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2 May 2008 Today is the nationwide release of 'High Tech Legs On Everest' the teen readers version of my very successful 'Legs On Everest'. It is chock full of interesting fact boxes, lots of new photographs of the adventure and just that bit shorter to ensure the read is entertaining and fun. Much is owed to my editor Sarah Ell who took LOE and turned it into this great resource. It is available at all good book sellers nationwide, if you can't find it then please just ask!
A busy month May, as it is also our first fund raising event for Limbs4All, on May 13 at The Bluestone Room in Auckland. Visit the team at World Expeditions for your ticket, $45 will give you finger food, a complementary drink and a presentation by me on Limbs4All, our projects in Nepal and associated adventures in Tibet and Cambodia. It will also be a chance to buy my new book, all proceeds from the evening go to Limbs4All, please do come along and support some of the 400 million disabled out there in our world!
16 February 2008 2008 already! This year so far I have been around NZ a few times and a week in Mexico, a combination of promoting our very successful PeakFuel (www.peakfuel.co.nz) high performance sports food and my motivational speaking. In fact Mexico was working with an awesome group of young adults in the city of Monterrey, visit if you get a chance!! The big news from last year is the registration by the Charities Commission and the IRD of Limbs4All (www.limbs4all.com), our new umbrella charity that has grown out of Everest - creating it, like PeakFuel has been an Everest in it self! Apologies for being tardy in updating the site, the broken shoulder and head injury of before christmas is finally about healed so I have 2 arms and a brain back! Keep an eye on the site for a huge change coming, time to rebuild! Cheers Mark
December 12, 2007 On the road again! In th middle of a busy time with lectures and PeakFuel I decided to complicate life somewhat by going over the handlebars of my awesome new Avanti K.I.S.S 29'er single speed mountainbike. thanfully I was wearing my helmet (destroyed) though the shoulder was not so lucky, a snapped clavicle! My first ever broken bone! Dr Mat Brick has put me back together with a 12cm stainless screw inside the bone yesterday, it must the first time I have left an operating theatre with more parts than I went in with! Thanks to Mat and the team at Southern Cross, North Harbour. Yep it will definitely slow me down a bit, more time enjoy Christmas with the family! Merry Christmas to you all, thanks for your support and I hope your year was as inspiring as ours!
August 29, 2007 Place: Hanmer Springs Well Anne has put up with me for over 26 years! Yes our 26th wedding anniversary today. Spring is upon us here in Hanmer Springs, I am home for a rare whole week so time to catch up on the chores. We had the exciting news that our newly created charity Limbs4All has just been given full registration by the charities commision, check it out at www.limbs4all.com and see some of the exciting things going on. PeakFuel our sports food brand (wouldn't of got up and more importantly down Everest without it) is growing, we have just released our Recovery Formula, so now have all the bases covered, energy gels, bars, hydration drinks and recovery shakes, jus in time for spring, no excuses, get out there! check it all out at www.peakfuel.co.nz. I'm off to Cambodia for 8 days or so, calling into the Hawkes Bay for a Project K charity dinner on the way. Time in Cambodia will be spent with the Cambodia Trust, checking out the newly rebuilt Kampong Chhnang Limb Centre that was the recipient of the funds raised right here on this site. Thank you to all, especially the Ahrens family. Much of my time lately has been taken up visiting schools (always run out of time, too many schools, too little time!) and helping out with charities though I do need to feed the family so my corporate speaking is very important. If you need me them just drop me an email or call, see the contacts page. The feedback I get is awesome, check these out:
August 2007, Client Endorsements of Mark Inglis: From Christine Le Cren, CEO, REINZ ‘Mark you were fantastic. Your presentation not only exceeded my expectations as to its quality and content (and I had seen the documentary on the Discovery Channel and the “This Is Your Life” programme so I had a wee idea of what to expect!) But your messages for the attendees were excellent, so relevant and so well presented that everyone appreciated/understood them. The proof of that was that for the rest of that day and all of the next day you were being quoted several times and by different attendees. Actually they are lasting beyond the event! The result of your presentation therefore exceeded my vision of the outcomes for this event. I have received so many thank you notes from the staff and I attach below two extracts from those which exemplify all of them:’ ‘I sat absolutely transfixed listening to Mark Inglis; his courage in the face of adversity was awe-inspiring. Certainly something for all of us to think about when the going gets tough. ‘ ‘Thoroughly enjoyed Mark Inglis. What a tough, resilient and highly motivated guy he is. We could all learn a thing or two from his amazing attitude’ From Business Owners, Harvey Norman, Queenstown 2007: ‘Thank you for presenting to us at our recent Harvey Norman Conference in Queenstown. I know I wasn’t the only one you inspired in the room that day. Your passion and enthusiasm for life and adventure was admired by us all.’
NZHL CEO John Erkkila had this to say: ‘….Your presentation was a highlight for everyone who attended. It was delivered in a professional yet personable manner and was informative and humorous. Your message met exactly the brief we had provided you with and was perfectly targeted to the audience. We would have no hesitation in recommending you as a speaker to other businesses.’
