The Weekly Stoke: The mess on Everest, man fights off a bear and one runner’s journey from Boston to Oklahoma City

Mount Everest. (Wikipedia Commons photo)

This edition of the Weekly Stoke is going to have a pretty heavy emphasis on Mount Everest, but plenty of other goodies await. It’s been an interesting week in the outdoors.

First, I’m sure that most people have heard about the fight that happened at Camp 2 on Mount Everest. And there are many conflicting stories about how it went down. In short, three European climbers got in a conflict with Sherpas setting fixed lines on Everest, which led to a brawl in which the Europeans were assaulted by angry Sherpas. The Sherpas claimed the Europeans had ice kicked down on them while rope-setting work was being done.

One of the climbers, Simone Moro, tells the tale in this post.

And here, a second member of the European team, Ueli Steck, describes his version of the events. And it seems as if it was pretty scary. The parties did get together to forge a sort of truce, but many are saying that future incidents like this are not only possible, but likely. It seems the circus that is Everest just took a very dark turn.

A couple weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings, some of the runners who were prevented from finishing that race ran in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. CNN’s John Sutter tells the story of one of those runners, and weaves in some other storylines we well.

Here’s a list of the kinds of dudes you don’t want to be.

And then there’s this list — the six most dangerous hiking trails in the U.S.

And finally, the story to end all stories: A man fights off an Alaskan brown bear with nothing more than a tripod and his bare hands. Try topping  that one at the office watercooler!

Remembering mountaineering pioneer George Lowe

George Lowe (BBC photo)

   Most of us have heard the two most famous names in mountaineering: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. They’re the first two humans to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest, a feat accomplished in 1953.

   But few people know the names behind the names of climbing’s most elite pair.

   One of those people passed away last week. And to get a good understanding of the sacrifices it took to get two people to the top of the world’s highest peak, it might be a good thing to know a thing or two about George Lowe.

   Lowe, 89, died last week and was the last surviving member of the British-led expedition to Everest.

   (Interestingly, both Lowe and Hillary are New Zealanders)

   While Lowe played a supporting role in the expedition and was not part of the summit day team, his role was notable. A few facts from an Associated Press story on his effort on the mountain:

   Kari Herbert of Polarworld, which is due to publish Lowe’s book “Letters From Everest” later this year, said Lowe’s efforts had been crucial to the expedition’s success.

   “He was one of the lead climbers, forging the route up Everest’s Lhotse Face without oxygen and later cutting steps for his partners up the summit ridge,” she said.

   In short, he expended the effort needed to help ease the summit team’s path to the top. That’s the sort of selfless actions we’d all like to see in our partners on the mountain and in life.

   Lowe also participated in a transcontinental crossing of Antarctica, no small deal in any age, and certainly not then.

   Check out his story and revel in the adventurous and giving life this guy led.

Bob Doucette

On Twitter @RMHigh7088

A short, outdoorsy summer reading list

People often come up with summer reading lists. I’m not sure why summer is all of the sudden a season for reading, but that seems to be how it breaks down.

It also got me thinking about a few of my favorite reads. Some of mine are current events-type books, so I’ll spare you that. Besides, my favorite books tend to be more geared toward two things I really enjoy: good writing and a good yarn with an outdoors flavor.

One of my absolute favorites is “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer. It’s well-written, expertly reported and thoroughly engrossing. Many of us who are into the outdoors have often dreamed similar dreams as did Chris McCandless – chucking away our normal lives and going on a permanent road trip adventure. His story ended tragically, but the pulse of the book is one which matches my own, and it’s very much a Gen-X tale (my generation!). If you like Krakauer, then “Into Thin Air” (about the 1996 Everest disaster), “Eiger Dreams” (an anthology of his essays) and “Where Men Win Glory” (his excellent and sad biography of ex-NFL star-turned-soldier Pat Tillman) are worth a look.

Speaking of risk-taking authors, you really should check out the works of Sebastian Junger. He’s done some good work, but my favorite of his is his most famous: “The Perfect Storm.” Chances are you’ve seen the movie. The book is much better. Few people can put together the cold, hard facts of science and history into the human tales in which they are intertwined. Skillfully reported, he takes you into the wheelhouses and cockpits of the vessels and aircraft caught up in one of the freakiest storms to ever strike the Eastern Seaboard. See also his anthology “Fire,” which includes a great piece about Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Northern Alliance leader of Afghanistan who was killed days before 9/11.

The newborn runner in me is also really into the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. The writer takes us to the Copper Canyons of Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains and into the lives of the super-running tribe of Tarahumara Indians. Also in the book is quite a bit about the late Micah True (aka Caballo Blanco), the American runner who learned the Tarahumara’s secrets and founded the Copper Canyon ultramarathon. The popularity of the book is widely seen as the catalyst to the barefoot/minimalist running movement that has taken hold in recent years.

