The North Face

Sep 30 | Nepal Inspiration

By Renan Ozturk

I'm just returning from a North Face supported expedition to Nepal, reeling in the inspiration of the mountains and culture at the roof of the world.  Nepal is a place I first visited in 2001 as part of an intense language program and I'm been back almost every year for expeditions of all shapes and sizes.  I can honestly say that it has molded my moutain experience as a TNF athethle more than any other place!

This time around instead of focusing on the big projects like the Khumbu Climbing Center, Caves of Mustang or a climbing objective we were lucky to be just zoning in on capturing the beauty of Nepal through film and artwork.  I was humbly working with ultra talented Dave Mossop, one the main founders and creatives of Sherpas Cinema.

Our main goal was to capture footage for Sherpas Cinema new ski feature film that will be realed in the fall of 2013.  Judging by the beauty and aclaim of their last film All.I.CAN it is bould to be utterly mind blowing!  Along with cutting edge ski footage the film will be a creative depiction of intense environmental and social themes that are relevent in this day and age.  For us, Nepal was the ultimate target rich environment to play with for such symbolism.  The fact that we didn't have a big ski/climb objective also allowed us the "dork out" the full extent and go a lot heavier with cutting edge film gear to elevate the visuals we captured :)  

Among the many highlights of our oddysey included shooting with one of the oldest Sherpas of the Khumbu, Karma Tsering (pictured above).  At 80 years old he is one of the happiest and strongest people I know, still hiking the 5 hours to market each week with his Yak to buy goods.  I've known him for years and was still sporting the classic TNF himalayan parka we gave him years ago :)  The special light and moments we captured with him were pure magic! 

Also pictured above (another iphone shot) is a Lama at the Upper Pangboche Monestry, the oldest in all of Nepal.  He gently swung the burning pot of juniper doing his morning Puja (blessing) in the sacred upper chamber, ambling slowing across the old creaking wooden floorboards.  The small skylight window above happened to catch the first rays of sun in weeks, creating a shaft of light, a slintered god beam like I've never seen before in my life.  We rolled the cameras with all our facy equipment in slow motion, not even whipspering during his chants.  After he finished the ritual we exited the monestary and into the glowing the vistas of the high himalaya, stunned to have catptured a few moments that could have been the most epic images of out lives.   

There are no words that can do these experiences true justice, I'm just just trying to share the inspiration with a few photos and then the eventually film :)  Thanks for checking it out and stay tuned!  ~renan

Jun 05 | O’Neill: It was going to be one of those perfect days

By Hilaree O'Neill

Everything has been such a whirlwind for the last week - my apologies for not writing to the blog sooner.

Testing my mask at the South Col.

The whole team has made it safely to Kathmandu, and I am getting ready to head home tomorrow after ten weeks in Nepal.  But, I should jump back to where I left off on the last blog.

We climbed more or less according to how we had planned, with only a few extras thrown in. We left Base Camp early on the 21st. It was amazing to me how much the temperatures had warmed over a seven-week period. When we first arrived at Base Camp I was constantly freezing, sleeping at night in all my down layers and even hiking through the icefall in my down jacket. Our final tour up through the icefall was a very different story.

Lighting juniper to bless our climb at base camp.

We left earlier than normal in order to avoid any sun exposure between Camp 1 and Camp 2. I was also nervous that my sore ankle would slow me down. Needless to say, we all made it to Camp 2 without getting heat stroke. The icefall had changed dramatically, almost unrecognizable in the way it was falling apart. Seeing this made us realize it was now or never. The icefall would not hold up much longer and soon the ladders would be removed from the crevasses and the route would disappear.