David Vallance, Vita NZ Ltd thought: ‘Mark exceeded our expectation’ ‘Fantastic reaction, everyone was very impressed and inspired by Mark’s presentation’ ‘It set the scene for the conference very well, very inspirational’ ‘Mark was brilliant’
After presenting to the NZFSA the response was: ‘Mark exceeded our expectation’ ‘The audience was very impressed and inspired’ ‘Mark is a very inspirational speaker, he inspired myself and many of our team members to get out of our comfort zone and complete the High Wire Activity that afternoon. I don’t think we would have had the courage if it had not been for Mark’s talk’ Moira Jones.
Keep an eye out for lots more adventures to come! Cheers Mark
March 28, 2007 Place: Hanmer Springs
It doesn't seem like only a year has passed since I last flew TG319 into Kathmandu, there certainly has been the odd adventure or 2 since then, that's for sure. Today though I get to fly in with Anne, 2 weeks here in Nepal to catch up with old friends (Russ, Whetu, Woody, Bill, hopefully Dorji and so many others) and then to start to deliver back some of the support we have been able to organise principally through Limbs4All, check it out at www.limbs4all.com. Firstly we will be working with Esha and the team at SIRC (the Spinal Injuries Rehabilitation Centre) here in Kathmandu, providing them with resource material like the 'Back on Track' manual created by the NZ Spinal Injury Trust and assessing the need for for all terrain wheelchairs that we hope to be able to supply. Then we will be visiting the school that will be teaching Ang Chutin, the daughter of my Everest Sherpa, Dorji. Anne and I, in conjunction with the students of St Margarets College in Christchurch have undertaken to cover the costs of her boarding school education, a big thanks to the teachers and girls at St Margarets, hopefully they will get to learn heaps as part of the experience. While here we will also be looking at how the Everest Rescue Trust can help the people of Nepal and how it is likely to best operate. Keep an eye out for another update and some images later in the week,
January 9, 2007 Place: Finally at home in Hanmer Springs!
2007 is here at last! Though summer seems to have lost it’s way, thankfully I currently don’t have any winemaking projects planned for this year as it will be a very tough year for grape and wine growers unless we see some warm, dry weather.
November 1, 2006
Crikey it has been a busy time, Australia, London, Prague, Bristol, Australia again and constant traveling in New Zealand, oh well no idle hands to get into mischief anyway! My latest book, 'Legs On Everest' has gone to the printers and will be on shelves in NZ on November 29, the perfect Christmas present don't you think? It is always a nerve racking time when a book heads off to be printed, I could still fiddle with it for months to come, there are always stories I have forgotten but never mind, they will need to wait for the next book! Unfortunately my trip to the US has been shelved for the moment but the Discovery documentary will start to play in the US on November 14, unsure as to when it will get down here to NZ though. The production company has done an awesome job, it really will transform how people see Everest I think, it paints a very accurate picture of how incredibly tough that mountain is. The big news this week is that my right stump has finally healed enough to get a leg made, the months of wheel chairs and hopping around on 1 leg are almost over, now I will really be able to celebrate Everest! Check out www.peakfuel.co.nz for all of our sponsored athletes fantastic successes lately and always remember, to really stretch yourself, to find out how far you can really go you don't need to go to Everest, just go to www.outwardbound.co.nz and sign up for if not a life changing experience then a life crystallizing one! Cheers
October 7, 2006 Place: Bristol
Sitting here on the deck of the Avon Gorge Hotel Anne and I finally have a chance to take a breather after a whirlwind few weeks here in Europe. The Launch of Summit 8850 was a huge success, with the #8850 bottle being auctioned for 1000 pound! That is a lot of legs for the Cambodia Trust. The Czech Republic was fascinating, we were privileged to be hosted by Michael Havas, for a guy in his 50’s he has lived a life that would put most of us in our 90’s! On October the 4th I was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the TourFilm 2006 festival, very humbling when I found out that last years recipient was Reinhold Messner, a hero of mine and arguably the world best mountaineer. If you are planning a few days in Prague, don’t, plan a few weeks instead! For Kiwi’s the sense of history is mind-boggling, especially when you have Michael at your side to interpret it. Though I must admit, if you are in a wheelchair as I was, get some very big tires and a very comfy cushion as the cobbles there are challenging to say the least! Here in vibrant Bristol we have caught up with the film team from Everest and had a peek preview of the coming Discovery documentary (Everest, Beyond The Limit), while it will only play in the USA initially, look out for it, the most amazing view of Everest and the people that climb every done. We fly home tomorrow, me for one night only until the 20th of October but Anne will at least be able savour the paradise that we live in, Hanmer Springs. We have met so many new friends here in many ways it is hard to leave but home calls. Cheers Mark
September 23, 2006 Place: Base camp Hanmer Springs
