Herzog, died at the age of 93 on 13th the December 2012. Maurice and his climbing partner, Louis Lachenal ascended Annapurna I, the 10th-highest mountain in the world, on June 3, 1950. Doing so, they became the first person in history to successfully climb to the top of an eight thousand m peak.

Following this feat, Maurice wrote the hugely popular book, Annapurna, which has been translated into dozens of languages and estimated to have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. First published in 1951, Maurice's book put Nepal on the world map ‘for the first time’ and greatly promoted Nepal as a mountaineering and tourism destination.

I am very proud to have known him as a close friend. His passing is a great loss, though his legacy survives in all the mountaineers and adventurers he inspired.

Asian Trekking and I express our heartfelt condolences to his family and pray for his peaceful eternal journey.

Thank you for your support:

Lastly, it is my pleasure to keep you all up to date as to our activities here in the Himalaya. If you have any questions please do let me know. I thank you for your support in the past and look forward to our cooperation in the future.

Ang Tshering Sherpa

Asian Trekking (P) Ltd

www.asian-trekking.com

Happy New Year !

Best Wishes !

Follow your dreams, climb high, be happy, enjoy your life, love your love, be yourself !

Yours friends from Moscow,

With respect and love,

7 Summits Club

Kyodo MOSCOW — Renowned climber Haruhisa Watanabe is believed to have died Wednesday morning when his bicycle was run over by a car in northwest Russia, his relatives and Foreign Ministry officials said Thursday.

Haruhisa Watanabe

The ministry informed his father, Hiroyasu, that the victim was "almost certainly" Watanabe, who in 2004 became the youngest Japanese climber to scale the tallest peaks on seven continents at age 22.

The Japanese Embassy confirmed that the passport and an identification card from Kyushu Sangyo University in Fukuoka Prefecture found with the body belonged to Watanabe, 31, who was traveling in the Murmansk region.

The embassy is considering sending staffers to the hospital where the body was taken after the accident. It will then be transported back to Japan.

Watanabe's 57-year-old father confirmed he received a phone call from the ministry Thursday morning but said, "I do not want to believe it until I see his face."

The Tass news agency reported that the car was being driven by a 56-year-old man at the time of the accident.

It is thought that driving conditions were hazardous because of poor visibility since the sun barely comes up for most of the day in the area Watanabe was cycling in, carrying such items as a tent and sleeping bag, local media reported.

Watanabe claimed the seven-continent climbing record in June 2004 after traveling to Alaska and scaling Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.

7summits.com

Elbrus    -   Vinson   -   Everest

44-year-old guide of expeditions of 7 Summits Club on Everest, our great friend Noel Hanna is 5-time Everest summiter. He is a records man for Irish. A former cop, Noel mow is focused on sport.Marathonrunner and mountaineer, he is a fitness instructor, guide and also earns from advertising.

The magazine Mountain Pro published an article, that gives concise and accurate advices to those who are going to climbMount Everestfrom Noel….

Read Online .......

Our friend and partner Noel Hanna, Northern Ireland based adventure sports trainer and endurance athlete finished his project named 7 SUMMITS TO SEALEVEL. It means climbing Seven summits of the world's highest peaks, followed by seven arduous and top-speed descents to Sea Level. Almost five years, seven continents, thousands of column inches in media coverage - and one goal in sight, a new entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

http://7summits-club.com/newsarchive/all_1/date_2010_1_18_1/item_1570/

Explore a huge photograph showing Everest in extreme detail. What looks like litter might in fact be base camp, and what you think is a speck of dust could be a climber. Click the green boxes to zoom to a panoramic photo.

Ed Douglas. guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 December 2012

Filmmaker and climate-change campaigner David Breashears spent this spring taking around 400 images of Everest and its near neighbours from a vantage point above base camp through a 300mm lens. Now he's released them digitally stitched together to form one image.

The result is a stunning panoramic photograph of the Everest region – with a twist. You can zoom in on specific areas and see the roof of the world in extraordinary detail. From a distance small colourful dots mark the location of base camp. Zooming in, you can pick out each tent clearly – and a man bending down as he washes his face.

The high definition also allows viewers to examine the mountain's icefall – and even pick out climbers descending between terrifying ice cliffs and crevasses. Think of it as an extreme, alpine version of Where's Wally.

Everest itself is the highest summit in the picture (just to the left of centre), a black pyramid towering above its paler western shoulder. Zooming in, you can see in detail the peak's famous yellow band - a section of interlayered marble, quartz and semi-schist. To the right of Everest, at the head of the western cwm, isLhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world, that rises up from the south col. Right again is Nuptse, the third peak in the Everest horseshoe. Like the western shoulder of Everest, the rock here is granite.

Curling from between Everest and Nuptse is the Khumbu glacier, a chaotic river of ice flowing downhill splitting into crevasses and ice cliffs. The route up Everest climbs up the left-hand side of this, and several climbers are visible on the thin trail that snakes up this dangerous section. To the left of the Khumbu glacier's lower section, the small colourful dots become the tents of base camp, giving an indication of just how popular climbing Everest is these days.

Source >>>>>>>

Glacierworks Project

http://www.glacierworks.org/the-glaciers/pumori-spring-2012/

This fullscreen panorama was published in connection with the 50 year anniversary in May 2003, for the first who reached the top of Everest.

50 years ago May 29 1953 The top ofMount Everestwas reached for the first time by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Since then 1.200-1.500 has climbed the top. Nobody knows the exact number. More than 140 climbers died on the way.

On May 24, 1989 the Australian photographer and mountaineer Roderick Mackenzie reached the summit. He was no 271 since 1953

He made which as far as I know is the only 360 degree panorama From the top.

Roderick Mackenzie made the image at the top ofMount EverestMay 24 1989. Below is in his own words his feelings of the event.

Everest calling film students!

$100,000 for the best film.

KATHMANDU, Dec 5: PartyNepal Outdoors will be hosting a global film competition called “Let’s Go Everest,” targeting film students from around the world.

The press release states that it will also mark the Diamond Jubilee of the ascent of Mt Everest by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary. A global TV channel is also partnering with PartyNepal for this competition.

During the press meet, Shree Gurung, Director of PartyNepal, informed that 108 students from 108 different countries will be coming toNepalon an all-expenses-paid trip for 25 days.

The students will then be free to make their films on any of the four categories: travel and adventure, people and culture, tourism and economy, and environment.

Shree Gurung (C), Director of PartyNepal, along with Dawa Sherpa (R), Team Leader, and Deebas Bikram Shah (L), General Secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, addressing the media about the global film competition, ‘Let’s Go Everest’, during the press meet held at Red Carpet, Durbar Marg on Tuesday.

Their films will have to be submitted within 30 days from the trip. The films will be judged by online voting and by two judges, one of whom will be a representative of PartyNepal.

A winner will be selected from each category and they will be presented with camera equipments and other accessories as well as an internship with the global TV channel. The winner of the best film award will receive a cash prize of US$100,000 along with an internship with the channel.

Dawa Sherpa will be leading the team of students on their trip to Everest. Expressing his full commitment, he said, “It’s an attractive way to bring together everythingNepalhas to offer.” The four categories were all connected to him, one way or another, he said.

According to Gurung, PartyNepal is arranging with global agencies to select a film student from a recognized university from each country. The registration for the competition, which is free of costs, will have to be made online and will start from early next year.

http://nepaloutdoors.com/partynepal/home.php

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PartyNepal is a pioneer and no doubt the most successful event management company in Nepal, our history dates back nine years and during our tenure we have bagged a lot of rewards, recognitions and have proved our self synonymous to hip and happening. Our expertise comes after nine years of largest concerts, loudest parties and lavish events. Beside our expertise on event management we are also responsible night-out informatics via our popular website www.partynepal.com ; Our website not only include pictures from our events but also is equipped with event listing; recommended bars, clubs, restaurants, lounges profiling and even the event listing hence our website is a complete directory for those who seek life during or after routine.