At Camp 2 we all took a day to rest. No matter how acclimatized one is, it's still a beat down of a day going from Base Camp to Camp 2 - it's some 4000ft in elevation gain at high altitude. We rested the 22nd and then climbed to Camp 3 on the 23rd. At this point, Conrad elected to stay at Camp 2 and climb directly to the South Col the next day with the Sherpas. Camp 2 to Camp 3 is tiring but very doable in three hours or less. It's fairly direct and the elevation gain is only around 2000 ft.  From here, Emily, Sam and Mark started using oxygen to sleep on and then to climb with the next day to the South Col. Kris and I had decided to hold off on using O's until the South Col.

Kris and Emily resting at Camp 3.

The next morning, the 24th, Conrad and the Sherpas reached Camp 3 around 6 a.m. and we all started towards the next camp together. This is where I started to get a bit nervous. Despite thinking we would not be summiting on a crowded day, seeing the number of people headed to the South Col told us otherwise. We inserted ourselves in a long line of climbers and started the long walk through the Yellow Band, over the Geneva Spur, and finally to the South Col at nearly 8000m. I was pretty happy with making it in a time of six hours, pretty good for not using oxygen. No doubt, though, I was tired and we only had a few hours of rest before we started our summit push.

Kris climbing above Camp 3.

Conrad, Kris and I shared a tent at the Col. It was during this rest time that Conrad decided to opt out of the summit push. Kris and I donned our o2 masks and tried to rest. Sam, Emily and Mark were all doing fairly well. We decided to start climbing around 9 p.m.

For me, it was a bad night. From the minute I left the tent, I just knew it was going to be one of those nights of climbing that are a constant struggle. I put my crampons on wrong and within minutes of leaving camp, one fell off and then the other. I missed the start of the fixed ropes and ended up scrambling on blue ice trying to find them. I couldn't get my oxygen mask to fit well and it kept fogging up my goggles, which then iced over so I couldn't see. On and on and on.

In the end, I think this series of fumbles was because I was really scared about the climb. The weather was not what it was supposed to be, the wind was blowing a steady 20 mph and when we left the tent, the temperature was already -28 degrees Celsius, way too cold. There was a line of 150 people in front of us and we left way to early as it only took an hour before we were stuck at the end of the line.

This many people meant climbing way too slow and then crushing yourself when you tried to pass people. I also knew there were at least four recently dead climbers on or near the fixed lines that we would have to climb over or around.

All in all, we made it to the summit. Kris and I topped out around 5 a.m. with the others shortly behind.

The crowds of people made the summit a little anti-climactic for me. There were some 60-70 climbers on top of Everest when we arrived. In addition, the temperature was around -50 with wind chill, which made it impossible to linger and left me with frost nip on several fingers.

I was so proud of Sam and Em being able to overcome the difficulties of this trip and the challenging conditions of our summit day. For their age and total lack of high altitude climbing, it was pretty amazing for both of them.

But, alas, now we get to the fun part. All of us had bought permits to climb Lhotse as well, but we were all so knackered it didn't seem possible.

Sam and Emily were both out, in fact she and Mark continued down to Camp 2 on the 25th. Conrad said he still didn't feel up to climbing. That left Kris and I. We rested on oxygen from 10 a.m. to about 10 p.m. on the 25th, not really able to sleep or eat. As we were melting water, we kept telling ourselves that we would just give it a try and if it didn't work we'd descend. Simple. Then Conrad came into our tent and asked if we had any extra water. He was going to try to climb Everest without oxygen. That was when I noticed it. The wind had died. There was absolute stillness at the South Col. The stars were out, the temperature was warmer. It was going to be one of those perfect days, the kind of day I fear even mentioning so as not to jinx it.

Conrad set out for the summit of Everest about 1 a.m. and Kris and I headed the opposite direction towards the Geneva Spur. We needed to wrap around to the Lhotse face and drop a couple hundred meters before starting the climb. We left the trail around 2 a.m. and began our ascent.

Kris was climbing hard and it was difficult for me to keep up. I had several moments of thinking I was too tired and wasn't going to be able to summit. There was one climbing party of four ahead of us. They were 2/3 of the way up the mountain when we started. When we caught them before the summit, I realized I wasn't going slow but that Kris was going absurdly fast.