Are you as fascinated by Mount Everest as me? But also horrified by the circus that seems to kill unwitting climbers there every spring? “High Crimes: Mount Everest in an Age of Greed” by Michael Kodas is a very good read that describes just how seedy things have gotten on the world’s highest peak. Another good one in this vein: “Dark Summit” by Nick Heil gives another view of how ambition, greed and amateurism is transforming the narrative of high altitude mountaineering.

That’s a pretty good start. What books are you reading? Let me know and let’s discuss!

Bob Doucette

On Twitter @RMHigh7088

No mountaineering experience? Apparently no problem on Everest

Lookey! Visual proof that I’m overqualified for Mount Everest!

I come to you slightly annoyed.

I think it’s easy for those of us who are into the culture of the outdoors to get too bent out of shape over some of the stories that are big topics among our own.

This time of year, it’s Mount Everest. May is the time of year most climbers who scale the peak make their bids. The common complaints about Himalayan mountaineering often wear thin after awhile.

But not this spring.

The world’s highest peak, like all peaks in the Himalayas, is quite dangerous. There’s no guarantee you’ll summit. You’ll spend a lot of time and money trying. And there’s a chance you might not survive it.

One would think that given the risk involved — even when doing a totally supported, guided climb — there would be some standards as to who is allowed to try.

Well, there’s not. There are no legal requirements, other than age. So guide services set up their own standards. And while some require climbers to produce a climbing resume of big mountains and proficiency in basic mountaineering skills, others do not.

As in, no skills at all, according to a recent Outside Online post. Here’s a quote:

Back in 1996, when the Everest disaster that led to Jon Krakauer’s bestseller Into Thin Air occurred, there were only a handful of outfitters here. Now there are closer to a dozen, and the clients are paying anywhere from $25,000 to go with a local outfitter, to $80,000 to go with the most reputable Western outfitters. Back in 1996, a big deal was made of climbers who supposedly didn’t have much experience because they’d only climbed a few peaks around the world. But now you literally have people showing up at Base Camp who have never strapped on crampons before, have never climbed any mountain, who are trying this. So the level of experience has fallen off dramatically, while at the same time the number of people has increased just as dramatically.

Did you catch that? No experience required with some outfits. Mountaineering proficiency has dropped while the number of climbers has increased, creating traffic jams at chokepoints that left 300 people waiting to summit last weekend. That deadly combination is believed to have killed four people.

I guess it’s not all bad news. I’ve strapped on crampons before. Even used an ice axe. And I run a little, so I’m in decent shape.

Maybe I’m a cinch to get on one of these summit teams after all.

Anyone want to sponsor me? Summit or bust.

Bob Doucette

On Twitter @RMHigh7088

Four killed on Mount Everest; more crowds expected

Mount Everest. (Wikipedia Commons photo)

It looks like a bad combination of events has led to tragedy on Mount Everest. Authorities are saying that four people have died after a busy weekend of people trying to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain.

Bad weather only recently relelented, setting up about 200 people to try to make a bid for the top while the weather window was open. The predictable result: long bottlenecks high on the mountain at some of its well-known chokepoints.

According to reports, altutide sickness and exhaustion may have been the cause of death for the four who were confirmed dead.

It would appear a similar-sized group of climbers is already queuing up for another push up the mountain, which could create the same situation that caused last weekend’s tragic events.

The latest news from the mountain, via The Associated Press, can be found here.

You can read the original story on this situation here on the New York Times’ website.

Window opens on first Everest summit push

Mount Everest. (Wikipedia Commons photo)

Is anyone else as fascinated by the spring Everest climbing season as me? It’s one of those things that I’d love to do, given the time, training and funding.

Here’s a post from Outside Online’s blog about how some 200 climbers are getting ready to make a mad dash for the summit during a rare good weather window this spring. Best of luck and safe climbing to all of them.

First death on Mount Everest this season reported

Mount Everest. (Wikipedia Commons photo)

As reported on Outside Online, the first death of the spring climbing season on Mount Everest has occurred, claiming the life of a Sherpa near the peak’s base camp.

You can read more of the report here.

Jordan Romero becomes youngest to climb 7 Summits

The Associated Press is reporting Saturday that Jordan Romero, 15, of Big Bear, Calif., successfully reached the summit of Antactica’s Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica.

The successful summit bid is the last in his quest to climb the highest peaks in all the world’s continents. By bagging the 7 Summits, Romero is the youngest person to accomplish the feat. Previously, the youngest person to do it was a British climber who did it when he was 16, The AP reported.

Romero climbed his first continental high point when he was 10 — Africa’s Kilimanjaro, The AP reported. At age 13, he became the youngest person to ever successfully climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 29,035 feet.

That record will likely never be broken as the countries which share Everest — Nepal and China — have age restrictions in place. Nepal’s was set years ago while China enacted an age limit shortly after Romero’s climb.

The AP quoted Romero’s Facebook page as saying, “It’s in the books. The kid and team summit with all fingers and toes. Descent still to come then we celebrate.”

Bob Doucette

On Twitter @RMHigh7088