Event Management: We are not only pioneers in professional event management services inNepalbut also synonymous in qulity events.

Brand Launching & promotion: One of the most effective ways to launch a product is to have the physical participation of customers and our events have always maintained the best reputation on Brand launching and promotion via our innovative ideas and strategies.

Corporate events: From entertainment to groom up sessions, we offer highly motivational and recreational seminars, sessions and events.

Multimedia production: Our In-house multimedia production handles all the multimedia production related services. which includes, Photography, Videography, Graphic Designs, Corporate documentaries, TV Commercials etc

Web Development: We are now equipped with all kind of web development services from web designing to web developing.

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Director Baltasar Kormakur Talks EVEREST Movie Based on 1996 Accident;

Hopes to Be Filming This Summer

After HBO’s THE MISSIONARY by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub.

While director Baltasar Kormákur (The Deep, Contraband) is busy in post production on next summer’s 2 Guns starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, that doesn’t mean he’s not planning future projects. As we’ve previously reported, Kormakur is going to direct the HBO pilot for The Missionary, which would take place during the 1960s and center on an American missionary (Benjamin Walker) who gets caught up in Cold War intrigue while helping a young woman escape East Berlin. He told me the plan is to film this April inHungaryand a few days inEast Berlin, and after the project wraps, he hopes to make Everest (which is a working title).

According to Kormakur, the film recounts the story of an accident onMount Everestin 1996. When I asked him the size and scope of the project, he said, “It’s a very, very big movie with a medium budget.” To make it look as real as possible, he plans on filming onMount Everest, traveling as far up the mountain as he can with actors. They will also film on a glacier for three months. For more on the project hit the jump.

Before getting to today’s interview, if you missed Kormakur talking about his film The Deep (Iceland’s official Academy Award selection for Best Foreign Language Film), click here. Here’s what he had to say about 2 Guns and here’s The Missionary.

http://collider.com/baltasar-kormakur-everest-movie-interview/212820/

Baltasar Kormakur Time Index:

Says his next project after The Mission will likely be Everest (working title). It recounts the story of an accident onMount Everestin 1996.

0:45 - The Deep was deliberately filmed, but Kormakur restrained his filmmaking so it would not get in the way of the story. Everest will be similar, but he may have to “open it up” to deal with the spectacle ofMount Everest.

3:20 – He is considering all types of actors for Everest, but suggest the big parts will go to movie stars.

3:50 – Says, “It’s a very, very big movie with a medium budget.” He will film onMount Everest, travelling as far up the mountain as he can with actors. They will also film on a glacier for three months.

4:45 – They are still figuring out the plan, but Kormakur hopes to film summer into autumn because the conditions are more accommodating.

5:10 – Stephen Daldry was attached to write this story a while back. Kormakur brought on young writer Justin Isabel.

6:10 – Kormakur gives the synopsis. It is a well-known storm that hit Everest climbers in 1996

--

Baltasar Kormákur Baltasarsson (born 27 February 1966) is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is known professionally as Baltasar Kormákur.

He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven (starring Julia Stiles and Forest Whitaker), and a film based on the book Mýrin (Jar City) by Arnaldur Indriðason. His father is the Spanish painter Baltasar Samper.

For his film Mýrin, he won the Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2007.

His 2012 film The Deep was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards.[1]

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Into The Mind Of Dave Mossop: Heel Pieces

By Ryan Dunfee | December 3rd, 2012

“Heel Pieces” is a column by Ryan Dunfee published twice a month on TetonGravity.com. In each entry, Dunfee tackles one of the top ski news stories of the moment in an effort to provide insight behind the hype. This week, Dunfee caught up with Sherpas Cinema director Dave Mossop to learn more about the production company's much anticipated action sports film “Into The Mind.”

Into The Mind Of Dave Mossop: Heel Pieces

The skiing internet was awash last week with fans and industry figures alike all trying to outdo each-other in stating their enthusiasm for the Sherpas Cinema trailer for "Into The Mind" that features Imagineer-level visual trickery, cinematography that would make the producers of "Planet Earth" cough up a lung, and explosive action shots set to a soundtrack of electronic and tribal beats. While the combined effect sent most into a social media sharing hysteria with captions written in caps lock, this author saw only two filmmaking phenomena historically doomed to fail: getting action sports athletes (namely skiers) to reveal anything remotely insightful from their "Minds," and casting multiple sports, in this case skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and white-water kayaking, in the same film. I took Sherpas director Dave Mossop to task on how exactly he hopes to transcend boundaries a second time with "Into The Mind."

Ryan Dunfee: It’s a historical fact that no skier in history since Ernest Hemingway has ever said anything remotely insightful. By going “Into The Mind(s)” of skiers, what do you hope to reveal to the world? That they are all stoked, love skiing with friends, and feel they need to work hard to get shots?

Sherpas Cinema director Dave Mossop: Any real mountain person knows that skiing and snowboarding isn’t always stoke and fun with your friends. It’s about challenge, perseverance, freezing weather, shit conditions, and a lifetime of enduring injuries, and even death. Yes, skiing is fun, extremely fun, but it also comes with all of humanity’s many emotions. We want to show that living a ski or snowboarding lifestyle is one of the greatest lives on Earth, and that all these emotions play a role in taking you to your ultimate potential.

RD: Can you explain, mechanically, how you guys achieved those motion sickness-inducing rolling circle shots?

DM: Stick, camera, tape. This is all you need. Tape camera to one end, pivot stick on other end.

RD: You highlight a diverse selection of athletes skiing, surfing, snowboarding, and kayaking. Traditionally, cross-sport movies have never performed very well. How do you plan on breaking the mold this time around?

DM: We'll be trying to not make it lame.

RD: What can viewers who’ve seen All.I.Can expect to be the same or different, stylistically or otherwise, this time around?

DM: We learned a lot during the making of All.I.Can., and we want to bring that knowledge to the table. We can’t stop being who we are, so you’ll see our personalities come through as always, but we hope to evolve to a higher level of storytelling. ITM will take a slice from the avalanche safety message of The Fine Line and the environmental consciousness of All.I.Can, but those aren’t what this is about. This will be new.

RD: What are you guys doing in the filming, interviewing, etc. that is going to do a better job of getting to some deeper emotional or psychological understandings that other filmmakers have been able to accomplish before? Are there other films, inside of skiing or outside, that influenced the approach to Inside The Mind?

DM: Well, we’ll probably just avoid interviews entirely. Actions speak louder than words.

Our work is, of course, inspired and heavily influenced by dozens of incredible artists. Films that pop to mind include: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malcovich, Inception, Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Baraka, Dark Side of The Lens, Nostalgia, There Will Be Blood, Stranger Than Paradise, Jacob’s Ladder. And great directors like Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, Tarantino, Ron Fricke, Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky, Chris Cunningham, Dziga Vertov, Wim Wenders, Wes Anderson, The Cohen Bros, etc.

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To Stand Above the Clouds. Rex Pemberton's record breaking climb of Mount Everest. At Twenty one years of age, mountaineer Rex Pemberton set off to become the youngest Australian to climb Mt Everest. This story is inspirational.

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Warren Miller Entertainment joining forces with Al Gore

Jason Blevins

The Denve rPost

Al Gore says he was drawn to moviemaker Warren Miller's team as film crews and athletes reported alarming loss of snowpack around the world.

