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Elías de Andrés Martos organized a team of RMI Guides to climb Tibet’s Shishapangma (26, 289'), the world’s 14th highest mountain. The team reached the summit on October 11th & 12th. We sat down with Elías after the expedition to chat with him about the climb.
RMI: What first inspired you to climb Shishapangma?
Elías: I had been hoping to go climb an 8,000 meter peak for awhile. When you have that in your head and you have never been to the
Himalayas, at first it looks like any peak - if the opportunity arose - would suffice. For the last couple of years, the objective was looking closer and closer, and the deeper research started. Initially I wanted to climb Dhaulagiri, as it was the dream of one of my mentors who never could do it. But I was determined to go this past fall and it turns out that Dhaulagiri is not the best for the post monsoon season, so I started to look at other mountains. Shishapangma seemed beautiful, rising alone on the Tibetan plateau. Easy access played a key role, as it also diminished the cost. And of course, it offered a relatively "easy" and "safe" line for this, our first, 8000 meter peak.
RMI: Organizing an expedition to an 8000 meter Himalayan peak is a major undertaking, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced in simply getting the expedition off of the ground?
Elías: Of course the budget is the main undertaking. It is fairly expensive, particularly when one does it pretty much out of pocket. (We have to thank RMI's indispensable
Guide Grant and
First Ascent's gear support.) This challenge leads to the difficulty of building a team as well; initially, along with my wife Bridget, I had this trip planned with my two good climbing friends from Spain, but getting 2 months off of work in addition to the funding, made it impossible for them to participate, so I had to start with 0 climbers just 6 months prior to the trip, when everything was logistically planned. Luckily, working for RMI made it easy to "collect" good friends for the expedition.
Jake Beren,
Geoff Schellens,
Eric Frank, and
Leon Davis were memorable companions. Ironically, the logistics were fairly easy, thanks to the internet and to Nima, our great contact in the Himalayas.
RMI: How did your previous climbing and guiding experience prepare you for the climbing and organizational challenges of the expedition?
Elías: That experience was probably a good 50% of the success of the trip. Having been on expeditions in other parts of the world is a great help that teaches you how to quickly act when facing problems or difficult situations, whether logistics or interactions with the local people. You come up with solutions or new plans on the go and deal with it.
The climbing and guiding experience among all of us on the team was definitely another great plus. Without much talking, we know what you have to do in different situations and the flow of the climb is as smooth as it can be as a result. Being a professional in the field, that usually works towards helping others achieve this goals, makes you have a greater temper on decision making too.
RMI: What was your impression of the Himalayas?
Elías: What can I say? It is the biggest mountain range in the World!!! Shishapangma sits alone in Tibet and unfortunately we drove to the trailhead from Kathmandu with clouds [covering the mountains], so we could not see much at first. When we all saw the mountain for the first time at Chinese Base Camp at sunrise, we were like little kids on Christmas day in front of Santa's gifts - so excited. But at the same time you acknowledge the magnitude of the mountain and get those butterflies in your stomach.
I was lucky to have some time afterwards to explore the Annapurna-Dhaulagiri and the
Solu Khumbu regions of Nepal, where the concentration of mountains is greater and the steepness of their walls grows exponentially...I have no words to describe what I felt there.
RMI: Give us a glimpse into your daily routine on a long expedition like this...
Elías: Wake up, breathe. Eat breakfast and come up with a plan, breath. Climb or rest, breathe. Try to have a hearty dinner, breathe...sleep. Start over.
RMI: Do you have a favorite memory or moment from the trip you can share?
Elías: Of course the summit. We made it to the Central Summit of Shishapangma at 8013 meters. I cried. I am very sentimental at points and being able to give a hug to my wife and two good friends up there after pursuing such a long dream is indescribable.
RMI: Any advice for climbers that have aspire to climb in the Himalayas one day?
