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Jerry Mika — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:21:19 +0000

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Follow the Eco Everest 2011Expedition with Asian Trekking

Jerry Mika — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:14:08 +0000

Sunday, 08 May 2011 08:19

Sun 08 May

Published in Asian Trekking Blog Written by Asian Trekking

Stormy winds and destroyed tents but all is well that ends well. The Brazilians are down in C2 and Apa and the second summit team are heading up to Camp 3 tomorrow, aiming to be on the top on the 11th. The Indian group also leave base camp tomorrow and head up to C2 tomorrow morning for their final summit push, aiming to stand on the top on the 13th.

Follow the Eco Everest 2011Expedition with Asian Trekking

Jerry Mika — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:11:46 +0000

Published in Asian Trekking Blog Written by Wiggy

First Asian Trekking Summit of Everest this year, Apa, Chris and Deke call off summit push due to winds. The Brazilians are going to Camp 2 and try to summit if the winds turn out not as bad as the forecasts.

Jerry Mika — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:26:58 +0000

Published in Asian Trekking Blog Written by Asian Trekking

Eco Everest Exp 2011- 1st. Wave Ready For The SUMMIT Push

Eco Everest Exp 2011- 1st. Wave Ready For The SUMMIT Push and Media Coverage Links

Written by Ang Tshering Sherpa

Eco Everest Expedition 2011 and International Dream Everest Expedition 2011 Team Members and Staffs

Our first team are leaving base camp tomorrow and aiming to reach the summit on saturday. We are aiming to capitalise on this early weather window.

The weather seems to be the main topic of conversation at the moment with the continued absence of the jet stream and lack of heavy snowfall, all talk inevitably leads to the Summit and the earliest opportunity to venture there.

First up this morning was Bruno at C3 as he and Phurba Sherpa set off towards C4 at 7950m. Overnight at C3 weather conditions had been very calm, light winds and no snowfall hopefully these conditions will enable Bruno to achieve C4 today before returning to C2 tonight and rest.

As for the rest of the group, they enjoyed a comfortable night at Hotel C2. Objectives for today are that the Indian party will climb to C3 before returning to C2 and an overnight stay. The exception here will be Narinder and Pawan who will be leaving C2 and returning all the way back down to BC to rest.

During the daily grind here at BC we see a lot of comings and goings. Just yesterday a small trekking team arrived at BC having walked in from Gorakshep, their guide happened to be Jamling Norgay, son of Tenzing Norgay. Whilst Jamling and Apa Sherpa chatted happily away, we entertained our visitors with Sherpa tea and biscuits. These visits bring a much needed break from the routine and an opportunity to show what Base Camp is all about. Hopefully their return journey was a safe one.

Continual assessmenxt of the Swiss and American meteorological forecasts for the next seven days has highlighted a window of opportunity. This window will allow a summit bid early on Sat May 07. As previously indicated the jet stream will be out the region for the next seven days, this is an incredibly important factor, negative jet stream means less wind and therefore less wind chill!

Potential of snowfall over this period is low and what with the Sherpa rope fixing teams currently progressing towards the summit, all systems are go.

So who will be ready? Who has acclimitised in time for this summit bid? Firstly the Brazilian team will be ready, having arrived back in camp today they are rested and ready. The Americans Chris Shumate and Deke Williams have proven fit enough and acclimatized well enough to attempt a summit bid.

Finally Bruno, Bruno has acclimitised quicker and easier than most but for Bruno it will be a climb without supplemental oxygen and will undoubtedly be a considerable physical achievement. Whilst Bruno is resting at C2, the rest will leave at 0500 tomorrow from BC, good luck to all.

Finally the Sherpas, they will be with the climbers every step of the way and have been carefully selected through experience and strength. Already Naga Sherpa has allocated the Oxygen that will be issued at C3 and C4.

Lead climber for this summit bid will be Apa Sherpa. Apa first summited in 1990 and has carried on to summit a world record 20 times, his experience, knowledge and leadership is unquestionable. Having worked with some of the worlds greatest climbers this will be his fifteenth season with Asian Trekking. Apa only missed the fatal 1996 season due to his wife ordering him to stay at home and finish building their lodge in Thame, this lodge is currently run by his sister in law as Apa now lives with his wife and three children in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Yesterday and today, Members of Eco Everest Expedition team accompanied by high altitude Sherpas reached Camp 3 at an altitude of 7400m and spent the night there and some of the Members are returning to Camp 2.

