Seven Summits Update

Here on the Hawksbill Cabin blog, one of the topics I come back to over and over is hiking, so when Mary and I had the chance to catch up with Felice and David in Culpeper this winter, I wanted to ask David about his progress on mountaineering (kind of “advanced” hiking) the Seven Summits.  

Check out the “Seven Summits” label over in the right hand column for some of the previous posts on his mountaineering enterprise. 

Turns out he’s made it to six of the seven, with only Everest still left.  He mentioned how the time and expense of the trip to Everest is one of the reasons he hasn’t climbed that one – but he also mentioned that the trip is very crowded these days, enough to add to the danger of operating at high altitudes.

One of David’s motivations for the other climbs was to acknowledge a friend he’d lost to illness a few years back.  Even so, he never explicitly told me he planned to complete the set, the seven, as an objective.  Even though Everest awaits, he has been to some pretty incredible places on his mountaineering journey – for example, he told me about how he enjoys Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park. 

I might look into an Old Rag hike myself this year…there’s not bad adventure in that one, even though it’s crowded on the weekends.  And if hiking for adventure is what you’re after, I found this article recently about alternatives to the Seven Summits – I leave you with a link: 

http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/06/beyond-the-seven-summits/

The Everest Season

This is one of a couple of posts I'll be making highlighting some articles out of this month's Outside magazine.  In particular, a little graphic feature there on page 36 caught my eye - it summarizes the expedition activity and summiting records for Mount Everest this year, where evidently, the season has already ended - it's "in the books," as the graphic reads.

News from Everest started catching my eye a few years ago when my friend Dave started working on the "Seven Summits," a challenge that is designed to scale and summit the highest points on the seven continents.  For a couple of years there, Dave took in four of them: Erebus (Europe), Denali (North America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), and Vinson (Antarctica).  He did these in honor of a friend who had died of cancer in 2008 - I was very impressed with the effort and thought it was a fitting tribute to Dave's friend.

While he is on hiatus from the quest - if it ever was one for him (he never actually told me he had set a goal of all seven summits) - he shared some great adventure stories that I put up on the blog, and also Mary and I got to take a look at photographs from a couple of the climbs.

Back when I wrote this post:  http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2009/01/7-summiters-its-small-world.html, Dave had encountered a young person and his family on one of the climbs.  This youth had set a goal, with the support of his family, of summiting all seven peaks by the time he was 14.  Well, in this month's Outside, I finally get some closure on that one - apparently George Atkinson, a 16-year-old from England, is the youngest person to complete the seven summits.  The moral...if there is one...I won't make a guess.

Another bit of news includes the report that Apa Sherpa, the man who was honored by the special edition Suunto Core Everest watch I reviewed under the Tech-watch Geek label, summited with an expedition this year - for the 21st time.  Even for people who live in the region, and climb those mountains as an avocation, that summit is challenging, and can probably only be completed once a year.  To do it again and again 21 years is really saying something. 

I read that Apa Sherpa has established a trust, and proceeds from the watch roylaties will form part of the establishment funds.  He has given the money to benefit his home town, to increase literacy there, among other goals. 

That's a far better effort that the other five or six summiting escapades that the rest of the graphic features.  Some of them are truly just adventure for adventure's sake - showing off.  I'll write about Apa Sherpa any day over them.

Guest Blog from Dave G., Seven Summitter

Today, thought I'd share my friend Dave G.'s recent post about the Mt. Vinson summit in Antarctica last month. Dave has completed five of the seven summits.



Dear Friends,I am writing to thank you again for your support and to let you know that we just returned from a successful expedition to the summit of the coldest and most remote continental high point: Mt. Vinson.

On January 19th, after eight days of travel and five days of strong climbing in chilly Antarctic weather, my team and I were able to carry the Climb for Cancer banner to the summit of the tallest mountain in Antarctica and, once again, pay tribute to those who have been touched by cancer. Unlike the Denali expedition, we had relatively good weather for most of the Vinson climb. Relative is the operative word as temperatures ranged from -20 to -40 degrees but winds were light and we had plenty of sun for most of the climb.