All in all, it took us about three hours to summit Lhotse, putting Kris and I on the summit of two 8000m peaks in 24 hours.  It was amazing and Kris and I were the only people on the summit and I was just thankful for the weather and to have had a good climbing day after the struggle of the previous night. 

On top of that, Conrad summited Everest a few hours later without oxygen.

Amazing.

After Lhotse, everything was a whirlwind. We flew down the mountain, moving every day until we reached Kathmandu. Of course, now that I have stopped moving I am so tired I can barely walk. I'm sick and just started antibiotics. I think I just spent so many weeks willing myself to stay healthy that now my body is telling me I need rest.

My ankle survived the journey but it also is swollen and painful and likely just pissed off at me in general for stuffing it in an 8k boot and climbing hard for several days.

Needless to say, we all worked really hard and it will take our bodies some time to recover. Thanks again to everyone for all the supportive comments and I look forward to getting home to see my family and friends.

 

May 31 | Anker: Audio Dispatch, you’re not done till you’re done

By Conrad Anker

Click play above to listen to an audio message from Conrad Anker who was surveying a glacier after summiting Mount Everest.

Well, they say you’re not done till you’re done and, this is Conrad here. I’m at the 5,700 meter elevation. I’m in Nare glacier on the south face of Ama Dablam and I’m here with Subhash, Hey Subhash.

Subhash: Hello

Conrad: Have you been walking?

Subhash: Long time walking

Conrad: Oh yeah, long time walking. We started out this morning walking at 3 a.m. and we gained 2,000 meters of elevation in probably 20km distance. This is the fifth of the Extreme Ice Survey cameras that we’re switching the cards out and doing maintenance on. Everyone else is headed to Kathmandu and I’m enjoying one last moment down in the mountains. There’s nothing like walking slowly after summiting Everest without supplemental oxygen to feel the effects.

We’re happy, it looks like the card came out ok, the battery and computer are all working well and the glacier looks a little anemic from here. It’s one that we are studying and we’ve got two years of data on it now. Yeah, you’re not done till you’re done, we definitely had work left, we saved the best things for last. So, this is Conrad calling in from the Nare glacier, in the Khumbu valley, and take care!

 

May 29 | Q&A: Emily Harrington on Reaching the Summit of Everest

By The North Face

Emily Harrington has a new notch to add to her belt this week: reaching the summit of Mount Everest.

On Friday, May 25, Harrington reached the top of the world. After firing off a now widely-circulated self-portrait from the top of Everest she made her way back down past Camps 4, 3 and 2, through the Khumbu Ice Fall for one last time, and then she perched herself atop a rock to rest, and fill us in on the details of what this journey was like for her.

TNF: How do you feel? You just summited Mount Everest!

EH: I feel really, really tired, actually. I just sat down. I’m not even to camp yet at Base Camp. And I just sat down to rest as I’m struggling to get back.

It was a marathon of climbing and it was a lot mentally and physically. I don’t think I’ve slept in three days.

TNF: Would you say that this was one of the more challenging things that you’ve done?

EH: Yeah. It was one of the more challenging things I have done. Not necessarily physically, even though it was super physically challenging. But more than anything it was really mentally challenging. It was just hard not knowing what to expect, being here for so long, trying to stay motivated and having all kinds of things happen. There were accidents up there and that can be disheartening and worrisome. It’s just a lot.

I went from 9:30 last night to 6:30 this morning to the summit and then back down, which is another four hours, and then I went all the way down to Camp 2 yesterday. And then I came down to Base Camp today. It’s been a lot. Climbing an 8,000-meter peak is not easy, no matter what anyone says.

TNF: What was it like on the summit?

EH: It was a little frustrating for me because I got stuck behind a group of people that were slower than me and I couldn’t do anything about it. So Kris and Hilaree summited before me and I saw them on the way down. I ended up summiting by myself. The reason they were coming down is that it was brutally cold and windy up there. If you took anything off you’d get frostbite.