There are two other expedition teams supported by Asian Trekking, who are also an autonomous part of the Eco Everest Expedition. Firstly we have an American team of Charlie Wittmack, Matt Boelman, Joe Brus and Brian Block. An experienced climbing team they will be led by Charlie who began his trip to Nepal by swimming the length of the Thames river in England prior to swimming the English channel and finally hopping on his bike and cycling all the way to Tibet from Calais In France – now that’s hardcore.

Finally there is a Japanese expedition led by the environmentalist Ken Noguchi accompanied by Jun Hiraga (cameraman) and Mitsuter Kojima (BC manager). Ken is a veteran mountaineer with a fantastic track record in the past of having cleaned Mt. Everest, Mt. Manaslu, Mt Fuji and running many environmental campaigns in his home country. This year, Ken has joined forces with the Eco Everest Expedition and plans to clean in the extreme altitude at and above C4 (7950m). Ken is climbing up to C2 tomorrow for 5 days to clean up at C2.

Eco Everest Expedition Sherpa’s established Camp 3 at an altitude of 7400m on 26 April.

Eco Everest Expedition Sherpa’s established Camp I at an altitude of 6100m and Camp II at an altitude of 6500m and the members did acclimatization trip upto C I. Tommorow 24th April, most of the members (Premlata Agrawal, Sunita Singh, Susma, Vikash Kaushik, Narendra Singh, Christopher Shumate, Deker William, Rodrigo Raineri, Carlos-Eduardo Santalena, Carlos Eduardo Elizeu Canellas are planning to go to Camp I and spend the night there and on 25th April, they will continue to Camp II. Apa Sherpa and Dawa Steven Sherpa will leave Base Camp on 25th April to Camp II. Earlier Bruno Gremior spent a night at Camp II and returned to Base Camp . Pawan Grewal is planning a day trip to C I and return to BC tommorow.

Ken Noguchi, leader of Eco Everest Expedition 2011 Cleaning Initiative by Dawa Steven Sherpa and Ken Noguci and Jun Hiraga, leader Asian Trekking’s International Lhotse Expedition 2011 and some other members are climbing Lobuche East Peak (6119m) for their acclimatization exercises.

2011 Apa Sherpa Eco Everest Expedition

Jerry Mika — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:21:39 +0000

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Bangkok Airport

Flight 795 to Bangkok, 200 AM: just woke up, looked out window on left side of plane. Lights. Seems odd, why city lights when we’re flying over the ocean? Monitor in the back of the seat in front of me (Apa’s seat actually—we both have left-side window seats) shows a graphic of our route. We’re over the Sea of Okhotsk heading southwest and Magadan is to the east, I’m guessing Magadan is in Russia, but it could be China. Likely we’re flying down the west coast of either the Kamchatka (sp?) peninsula or the north island of Japan Hokkaido (sp?). A city called Harbin is now east of us, it’s hard to tell the scale, a hundred miles east perhaps?

Am pretty sure it’s Kamchatka out the left window if we’re further north than I first thought (I write this portion parenthetically for my brother-in-law John aka Mr. G’s benefit. If I remember right, Vladivostok is on south end of the Kamchatka peninsula and the city I see could be Vladivostok. Point being, the Russian we met right after Mt. Whitney, Lubar or Lubat, the guy whose outrageous witticisms stopped you in your tracks John, he had the white BMW with the back seat full of magazines—remember him? He was from Vladivostok. So I might be flying over Lubar’s home town tonight. Small world in some ways, and a pleasant contemplation to wile away the hours on a 17 hour flight. It’s really not that uncomfortable—thought you should know that Mr. G…just in case you head to Asia for your next adventure. Thai Airways is a vacation in itself, the service is absolutely first class.)

I definitely need to give a shout out to Charles F. and to John. Charles, if you are reading this in Czech Republic I want you to know that there is no way I’d be headed to the Himalaya if you hadn’t invited me to climb Whitney with you four years running in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006. We certainly gave that mountain everything we had. You were the catalyst along with Carolee who sparked my interest in mountaineering. The other day when Apa asked me if I’d ever used crampons before, I told him once, the once being when you (Charles) and I climbed the main Baldy Chute at Alta to reconnoiter it for skiing. Now I’ve used crampons twice, the second time being on the front lawn at Diamond Mold. Apa rigged up a ladder last week to simulate a crevasse crossing. He had me practice walking across the ladder on crampons, hooking the teeth in, keeping tension on the ropes. We were only 12” of the ground, the ladder bridged two wooden pallets, but it was still intimidating thinking that in a couple of weeks, if I can make it to base camp, that we’ll try the same technique on blue ice over a gaping chasm.