The Lower 48 scenes from Warren Miller's "FlowState" are telling. The Canyons segment could have been filmed in July. The Northstar footage — all terrain park — works to avoid shots showing swaths of dirt flanking the snow.

While theAlaskaandJapanshots are exceptionally snowy, theU.S.shots in Warren Miller Entertainment's 63rd annual ski film reflect what was one of the driest ski seasons ever recorded. So it makes sense thatBoulder's WME recently joined forces with Al Gore's The Climate Reality Project.

With "FlowState" footage fromSvalbard,Norway, showing shrinking glaciers and receding sea ice, the partnership will harness Warren Miller's captivating videos and athlete power to grow awareness of climate change.

The idea is that the athlete involvement in the "I Am Pro Snow" campaign and a soon-to-launch Warren Miller/Climate Reality Project effort will help galvanize skiers and snowboarders toward thwarting the effects of climate change as they see images of their beloved snow melting away.

Gore took the stage Saturday night at the "Flow State" 6 p.m. showing, saying his group was first drawn to Warren Miller's team as the film crews and athletes began reporting alarming loss of snowpack in mountain ranges around the globe. Gore said the dwindling snowpacks can be connected to rampant wildfires in the West, the country's lingering drought and Hurricane Sandy's ravaging of the East Coast.

"It's happening everywhere, and we've got to do something about it. A lot of politicians are scared of big oil and big coal," Gore said. "I would like to think all the skiers and snowboarders together can make up big snow and put some counterpressure on this and say we really have to do something."

Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

Since our last review, a plan of Denis Urubko and Alexei Bolotov was specified. Denis Urubko was interviewed by Spanish magazine Desnivel.

He, in particular, tried to clarify a route of a planned attempt on Everest. Climbing route should be in the sector between 1975 Bonington route on the center of South-west face and Polish (Kukuczka - Czok) along the South ridge.

From the book of Jan Kelkowski "Mount Everest Massif"

This may be a line marked by N 33. There were attempts of all expeditions for the south-west face, before, in 1975 Nick Estcourt found a way up leading on the upper field leftsides. It was 5 or 6 unsuccessful attempts. N 32 – a line of an attempt of strong Czechoslovak team led byIvanGulfin 1987.

Well, here on the blog Denis posted New Year's greetings and reflections….

http://urubko-8000new.blogspot.ru/2012/12/happy-new-year.html

Here is the final part:

“Here only the analysis with the years has come. Also is, of what to think:

1. Speed-ascent on Sagarmatha without oxigen from the South keeps till now at a mark 1998 in 20 and a half hours. http://www.everestnews.com/everest1.htm And is possible to do faster?

2. New routes, as well as variants, on Chomolungma it is a lot of. All of them are made in the Himalayan style. Here there is a History of the Alpine style on the Everest. More precisely, the part of history very interesting: http://bask.ru/info/papers/everest_8848.html Is it possible by a new route, but in the Alpine style?

3. The winter ascension to the Everest was with oxygen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everest But without oxygen it will turn out? Is possible by other route?

4. The traverse to next eight-thousanderLhotsehas been made with oxygen, and on usual ways… as a compromise. And whether there is a chance to do the «real» traverse without oxygen?

Such sports problems turn in a head since many years. And the answers to them can be the most simple - to try though something to make most. As in a mirror to see the reflexion on the verge of the present adventure. Whether it is a challenge?! To whom it is interesting? Come on please, register your self :)

Humbly – Marry Christmas, friends!

Happy New Year!”

Aiming High…On The Ground. By Brandon LingleNov. 15, 2012.

Marshallskis down from the summit of Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, in October 2011 with an Air Force flag flying from his pack.

When the V-22 Osprey pilot isn’t flying, remodeling his bathroom, helping the Red Cross, speaking at schools, or working out, he’s running a first-of-its kind challenge to climb the highest peak on each continent.

Next April, Marshall, a 34-year-old Special Operations pilot with several combat deployments to bothIraqandAfghanistan, will lead a group of seven Airmen on their most impressive mission to date— to scaleMount Everest.

The bid for the top of the world would wrap up the U.S. Air Force 7 Summits Challenge. The group hopes to make history as the first military team to climb each continent’s highest mountain — and the firstU.S.military team to conquer Everest.

The Mercer Island, Wash. native and long-time mountaineer—who bagged 27 peaks as an Air Force Academy cadet—first considered an Everest attempt while visiting the mountain’s base camp in 2001 shortly after graduating from the Academy.

“I had this strong intuition that I needed to come back and climb Everest one day,” he says. “But, it needed to be for a reason bigger than just personal conquest.”

The reason came in 2005 when an Air Force MC-130, call sign Wrath 11, crashed in the Albanian mountains, killing nine, including several ofMarshall’s friends. “Wrath 11 hit close and shook me up,” he recalls. “I volunteered to ascend the mountains to search for survivors, but ended up helping coordinate the recovery. I felt powerless… every bit of me wanted to get up that mountain to help. I found out later there was no chance of survivors.”

Two months after Wrath 11, two ofMarshall’s Academy classmates, Capt. Derek Argel and Capt. Jeremy Fresques, died in anIraqcrash, along with three other airmen.

These losses droveMarshallto find a way to help his fallen friends’ families. “Remember walking around a track to raise money for your school or charity? Well, I decided to take it vertical. For every thousand feet we climbed, we’d ask people to donate to the college education of these kids.”

So, the Air Force 7 Summits Challenge was born, and the team has tackled six of the seven summits—Russia’s Mount Elbrus, Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua, the U.S.’s Mount McKinley, Antarctica’s Mount Vinson, and Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko—and countless others in training. Team members mark their accomplishment with memorial pushups, in honor of their fallen friends, on each summit. So far, about 25 men and women have climbed with the team since the challenge began, and they’ve raised more than $60,000 for military charities like the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

Though not funded or officially sanctioned by the Air Force, the military and climbing worlds seem to converge somewhat smoothly for the team. Marshall, who’s currently stationed inAmarillo,Tex., said commanders generally support the project thanks to the team’s intense planning and risk-mitigation process.

“Mountains are excellent leadership laboratories,”Marshallsays. “We get to work in small teams in extreme conditions. Climbing takes a combination of leading and following to survive together.”

And, sometimes these worlds collide. “I was on Mt. McKinley 24 hours from summiting when my unit told me via satellite phone that I needed to return immediately for a deployment,” he says. “Had to leave my team and haul ass back to base.”

With luck, the realities of military life won’t interrupt the climb of a lifetime for the seven Airmen who’ve committed to the Everest summit attempt and are training at their bases across the country. The Everest team includes:

– Major Graydon Muller, 33, a UH-1 and Mi-17 instructor pilot fromDuvall,Wash., stationed atHurlburt Field,Fla.

– Captain Andrew Ackles, 29, a TH-1N instructor pilot, fromAshland,Ore., stationed atFort Rucker,Ala.

– Captain Marshall Klitzke, 30, a KC-135R pilot fromLemmon,S.D., currently an instructor pilot at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.

– Captain Kyle Martin, 29, an F-16 instructor pilot and mission commander fromManhattan,Kan., currently flying T-38s at Langley Air Force Base,Va.

– Captain Colin Merrin, 28, a Global Positioning System satellite operations mission commander fromSantee,Calif., stationed at Peterson Air Force Base,Colo.

– Staff Sergeant Nick Gibson, 36, a reserve pararescueman and physician-assistant student from Gulf BreezeFla., stationed at Patrick Air Force Base,Fla.

