By Marshall Thompson
Today Apa arrived safely at Base Camp. He was surprisingly full of energy and ready to get home to his family as soon as possible. I appreciate his attitude because I can’t wait to see my family as well. I’m planning on leaving tomorrow morning so this is going to be my last [...]
From now until Apa summits Mount Everest for the 20th time, I’m going to be doing live updates on Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/apasherpa
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/apasherpa
You can ask any questions you want and I will respond within less than a half hour.
Dawa Steven, the expedition leader, Chunu, the Nepali government liaison officer, and I are now barricaded in the communications tent. We brought in a small gas heater and have zipped up the doors and tried to plug all the cracks. It’s starting to get a bit warmer.
Outside there are heavy clouds over Mount Everest right [...]
Today at 5 a.m. Apa left base camp for his final summit push. If he is successful, it will be his 20th summit of Mount Everest and a new world record. I filmed the whole event and I was accompanied by three other camera men. It was a big deal. At 4:15 a.m. Andrew, who [...]
One of Apa’s sponsors is Suunto. They make some of the best watches around for mountaineering. The proof of this is the fact that almost everybody up here is wearing a Suunto. No joke. Apa and I are wearing the TGC, which has been incredibly handy.
First off, I’m a Yankee surrounded by people from different [...]
First Ascent, a line of adventure clothing from Eddie Bauer, is the official outfitter of Apa Sherpa’s historic attempt for a record breaking 20th summit of Mount Everest. Apa looks sharp in the clothing, but he’s concerned about much more important things.
“It’s very good,” said Apa. “It’s lightweight, warm and durable.”
When Apa makes his summit [...]
You know it’s good because it alliterates. Within the next week, the weather should open up and provide a nice window for summitting Mount Everest. Apa has finished all his acclimatization rotations and is simply waiting for the opportunity to make a summit push. Before he goes up for his historic 20th attempt, he will [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Somebody once asked Sir Edmund Hillary why all the pictures at the top of Mount Everest were of Tenzing Norgay. He replied simply that Tenzing didn’t know how to work the camera. It’s a funny little anecdote that highlights a practical challenge for Apa and his team on his attempt for 20 summits: [...]
One of the most interesting parts of base camp is the rumor mill that seems to run faster in high altitudes. I thought I would share with you a smattering of some of the best/interesting things I’ve heard since I’ve been here. Let me stress right now that I don’t think some of these things [...]
Today I went hiking with Apa. It was great. He wanted to run down to a small peak called Kalapathar for some exercise and asked me along. I said, sure, but I’ll slow you down. He laughed and said that was OK.
On the way he said he needed to run an errand to the Poomore [...]
I sat down with Apa yesterday and we talked about his plan for climbing Everest for the 20th time. The center of the plan is minimizing the number of times he has to cross the dangerous ice fall. Many old timers on the mountain have told me that warmer seasons in the past couple of [...]
By Marshall Thompson
The Eco Everest Expedition is full of record-breaking activities. First off, Apa is going for a new world record with 20 Everest summits. But there’s more. Arjun is attempting to be the youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest at age 16. If he’s successful he will either be the second youngest or the [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Today we held our puja ceremony to ask forgiveness and permission for climbing on Mount Everest, which is the abode and person of a Sherpa goddess. It was an elaborate ceremony with a lama chanting prayers in front of an altar for nearly an hour and a half straight. Then the Sherpa raised [...]
By Marshall Thompson
My first night in base camp I woke up to what I thought was a jet flying overheard. Upon short reflection I realized this would be impossible since jets don’t generally fly over Mount Everest. That was my first experience with an avalanche at base camp. Since then, I’ve become use to the [...]
As I’ve mentioned before, Apa was running all over the Khumbu Region of Nepal before he could make it up to the Mount Everest Base Camp on April 18. He covered a massive amount of territory meeting family, getting blessings, posing for photographs and meeting with the Himalayan Trust.
“Every time we go (up Mount Everest) [...]
By Marshall Thompson
The Eco Everest Expedition is holding its annual weigh and pay program at Everest Base Camp in an effort to keep the tallest mountain in the world free from trash. At the end of each day, everyone brings in all the trash they could find and weigh it. On the spot they get [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Yesterday two members of the Eco Everest Expedition started the long hike out of the Khumbu Region. They will not be climbing Mount Everest this year. After making the journey to base camp, they both decided that it was too dangerous and there were more important things in their lives. Michel, one of [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Today there was a meeting with all the Mount Everest expedition leaders and the leadership of the Sargamatha Pollution Control Committee. They discussed a number of things, but the most interesting subject was all about poop. What do you do with it? Hundreds of people are going up and down Everest each year [...]