And John, what can I say? You’ve hung in there with me all these years—this is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into J Let me just retell that story about getting ready for the Whitney trip in 2006 with Charles. The irony just came to me today. We were at REI buying camelbacks or was it daypacks? Yes, a daypack for you, the same pack as the one Carolee gave me. We struck up a conversation in the store with a guy who said he’d climbed Everest, and you’ll remember how amazed we were given that we were sweating buillets over the prospect of Whitney and inching out on the Ebersbacher ledge. Later that day I went online and looked up his name, which I’ve since forgotten, on the list of successful Everest summits. What struck me, however, was that while scrolling down that list hunting for his name the name of Apa Sherpa kept popping up. Every year Apa’s name was listed and I remember thinking what an unusual name and how remarkable one person would have so many summits. Apa’s name registered with me but at the time (it was Sept ’06) I hadn’t met Apa—we hadn’t met Apa, we knew nothing of him. I had just by chance come across his name…didn’t give it any thought until much later, but my subconscious took note of Apa on that day when you and I were in REI buying your pack for Whitney. It was an auspicious day, and I thank you for your sense of adventure because if you hadn’t thrown in with Charles and me, and if we hadn’t persevered on Whitney, then there’s next to no chance I would be on this plane half way around the world right now. It was the fire in us after the Whitney ascent via the mountaineer’s route that inspired me to connect Diamond Mold’s small world with that of Apa’s much larger world when the opportunity presented itself in the summer of 2007. Thanks Mr. G.

Earlier at LAX: First time through a body scanner at the airport. I didn’t mind it except you have to raise your hands over your head for 7 seconds as if you’re being arrested or taken prisoner. That part I could do without. Clearly this trip will have a number of firsts in it for me. First time to Nepal, first time to Kathmandu, first time changing dollars to rupees, seeing a yak, climbing on a glacier, who knows what else, the list will be endless. Naturally we are hoping there’s one major new first in it for Apa, his first time on the summit for the 21^st time. Much of this trip will have elements that are familiar to him, but one can only attempt the summit for the 21^st time if the prerequisite has been met, 20 previous summits. I marvel at Apa’s endurance even at this early juncture in the journey.

For instance, departing SLC airport. Apa was swarmed by reporters, well five anyway, I’m not sure that’s a swarm, but it’s three more than I’ve ever been swarmed by. They formed a phalanx, set up tripods, glaring lights, microphones, asked him a barrage of questions, many for which there are no really complete answers possible, like “how does your family feel about your leaving?” He answered all of them patiently and with a huge smile. That wasn’t before the airport security came over and made the cameramen turn around all their cameras 180 degrees. It took a while to figure out what was going on. Turns out film crews can’t shoot footage with banking operations in the background, in this case Zion’s Bank in terminal 2 was the back drop.

Now I have to digress and say a few words about Jerry Mika. Most of you reading this will know Jerry and his maverick, incorrigible, dauntless style. Apa wouldn’t reside in Utah, and for that matter I wouldn’t be on this trip, if it weren’t for Jerry Mika. Jerry sponsored Apa’s application to immigrate to the US back in December 2006. Of his many brilliant ideas, one of Jerry’s that took more chutzpah than usual was to approach then Governor John Huntsman and introduce him to Apa. Being the persuasive guy Jerry is it’s no wonder he secured a letter of recommendation on Apa’s behalf from the Governor. Of course Apa deserves credit too because Huntsman wouldn’t have written the letter if Apa hadn’t been the charismatic heart warming soul that he is, but Jerry was the facilitator, and he has been an indefatigable supporter of Apa and his family for over 5 years.

More firsts for Terrell: first time flying over mainland China, first time seeing Beijing’s lights from the air, an expanse that seemed to curve over the horizon in every direction. First time flying over the northern part of Vietnam (that was surreal. I’d flown over Vietnam in 1984 on the way from Bangkok to Taipei, but never thought I’d fly over what used to be North Vietnam). We detoured around North Korean airspace; have never done that before. The flight path made a big jog to the east. First time watching the sunrise over Laos. Never flown over Laos before either. It would be great to visit these countries someday. There is nothing like travel to inspire the wanderlust inside.

Apa says it’s time to go to Gate C1 for the flight to Kathmandu. He’s put on a new change of clothes and even shaved. He says “Just in case.” Meaning just in case the media are waiting at the KTM airport. Quite surprising to me one person here in Bangkok’s airport has already recognized him and stopped to wish him well. We are definitely not in LA any more.

Thinking of you Carolee…since I know you’d like them I took a photo of purple orchids growing out of the wall here in the airport. I hope you had a great trip to Puerto Rico.

Next stop Nepal.

Posted by Terrell at 7:51 PM

Jerry Mika — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:11:51 +0000

Apa in the Khumbu Ice Fall

New World Record: Apa Sherpa Summits Mount Everest for the 20th Time

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:05:42 +0000

MOUNT EVEREST BASE CAMP ― Apa Sherpa just broke his own world’s record by summiting Mount Everest for the 20th time at 8:34 a.m. Saturday.