Recently, Marshall announced Chad Jukes, 28, ofRidgway,Colo., featured in the documentary High Ground — about 11 wounded warriors climbingNepal’s 20,000 foot Mount Lobuche— plans to join the team.

“Chadis aiming to become, what I believe will be, the firstU.S.serviceman with a combat-caused amputation to climb Mount Everest,”Marshallsays. “Several other wounded warriors and supporters also plan to trek with us to Everest base camp this spring.”

“Climbing these peaks is my way to deal with the pain and sadness that sits in my stomach from the losses of friends and colleagues,”Marshalladds. “I use physical exertion and time outside as my way to blast depression and sadness. After just a day hiking trails on the outskirts of town, I come home refreshed, reenergized, and looking forward to getting things done. If it wasn’t for this, I think the bad experiences would get the best of me. I hope that through this challenge we can help other military members use the outdoors and adventure sports to improve their emotional health.”

Yes, Major Marshall is a busy man, and he’ll get busier as April approaches. But as John Muir noted, “the mountains are calling and I must go.” Same for Marshall and his team.

Major Brandon Lingle served as a public affairs officer inIraqandAfghanistanand now is at Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base inVirginia. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense orU.S.government.

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/11/15/aiming-high-on-the-ground/#ixzz2DISOcXyC

 Chad Jukes

Everest rubbish turned into art

Eight tonnes of litter left onMount Everesthas been turned into 75 works of art.

An artwork commissioned for the "Everest 8848 Art Project" on display in Kathmandu.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Matt Dickinson, author of the Mortal Chaos series and one of the Brits who has reached the summit ofMount Everest, offered a surprising insight into life on top of the world once when we met. He said: "When you get up to the very top of Mount Everest there is a remarkable amount of rubbish that has been left behind - old rope, discarded oxygen cylinders, broken tents, beer cans and bottles."

A group of artists have now turned eight tonnes of this trash - including the remains of a helicopter - into works of art and sculpture to highlight the issue of littering on the slopes of Everest. It took 65 porters and 75 yaks to carry down the rubbish from the mountain over two Spring expeditions.

The exhibition of 75 pieces commissioned for the 'Everest 8848 Art Project' is on display in the Nepalese capitalKathmandubefore it moves to Pokhara next week.

Project organiser Kripa Rana Shahi said: "We thought that this would help promote the artists as well as contribute to making Everest clean. We were happy to get the trash and (the waste collectors) were happy to get rid of it."

Fifteen Nepalese artists spent a month preparing pieces for the exhibition. In one of the works, by painter and poet Sunita Rana, white shards of aluminium from drinks cans are fashioned into medals signifying the bravery of mountaineers, while black metal tent poles are transformed into a wind chime.

Group of artists is staging an exhibition of sculpture made from tonnes of trash collected onMount Everest, highlighting the toll that decades of mountaineering have taken on the world's highest peak. Discarded oxygen and cooking gas cylinders, ropes, tents, glasses, beer cans, plastic and even the remains of a helicopter make up 75 artworks commissioned for the "Everest 8848 Art Project" on display in Kathmandu.

In another, remains of a helicopter which crashed in 1974, while carrying food for Italian climbers, are incorporated into an idol of the Hindu God Ganesh. The artworks range in price from £12 to £150,000, and several pieces have already been sold.

"As the word on the Everest garbage spread, it tarnished the image of our country. I was saddened when the foreigners talked about Everest as if it were a dumping site," said Everest Summiteers Association president Wongchu Sherpa. "We have recommended that if a climber is found littering the mountain, he or she should be banned for five years from climbing," Sherpa told AFP.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/9695352/Everest-rubbish-turned-into-art.html

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Olympic torch light in auction to support Nepal

Famous mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington is delighted that the auction of his Olympic torch has raised £13,550 for a charity helping people in Nepal.

Sir Chris Bonington had kept the Olympic torch light in auction on Wednesday to support

The mountaineer climbed Snowdon in North Walesas part of the torch relay route and sold the torch in a sealed bid auction to raise money for Community Action Nepal, which is led by his fellow Cumbrian-based mountaineer Doug Scott.

Being a small charity their overheads are minimal, so it means that practically every single penny raised goes to the recipients who are the people in these little villages in the foothills of the Himalaya”, Bonington said.

Sir Chris added “I’m very pleased with the amount raised. I’m sad to see it go but I felt that, rather than hanging on to it, it was much better if it could do some good.”

The money will be spent on several projects including the building of shelters on trekking routes and constructing new schools.

“Quite a few porters are left to fend for themselves and have died from exposure,” Sir Chris said.

The auction closed on Wednesday during a large charity.

The torch will be on display at the Royal Geographical Society.

Source: in-cumbria.com/

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The Challenge

"In the Footsteps of Legends" is an expedition to the Geographic South Pole to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott's epic expedition in 1912. The team are raising funds for two important charities, Walking with the Wounded and Alzheimers Research UK.

The largest group within the expedition team is made up of soldiers who were wounded whilst on active duty in Afghanistan in 2010. Despite their having suffered a range of injuries, including major head and limb wounds, they are now determined to inspire others, and raise funds for causes dear to their hearts, by undertaking this gruelling physical challenge, which they aim to complete shortly before returning to serve another tour in Afghanistan.

The expedition is being co-led by Justin Packshaw (himself a former Captain in the British Army) and David Hempleman-Adams.

On 19 November 2012, the team will set off to walk In the Footsteps of Legends, and try and reach the Geographic South Pole.

They will walk 140 miles across the ice from Union Glacier: across a barren icefield, barely touched by humans, dragging a sled laden with food, tent and clothes. It will take 19 days of arduous trekking to reach the bottom of the earth.

The expedition will begin at the 88 degrees South, which is 140 miles from the Geographic South Pole.

The terrain between 88 degrees South and the South Pole itself is some of the most extreme on the planet.

Despite this, the team will ski unsupported, pulling all their equipment themselves, on specially designed pulks in temperatures as low as -40°Celius. The team is going to be away for four weeks.

The team is being lead by explorers David Hempleman-Adams and Justin Packshaw. The aim is to raise over £1 million for the charities Walking with the Wounded and Alzheimer's Research UK.

HRH Prince of Wales is the Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Dragoon Guards and has sent this message to the team... and the Prime Minister has also sent a message of support.

Denis Urubko in an interview with the Kazakh site sports.kz talked about his plan to climb Everest. Together with the Russian climber Alexey Bolotov Denis plans a new route in alpine style.

- All new routes on Everest were made in the Himalayan style - with acclimatization at base camp, hanging fixed ropes and using oxygen. A climb in alpine style means: you're getting to the bottom of the summit and conquer it by direct climb, not returning on any of the camps. With my mates I have made such type of climbingBroadPeak, Manaslu andCho Oyu. If we manage to climb in alpine style on Everest, I think it will be a significant event, a new word in the history of mountaineering. For my self-realization as an athlete, it is very important.

With winners of recent Asian Piolet d’Or

As always, a lot of interesting on the blog of Denis

Asian Piolet d’Or

So it has turned out, that the decision on rewarding of nominees was gave with the big work. Possibly, in a judiciary board clever serious people have gathered too many. Where, have inexplicably involved the former ensign. Having listened to reports on ascensions of commands we long could not come to the general opinion. Were nervous, proved, smiled, indignantly gesticulated. But when the opinion of the commission has taken shape, it has appeared the most correct and comprehensible to all. We with gratitude have shaken each other hands.

And in the evening from a scene Mr. Kim Syong-jim and Mr. Hiroshi Hagivara have congratulated winners of 2012:

- Kim Chang-ho, An Chi-young (KOREAsouth) for ascent inNepal.