Elías: Go for it. I think that such an undertaking requires determination. If there is a will there is a way and money and time to do it will materialize. Train for it and learn the skills that are necessary to do it. Be determined with your dream and with what it requires. And if you do not climb on your own, climb with a good guide, like the ones of
RMI!!!
RMI: What is next for you?
Elías: As far as guiding goes, anything where I can help RMI clients. As I am shifting towards being more of a full time guide, I am very thankful for the opportunities RMI is giving me. I’m headed to
Aconcagua (*Elías is currently on Aconcagua) and I am looking forward to the remainder of the winter with the
ice climbing programs.
Personally, I have big ice and mixed climbing projects for this winter-spring locally here in Colorado and in the Canadian Rockies. Since the Himalayan bug has bitten me, I have to admit that plans for Dhaulagiri are "in the oven".
Testing your fitness from time to time is a great way to gauge improvement and to take the opportunity to find your limits. A fitness test acts as a measurement of overall fitness as well as specific core muscle endurance and agility. A test like this should be repeated several times during your training so that you can measure your progress. It’s not the individual results from the test that provide information, it’s the
change between results that tells you of your progress. Complete the fitness test, write down your results, and then try it again in a few weeks to see how much you’ve progressed.
As with all training, there should be an emphasis on safety and self care. Push your limits but don’t place undue stress or strain on your body. Rather than go all out, try to nudge your results forward in a controlled and sensible way, much like a successful mountain climb.
In our Seattle based ‘Fit To Climb’ workouts we use a custom version of a military fitness test that can be done during a short workout. The test consists of a ‘timed run’ - we suggest a mile (if you don’t like to run, then walking is perfect) - followed by a strength test with 4 exercises designed to gauge your upper-body strength, core strength, leg strength, and agility.
After a good ten-minute warm-up followed by the
Daily Dozen, or similar exercises, first do the timed run. Go at a speed that feels like an intense effort. Record your time. Then, rest for 5 minutes by gently walking or just pacing slowly back and forth.
For the strength test, find an area that has a solid, level, and soft surface. Grass is perfect but you can also do this indoors if you prefer. During this test, you will perform four exercises for 2 minutes each, with 3 minutes of rest between each exercise. For the first three exercises, the goal is to count the number of perfect repetitions you can complete in 2 minutes. If you do this with a partner, you can rest while counting their repetitions—along with encouragement! For the fourth exercise, the Shuttle Run, simply time yourself. Write down your scores for each test.
Perform the strength test as follows:
1. Push-ups: 2 minutes, followed by 4 minutes of rest
2. Steam Engines on Back: 2 minutes, followed by 4 minutes of rest
3. 3/4 Squats: 2 minutes, followed by 4 minutes of rest
4. 20-yard Shuttle Run: Set up your shuttle run course with some cones or water bottles. If you aren’t sure of measurement use 25 normal paces as a guide. Run back and forth between your markers for 2 minutes, counting the number of times you complete one leg.
• For an explanation of strength exercises see the
Daily Dozen.
• A tip: Break the 2 minutes into 30-second segments, it’ll help you maintain a steady pace.
Is it hard? It really is! Two minutes may not sound like a lot but your body will know it is working hard! I suggest you record your scores and do the test each month during your training.
- John Colver
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle.
The low lying clouds lifted overnight and the landscape was a brilliant white this morning, yesterday's fresh snow reflecting the morning sun with such intensity we found ourselves squinting when merely sitting near the teahouse windows. Over breakfast we looked out up the valley, across the rhododendron trees and roofs of Deboche all covered in snow, to the summits of Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam above. The winds continued to whip the summits of Everest and Lhotse, both peaks flying long white plumes from their tops.
With a relaxed agenda for the day, we wandered through the trees of Deboche to the small convent here where two of the nuns happily showed us inside of their gompa, doing their best to answer our various questions about the paintings, relics, and scriptures inside. We then climbed back up the hill above our teahouse to the Tengboche Monastery, admiring the panorama around us, with views from Namche all the way up to Everest. Following a small path above the Monastery, we climbed further up the ridge, passing lines of chortens and strings of prayer flags strung by the monks, until we could look down on the buildings below.