Apa’s goal in climbing this year was to help efforts to increase educational opportunities in the Khumbu Region, which includes the areas around Mount Everest.

In a statement he prepared in anticipation of reaching the summit, he said, “I am thankful to have been able to climb Mount Everest for the 20th time. I climbed this year to raise awareness about the Apa Sherpa foundation, which is dedicated to increasing educational opportunities for people in the Himalayan Region. I also climbed to bring attention to the damage done to the Himalayas because of global climate change.”

The Apa Sherpa Foundation was recently organized as a nonprofit organization to help Apa extend the educational opportunities that his children have to his fellow Sherpa in the Khumbu. For more information, go to http://www.apasherpafoundation.org/.

Apa was just named the SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Change. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.

Apa would also like to thank his sponsors that made this new world record possible:

SD7 Technology Group – IT Business Services
First Ascent / Eddie Bauer – Official Outfitter
Suunto - Superior High Altitude Watches
Hot Chillys - Highest Quality Performance Base Layers
Travel Host Magazine
Bohemian Brewery - Voted Number 1 Best Brew & Grill in Utah
Diamond Mold, Inc / Biomerics – Medical and Aerospace Injection Molding Specialists
Hoopes Vision – The Leading LASIK Eye Surgery Practice Serving the Salt Lake City, Utah Area
8 Zone - A New Weight Loss Program That Was Created by Olympic Gold Medalist Apolo Anton Ohno
Asian Trekking Partners with SuperSherpas (R) – For Your Himalayan Adventure Travel, and Expedition Needs
Solarus Lending Group

Apa Named SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Change

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 04:25:53 +0000

While Apa was getting ready to climb Mount Everest, a group of South Asian countries were meeting to discuss important matters like climate change. During said meeting, Apa was named the new Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Change. I knew about this a week or so ago, but Apa got the official letter today. (I’ve attached an image of it if you want to read it.)

The first thing I did when I heard about this was ask Apa if he knew that he was going to be nominated. He said, “No. But it’s good.”

We talked about it a bit more. It’s a big deal. SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. So, Apa will be representing a huge portion of the world’s population as he speaks out about global climate change.

“I’m happy to be the new goodwill ambassador,” Apa said. “If we don’t all raise our voices, then who will speak for the mountains.”

Snows at camp 3

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:52:40 +0000

Today Apa is resting at Camp 2 while the rest of the team went up to Camp 3. Tomorrow Apa will catch up to them at Camp 4, where they will all rest for a few hours before heading for the summit. Apa is doing very well in Camp 2, however, the rest of the team found an unwelcome site at Camp 3. Snows last night had completely covered two tents and they were unable to find them.

Fortunately, there were still two tents standing and they’ve all piled into them. They report that it’s actually quite cozy and that they’re doing very well. In the meantime, Nanga and Tenzing ran some tents up from Camp 2 to Camp 3 to make sure they had enough room.

I just heard from Nanga and he’s back and Camp 2 and said everyone is doing fine despite the snow.

Life and Death on Mount Everest

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:25:39 +0000

On May 12, the Asian Trekking team organized the removal of this body as well as a body found higher up in the Ice Fall. After the body was removed from the ice it was taken down to a nearby city and buried respectfully.

A body emerges in the glacier just below the ice flow. Some think the body is over 30 years old and died in the Khumbu Ice Fall several miles behind it.

By Marshall Thompson

While we were waiting for the weather to clear up this week, Apa participated in the Eco Everest clean-up of human bodies on and around Mount Everest. In total, they respectfully removed three bodies from the lower part of the Khumbu Ice Fall and from the glacier. This happened, a few days ago, but I haven’t written about it until now. That’s because it’s a hard subject for me.

First of all, these three bodies have family members and loved ones who care about them deeply. Only one of the bodies was identified and returned to his family for burial or cremation.

Secondly, the fact that dead bodies had to be removed from the Ice Fall is a poignant and unwelcomed reminder of the dangers involved with climbing Mount Everest. I don’t wish to make anyone back home worry.

Finally, I have personally had a hard time with this subject because of my past experiences in Iraq. I was a soldier there from 2005 to 2006 and I still deal with post traumatic stress disorder. Seeing the dead bodies brought back some terrible feelings and memories. The difference here, however, is that these three people died doing their jobs and doing what they loved. They were removed from the mountain with respect and dignity.

I just want to thank Apa and everyone else who took the time to move these bodies to a proper resting place. I think everyone at Base Camp has slept better since.