 Ed Viesturs' Quest for the 8,000 meter peaks |
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 Viesturs | |
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Getting to the Summit is OptionalMonday, May 1, 2000
"You can never go on a climb and guarantee success. The only thing you want to try to maintain is your safety. The primary goal, of course, when you go on one of these climbs is to make sure that you get back home — getting to the summit is optional...."
Exciting Escape from AnnapurnaFriday, April 28, 2000
"It was an exciting escape from Annapurna. We now know why it's not one of the top-10 hikes in the world. It's very difficult, very exciting, and not something you could casually do on a weekend, or three or four days. But we're glad to be out of there..."
French Also Halt ClimbMonday, April 24, 2000
"...there's a French team here, a very experienced French military guide team from Chamonix, France. They arrived about a week ago. They have also decided not to climb the mountain..."
Wrap-up from the TeamSaturday, April 22, 2000
"We all leave here tremendous friends, and that's always super important to me. Just enjoyed being here, it's always good to be outside and challenging yourself..."
Ice Cliff AvalanchesSaturday, April 22, 2000
"...after several minor ice cliff avalanches higher above, we all felt very apprehensive for our safety and we all, at the same time, made the call to go back down to Camp I and call it a day..."
Danger Too High to ContinueFriday, April 21, 2000
"...after a couple of hours wandering up the glacier, we all had the same feeling that the route that we were looking at was not safe and, therefore, we, as a group, made the decision to turn around and come back to Camp I..."
Weather Plagues TeamThursday, April 20, 2000
"...they tried to go up to the East Ridge of Annapurna to explore a new possible route; due to the bad weather they had to return to Camp I and they postponed the activity for tomorrow..."
Looking for Route on East RidgeWednesday, April 19, 2000
"...they went to Camp I with intention of looking for a route on the East Reach of Annapurna. When they arrive to the Camp I at 11 hours, more or less, the weather was very bad....they decided to postpone that activity..."
Establishing a New RouteTuesday, April 18, 2000
"...we feel more comfortable with this, more relaxed and a lot more excited than we had been in the previous week, knowing what we were up against on the normal route...."
Annapurna Remains StormyMonday, April 17, 2000
"The weather's been a bit unsettled. Yesterday afternoon a huge thunderstorm rolled through camp, a fair amount of snow, thunder, lightening...."
Looking for Another RouteSunday, April 16, 2000
"Sometimes the mountains set themselves up and you can't justify climbing a route because of the danger...."
Storm Slows ClimbersSaturday, April 15, 2000
"In the country the weather, it's bad... they will stay in the tents in Camp II, or they will come down to Base Camp...."
Camp II Before NoonFriday, April 14, 2000
"...the team has reached Camp II. After a two-hour-and-a-half climb they arrived at an altitude of 18,400 feet and by 11 o'clock they were already setting the tents at Camp II...."
Four-Hour Climb to Camp IIThursday, April 13, 2000
"They had a four-hour climb in very good weather conditions and they had a very good day...."
Securing Camp IWednesday, April 12, 2000
"The camp is located at an altitude of about 16,500 feet or 5000 meters. They have set up more fixed rope on the route between Base Camp and Camp I to make the way more secure..."
After Nine Days, Some RestTuesday, April 11, 2000
"...we felt a little bit ambivalent about the conditions and also feeling that we've been on the move for nine straight days, decided to take a rest day here at Base Camp..."
Camp I Established at 16,500Monday, April 10, 2000
"We did some fixing of rope along the way. There were some old pitons left in place from previous expeditions, but no sign of rope or any other indication of previous climbers...."
Keep the Ball RollingSunday, April 9, 2000
"It's the evening of April 9. We had a pretty good day today, a combination of a little bit of a rest and also some work...."
Relaxing at Base CampSaturday, April 8, 2000
"...earlier today we arrived at Base Camp at 13,500 feet. So we're now fully established here. We've got our tents up. We've got our kitchen tent set up, our dining tent, and we're ready to start climbing this mountain...."
One More Day to Base CampFriday, April 7, 2000
"we were a little bit disappointed that we lost that much altitude, but we're planning on regaining it tomorrow when we finish our trek..."
Annapurna LoomsThursday, April 6, 2000
"It's an amazingly large mountain. As we were cresting the final pass at 14,500 feet, we were suddenly rewarded with this amazing view of the north side of Annapurna — it was stunning...."
Long Day Cut ShortWednesday, April 5, 2000
"We're camped now at about 10,700ft on a grassy knoll. Today we gained a little over 3,000ft — not where we planned to go initially..."
Preparing for a "Monster Day"Tuesday, April 4, 2000
"Today we had a relatively short day of walking to the village of Lete and we're now at an altitude of about 7,500 feet, and tomorrow will be what we call a "monster day." We have quite a bit of altitude to gain..."
The Boonies More or LessMonday, April 3, 2000
"Going to be a very short day and then after that we leave the main Annapurna circuit trail and head off toward Annapurna for the next three or four days where we'll be in the boonies more or less and we won't be in lodges and we'll be camping and moving as an expedition...."
Day OneSunday, April 2, 2000
"...our trekking and our days are limited by the length of the days and the distance that the porters can journey in one day. Six hours of walking for us was quite a good start. We plan to leave tomorrow, probably a little bit earlier, simply because it is so hot..."
Literal End of the RoadSaturday, April 1, 2000
"It's the evening of April 1st and we're at the literal end of the road at the village of Beni and our altitude is about 2600ft. So we've got about 26,200 more feet to go to see the top of Annapurna..."
Lifetime Supply of BeerFriday, March 31, 2000
"Veikka and Neal are able then to also sign their names on the board where many, many Everest climbers have signed their names. And what we just found out also last night is once you sign the board..."
Packing and Repacking in KathmanduWednesday, March 29, 2000
"We basically spent the last 24 hours here going through the gear and equipment that we left behind, repacking our loads, meeting with our agency, finalizing any last details..."
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