But it was awesome. I mean, there is a 360 degree view of the Himalaya and you could see over into Tibet, all of Nepal and the mountains. It was amazing just being able to stand up there and experience that made the whole thing worth it.

TNF: So, you made it to top and achieved some goals that some who set out to summit Everest never achieve. What is that like to know that?

EH: It’s been a really long journey mentally and emotionally just being here and experiencing what it’s like to be within this realm of climbing, which is something different than even the mountaineering world. It’s Everest, which is a whole different animal in itself. The whole experience has been eye opening. There are a lot of negative aspects of it, but there’s also a lot of positive things about it and I am just really grateful that Conrad thought of me for this trip and thought that I was strong enough to be on it. It’s the experience of a lifetime. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it and I’m super thankful that I was able to be here and do this.

TNF: Now that you’ve accomplished what Conrad thought you could, do you see in yourself what he initially saw?

EH: Yes, totally. I started out this trip and I was super sick and I didn’t have a lot of confidence and towards the end of the trip it was like gaining altitude. I felt stronger, better and more confident in my abilities. I utilized a lot of my experience from climbing while I was in the mountains and I feel like I’ve been able to really open my mind and be open, accepting and listening to those who have more experience than myself, like Kris, Hilaree and Conrad. I’ve learned a lot and I think that maybe what Conrad saw in me hadn’t yet manifested itself, but now it has.

TNF: You really did have the A Team, so to speak, of mountaineers to learn from and be mentored by up there. How was the process?

EH: I learned a ton from them. They climbed with us all the time. They were the people that I looked to whenever I had a question or any sort of concern. I trust them more than I trusted anyone on the trip. It turned out great. They advised me and they gave us guidance, but they didn’t hold our hands in any way, shape or form. I think they had enough trust and confidence in our abilities as climbers to just let us trial and error it and experience it in our way, but with safety and guidance in mind. It was super cool. They were just there and it was comforting.

TNF: Well, that begs the question: Will you ever go back, or could you see yourself having the desire to?

EH: Um… I think I would maybe come back. I don’t know. I might need a little more time on that. I just came down from the ice fall a half hour ago and it’s kind of sketchy because it’s getting hot up here. I just thought, “Oh thank God I never have to do that again,” so, I don’t know… Lhotse looks like a really cool mountain to do.  I would like to experience more mountaineering and alpine climbing on different, smaller, more technical peaks, I think. Just cut my teeth and experience that aspect of climbing, because climbing Mount Everest is, like I said, totally different than anything.

May 27 | Anker: Audio Dispatch, it was time to go and it was game on

By Conrad Anker

Click play above to listen to an audio message from Conrad Anker who was at Base Camp after summiting Mount Everest.

Greetings folks, this is Conrad calling from Everest Base Camp and just back here after descending the Khumbu Ice Fall. On the 26 of May I managed to reach the summit of Everest at five minutes after 10 a.m.

I climbed with myself. I made a decision with about two hours notice in the middle of the night. I wasn’t feeling too well on the 25th so I declined to climb with my other teammates and the weather, the wind died and it was time to go and it was game on and we had fun. So, that was that. It was a trip to Everest.

May 26 | Elias and Anker: Audio Dispatch, sitting in a 2-Meter Dome

By The North Face

Click play above to listen to an audio message from Sam Elias and Conrad Anker who were at Camp 2 after summiting Mount Everest.

It’s Sam calling from Camp 2 on Everest and I’m sitting in a 2-Meter Dome with Kris and Hilaree and Conrad. Emily and Mark are already down at Base Camp, doing well and psyched and safe. As for the rest of us, we’re pretty hammered. Today Kris and Hilaree did Lhotse, which is the fourth highest peak in the world and neighbor to Everest. They chained the two in a single push and I think that Hilaree might be the first woman to ever do that. And it’s pretty rare to do, so Kris is pretty psyched, especially after his attempt last year.