By Marshall Thompson
We got up to base camp today. Apa will arrive on April 18, just in time to participate in the puja ceremony on April 19. Apa went back to Thame to get more blessings from his hometown lama. The puja ceremony is incredibly important. The Sherpa believe that Everest is a goddess named [...]
By Marshall Thompson
We had the honor yesterday to be blessed by the Lama Geshe, one of the more learned lamas in the Khumbu, who has a particular understanding of the religious significance of the Himalayas. He was a delightful older gentleman who entered and sat in a sunny corner of his home and explained to [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Today we arrived in Tangbouche, the home of the most important monastery in the Khumbu Region of Nepal. We arrived in time to attend
the evening prayers. After removing our shoes and filing into an ornate prayer room, the monks began to chant. The chants are very rhythmic and dissident resulting in an almost [...]
By Marshall Thompson
I took this photo from Namche today as I hiked in around 3:30 p.m. What you can’t see is that there are giant snowcapped mountains in the background. The reason why you can see them is the air is full of smoke. Yesterday, as I was hiking up to a monastery I heard [...]
–We received these posts late, they are presented in the correct order, but the timestamps from the blog are not necessary accurate–
By Marshall Thompson
Yesterday we were in Thame, Nepal, Apa’s hometown. He said he was excited to be there and see his family again. Apa was busy the whole time calling friends and relatives and [...]
By Marshall Thompson
A question keeps bothering me while I’m here: Why do Sherpa guides get paid less than Western guides? Since the price people will pay to climb Mount Everest is governed by the free market, there’s no easy answer. However, Dawa Steven, our guide who is half Sherpa and half Belgian, speaks five languages [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Sorry to use capital letters, but it was absolutely necessary. Today we hiked from Phakding to Namche, with an elevation change of about 2,400 feet. Just imagine climbing a ladder that goes straight up for nearly half a mile. You probably couldn’t do it. Just remember that and don’t be judgmental as I [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Kathmandu, Nepal
Yesterday, Apa and I went to the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, one of the holiest Buddhist shrines in the country. The tinkling of spinning prayer rolls, the ringing brass bells of every size, the chants of monks, and the heady odor of incense that constantly burned made the impressive structure all the [...]
By Marshall Thompson
Kathmandu, Nepal
Today Apa held a press conference with the World Wildlife Fund as part of their Climate 4 Life campaign. They’re helping the Eco Everest Expedition to clean up Mount Everest and they’re also raising awareness about the effects of climate change on the Himalayas. You can go to their website here: http://www.climate4life.org.
What [...]
by Marshall Thompson
Kathmandu, Nepal
I saw the Himalayas for the first time yesterday. Including delayed flights and 12-hour layovers, it took me 48 hours of straight travel to get from Utah to Kathmandu, but it was worth it. As we flew in, Kathmandu was covered in a thick morning fog so our plane had to circle [...]
KATHMANDU — More than half a century after Edmund Hillary first stood on the top of Mount Everest, the ashes of the world-famous mountaineer are to be carried to the summit by a Nepalese Sherpa…
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hbd5mGNN_oaKw8bYvZlgA1Bfek9g
Apa’s foundation has been officially organized. We’re very excited to begin working on several projects to help the people of Nepal.
Mission Statement:
The mission of The Apa Sherpa Foundation (ASF) is to empower individuals throughout the world to follow the example of Apa Sherpa in overcoming adversity.
Apa Sherpa, Tiger of the Himalaya, was born in poverty [...]
SALT LAKE CITY — Apa Sherpa, the world record holder for climbing Mt. Everest 19 times, will leave Utah on Monday to attempt a 20th summit with the Eco Everest expedition in May.
Apa is climbing to raise money for the newly founded Apa Sherpa Foundation, a nonprofit that will use community-generated projects to increase educational [...]
fast:track meets the Mt. Everest record breaking Apa Sherpa
BBC World Wide Fast Track
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8515447.stm
Apa Sherpa heads to Nepal — but not for Everest
Climbing » Record-holding mountaineer aims for first ascent of unnamed peak.
By Brett Prettyman
Updated: 09/24/2009 03:25:23 PM MDT
Apa Sherpa has broken the routine: The Salt Lake resident with the world record for the most summits of Mount Everest left for Nepal this week. But it isn’t April.
For [...]