Yes I know it has been a month since the last update, time certainly has a way of flying doesn’t it. The leg update, well I am still a one legged unit! The right stump still has probably another 2 months of healing to go, no I haven’t had any extra chopped off other than the 3cm back in June, just a function of time really to grow some new skin. A big thanks to Ben Lucas for the loan of a seriously sexy wheelchair, makes rolling around almost enjoyable! Last night at the Sir Richard Hadlee Sports Trust Awards in Christchurch I was privileged to receive the award for the Most Outstanding Personality, thanks especially to Parafed Canterbury for nominating me and also to the judging panel for recognizing mountaineering as a sport. What’s been and what’s to come? It is a rare day that I am at home at present, a combination of corporate motivation work and charity work has kept me (and Anne a lot of the time as well) on the move, a brief respite in Fiji soaking up some rays was a welcome change. Thanks to the 900 or so boys at Palmerston North Boys High who gave up there lunch time to come along and listen to my story, you guys are handling a tough time very well. Tonight it’s a charity fundraiser for St John Amuri region (our region) then Anne and I hop on a plane for Europe. Monday will see us flying to London to launch the Summit 8850 wine there at the Science Museum, combining it with a fundraiser for the Cambodia Trust. Then it is off to the Czech Republic for a week as guests of the TourFilm Festival. There, on October the 4th they are presenting me with a life time achievement award, very humbling. We will head home on October 8, Anne arriving home on the 10th but I won’t be able to sleep in my bed until the 20th, lots more traveling to do yet. The book is written, edited and will soon be away to the printers, Legs On Everest will be released here in NZ on November 29, a pretty auspicious day really, the 24th anniversary of my rescue off Middle Peak and Kevin, my father in law’s 80th birthday – sounds like an excuse for a party. Speaking of celebrations, Anne and I celebrated with the kids 25 years of marriage a few weeks ago and there is plenty more years left in us! Though Anne has asked if they could be slightly less dramatic! Catch up again soon, Cheers Mark
August 26, 2006 Place: Hanmer Springs
Koru Club Christchurch. Well I am still legless, well half legless anyway with a left leg but no right leg yet, a wee bit more healing to be done before I am allowed one, needless to say I am somewhat impatient! What an incredibly busy time, Anne and I have been traveling the country (and Australia) giving presentations, jumping off mountains on tandem paragliders (yep Anne as well) and working hard on getting our new PeakFuel bars on the way. The poor dogs are seeing more of the Bunny Lodge Kennels than they are of us. The next few weeks will see me bouncing between Rotorua, Akaroa, Christchurch, Napier, Fiji and just one night back in Hanmer Springs. The kids will join Anne and I in Akaroa to celebrate 25 years of being together, our silver wedding anniversary, Anne certainly deserves a medal for that. In between times I have managed to complete the manuscript of my book detailing our latest adventures, ‘Legs On Everest’ will be released nationwide in the 1st week of December, sounds like a Christmas present for someone don’t you think! Hopefully the next update will see me vertical at long last with 2 legs, it has been a while now, then I will really be able to celebrate Everest. Keep an eye out for the Summit wine or even better visit www.lebrun.co.nz to find it, $10.00 from every bottle goes towards the Cambodia Trust. Cheers Mark
August 3, 2006 Place: Hanmer Springs
Well the months fly by don’t they! An exciting week as I have just had my first fittings for my new left leg, still no right leg yet as there is a hole in the stump that is rapidly healing, but never fast enough. Anne and I have been traveling constantly, mostly with my motivational speaking, all around New Zealand and Australia, a busy time but with 2 months on the mountain and 2 months in hospital there are always bills to pay! One of our most enjoyable visits recently was to Room 22 at Paparoa St School in Christchurch. Between them and the other classes they have put so much effort into research on climbing Everest, we were very impressed, especially with the questions and art work, thanks guys. Next issue hopefully will have me almost upright, well standing like a seagull on one leg anyway. Cheers Mark and Anne
July 16, 2006 Place: Hanmer Springs
Sitting here tonight in my wheel chair I have just calculated that it will take me a minimum of 50 hours to clear the inbox! Yikes! Needless to say that your email reply may be somewhat delayed! Yep, I’m out of hospital, escaped last Wednesday. So where is the body up to? Five fingers have been shortened, 3 on the right hand (just to the 1st joint) and 2 on the left, the pinky coming out the worst as just a stump that gets in the way. Talking of stumps how are the legs? The left has had about 3cm of bone removed and a new stump created, really just another amputation like back in 1982. The right we are leaving after 3cm of bone has already been removed and some muscle placed over it but still leaving a wound 5cm by 7cm to heal – time we hope will help here. The stump damage was a real ‘surprise’, not frostbite as many think but stubbornness on my part in descending from the roof of the world, impact damage. So that all means another month in the wheel chair at least (ok 3 months) but no problem. Every day brings more ability and new challenges, Anne and I have a lot of traveling to do to ensure we keep our commitments as part of my speaking business. Just because you are out of hospital doesn’t mean no medication, every day I need to self administer IV medicines combined with a box of pills to ensure things go well. We are so lucky in NZ with our health system, the doctors and nursing staff on wards like 20 are fantastic, they often work in situations where there are not enough resources, but they get on with it, a great lesson to us all. As you may have noticed there has been some negative aspects to my ascent of Everest, these have been totally overwhelmed by the positive messages we have received. Thanks to everyone that has supported our charity, check out the ‘rope’ to see how well we have done. Time to do some book writing before I get told off, but before I go a special thanks to Robyn for badgering me along and also to Peter J for the most awesome flowers that are still blooming here at home with the message ‘don’t let the buggers get you down’, thanks Pete I certainly am not. Also to JB, he brought a framed image of my route on Everest in to hospital to me just when the negative side was distracting me, he said ‘just in case you forgot what you did!’ thanks JB. Look out for a cheerier update soon, hopefully with a left leg in place, give me at least 1 leg and I’ll be away on 2 wheels, no not the chair but my Specialised Epic bike hanging in the garage!