And Conrad sent the big Everest without Oxygen in great style today and I’m going to pass the phone over to him to say a few words. He’s super psyched and he’s just chilling and recovering.

Hello.  I hammered myself today. My lungs are hurting but I got it done last minute. I hope everything is going well. We’ll be down to basecamp tomorrow and we’ll have more communications going. Talk to you soon! Bye.

May 26 | National Geographic and The North Face® Expedition to Mount Everest Reaches Summit

By The North Face

Southeast Ridge Team, Focused on Education and Science, Returns From Summit to Camp 2 Following 74 Days of Exploration

 Climb and Team's Summit Push, Including First Photo from the Summit, Covered Online at natgeo.com/oneverest and www.thenorthface.com/everest. Expedition Also Covered in Real-Time in the May and June iPad Editions of National Geographic Magazine.

@emilyaharrington self portrait at the top of the the world - 8848m Mt Everest. What a climb it's been! @thenorthface #oneveres (Photo by Emily Harrington)

WASHINGTON (May 26, 2012)—Taking advantage of what was only this season’s second good weather window, five athletes on a National Geographic and The North Face expedition reached the highest point on Earth, stepping foot atop the summit of Mount Everest at approximately 8 a.m. Nepal time on Friday, May 25.

Renowned mountaineers Hilaree O’Neill and Kris Erickson, along with rock and ice climbers Sam Elias and Emily Harrington — who are all part of The North Face Global Athlete Team — and Mark Jenkins, a climber and writer on assignment for National Geographic magazine, set out from the South Col at approximately 9 p.m. May 24 Nepal time for their summit push. The expedition marked the first Everest summit for the entire team. Upon return to the South Col, O’Neill and Erickson continued to summit Lhotse, accomplishing the two summits in one 24-hour period.

“It was awesome,” Harrington said. “There is a 360-degree view of the Himalaya, and you could see over into Tibet, all of Nepal and the mountains. It was amazing just being able to stand up there, and experiencing that made the whole thing worth it.”

Following the team from the moment they set out, National Geographic and The North Face have given followers the chance to take a front row seat, watching the expedition as it unfolded through use of the photo sharing app Instagram, which was put in the hands of the climbers themselves to share photos of their experiences. On Instagram, @natgeo and @thenorthface followers were the first to know the team had summited, as Harrington posted a self-portrait she took on the summit from Camp 4, as she returned from the top of the mountain.

The expedition got underway March 15 with the team of five accompanied by famed mountaineer Conrad Anker and National Geographic photographer Cory Richards, both of whom are also athletes on The North Face Global Team. The two had planned to summit Everest via its seldom-climbed West Ridge in celebration of the 1963 National Geographic-sponsored American Mount Everest Expedition —the first American ascent to the summit via the West Ridge. However, Richards was evacuated off the mountain on April 28 for unspecified health issues, and Anker, a two-time Everest summiter, determined that due to dangerous conditions on the West Ridge, he would instead accompany the South Col team.

Following a climb from Camp 2 to Camp 4 to unite with the South Col team on May 24, Anker decided to remain at Camp 4 for his team on their descent and to assist with any additional support that should be needed, and the five pushed ahead on what would be a challenging climb. After the team had summited and safely arrived at lower elevations, Anker made a push for the summit himself. He summited without oxygen via the South Col at 10:10 a.m. May 26 and is now reunited with the team at Camp 2. This marked Anker’s third Everest summit, yet his first summit via the Southeast Ridge.

One of the main purposes of the South Col expedition was for Erickson and O’Neill, who have climbed some of the world’s most challenging mountains, to provide mentorship to Elias and Harrington, whose backgrounds are in rock and ice climbing.

The expedition was also focused on education and seeking to answer scientific questions, with geologists from Montana State University on the Southeast Ridge team, and medical specialists from Mayo Clinic at Base Camp.