One of the critical points during the climb was a decision to move up aggressively. With the forecast calling for threatening weather, we decided to skip our scheduled rest day at low camp and, instead, hauled heavy loads up the fixed lines to high camp where we hunkered down for our summit bid. Sure enough, the bad weather hit us shortly after we arrived at high camp so we used our rest day to wait it out.

When the weather window opened, we were in striking distance and ready to go for the top. If we hadn’t moved up quickly, the weather would have forced us to remain at low camp and it would have put us at increased risk of missing the summit.

These climbs are special for so many reasons. Many of the relationships formed will last a lifetime. The physical challenges teach us that we can do so much more than we ever thought possible. And the stories of strength and courage exhibited by those battling cancer continue to inspire us all.

Thanks again for your support and for your inspiration. May your life be filled with love, laughter and plenty of new adventures. All the best,Dave



By the way, there is a reason Dave has taken on the challenge:




Live to Give is dedicated to the memory of Patrick Brandt, who lost a courageous battle with brain cancer on March 2, 2008. Pat’s motto: “live, love life, give love” is the inspiration for our name and for our mission. During his 37 years on earth, Pat lived life to the fullest and gave of himself every day—to his family, to his friends and to the causes he held dear. Throughout his decade-long battle with cancer, Pat never stopped setting goals and taking action to achieve them. The day he died, he was one of the top salespeople in his company and an inspirational supporter of the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society).

More at: http://livetogive.ning.com/

7 summiters - it's a small world

Since I put that Outside Blog on the blogroll here, I've noticed several posts about 7 summiters. Last week, there was one about a youth putting together this incredible effort. The Outside post opened with, "Jordon Romero wants to climb the Seven Summits by the time he's 14."

It also happens that my friend David is back from the Antarctica climb by way of Patagonia. I sent the link on Romero to him - David sent back this photo with the note, "I met him at High Camp on Denali."

The kid is engaged in a fund raising effort so that he can complete all seven summits by the time he is 16 - he'll be the youngest person to accomplish this is he's successful.

Small world in that group, eh?

He's an Alpine Mountaineer

My friend Dave is an alpine mountaineer. He is the only person I know who actually lists this as his avocation on his LinkedIn profile. I’ve known him a few years – he’s my friend Felice’s fiancé.

Yesterday, checking my Facebook page, Felice was on line. After catching up on the holidays, she told me Dave was in Antarctica. “What’s he doing there?” I asked. Her answer: “Climbing Mt. Vinson, the highest peak on the continent.”

Here’s the story of Mt. Vinson, from the website http://www.7summits.com/:
“Vinson Massif, at 78°35'S, 85°25'W is 21km (13 miles) long and 13km (8 miles) wide. It lies on the southern part of the main ridge of the Sentinel Range. Named for Carl G Vinson, a Georgia congressman and a major force in 20th century US Antarctic exploration, it was first climbed in December 1966 by a combined group from the American Alpine Club and the National Science Foundation.

Four members of the joint expedition led by Nicholas B. Clinch made the first ascent of the mountain on 17 December 1966. During the next days the team continued climbing in the local area adding Mount Tyree (4845m/15,892ft), Mount Shinn (4801m/15,747ft) and Mount Gardner (4686m/15,370ft).”

At 4897m/16,067ft) Vinson is taller than these three, making it the tallest peak on Antarctica. Dave’s goal is to climb the “7 Summits” – the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents. He’s been working on this goal for two or three years, and with Vinson will have completed four of the seven. The other three he's done are Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Elbrus (Europe), and Denali - also known as Mt. McKinley (North America).

Despite the training and preparation that these and the remaining two ascents, Carstenz Pyramid (Australia) and Aconcagua (South America), will provide, the preparation for Everest (Asia) will involve additional work and training. It’s dangerous, you have to master specialized equipment including oxygen apparatus, and you have to be able to help with rescues and first aid in your expedition.

Dave’s pursuit gives a new meaning to adventure travel. Hawksbill (4049 ft) and Stony Man (4010 ft) pale in comparison to these, but that’s what we’ve got in the Valley. Just think of it though, our two mountains could be the early stepping stones for someone achieving this great feat!