With the afternoon clouds already building, we spent a few hours in Tengboche visiting the small museum and outlying buildings of the Monastery, reading, sipping tea, and swapping humorous stories. At three in the afternoon several monks blew their horns from the front terraces of the Monastery, signaling the beginning of afternoon prayers. We quietly removed our shoes and found a seat around the edge of their prayer room, listening to the half dozen monks present recite their prayers, their deep voices rising and descending in unison, pausing occasionally - and all at the exact same instant - to sip their tea before continuing on. The chamber, incredibly decorated with murals, ornate paintings on every surface, and a two-story Buddha surveying the scene below is an overwhelming room, contrasting sharply with the muted colors of the Khumbu. It is also freezing cold and by the time we emerged into a lightly falling snow we were chilled to the bone. We hurried back to our teahouse as the clouds again settled in around us, grabbing our coats, filling our cups with tea, and settling in around the stove when we arrived.
It has been a very relaxing day, offering us the chance for incredible views of the mountains around us, glimpses of the ongoing religious life here, and time for our bodies to continue to acclimatize and adapt to the new elevations before we move up the valley to over 14,000' tomorrow.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
On The Map
To the top we go! Thirteen days into our trip, we can all feel the wear and tear from the previous mountains. Chimborazo is our final objective, the tallest of the three peaks standing tall at 20,500'.
There is quietness to the team as we get ready for our climb. As per usual, the alarm clock goes off far too early. There is no need to go wake folks since we are all sleeping in a dome tent. An hour goes by quickly and we are all roped up ready for our journey. The first portion of the route has a disappointment clever feel as we traverse under el castillo. Crampons and rocks is never a fan favorite but the team cruises through it. A short section of ice brings us to our first break. No matter how tired the team may be, everyone looked motivated to keep going. From that moment to the summit we climbed sustained steep switchbacks. The climb is unrelenting, never easing up. After a few false summits and a confusing bright star we reached the lower summit Pico Veintimilla. Once at the false summit we make the extra 30 minute walk to the true tippy top. A very faint glow of the sunrise greets us at the top.
The team finishes their trip three for three on the volcanos. The hardwork and preparation they all put in for these climbs shows with the great success on all the volcanos. Its a bitter sweet moment on top as we celebrate our victory but also acknowledge that this trip is coming to an end. After snapping summit photos and the beauty of the sun rising, we safely reverse our steps and head back down to camp. We pack up our things, enjoy some pizza and coffee and then make our way back to the van. The van has never looked so good. We free our feet from the confines of our mountaineering boots and load up. After a hard days climb we all look forward to hot showers, comfy beds, and celebratory drinks.
Moods are high as we reminisce on our climbs. With heavy eyes from an early start, its early to bed for all. Its been a great day and an excellent trip. We can all go to sleep feeling good about all that we have accomplished. Tomorrow we make our way back to Quito and then back to the states.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Hannah Smith, and team
Fit to Climb: Week 6 Schedule
|
DAY |
WORKOUT |
TOTAL TIME |
DIFFICULTY |
|
1 |
Rainier Dozen / Easy Hiking ( 30 min) |
42 min. |
Medium |
|
2 |
Rainier Dozen / Stair Interval Training (50 min) |
62 min. |
Hard |
|
3 |
Rainier Dozen / Rest |
12 min. |
Recovery |
|
4 |
Rainier Dozen / Strength Circuit Training x 3 |
46 min. |
Hard |
|
5 |
Rainier Dozen / Rest |
12 min. |
Recovery |
|
6 |
Rainier Dozen / Cross Training (1 hr) |
72 min. |
Hard |
|
7 |
Rainier Dozen / Hike (3 hrs) |
192 min. |
Medium |
|
Total |
6 hrs 18 mins |
|
BRIEFING
Last week we bumped up the length of three workouts and you may still be a little bit tired. This week, all workouts keep the same length and intensity.