June 18, 2006 Place: Anna at Hanmer Springs
Sorry we haven’t done any updates for a while. It is like living in limbo at the moment, very hard to make decisions when you don’t know what is going to happen.
Mark had more surgery last Thursday – the pinky finger was trimmed back below the second joint, the middle finger was cleaned out because it was slightly infected. The right stump bone was trimmed by 3cm. He still has the vacuum machine on the ends of the stump which seems to be working well, some new skin is going. There is still a long way to go.
June 5, 2006 Place: Hanmer Springs
Well I’m finally home after 2 ½ months, last time I saw home was 25th of March, great to be at home.
Great to also escape the media scrum of the last 2 weeks, it really has taken a toll on Anne’s and my energy, hopefully as the facts become clear the so called controversy will disappear. It has been terribly disappointing seeing so many so called media professionals making statements and accusations with no fact, no research. In fact it has been refreshing to see the number of school projects that have been sent in that had more research, good on you kids!
It is back to hospital on Tuesday for theatre on Wednesday to have the tips of 3 fingers amputated and more importantly my stumps ‘investigated’ as they say, opened up in other words. The fingers are just one of the inevitable results of such a cold day on Everest but the stumps were an unpleasant surprise. They are slightly frostbitten but extensively damaged from the impact of climbing down off Everest. ‘Them’s the breaks’ as they say though, my focus now, apart from spending time with my fantastic family is to get these fixed and get up right again.
We are still opening the many cards and letters that are arriving in the mail. Many schools have sent in some amazing drawings and letters. It is going to take some time to go through all of these and we apologise if you don’t get a personal thank you.
The fundraising for the Cambodia Trust is still continuing and there have been many more donations made which will be added to the charity page meter.
Mark
May 30, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Christchurch
Hi everyone. Sorry I haven’t put anything on for a few days, as you can imagine we have had other things on our minds.
Mark is safely in Christchurch Hospital with expert care. He is going into the Hyperbaric Chamber for two hours a day to assist with healing. I will let you look up hyperbaric chamber on the internet to find out what it is.
Thank you to those people that have sent, emailed, phoned their best wishes over the past couple of weeks. I intend on printing each email to store with all the other cards etc that we have received. They have been extremely important in keeping our spirits up over the past week.
Thanks to Room 22 at Paparoa School in Christchurch you have been with us all the way and your amazing mail has reached us at home although Mark and I haven’t seen it yet, our son Jeremy was very impressed when he opened the mail. It will be something for Mark to look forward too.
There have been a lot more donations made but I will need time to collate them and then I will update the amount on the charity/fundraising page. Thanks to those that have made donations.
I or Mark will continue to keep you informed through this website so keep an eye on it.
May 24, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Bangkok
Almost home. The elation of standing on top of the world’s highest mountain is tempered somewhat by the media attention that seems to be surrounding some aspects of our climb.
Seems that there are a significant number of experts with strong opinions on survival in the “death zone” but unfortunately with none of the relevant information. At least 13 people have died on Everest this year. It is an extremely hard environment, a large percentage of the climbers have come away, like me, with frostbite but have come away with their lives. In every case everything has been done to ensure the survival of all. Tragically occasionally that hasn’t been enough.
My thoughts go out to the families of those who have not made it home. The challenge for the future is to learn from this experience and go out and make a significant difference in the world.
Please join me and my sponsors on this next adventure.
Keep an eye on the website for more information once I am back in NZ. Hopefully arriving Auckland 9.30am and Christchurch 12.20pm.
May 19, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
I am going to Kathmandu after all. I will leave Auckland at 3.20pm today (Friday) and arrive in Kathmandu Saturday. I am unsure of what day Mark will arrive but hopefully it will not be too long after me.
We will come back to NZ in the middle of next week so it will be a round trip for me with little time in between but at least I will be with Mark and we will have time together on the plane on our way back.
Keep a watch on the update to see when we will arrive back in ChCh.