- Zhou Peng, Yan Dongdong, Lee Shuang (CHINA) for ascents inSichuanmountains.

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With Asian Piolet d’Or of life Achivements in mountaineering there was something strange. Because I continued to consider myself as the young operating sportsman. And a similar sort of the award were always awarded to veterans of backpackings. For the huge contribution to mountaineering development, for. And it was possible to me only went in for sports, as it understood. «But was in time, - I have grinned in heart. - nobody knows, that happens tomorrow».

http://urubko.blogspot.ru/

The Snows of Kilimanjaro by NASA….

The views from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro—a 5,895-meter (19,341-foot) dormant stratovolcano inTanzania—are as surreal as they are spectacular. After ascending through multiple ecosystems—including cropland, lush rainforest, alpine desert, and a virtual dead zone near the summit—climbers can find themselves peering down on a thick blanket of clouds below that seems to stretch endlessly in the distance.

But in the immediate foreground, ice dominates the view. Looking north, a shelf-like block of ice with a sharp vertical cliff sits on an otherwise featureless, sand-covered plateau. In the other direction, a second ice field spills off the edge of the plateau, down the mountain’s southern face.

Kimberly Casey, a glaciologist based at NASA’sGoddardSpaceFlightCenter, was savoring the views from Kilimanjaro’s summit and caldera when she snapped these panoramic images of Kilimanjaro’s northern (middle) and southern (bottom) ice fields. The Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite acquired the top image, which shows some of the same ice fields from above on October 26, 2012.

Casey was taking part in a September 2012 research expedition to Kilimanjaro to study the ice at the summit. For scale, bright tents that were part of the scientists' base camp are visible in the lower left of the northern ice field image.

Despite Mount Kilimanjaro’s location in the tropics, the dry and cold air at the top of the mountain has sustained large quantities of ice for more than 10,000 years. At points, ice has completely surrounded the crater. Studies of ice core samples show that Kilimanjaro’s ice has persisted through multiple warm spells, droughts, and periods of abrupt climate change.

But trends beginning more than a century ago suggest Kilimanjaro’s peaks may soon be ice-free. Between 1912 and 2011, the mass of ice on the summit decreased by more than 85 percent. Researchers say it’s no longer a question of whether the ice will disappear but when. Estimates vary, but several scientists predict it will be gone by 2060.

Rising air temperatures due to global warming could be contributing to the ice loss, but a number of other factors are just as important, if not more so. An increasingly dry regional atmosphere, for example, is starving the mountain of the fresh snow needed to sustain the ice fields. Drier air is also reducing cloud cover and allowing more solar energy to warm the ice surfaces.

Casey and colleagues noticed yet another ominous sign during their 2012 expedition. The northern ice field, which had been developing a hole since the 1970s, has separated. “This was the first year that the northern ice field completely divided into two,” said Casey.

“We were able to walk on land—or we could have even ridden a bicycle—directly through the rift.”

Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov

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Local Ultra Runner Completes Circuit of Mount Kilimanjaro

Saint Louisresident Jerry Frost was recently one of the first people in the world to run a complete circuit around the tallest freestanding mountain in the world: Mount Kilimanjaro. Frost, an ultra marathoner in his fifties, spent eight days running around the base of Mount Kilimanjaroas part of the first annual Stage Run around the Roof of Africa, a run hosted by the Tanzanian adventure outfitter Summit Expeditions & Nomadic Experience (SENE). Frost was one of ten international ultra runners to participate in this groundbreaking running event October 18-28. Other participants includedBoulderColorado’s Krissy Moehl, one of the most highly regarded female ultra marathoners in the world, and Simon Mtuy, Guinness world record holder for fastest unassisted ascent and descent ofMount Kilimanjaro. The runners were accompanied by videographer Andrew King ofSouth Africa’s D4 Productions, who is creating a short video series of the event that will be available later this year.

Frost and the other SENE Stage Run participants ran 170 miles and endured a total ascent of more than 35,000 feet as they ran around the steep slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The terrain was intense and varied as the group ran through rainforests, dry plains, coffee plantations, villages, and deep valleys on the ancient footpaths of the indigenous Chagga people. The run was fully supported and the participants enjoyed chef-prepared breakfasts and dinners at camp and snacks and beverages on the trail. The runners got a taste of local culture when they camped at local villages in the evenings. They also supported reforestation efforts by planting trees in thevillage of Marangu. On the fourth night, the runners were lucky enough to enjoy hot showers and comfortable accommodations at Simba Farm inWest Kilimanjaro.

The ultra runners did not encounter any major injuries or set-backs over the course of the run, and all runners completed the circuit within the time allotted. On their last night, the runners enjoyed a celebratory evening at Simon Mtuy’s private Mbahe Farm before parting ways and moving on to their next big adventures.

For more information, please visit

 http://www.facebook.com/StageRunAroundTheRoofOfAfrica?fref=ts

 or http://tanzaniatrailrunning.com/

Source: interact.stltoday.com

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All-women Nepali team to scale Mt Kilimanjaro

KATHMANDU: Two years after scaling the highest mountains in Australia and Russia, the all-women Nepali mountaineer team is all set to climb Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895m), the tallest peak of Africa, with the theme ‘A journey to educate young girls’ from March 1-7 next year.

In a mission to climb the tallest mountains in all seven continents, this will be their fourth expedition.

The Seven Summits expedition team successfully scaled Mt Everest (8,848m in Asia), Mt Kosciuszko (2,228m inAustralia), Mt Elbrus (5,642m in Europe) in 2008 and 2010 respectively.

Less than 300 people in the world have climbed the seven summits, of them only 51 are women where only two Nepali men have achieved this feat so far.

Shailee Basnet, team coordinator, said they would be highlighting the importance of ‘girl education’ during Mt Kilimanjaro climb ‘Kili for a cause’.

The team has been promoting girls’ education in coordination with various government and non-government organisations since their first expedition. “We have already reached out to 11,000 students in more than 100 schools across the country to promote education for girls,” she said.

The Nepali team will be joined by three African women to highlight the significance of

girl education around the world.

One of the climbers is a dynamic youth activist advocating against early marriage, the other is a teacher from the nearly extinct bushmen tribe called ‘the Hadzabes’ and the third climber is Hlubi Mboya (on the picture), a popular television actress in Southern Africa who is also the World Food Programme Ambassador against Hunger in South Africa.

According to Basnet, Nepali and Tanzanian climbers will be visiting various schools in Arusha andDares-Salaam,Tanzaniato tell their stories and encourage young students about the importance of education and to achieve their dreams.

The total budget for the Kilimanjaro climb is $50,000 in which 50 per cent will go to charity.

Childreach International is setting up online global donation campaign for the event.

The United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) is sponsoring the climb for three African Women. They will also produce a documentary movie featuring the climb.

The all-women Nepali mountaineer team on the slopes of Elbrus

Source: thehimalayantimes.com

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25 new peaks to be open for climbing

The government is planning to open new peaks that are in demand for the promotion of mountain tourism and to create new destinations.

The government had, in 2003, opened 111 new peaks, and later nine other peaks in 2004, but since then no new peaks have been opened. Currently, 326 peaks are allowed for mountain expeditions and adventure sports.

“We will soon forward our study report of the peaks that can be opened for expeditions like other regular peaks,” said under secretary at the Tourism Industry Division Surendra Sapkota. The division is currently studying applications from various regions that have requested the government to open certain summits for expeditions.

