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Awesome Adventurer: Twice to the top of the world
Allow me to take a second to dole out some props to a fellow Taoseno, ski patroller, and rugged mountaineer, Dave Hahn, who recently tagged the summit of Everest twice in five months. As he points out, there are sherpas that have accomplished the double-tag in a week’s time, but I’m still pretty damn impressed. He writes all about it on GreatOutdoors.com:
It has been pointed out to me that climbing Mount Everest twice in five months time is noteworthy. I don’t quibble. After all, I worked hard to accomplish it… and “noteworthy” is ambiguous enough that I’m satisfied that those into trivia would duly note it while those with more important things to think about would rightly dismiss it. In any case, getting up twice was an oblique goal for me… by which I mean that climbing it each of those two times was my only real goal. Afterward, the linkage can be made and I’m happy to declare victory in that quest as well.
Inspired, I found some pretty interesting stats on the number of summits by year. Also of note, check out the first thin-air copter landing on everest.
By Eric | Permalink
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I used to lead treks to the Everest Base Camp and was a founder of
the first hut-to-hut system in Nepal. In the region during the worst
storm in memory, I was appalled by world press coverage of the foreigners
who died with no mention of the Sherpas who also perished. A librarian,
I researched the major data bases and discovered that while many
anthropologists had studied the tribe, no one had dramatized their lives in
fiction. I returned home to write their story.
Beyond the Summit is unique in being the first fiction about Sherpas.
Set in the Everest region in 1968 four years after Sir Edmund Hillary
built a landing strip at Lukla, the story shows the impact of tourism on
a culture still living in the Middle Ages. Young Dorje wants what the
foreigners bring while his father resents their intrusion in the realm
of the gods. The Sherpa culture and Buddhist religion are interwoven in
an adventure and romance in the high Himalayas. The story has something
for everyone: an expedition from the porter’s point of view, Tibetan
refugees, conflict between generations as tourism and the modern world
challenge traditions, a love affair between an American journalist and
Sherpa guide. Readers consistently comment on how much they learned about
a tribe they formerly knew very little about.
Beyond the Summit was released on May 29, 2006—the anniversary of Sir
Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Everest because he has devoted much
of his life to helping the Sherpa tribe. Because it is so unique, the
novel has generated a great deal of excitement. A week after its
release, an NBC affiliate invited me for a live TV interview and Colorado PUblic radio also interviewed me. Because the book is so unusual, it immediately generated a great deal of interest. A week after it came out, a Denver affiliate of NBC invited for a live TV appearance and I was interviewed on Colorado Public Radio. While I was in northern CA, I was interviewed for a one-hour program, A Novel Idea, on KRCB in Rohnert Park, CA; the Pat Thurston Show on KSRO in Santa Rosa; CA and the Morning show on KSVY in Sonoma, CA.
The International Porter Protection group has endorsed my book saying it is beautifully written and goes right to the life of a porter. They have asked me to be a representative for their association.