May 18, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
There has been a slight change in plans. Mark is now coming directly home and possibly arriving on Wednesday, although I will confirm that and put his flight details on the website once they are known. As we said his stumps are quite damaged and it is probably better for him to be in NZ in case he needs any treatment but we hope that time will be the only healing needed. He is losing his voice again so between that and the legs he is a LITTLE frustrated.
I have continued to read the Everest websites and was very sad to read of the death of another climber and that an additional climber is missing on the mountain, it made me realize how very lucky we are that Mark and the others not only achieved their dream but did it safely and made it back without any major mishaps. And it reminds us just how risky climbing is on Mt Everest and how quickly it can turn into a disaster.
But it also highlights the significance of what it is that Mark has achieved.
Mark made this amazing journey for two reasons – to realize his childhood dream and to make a difference. He saw the Mt Everest expedition as a fantastic opportunity to also raise funds for those less fortunate. To reflect Mark’s ongoing association with the disabled of Cambodia he wanted his expedition to raise awareness and more specifically funds for the Cambodian Trust Fund.
It would mean so much to Mark to see his recent endeavors having a positive effect on his charity. So help Mark realize the second part of his dream to make that difference by making a donation on the charity/fundraising page of this website. Remember ever dollar makes a difference.
May 17, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
Mark is now safely back at ABC. He rang me last night on his way down to say that he was going to continue to ABC. He said he has slight frostbite to his fingers but assures me it is nothing to worry about. His stumps are very painful with a lot of swelling and bruising so he was going to use a sled and yak for some of the trip down.
He thinks he will be in Kathmandu approximately Saturday 20 or Sunday 21 May and would like to stay for a few days to recover slowly. I am trying to arrange to go over to him.
Keep an eye on the updates I am hoping that later on today he will be back in email contact.
May 16, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
Hopefully the next update will come direct from Mark. But if you haven’t seen it on the news Mark reached the summit of Mt Everest on Monday 15 May, 2006. I haven’t spoken to him properly yet, just a call that said “at Camp 4, I did it” before the phone cut out. Luckily Wayne’s call the Anne Marie a few minutes later was much clear and she was able to confirm that they reached the summit and were back at Camp 4, all ok, in fact in “high spirits”.
Before we know it they will probably be back in NZ. Sitting here in NZ at 12.10am on Tuesday morning and on my 3rd,4th or maybe 5th wine it seems hard to believe. Maybe it is time for bed!!
May 15, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
The latest newsletter (No.7) on www.himex.com says that four of the first team summited yesterday (Sunday) and that team two (Mark’s team) will head off early today – probably mid-late morning NZ time. In my last update I said that they had spent an extra night at Camp 3 but they had actually spent two nights at Camp 2 before moving to Camp 3.
May 13, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
10.15pm Mark called to say that they have spent another night at Camp 3 because of the wind. Which means they will move to Camp 4 tomorrow and try for the summit on Monday. He sounded good, said that he was using oxygen while moving.
May 11, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
9.45pm and just had a phone call from Mark to say he was safely at Camp 2. He said the going was hard but doable and he managed without oxygen. His Sherpa Dorji is carrying a lot of Mark’s load and they are sharing a tent, I also spoke to him tonight and told him to look after Mark. Camp 2 is at 7,500m, tomorrow they will carry on to Camp 3 at 7,900m and then finally Camp 4 at 8,400m before attempting the summit of 8,850m on Sunday.
May 9, 2006 Place: ABC
Well we are ready, Today Team 1 headed out of ABC for the North Col and higher, planning at this stage to summit on Saturday the 13th. Team 2 will follow tomorrow, summit day planned for Sunday the 14th. This is both an exciting time for everyone and a nerve racking time for Russ who is stage managing the whole show, especially using his expertise in scheduling summit weather for us.
We have chosen to head for the summit instead of the traditional rest at BC becuase all the team is in great health and the calm weather has not worn out the team. To trudge the 22 kilometres down to BC then back to ABC just does not seem to add enough value to our summit aspirations.