Mayo Clinic researchers have been studying the climbers and recording real-time data as part of their research on the impacts of high altitude on human physiology. The Montana State University team re-surveyed the summit of Mount Everest in the hopes of shedding light on the compression between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates that lie beneath the mountain, as well as attempting to obtain a new height measurement for Everest.

The Montana State University team also created an eight-week online science curriculum to accompany the expedition, which focused on geology, glaciology, climate change and other topics, to allow classrooms to mimic the research and observations of the Everest team. Developed with a grant from the National Science Foundation and support from The North Face, National Geographic and other sponsors, the curriculum is targeted at fifth graders, but is available to teachers of any grade.

The team is now at Camp 2 and will likely return to Base Camp within 24 hours, where they will offer additional comment on their experience and prepare for their return to the States. The studies conducted on the mountain are expected to be published in the coming months.

In addition to National Geographic magazine’s current website and iPad coverage, the magazine plans to publish a print article by Jenkins early next year.

 

May 25 | Erickson: Audio Dispatch, Summited This Morning Bright and Early

By Kris Erickson

Click play above to listen to an audio message from Kris Erickson who was at Camp 4 after summiting Mount Everest.

It’s Kris calling from the South Col on Mount Everest. Just wanted to give you an update and let you know that Hilaree, myself, Sam, Emily and Mark Jenkins all summited this morning bright and early.

It was very cold and windy, but rather beautiful at the same time.

We’re all back here at the South Col. Hilaree and I are resting up and we are going for Lhotse at midnight tonight. So, wish us the best. We’ll give you an update from Camp 2 when we get there tomorrow and hopefully we’ll have summited Everest and Lhotse in one 24-hour period.

 

 

May 21 | Elias: Audio Dispatch, calling from Everest Camp 2

By Sam Elias

Click above to listen to a voicemail from Sam Elias.

What’s up? This is Sam calling from Everest Camp 2. We got here this morning, the team, everyone got here quickly and safely and everyone is feeling great. We had a really nice day up here just resting. We’re going to rest at Camp 2 again tomorrow and then the following day head up to Camp 3.

Everyone’s excited. Everyone’s feeling really good.

It’s nice to have Conrad with us. I got to walk with him today from Camp 1 to Camp 2 and it’s pretty amazing the amount of people that he knows up here. The amount of sherpas who have gone through the Khumbu Climbing School. They all stop and say hello to him. It’s just an honor to be able to be here with him and now have him climbing with us.

Everyone is in good spirits, we’re all really excited and the weather looks like it’s going to be really good for us. Just wanted to say hello to everyone out there and thanks for all the support and we will talk to you in the next few days.

 

May 20 | Anker: Calm before the calm

By Conrad Anker

Today is the third day of Everest ascents for the 2012 season. Camps clang oxygen cylinders as makeshift bells in honor of their Sherpa climbers and members reaching the apex of our planet. We are quite excited for each of the teams and wish for safe passage back to base camp.

With less than 48 hrs to departure the team is readying for an ascent later in the week. We reviewed the medical devices and procedures today and will follow up with the GPS and sampling procedures tomorrow. Then it's game time. A quick and safe passage through the icefall to Camp 2, a day of rest, a short day to 7100m and then onto she South Col and the summit the following day. If everything goes well we will be back in base camp in a week.

As a way to soothe the apprehension of the unknown I recount the food I'll be needing and recheck my harness. There is only one day to have a go at the final 3000 feet of the 12,000 feet above me. Regardless of it being relegated to a trade route it is hard and as we learn today, lethal.

My favorite food is tucked away and my harness and gear rechecked. What might the next week bring? The route is a known entity, and we are hardly pioneers in any sense of the word. Yet the unknown, if we allow it to be part of our motivation, can transport us in our minds to the moments of discovery that define being human. Finding these moments keeps us in the spirit of exploration.

More to come via sat phone.....