DESCRIPTIONS OF WORKOUTS
Day 1:
Rainier Dozen + Easy Hiking (30 Minutes)
Perform the Rainier Dozen, and follow it up with approximately 30 minutes of easy hiking. Feel free to mix things up occasionally with a different activity, such as running, biking or swimming.
Day 2: Rainier Dozen + Stair Interval Training (50 Minutes)
Warm up for about 10 minutes, and then climb up and down a set of stairs, at a consistent pace, for about 30 to 40 minutes. Cool down with some stretching.
Day 3: Rainier Dozen / Rest
Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to add another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you up for it (a brisk walk is a great option). Listen to your body. If you feel tired, rest. It would be good to take a complete rest day instead.
Day 4: Strength Circuit Training x 3
Repeat the strength circuit training workout introduced in Week 3. After warming up, perform three sets of the following exercises:
• Steam Engine
• Push Up
• Three Quarter Squat
• Russian Twists
• Lunge
• Steam Engine Laying down
• Mountain Climber
•
8 Point Bodybuilder
Spend 40 seconds performing the exercise and take 20 seconds between exercises to rest and switch to the next one. Take a full minute of rest between each set. Take ten minutes to cool down by stretching after you’re done.
Day 5: Rainier Dozen / Rest
Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to add another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you up for it (a brisk walk is a great option). Listen to your body. If you feel tired, rest. It would be good to take a complete rest day instead.
Day 6: Rainier Dozen + Cross Training (1 Hour)
Warm up with the Rainier Dozen and then spend an hour in some moderately vigorous activity as cross training. Listen to your body, and have fun with it.
Day 7: 3 Hour Hike
Warm up with the Rainier Dozen. Hike for about 3 hours, covering 5 - 6 miles in distance. Hike at an even pace.
SUMMARY
As you work hard at your workouts, pay close attention to how you feel during your workouts and be diligent about self-care and recovery. This self-awareness can help you know what parts of the
fitness triangle (aerobic, anaerobic and strength) might need a little extra work. It might also help you realize that you’re pushing too hard and need to dial it back a little. You do have leeway as you train. If, for any reason, you feel exhausted or you feel like you're slipping back, it's often best to take an extra rest day or two. Taking more rest is not a negative. This is not to encourage a lack of discipline, but to respect and honor the intuition and self-knowledge that we all have when it comes to understanding when enough is enough. A simple rule in this regard that is often used in elite athletic coaching circles is that "If you have to choose one, it's always better to undertrain than to overtrain."
- John Colver
Have a question? See the
Fit To Climb FAQ for explanations of specific exercises and general pointers to help you through the Fit To Climb Program.
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his
adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle, and is working on his second book,
Fit to Climb - a 16 week Mount Rainier Fitness Program.
Fit to Climb: Week 7 Schedule
|
DAY |
WORKOUT |
TOTAL TIME |
DIFFICULTY |
|
1 |
Rainier Dozen / Easy Hiking ( 30 min) |
42 min. |
Medium |
|
2 |
Rainier Dozen / High Intensity Stair Interval Training (60 min) |
72 min. |
Very Hard |
|
3 |
Rainier Dozen / Rest |
12 min. |
Recovery |
|
4 |
Strength Circuit Training x 4 |
54 min. |
Hard |
|
5 |
Rainier Dozen / Rest |
12 min. |
Recovery |
|
6 |
Rainier Dozen / Cross Training (1 hr) |
72 min. |
Medium |
|
7 |
Hike (3 hrs, 15lbs of pack weight) |
180 min. |
Medium |
|
Total |
7 hrs 24 mins |
|
BRIEFING
This week, we're loading up your pack with another ten to fifteen pounds of weight. Your ultimate target weight will be 35 to 45 pounds, depending on your individual gear. The added pack weight takes you a big step closer to that goal of preparing for your climb. A side benefit of increasing the amount of gear in your backpack is learning how to pack your gear like a pro! Check out RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer's
packing tips for some insights on how to pack a backpack for climbing!