So who is in Team 1 and 2? Team 1 Bill (head guide, 4 times summit) and Phinjo (Tibetan) Ken (camera, 1 summit) and Narwang (Tibetan, 2 times Summit) Terry (Doc) and Karsang Namgel (Nepalese 5 times summit) Marcel (client) and Loppasang Temba (nepalese 5 times summit) Kurt (client) and Pemba Chhosang (Nepalese) Brett (client) and Phura Nuru (Nepalese) Morgens (super fit client, no oxygen!) and Tashi Teshering (Tibetan 2 times summit) Ed (camera) and Ngawang Nurbu (Nepalese)
Team 2 Woody (Guide 2 times summit) and Phurba Tashi (Nepalese 10 times summit) that is a lot of summits!!. Shaun (guide) and Wangbe (Tibetan) Whetu (camera 3 summits) and Son Dorgee (Nepalese 4 summit) Cowboy (client) and Tashi Phinjo (Tibetan 3 summits) Penguin (client no-legs) and Dorji Sonam Gyalgen (Nepalese 5 summits) Bob (client) and Phubu Tsering (Tibetan 2 summit) Gerrard (client 62 years old and French) and Tenzing (Tibetan 3 summits) Max (client) and Dorjee (Tibetan) Tim (client) and Lakpa Nuru (Nepalese) Jen (camera) and Tashi Namgye (Tibetan)
Nth Col Logistics and film crew:
Russ (team leader and 4 times summit) Doug (film crew and master wildlife photographer Mr Polar Bear) Jake (sound and ex rock star) Luo Bu Zhan Duz (supporting Sherpa for Nth Col, Tibetan)
Why use two teams? for several reasons, mostly to limit congestion on summit day and maximise logistics. Speaking of logistics, this year Russ has had his Sherpa's fix all the rope on the north of Everest (from the bottom of the North Col wall to the very summit) to ensure the safety of all climbers. This has come at a cost, in fact 5400m of rope, Freight, taxes, anchor gear, Sherpa's wages and their safety gear (including Oxygen), all costing over $32,000USD! So far, the ropes have looked like a highway, the only problem is recovering the cost as all climbers are using the ropes. So far, only 12 expeditions have paid up ($11,600), Himex is currently shouldering the extra cost, which is a shame when it is only $100 per climber, Sherpa's are free!
This has been an excellent year for conditions and weather, we hope it continues giving us the opportunity to fufill our dreams. The clients feel in safe hands because between the Film Crew, Sherpas and Guides there are 63 ascents of Everest, this is a huge amount of experience and the clients are keen to add to the number of ascents.
May 8, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
Mark hasn’t been able to get to the computer much lately. He has rung quite a few times over the past few days now he is getting his voice back. When he rang on Saturday he was sitting in his tent doorway sunbathing but the next time we talked to him a few hours later it was snowing again. Hard to imagine isn’t it.
He has been up to the North Col again for one night and then came back to ABC where he will now stay and wait until the time is right to attempt the summit. A very boring process and frustrating I would imagine.
May 4, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
Just had a phone message from Mark to say he is about to go up to North Col for a couple of nights and then returned to ABC (Advanced Base Camp). His voice was a lot better although he thought he would lose it again once he got up higher. At the moment they are looking at summitting sometime towards the end of May but he is unable to give definite dates. Have a look at the photos in the gallery – these were taken a few days ago when he broke the leg coming back to ABC.
May 2, 2006 Place: ABC
The sound of singing reverberates across this glacier we are perched on, it is the sound of our Sherpa's coming back from North Col after carrying loads up in preparation for the summit push later this month. these guys are the Kings of the Mountain, with 6 of our team having summited they are the top dogs and sing at every opportunity to let everyone know, fantastic atmosphere, just a tiny bit of their competence needs to rub off me, that's all. Even after a month here you still need to remember to breath deeply, just when you think you have it sussed it feels like someone has turned off the air supply. Wayne has done a great job on fixing the leg that broke, additionally we are making some modifications, including going shorter on both climbing and flex feet legs, any shorter and my backside will be scraping on the ground, but it does mean that I can dance over the ever present rock. Back to the North Col again in the next few days to spend a night at 7000m then more waiting, more acclimatizing. I have regained a small amount of voice, just a few minutes every day, not so frustrating any more. More importantly working on strategies to free up my throat inflammation, that's the restrictor when the temperature drops, as it sure does here. Nights here at ABC are from -10 to -16'C, snowing in the afternoons at present and also a touch of wind, almost enough to blow the tents away, but not quite, so just a breeze really. Again as always thanks for all the messages, sorry I can't personally answer each, email at 6400m isn't easy on the technology sorry, but rest assured Anne is keeping me up to date with all the support. Cheers The Penguin (apparently that is now my nick name, just because I am the only one sunbathing and sitting around in shorts and T shirts while they wear down, I'm sure I'm not the unusual one!)