“We have a list of applications requesting us to open restricted peaks to create fresh destinations for tourists who arrive inNepalfor mountain and adventure tourism,” said Sapkota. “We are going through the documents and studying peaks that can be allowed for expeditions, and we are also taking suggestions from other related associations on the matter,” he said.

“As soon as we prepare proper documents, we will forward them to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, which after further verification will submit the report to the cabinet for final approval,” he said, adding that there is a demand for new peaks and along with the permission to open the peaks, it will definitely attract quality number of mountaineers and create new destinations.

“It has been more than eight years since the government last announced new peaks for expeditions, therefore, it is time that the government open new border-peaks for mountaineering,” said former president of Nepal Mountaineering Association Ang Tshering Sherpa.

“We have also recommended 25 peaks, most of which are border-peaks that can attract quality number of climbers,”

said Sherpa, adding government must simplify rules and develop a one-window system so that the process is completed on time.

“It has been two years since we recommended names of border-peaks that are in demand among mountaineers,” he said.

Source: nepalmountainnews.com

Wade Davis' Everest book wins Samuel Johnson Prize

Winning author Wade Davis is also the National Geographic Society's Explorer-In-Residence

Wade Davis's book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest will receive the £20,000 prize.

Judges said the "momentous" book, the result of 10 years' research and writing, "shed new light on events and stories we thought we already knew".

Davisis also the National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence.

The adventurer gives a detailed insight into the explorers' world, focusing on Mallory's expeditions and the impact of the Great War.

Chair of the judges, David Willetts MP, said it was a "fascinating historical narrative of a great adventure".

"It's an exciting story of human endeavour imbued with deep historical significance," he continued.

"Wade's scrupulous use of sources and attention to detail, combined with his storytelling skills and ability to enter into the minds of the people he is writing about, make this a thoroughly enlightening and enjoyable book."

Canadian Wade has written 15 books and produced the Geographic Channel's documentary series Light at the Edge of the World.

He flew into London from New Yorkfor the announcement of the prize at the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Waded received his PhD in ethnobotany from Harvard University

Willetts said that this year's shortlist was "very strong", which made Wade's win "all the more significant".

The rest of the judging panel was made up by writer and biographer Patrick French, The Guardian's non-fiction books editor Paul Laity, editor of Prospect magazine Bronwen Maddox, and philosopher, poet, physician and cultural critic Professor Raymond Tallis.

The prize is open to all non-fiction books published in English, by writers of any nationality, in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts.

Previous winners include 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale.

Source: bbc.co.uk

It's been thirty years since the first Soviet expedition reached the summit of Everest, the world's highest mountain. And, to mark the occasion, the 70 climbers who reached the top...

Were honoured in Moscow last Thursday...
And re-lived some of their unique experiences, with Konstantin Potapov

Board meeting of the Russian Association of Mountain Guides took place Nov. 2 in the Gostiny Dvor, in the Ski Salon. It still was rather a monologue of the Board with the elements of discussion with community guides. Noisy area of Ski Salon did not promote long conversation, they were put off for another time.

Declared program was generally fulfilled:

1. Report on the results of 2012. Zon-Zam S. Bryk R.

2. Discussion on the future structure of the educational modules of School. Shustrov A., M. Balakhovsky

3. Training programs for ages guides. Shustrov A.

4. Financial report on the follow-up in 2012. Bryk R.

5. Information about membership fees. Bryk R.

6. School plans for 2013.

7. Partnership performance: RED FOX, GRT, Petzl.

Roman Bryk - executive manager of the Russian Association of Mountain Guides

The 7 Summits Club is one of the initiators and sponsors of the Russian Association of Mountain Guides. At the meeting of our organization was represented by Denis Savelyev.

President of the Association Sergei Zon-Zam led the meeting. He spoke specifically and clearly, joking, and during the conversation led jokes in a serious direction. It became clear that Roman Bryk as a manager does not receive money from the Association. And his work is sponsored by FAR.

Budget of the Association is formed mainly thanks of sponsors of Gortex and Red Fox. The main item of expenditure - is payment of Canadians Lecturers. The first period of the Association can be called a "golden age", because we made a lot in spite of the predictions of the pessimists.

At the meeting of the Association of Mountain Guides Russia gathered as members of the first set, which included Kirill Anisimov (Elbrus), Maxim Balakhovsky (Kamchatka), Nikolai Polyakov (Krasnaya Polyana), Vitaly Ilyinykh (Moscow), Vladimir Gonchar (Elbrus), and members of the School the second set of names are also well known to all, it's best riders and guides of Russia, such as Victor Zakharin (Kamchatka), Anna Khankevich (Moscow), Peter Yastrebkov (Moscow), Vitaly Stegno (Stavropol Territory).

At the meeting the guides discussed the structure of educational modules and plans for the future of the School Guides for 2013

It was not like a Congress, it was a real holiday.Holidayof meetings, celebration of gratitude. More than 60 climbers from 10 countries of the former Soviet Union gathered in the lecture hall of thePolytechnicMuseum. UIAA President Fritz Vrejlandt was a guest of honor of the event. All the climbers on Everest were awarded by Commemorative " Mount Everest Climber", specially made for this day. All members of the Congress and the spectators were unanimous gratitude to the organizers.

Fritz Vrejlandt

Mountaineering Federation of Russia and the 7 Summits Club were the organizers of this unforgettable event.

Veteran of mountaineering, Professor Ivan Bogachev spoke about the history of preparation of the first expedition to Everest in theSoviet Union. The decision was made in 1948. Legendary Eugene Abalakov was then the main initiator of the organization of the expedition. After his death, Kirill Kuzmin took the preparation for Everest for himself. In 1959, an expedition was completely ready, but her departure was canceled due to the uprising in Tibet.

Only in 1982, the dream was realized for our climbers. 11 climbers have reached the top of the World by a new, very difficult route. This achievement has had a huge impact on all of us.

Climbers of 1982

In 1990, the new Russian flag was first raised on Everest. President of the Russian mountaineering federation Andrey Volkov was then among climbers.

In 1996, a team fromKrasnoyarskopened a new route (couloir Zakharova) on the northeast side ofMount Everest. In 2004, the national team under the leadership of Viktor Kozlov made a new route on the center of the North Face of Everest.

In the new century, a new life has come to Everest. Alexander Abramov, became a main person inRussiaon Everest. Total Alex participated in 12 expeditions to Everest, 10 of them as a leader. Dozens of climbers thanked him for his help in the realization of their dream.

Alex (on the left) and apart of the 7 Summits Clib Everest summiters

Photos of Danila Kolodin

Summiters from Ukraine (from left): Victor Bobok (3 different routes), Sergey Kovalev,Sergey Bershov, Mstislav Gorbenko, Igor Svergun, Alexey Bokov

Ivan Dusharin (3 times) came direct from Mount Kosciuszko

 (project Alpari - 7 Summits for 300 days)

 Anatoly Ovchinnikov - 85 years

Kazbek Khamitsaev from North Osetia

Kazbek Valiev

Fritz Vrejlandt and Andrey Volkov

Sergey Bershov

Vladimir Shataev

Maxut Zhumaev and Visily Pevtsov

Alexey Ovchinnikov, Sergey Bershov and Anna Arinina (second Russian woman on Everest)

Victor Kozlov

Alltogher

Member of the 7 Summits Club, our good friend Andrey Podolyan climbed Mount Kosciuszko almost simultaneously with the team of "Alpari on top of the world." This was his crowning ascent program 7 Summits. 7 Summits Club congratulates Andrey and wishes new heights! Bravo!