Since day one of Fit To Climb, you've been practicing squats, lunges and other core exercises which are building your upper and lower body strength. This is a great time to focus on your technique, especially for squats (see
Fit to Climb: Week 3 for a refresher on proper technique).
This week, you’ll also increase the stair training workout to 60 minutes, pushing it into the “very hard” workout territory. The strength workout is twice as long as when you started; you’ll be doing 4 sets of the 8 exercises. In this week’s workouts you’ll notice that you’re building muscle endurance, indicated by your ability to make repeated efforts with less fatigue.
DESCRIPTIONS OF WORKOUTS
Day 1:
Rainier Dozen + Easy Hiking (30 Minutes)
Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to take another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you feel like it (a brisk walk is a great option). If you feel tired, today is a good opportunity be good to take a complete rest day instead. Listen to your body.
Day 2: Rainier Dozen + Stair Interval Training (60 Minutes)
After the Rainier Dozen, warm up for about 10 minutes, and then climb up and down a set of stairs, at a consistent pace, for about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool down with some stretching. You don’t need to carry a pack on your stair interval training, the focus in this workout is on speed and intensity.
Day 3: Rainier Dozen / Rest
Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to take another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you feel like it (a brisk walk is a great option). If you feel tired, today is a good opportunity be good to take a complete rest day instead. Listen to your body.
Day 4: Strength Circuit Training x 4
Repeat the strength circuit training workout introduced in Week 3. After warming up, perform four sets of the following exercises:
• Steam Engine
• Push Up
• Three Quarter Squat
•
Russian Twists
• Lunge
• Steam Engine Laying down
• Mountain Climber
•
8 Point Bodybuilder
Spend 40 seconds performing the exercises, and take 20 seconds between exercises to rest and rotate. Take a full minute of rest between each set. Take a full minute of rest between each set. Take ten minutes to cool down by stretching after you’re done.
Day 5: Rainier Dozen / Rest
Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to take another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you feel like it (a brisk walk is a great option). If you feel tired, today is a good opportunity be good to take a complete rest day instead. Listen to your body.
Day 6: Rainier Dozen + Cross Training (1 Hour)
Warm up with the Rainier Dozen and then spend an hour in some moderately vigorous activity as cross training. Listen to your body as to what activity sounds appropriate and have fun with it.
Day 7: 3 Hour Hike
Adding a pack with 15 pounds doesn’t sound like much, but if you’re not used to wearing a pack, it’s quite normal to experience tiredness or muscle ache, especially in the shoulders. If you feel a sharp pain, you should stop. However, if what you feel is muscle fatigue or an ache, do persevere and your shoulders will become used to the pack over the next few weeks.
An organizational aspect to this workout is to practice packing your pack so that the needed gear is easy to accessible, weather proofed and packed in a way that is balanced. Nothing wears you down like a poorly-organized, lop-sided pack.
Practically, if you have been acquiring gear for your climb, you could use it for ballast. If you don't have the specific items that you're climbing with, yet, you can be creative by adding heavy items such as water and bags of rice, or even spare clothes. A tip for anyone who is worried about knee pain on the descent: carry a jug of water to achieve the desired weight on the way up (15lbs = ~1.8 gallons of water). At the high point of the hike you can dump out some, or all, of this water so that you can descend with a lighter load and lessen the strain on your body.
- John Colver
Have a question? See the
Fit To Climb FAQ for explanations of specific exercises and general pointers to help you through the Fit To Climb Program.
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his
adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle, and is working on his second book,
Fit to Climb - a 16 week Mount Rainier Fitness Program.
Adjusting to the low oxygen of high altitude environments is a natural process that we will all experience if we travel or live at high altitudes. Like all things in life, some people are better at adjusting to high altitude than others. Fortunately, there are ways that each of us can prepare at home and in the early stages of mountain travel before going to the big peaks.