May 1, 2006 Place: ABC
Well we all woke up this morning pinching ourselves to ensure the results of yesterday were true, that 6 of our Sherpa team led by Phurba Tashi summited Mount Everest at 15.05 hours, 30 April! It was an even more exciting moment at 20.45 hours yesterday, yes only 5 hours 50 minutes after summiting when the team walked back into ABC, what an achievement.The energy at ABC last night was amazing as most of the camp was up to greet the Sherpas return. We all cheered and back slapped the Heros as they walked back into camp. The Sherpas looked strong with plenty of energy left and had no trouble beaming their ever present smiles as we hugged them in gratitude. The team were; Phurba Tashi, 10 times summit, Nepalese Son Dorjee, 3 times summit, Nepalese Dorji Somam Gyalson, 5 times summit, Nepalese Ta Shi Ping Tso, 4 times summit, Tibetan Denzeong, 3 times summit, Tibetan Ta Shi Tsenzong, 2 times summit, Tibetan (my apologies for misspelt names, I'm bad enough at my own language let alone others) These guys have 27 summits between them, the whole team here at ABC feel proud to have their support and also be their support. This achievement has been the culmination of the team making the most of this perfect weather to finish the running out of the fixed ropes on this side of Everest. The team have been at it for over a month so are acclimatized and strong. The challenge now is for the climbing team to make the most of the opportunity provided. In fact today is the first day the whole team is together, Gerrard our French connection (climber) has been with us for a few days and yesterday saw Marcel and Kurt, our Swiss climbers arrive, all looking fit and acclimatized. What now? we will continue on with our acclimatization and logistics plans, keep an eye on the site for our progress
April 29, 2006 Place: ABC
Crikey, almost May!, acclimatization goes on, just when you think you can breath, it takes 2 stops to get the the loo! Weather here is frustratingly good, if the body allowed we could summit any day but the reality is we are still at least 2-3 weeks away. Lots of expeditions here and every day we see the results of pushing the process, people coming down with mountain sickness, our members are all in pretty good nick thanks to Russ's program and Terry our Doc's advice. Went to North Col for a night on the 27th, very hard that first night at 7000m, great leveler, even the Sherpa's find it hard. I had a wee bit of fun descending the fixed ropes yesterday though - here it is from the horses mouth so to speak - just below half way down while arm-rapping (sort of sliding down the rope) one of the fixed line anchors pulled out of the ice/snow meaning a brief acceleration for me (some of it upside down, very interesting), I managed to arrest the slide only to find that the beautiful carbon leg on the right was now in two pieces! We all have radios so I ordered up a new leg from Wayne and Bob who luckily were at Crampon Point a few hundred meters below. In the mean time a bit of kiwi know how enabled me to re-build the leg well enough to slowly move down the hill, meeting Wayne and Bob with a replacement so I could hop and skip back to ABC. Today is leg rebuild day, rest and get ready to do a 2 -3 night trip to at least camp 2 (7500m), the last big push before summit push in a few weeks time. Much to ABC's pleasure I still have no voice, very frustrating actually. Catch up soon, Mark
April 25, 2006 Place: ABC
Here at ABC Everest life goes on, I still don't have enough voice to talk to Anne and the family, maybe in the next few days. Throat is a bit painful but have escaped the dreaded high altitude cough so far. Now the weather has cleared some comms are more reliable, but all of us are reliant on Russ's proven system. I was gutted to hear the the mini movie we had made for the 100th anniversary of the Ahrens Group and family business wasn't able to be run - technology not quite what it claims to be and me sitting here with no vocal cords, at least the team get a break from Inglis sarcasm! On the 23 of April I was able to stand on the North Col, again another 'peak' with friends like Whetu and Russ, joining a very small club of double amputees to have done this (1 or 2 others I think, let us know if you have). It was a tough day for all the team, I was really pleased with my pace (mid pack), as always going down was far from comfortable. It was yet another case of me calling home, squeaking out a 'hi Anne' and passing the phone on (to Woody this time). A few days rest then I will head up to North Col for a night, then on up that huge snow slope for a night at Camp 2 (7500m), back to North Col and ABC. Be back on email then with more news of waiting, waiting, waiting and then hurting! I have only just started writing again, that's how tough surviving here is. I just can't imagine how tough it must be on other expeditions, as Russ's Himex is the benchmark here. Catch up soon with some images I hope, Love to you all.
“Thanks for the emails from Paula’s class in Christchurch, I’m afraid I can’t answer everyone but hi to Seungjun kim, Hyun Goo andChang Woo”
April 23, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
Another phone call tonight, Mark’s voice slightly better but he passed the phone over to Woody to do the speaking. They walked up to North Col today, took about 4 hours. This is where they phoned from, said it was a lovely day, they would have a rest and eat some lunch before heading back to ABC probably taking about 2 hours to go back down. He thought they would be at ABC for another three days recovering from today before heading up to the North Col camp for a night.
There are a couple of other sites to look at for more info from other members of the team. If you look on www.himex.com and click on NEWS you will find a couple of Newsletters for the Everest Expedition. In the first newsletter there is a link to the Tigress Production blogspot, this has some diary entries from the film crew and a few photos.
April 22, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
Had an email this morning from Mark saying that while he still has no voice he is feeling much better, only a slight sore throat. Says it is very high there (I assume he means in altitude). Obviously email is going so hopefully he will do an update soon. Don’t forget to keep watch on the charity meter on the Charity/Fundraising page, it is currently at $28.450, donations can be easily made using the links on this page, every little bit helps. Thanks Anne
April 21, 2006 - Update from Anne Place: Home Base - New Zealand
Had a phone call from Mark last night but because of his voice he handed the phone over to Mark Whetu. Whetu said that Mark’s throat is very sore and still has no voice and is ‘very frustrated’ (my words, Whetu’s were somewhat stronger). From what I could understand it has been snowing for three days with low cloud making it difficult to use the sat phones, even this call was very hard to follow, and they have no email although I think he said they were hoping to have email in about three days. They are still following there acclimatization program. I am clearing Mark’s emails at the moment so your messages will be passed on verbally and stored in a file for him to see when he gets home, once he has email again I will send them on to him. He did send some photos but so far we have been unable to view them, we will keep working on that and hopefully get them on the website soon.