Seven Summits of Andrey Podolyan:

Kilimanjaro, September 5, 2009

Aconcagua, February 11, 2010

Elbrus, August 1, 2010

Vinson, 23 December 2010

Everest, May 20, 2011

McKinley, July 5, 2012

Kosciuszko, 05 November 2012.

Everest 2011 www.vidgeversa.ru

And also:

Communism Peak, August 18, 2012

KorjenevskayaPeak, August 10, 2012

Andrey Podolyanu 40. He lives in Velsk,Arkhangels kregion. He was born and grew up in this area in the north of Russia. Andrey is one of the most successful businessmen in the area. He paid much attention to charity, built a church, built sport hill and did a lot of other good things. Andrey was a paratrooper in the Army, he is fond of hot-air balloons. Andrey now has the biggest balloon in Russia.

Employees trip of 7 Summits Club in Velsk, to visit Andrey Podolyanu. Photography.

https://7vershin.ru/news/all/item_2438/

7 Summits Club and the Mountaineering Federation of Russia invite to the Congress of Climbers of Everest.

Over sixty climbers who climbed the highest peak of the planet, will take part in the congress of the climbers on Everest, dedicated to the anniversary of the first Soviet and the first Russian climb. Among the participants – living legends of the Soviet and Russian mountaineering, members of expeditions in 1982, 1990, 1992 and of the north face of Everest in 2004.

"It's nice to meet people who have experienced the same thing you have. And who understand what is behind the ascent of this mountain," – Ivan Dusharin says about the upcoming meeting. He is one of initiators of meeting, who three times climbedMount Everest.

In the program of international meetings: films and video footage of climbing, slide shows, "the story of conquering Everest 1907 - 1953 years.", photo exhibition, an exhibition of unique materials from the Museum of Sport, presentation of Сommemorative " Mount Everest Climber"

"I am grateful to the organizers of the Congress, who took the trouble to collect climbers on Everest from the formerSoviet Union. Finally they created a club for all those who reached the top of the World. And I am glad that the club will have its symbolism as a Сommemorative of honor "Mount Everest Climber"- said Vladimir Shataev, one of the leaders of Soviet mountaineering, climbed Everest in 58 years.

All are invited. Entrance for guests of the Congress and climbers is free!

November 8, 2012, 18:00,Moscow, station "Lubyanka",New Square, 3/4, 9-th entrance, a lecture hall of the Museum.

At thePolytechnicMuseumon April 23 (May 7, New Style), 1901 there was a constituent assembly of Russian Mountain Society.

Сommemorative “Mount Everest Climber”

Rohan Freeman – the first Afro-American and Jamaican on the Seven Summits.

In April 2009, Rohan Freeman embarked on an incredible journey to accomplish his dream of summitingMount Everest. In May 2009, he reached the world’s highest peak. In June 2009, he returned home with his sights set on establishing his own engineering consulting firm.

Mr. Freeman was born and raised in Jamaica, and came to the University of Connecticut to explore his interests in the field of civil engineering. He went on to become a dually licensed Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor. His innate leadership talents and project management abilities have been enriched by his 25 year career in the industry working for nationally recognized firms, as well as the City ofHartford’s Public Works Department.

He is a man that is characterized by his passions, pride and drive. He embodies the spirit, culture and values of his firm. The establishment of Freeman Companies has been a challenging and exciting accomplishment, and Mr. Freeman is excited about the future success and the endless possibilities that lie ahead. Failure is not an option.

Rohan’s summit ofMount Everestis part of his larger initiative to summit the highest peak on each of the world’s seven continents. His conquest ofMount Everestmarked the fifth of his seven summits. He climbed in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, and has served as an active member of the organization’s Board of Directors since 2008.

A former track star at the University of Connecticut, Freeman said he first wanted to climb mountains in 1998, when he booked his first vacation to a winter resort. One winter sport led to another, he said, and in June 2002, Freeman and several friends climbed Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. He then scaled three of the other "Seven Summits" -MountMcKinleyinAlaskain June 2004, Mount Elbrus inRussiain June 2006 and Aconcagua inArgentinain December 2006 - before he attempted to climbMount Everest.

"Just the idea that he's done outreach and work with the youth of Hartfordand has shown them a much broader world ... that was very important [to us]," said fund President Kirk Sykes.

After Everest Freeman climbed the last two of the "Seven Summits": Vinson Massif in Antarctica and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia- in 2010. And finished this story climbed Pyramid Carstensz in fall 2012.

"When I returned from Everest, I stared my own engineering company," Freeman said. "I'm trying to see if I can make that a success."

Premlata Agarwal

Premlata Agarwal has added yet another mountain to her kitty! The oldest Indian woman mountaineer to have scaled Mt Everest has now also become the only Indian woman to climb Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak of the Australia/Oceania continent, which is deemed one of the most difficult to climb.

Talking to mediapersons on her return, Agrawal (48) said she reached the 16,024-feet steep Carstensz summit ofIndonesiaon October 23, after seven days of trekking. She has now scaled five of the seven highest summits of all continents.

She took a tumble innumerable times during the expedition, braved consistent rainfall and slipped on slushy tracks to the base camp. “It was a very difficult and challenging climb. Several elements came across our trek but we did not lose heart. But I’m very happy to have come back successful,” she said.

It rained throughout the journey, in which she had threeUSmen climbers as part of the team. “We flew into Timika fromBalion October 15. Then we took a hour-long flight to Sugada village, which is one of the openings to the base camp,” Premlata recalled.

This resident ofJamshedpurwill go to Mt Vinson Massif (Antarctica) in December and re-tryMountMcKinley(North America) in May-June next year to complete her seven-summit campaign. She was forced to return without climbing McKinley last June due to inclement weather.

Agrawal has set sight on completing the mountaineering challenge of climbing the Seven Summits and Tata Steel is the proud sponsor of her expedition, and is supporting her with a sponsorship of Rs 80 lakh. Conquering all seven summits makes one a member of the Hall of Fame for mountaineers.

If Premlata achieves this remarkable feat — she is targeting 2013 for it — she will become the first Indian woman, and one the oldest in the world, to do so.

Antarctica's Tallest Peak

NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory passes Antarctica’s tallest peak,MountVinson, on Oct. 22, 2012, during a flight over the continent to measure changes in the massive ice sheet and sea ice. The flight is part of NASA’s Operation IceBridge, a multi-year airborne campaign to monitor changes in Earth’s polar ice caps in both the Antarctic and Arctic. Ice Bridge science flights from Punta Arenas, Chile, began on Oct. 12 and continue through early November. Mount Vinsonis located in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica.

Dr. Clare O'Leary

She's already conquered Everest, completed the world's Seven Summits and become the first Irish woman to reach the South Pole.

But now Dr. Clare O'Leary is aiming to make history once again as part of the first Irish team to cross the perilous, but little-known North Patagonian Icecap.

The pint-sized adventurer, from Bandon, Co.Cork, is part of a five-strong team that also includes Kerry explorer Mike O'Shea, which is attempting to cross the treacherous 120km distance.

The team, which set off from their base inChilelast weekend, is expected to spend the whole of this month hauling their sledges across the remote cap, which has only ever been crossed by a handful of people.

Even preparing for the challenge and packing the correct clothing was a logistical nightmare, as temperatures, on altitudes ranging from 1200m to 1500m, can range from -30C to 30C on the same day.

Both Clare and Mike have spent months training for the gruelling adventure, which is deemed particularly challenging because of the difficulty in accessing the icecap.

The team will have to climb a towering glacier before setting foot on the cap, while the journey will also include boat trips, camping and horse riding with South American gauchos and crossing a rainforest.