We all experience the low oxygen of high altitude a little differently, but the most prominent symptoms of going to high altitude are categorized as the condition Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). AMS is composed of a group of symptoms that can present themselves after spending some time at high altitude. Symptoms of AMS include headache, fatigue, anorexia, nausea and insomnia. While the severity of these symptoms can vary, AMS does not have to end your climb but should be used as an indication that your body is struggling to acclimatize.
The most important aspect of performing well and staying healthy in the mountains under the stress of low oxygen is by being physically fit. If you have been following a rigorous training program then you are well on your way to being physically fit for your climb. Fitness cannot prevent the symptoms of AMS but if the daily physical tasks of climbing are easier due to your high fitness level, then you have more energy reserves to battle the stress of the low oxygen environment.
Proper nutrition and hydration are also important variables leading up to and during your climb. While you may avoid simple carbohydrates during daily life, at altitude simple carbohydrates are the most efficient and most preferred form of energy for your acclimatizing body. Don’t be afraid to eat those high glycemic foods while working hard at altitude!
Dehydration can certainly be detrimental to your performance and health at high altitude, but you do not need to constantly consume water. Listen to your body, specifically your thirst, it has been finely tuned over many generations to keep you hydrated.
The prescription medication acetazolamide (Diamox) can help with acclimatization to high altitude, but it is not a magic pill that will solve all your high altitude problems. Diamox has repeatedly reduced AMS symptoms and hastened acclimatization during multi-day clinical and laboratory studies. It can work and is a great tool to use if you are not acclimatizing during an expedition even though you are using a standard acclimatization schedule, but its efficacy is less known for a quick overnight summit attempt such as Mt. Rainier. Remember: all medications have side effects that you need to understand before using and Diamox will not make up for a lack of fitness when headed into the mountains.
The bottom line is make sure that your body is fit enough to handle the stress of a high altitude mountain trip, and listen to your body while you are at altitude. If you pay attention, your body will tell you what fuel you need to keep going and how well you are adjusting to the high altitude environment. Have fun and climb safe!
_____
Walter Hailes is a senior guide at RMI and has guided extensively in North and South America. He also works as an exercise physiologist at the University of Montana, primarily studying the human capacity to endure/excel in difficult environments including high altitude, extreme heat and cold.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts on the RMI Blog!
Dear friends, family and colleagues: we are happy to get back in touch with you. Before all, we would like to apologize for the lack of communication of the last 10 days, but unfortunately, we were the most frustrated with that issue. Our satellite phone decided not to cooperate with our solar panel, and recharging the battery was an impossible task. Being the last team this season on the mountain, we could not borrow any other means of communication and we understand the worries this might have caused. But this is what being in the Himalayas brings to all of us...
That said, we are eager to announce that entire team is back safe in Kathmandu after having reached the SUMMIT ON THE CENTRAL SUMMIT OF SHISHAPANGMA at 8013metres!!!!
On Oct.11th, Bridget, Jake, Geoff and Elias reached the central summit in the mid afternoon, on a warm and cloudless day, after having followed the NW ridge for several hours from C3 (Elias and Bridget) at 7450m and from C2.5 (Geoff and Jake) at 7100m. The next day, Oct 12th, Eric and Leon, who had made shelter in C3 the previous day, started strong towards the summit. Leon reached the summit hours later, having Eric turning around well above 7600m in a wise and mature decision that honors this young, strong and smart climber, since his cold toes were not warming up in those early hours and up there you are the mercy of the temperatures.
Two days later, the entire team was reunited at Base Camp, from were we would proceed to do several back-carries to clear our gear and trash from anywhere below C1 at 6400m. After another day of rest and packing, we initiated our descent towards the trail head, also called Chinese Base Camp, were we arrived yesterday, the 16th. We were picked up by our truck (who learned about our arrival by a paper note sent down 2 days earlier with a yak shepherd) which would take us to the town of Nyalam, just a few Kilometers away from the Tibetan-Nepali border, to spend the night. This morning (Oct 17th) we made it into Nepal not without a couple small issues at the border and multiple traffic stops en-route to our hotel in Kathmandu, due to the heavy tourist season in the area. Is close to midnight here, so I will stop writing, but we will send you a good recap of the entire expedition soon.