April 17, 2006 Place: ABC Camp
Reached Advanced Base Camp today (Sunday). Everything is OK except that I have lost my voice. Tried sending photos through but it seems that they didn’t come through ok so will try again.
April 15, 2006 Place: Base Camp, Everest
Half the team went up to interim camp today, then onto ABC tomorrow, we head to interim tomorrow and ABC either Monday or Tuesday for me.. Happy to just plod along though, each day will be about 7 hours. Be good to be on the move to a new tent site, ABC is over 1000m higher though so we will all be feeling very sad by the time we get there. Feeling pretty good even though no voice, wearing a mask as much as possible as the air is so dry.
April 14, 2006 Place: Base Camp, Everest
Happy Easter Another day of gale force winds, very cold out of the watery sun. Lots of activity today as people pack their ABC barrels, many going tomorrow, I'm heading up that way on Sunday.
April 12, 2006 Place: Base Camp, Everest
Another day of big winds and freezing temperatures at base camp. The email here is still not reliable yet, sorry images soon I hope.
Tilley went home today to Tingri a very proud man, his children will see him upright for the first time ever, pretty awesome.
Went part way to interim camp today, only a few hundred metres higher in altitude than here but the air is much thinner.
Thanks to all the schools that are following our adventure. The thing about this trip is not about being the fastest but being able to hang on the longest.
Go to ABC, Advanced Base Camp on Saturday I hope, then at least two weeks there and higher and then back to base camp to recover and wait for the weather - yep it’s all about waiting and doing it right.
Love to all, catch up soon.
April 11, 2006 Place: Base Camp, Everest
A big wind storm today dust and everything, snow coming as well real base camp weather, very very cold.
It’s Tilley day today. Tilley is the double amputee who like me lost his legs to frostbite 20 years ago. The difference is he has never had legs that is until today. Today Cowboy and I fitted Tilley with legs that I had sent him. Within minutes we had Tilley up and working with two ski poles. He has a long way to go but it was an awesome start. Today was probably one of the highlights of the trip, one of the highlights of my life really, to finally do something of this magnitude for a fellow human being, very humbling, there were a lot of wet eyes around, they say the wind – yeah right – when he stood up and walked for the first time in 20 years.
Today is the Puja ceremony, the blessing. We had Tilley’s legs up on the altar as well as mine. Fantastic time.
The stumps have recovered and I am going for long walks. Thanks for the messages, getting lots from the children at Hanmer Springs Primary School, the phone service is a bit unreliable here making it difficult to reply.
Catch up soon.
April 7, 2006 Place: Base Camp, Everest
Crikey, the air here’s a bit thin but feeling pretty good, its minus 2 when the sun is hiding but awesome when out. Sitting in the door of my tent looking directly at the route, feeling great. It’s steep but very doable if everything goes right.
Fantastic to see Whetu and Russ again and an emotional reunion with Phurpa, the two Karsangs, Laachu and the rest of the sherpa team. Mornings are hot face towels and milk tea in the tent up for breakfast and plan the day. Will be here resting and training for six days before moving up to ABC you can’t hurry acclimatization.
April 6, 2006 Place: Shegar/New Tingri
Shegar/New Tingri, 4585m, where the air is just that bit thinner.
April 1, 2006 Place: Tibet
Tibet at last! after a day of hurrying up to wait at Kathmandu
airport we flew the hour over the Himalayas to Lhasa Airport. What
a flight, all the big peaks were standing proud out of cotton wool
clouds, to see the top of Cho Oyu again was great and to see Everest,
well actually it was scary! If there are any spelling or gramma
mistakes then I blame the altitude. Here in Lhasa we are at almost
3700m, as high as mount Cook back home. It was great to escape the
smog and smoke of Kathmandu, up here it is cooler (about 14'C) and
the air is appreciably thinner. Gee it's changed a lot in the last
18 months, new roads flash new buildings, a 3km tunnel through a
mountain that shaves 50km from the journey ex the airport. 3 nights
here, walking, acclimatizing and visiting the temples and markets,
then back on the road towards base camp, it can't come soon enough.
Some of the team have already been struck down with tummy bugs,
no doubt we will all get a turn, mine is pretty grumbly at present,
not a good sign (never go anywhere without loo paper!) Hopefully
we will get some images uploaded next week from base camp. Sunday evening, cold, windy with snow and sleet, the weather sure changes quick here, just this morning I was in a light shirt and shorts, but then they tell me I am a wee bit unusal. Another day of pounding the pavements, stretching the legs while our lungs also get stretched. Great to get a bit of evil weather though, I feel much more at home. Medical tests today to see how much our brains swell with the altitude, I'm not sure I want to know! I am feeling pretty good though, medically up here is defined as extreme altitude, with only 65% of the sealevel available oxygen here, 50% at base camp and 30% on the top when I get there. The legs feel great, much better than on the Cho Oyu trip in 2004, but they willneed to be.
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