Earlier this year both Clare and Mike were forced to abandon their bid to become the first expedition to make it to the North Pole.

They were forced to pull the plug on the challenge to reach the remote Arctic point, because their plan to share chartered logistics with other teams fell apart.

Clare is the first Irish female toclimbMt.Everest and also the first Irish woman to complete the Seven Summits, which includesMt.Vinsonin the Antarcticand Mt. McKinley inAlaska.

Keep track of their progress at irishnorthpole2013.com.

By Terry Wood. Special to The SeattleTimes

About. Mike Hamill is a professional mountain guide, writer, and photographer. He regularly leads expeditions to the mountains of the Seven Summits, among others, and has climbed all of the original Seven Summits at least four times, some as many as twenty. He has climbed them all in the course of one year several times, finishing them in 2008 in 220 days, the tenth fastest time to date. Mike was featured in the Discovery Channel’s television production entitled Everest: Beyond the Limits.

Mike has been guiding for more than a decade and callsSeattlehome when not on the road. He began his climbing career on the steep rock and ice of New England andNew YorkStatewhile obtaining a bachelor of science from St. Lawrence University inCanton,New York. He hails originally fromHanover,New Hampshire, andBridgton,Maine.

http://climbingthesevensummits.com/

Mike Hamill is part of an exclusive club, one of about 350 people who have climbed the highest peaks on all seven continents.

Hamill, 35 — a Maine native now with a West Seattle home address — has stood on top of each summit at least four times: four ascents of Mount Everest (29,035 feet), nine of Alaska's Denali (20,320 feet) and 19 ascents of Argentina's Mount Aconcagua (22,841 feet).

Figuring he knows the territory, Hamill has written "Climbing the Seven Summits" (The Mountaineers Books, 352 pp., $29.95), which outlines the details involved in reaching each continental high point, from Australia's Mount Kosciuszko (7,313 feet) to Antarctica's icy 16,050-foot Vinson Massif.

Hamill actually describes eight peaks, since some argue thatIndonesia's 16,024-foot Carstensz Pyramid, 60-plus miles off Australia's north coast (but part of the same continental shelf), is a preferred alternative to Kosciuszko. His book devotes a chapter to that debate alone.

A guide for International Mountain Guides inAshford,Wash., Hamill fielded a few questions in advance of his Sunday appearance at Wallingford's Wide World Books & Maps:

Q: Which summits stand out to you?

A: The two climbs I enjoy the most are Vinson Massif andDenali. Vinson is a truly unique experience. The remoteness and vastness of the continent are like nowhere else on Earth. The Alaska Range is an incredibly beautiful place, andDenaliis my excuse for getting back there each summer. The people are amazing, and there's such an energy in the summer from the sun never setting.

Of course, there's no feeling like walking down theKhumbuValleyinNepalafter a successfulMount Everestclimb.

Q: Can you pinpoint a common trait among people drawn to this goal?

A: They're goal-oriented, motivated people. They climb for a variety of different reasons, but the common thread is that they all enjoy working hard and attaining a goal that takes a lot of work and tenacity to reach.

Some are serious climbers, while others are people who began pursuing climbing to see the world and experience unique cultures. I've climbed with people from all walks of life and have had the pleasure of sharing these mountains with some of the most unique people on Earth.

Q: The hardest?

A: Mount Everest, followed by Denali,Aconcagua, Vinson, Carstensz, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro and Kosciuszko, in my opinion.

Q: How about Rainier?

A: I've summited Rainier 43 times and turned back high on the mountain another handful of times due to weather. Climbing Rainieris just about as hard physically as any mountain in the world. There are of course exceptions, like summit day on Mount Everest, butRainieris a huge climb and very strenuous even for fit guides.

The big difference is that climbs like Denali, Vinson, Aconcagua and Carstensz are much longer and so the effort is sustained over weeks, not two or three days.

Q: Your best tip for anyone contemplating the quest?

A: Start small and work your way up. It's important to get the basics down first. Safety is a big concern, so enrolling in some of the basic snow schools before attempting some of these big peaks is important. Being fit takes you a long way, even if you don't know the skills at first. You can pick those up. Toss a pack on and run upMountSia bunch of times. Fitness is the base to everything in climbing.

Climb Mount Baker,Rainierand other accessible peaks. Then work up to the higher, more technical peaks such as Denali and Mount Everest by climbing the easier of the Seven Summits as well as intermediate mountains such as the Mexican volcanos, in the European Alps and inSouth America.

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The Book

Mike Hamill’s consummate coverage of the Seven Summits is far more studied and detailed than anything I could have ever written. I feel deeply indebted to him for enabling me to vividly recall, roughly three decades later, each climb and to relive the insightful incidents and many magical moments which Frank Wells and I experienced and shared. Mike’s extraordinary guide will definitely encourage more left-brained, objective realists than usual to participate in the Seven Summits along with the many right-brained, dreamer adventurers who are naturally attracted to taking such giant leaps into the unknown.

— Dick Bass, First Person to Complete the Seven Summits

Watch for the book Climbing The Seven Summits by Mike Hamill to be out in May of 2012, published by The Mountaineers Books.

The Mountaineers Books: www.mountaineersbooks.org

Amazon Books: www.amazon.com

CLIMBING THE SEVEN SUMMITS: A Guide to Each Continents’ Highest Peak

Author: Mike Hamill

Mountaineers Books

352 pages, 8.5″ X 10″, 978-1-59485-648-8

First and only guidebook to climbing all Seven Summits

Full color with 125 photographs and 24 maps including a map for each summit route

Essential information on primary climbing routes and travel logistics for mountaineers, with historical and cultural anecdotes for armchair readers.Aconcagua.Denali. Elbrus. Everest. Kilimanjaro. Kosciuszko. Vinson. To a climber, these mountains are known as the “Seven Summits”* — the highest peaks on each continent. And from Antarctica toAlaska,NepaltoTanzania, each year thousands of climbers from all over the world attempt at least one of them, while a growing number have plans to climb each and every mountain. Drawing on years of experience, veteran Seven Summit mountain guide Mike Hamill describes overall considerations for expedition planning and high-altitude trips, gear recommendations, tips on international travel and logistics, and estimates of financial costs.

In-depth descriptions of each of the Seven Summits includes a regional map, a map of the primary climbing route, a route overlay on a photo, and a sample climbing itinerary that covers peak-specific technical climbing tips and what to expect on summit day. Throughout Hamill’s descriptions, renowned alpinists offer their own advice: Eric Simonson on Everest, Vern Tejas onDenali, and Melissa Arnot on Kilimanjaro. Hamill also includes the “other” Seven Summit, the Carstensz Pyramid inNew Guinea; climbing facts and figures for each peak; a history of the Seven Summits challenge; and a unique “compare and contrast” chart that reveals how the peaks stack up against each other. From the first steps of trip dreaming, to figuring out gear and plane tickets, to kicking those final, sublime steps up to the snowy top of Denali or Aconcagua — this is the one-and-only authoritative book to guide readers to all of the world’s Seven Summits.

*Within mountaineering circles there is debate over which peaks are considered the official Seven Summits. For the purposes of this guidebook, the Seven Summits are based on the continental model used in Western Europe, theUnited States, andAustralia, also referred to as the ‘Bass list.’

“If you have your sights set on the Seven Summits – the highest point on each continent – you can do no better in print than a copy of Climbing the Seven Summits by Mike hamill (the Mountaineers Books).

Peppered with tips on gear and technique, maps for the major routes and quotes from mountaineer- ing’s greats, it is an excellent reference for those serious about an undertaking that has been achieved by only 350 people.” - Action Asia Magazine