Again, thanks to all of you for your support, your interest and the good vibrations sent. Best regards.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Dave Hahn summits Mt. Everest for a Record Thirteenth Time. On May 20th, 2011, Dave Hahn, Linden Mallory and their Sherpa team stood on the summit of Mt. Everest on a clear and beautiful day. Congratulations!
The team has safely returned to Everest Base Camp.
This spring I teamed up with an international crew of ski mountaineers to traverse Tajikistan’s
Fedchenko Glacier. Before the expedition, I had hardly heard of Tajikistan and certainly had never dreamed of crossing one of the longest glaciers outside of the Polar Regions. When the opportunity arose, I couldn’t say no. A high mountain adventure to a central Asian country on the northern border of Afghanistan wasn’t something my sense of adventure would just let me walk away from.
The trip came to life three years ago when three Canadian skiers hatched the idea and began the logistics. I was brought on because the team wanted two more experienced ski mountaineers for the remote and relatively unexplored zone of the Pamir mountain range.
Having traveled in developing countries before, I knew that I not only wanted to travel, climb and ski in this remote range, but to give back to the mountain communities that would help inevitably help us on our adventure along the way. As I packed my gear for the trip I noticed how much great warm clothing I had to choose from and I realized that I didn’t even use half of it anymore. This was it! I could get people to donate the winter clothing they hadn’t used in years and put it to good use in a country where access to technical apparel was slim to nil. I began a clothing drive and between me and my teammates Holly Walker, Emelie Stenberg, Vince Shuley and Selena Cordeau, we were able to collect and give 350 pounds of clothing to give to the Tajik people who needed the clothes far more than we did.
The good vibes from the clothing drive started our trip on a positive note - which was good, because it was a long, hard trip. We planned on one week for getting on and off the tributary glaciers to get to and from the Fedchenko. It ended up taking us thirteen days, nearly twice as long. We planned on setting up three basecamps and skiing 6000m peaks for two weeks; we were tent bound for six of those days due to weather. On top of all that, the snowpack was just about as unstable as it could get. This greatly limited what we were able to climb and ski.
Despite the hard work and frustrating snowpack, we had an amazing trip. Massive valleys, towering peaks like Peak Ismoil Somoni (formerly Peak Communism) and Independence Peak (Peak Revolution) and miles of ice surrounded us in a grand scale. We were in a place that few people had been before and completely isolated except for our DeLorme InReach two way satellite texting device. It was humbling and inspiring.
We met our goal of traversing the Fedchenko from our starting point in a town called Poy Mazor to its head and descended out the beautiful and rugged Tanimas Valley. Due to the exploratory nature of this trip and having little information about our exit, we left ourselves a few extra days before we would all have to fly home.
Our extra days were spent regaining some of the pounds we lost during the expedition eating fresh tandoor bread, kebabs and local apricots and cherries. People greeted us everywhere and invited us to share bread and tea with them even if they couldn’t speak a word of English (and we could only muster hello and thank you in Tajik).
The team left Tajikistan with a good taste in our mouths in more ways than one. We explored and lived in a high mountain range for 29 days, were exposed to the kind and generous culture of the Tajik, Pamir and Afghan people and came home safe!
Thanks to the
Eddie Bauer/ RMI Guide grant for assisting me in this amazing pursuit. The lessons I learned on this trip will forever shape my decision making and goals in the mountains. Until next time...
_________
Zeb Blais is a Senior Guide at RMI. He has climbed and skied mountains throughout North America. When he is not guiding, Zeb teaches avalanche courses and ski patrols at Squaw Valley in California. His spare time usually doesn’t save his feet from ski boots.
Congrat’s Elias and Bridgette!
Posted by: Ryan Aldrich on 12/16/2011 at 7:38 am
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