"Because it's there."

[sigh]

And the moment, America, stops prioritizing 'What's Next'? Is the moment it's over for us.

Burn out.

Unfortunately, "what's next" has for many become waiting to see who'll rocket from obscurity to stardom in this season's American Idol.

I think "what's next" should be exploring our deep oceans. They're amazingly diverse, mostly unexplored, barely utilized, and already on our planet. They just need better marketing. Space is so romantic. Oceans are...well, they're dowdy. They're in serious need of a change in image.

 

[Peregrinator]

Ah, The Trench. Look at all those fucking people!

Unfortunately, "what's next" has for many become waiting to see who'll rocket from obscurity to stardom in this season's American Idol.

I think "what's next" should be exploring our deep oceans. They're amazingly diverse, mostly unexplored, barely utilized, and already on our planet. They just need better marketing. Space is so romantic. Oceans are...well, they're dowdy. They're in serious need of a change in image.

I'd go along with that, though I'd point out that there are people who are doing just that. Some of them looking for oil...

 

[sigh]

I'd go along with that, though I'd point out that there are people who are doing just that. Some of them looking for oil...

Yeah, I know it's going on, but I meant as more of a national priority like space has been for decades now. Could you imagine what we'd have learned about the ocean if we'd spent as much time and money exploring the depths as we have the heavens?

And if we'd spend more time underwater, learning to move around in it, maybe it wouldn't take days to cap a leaking oil well. We need better technology if we're going to be setting ourselves up for such possible disasters. Most of our planet is underwater, and we know relatively little about what's there.

But, hey, that's not what this thread is about. Climb your peaks, boys. I'll watch and admire.

 

[Byron In Exile]

Yeah, I know it's going on, but I meant as more of a national priority like space has been for decades now. Could you imagine what we'd have learned about the ocean if we'd spent as much time and money exploring the depths as we have the heavens?

And if we'd spend more time underwater, learning to move around in it, maybe it wouldn't take days to cap a leaking oil well. We need better technology if we're going to be setting ourselves up for such possible disasters. Most of our planet is underwater, and we know relatively little about what's there.

But, hey, that's not what this thread is about. Climb your peaks, boys. I'll watch and admire.

The mud at the bottom of the ocean has nothing to offer compared with space.

And trying to drill for oil at a depth of one mile is insane.

In the ocean, the pressure increases one atmosphere every 33 feet.

At 5,000 feet, the pressure is 150 times atmospheric pressure, or about 2,200 psi.

If anything goes wrong, you're screwed.

 

[sigh]

The mud at the bottom of the ocean has nothing to offer compared with space.

And trying to drill for oil at a depth of one mile is insane.

In the ocean, the pressure increases one atmosphere every 33 feet.

At 5,000 feet, the pressure is 150 times atmospheric pressure, or about 2,200 psi.

If anything goes wrong, you're screwed.

There's a lot more to the ocean than mud.

Don't necessarily wanna drill for oil, at least not at a mile depth. Didn't mention it. My point was that since it's clearly happening anyway, wouldn't it be nice to have more practice moving around down there so we could fix it before the Gulf becomes a bucket of goo.

Add an addendum to my first statement as such: There's a lot more to the ocean than mud and oil.

And in space there's no pressure at all. If anything goes wrong, you're screwed. In either case, the solution requires investing hugely in very specialized transport that gives you a good chance of surviving where you oughtn't be.

 

[XXplorher]

Unfortunately, "what's next" has for many become waiting to see who'll rocket from obscurity to stardom in this season's American Idol.

I think "what's next" should be exploring our deep oceans. They're amazingly diverse, mostly unexplored, barely utilized, and already on our planet. They just need better marketing. Space is so romantic. Oceans are...well, they're dowdy. They're in serious need of a change in image.

Now you're talkin my language...

You're right. What's beneath what we already have?


Yum. That's a hella sexy thing to say. I heard ya.

 

[XXplorher]

And if we'd spend more time underwater, learning to move around in it, maybe it wouldn't take days to cap a leaking oil well. We need better technology if we're going to be setting ourselves up for such possible disasters. Most of our planet is underwater, and we know relatively little about what's there.

You're currently enormous in my mind... please continue to say what you think...

Some of us are starving to hear about it...

 

[The Mutt]

The mud at the bottom of the ocean has nothing to offer compared with space.

And trying to drill for oil at a depth of one mile is insane.

In the ocean, the pressure increases one atmosphere every 33 feet.

At 5,000 feet, the pressure is 150 times atmospheric pressure, or about 2,200 psi.

If anything goes wrong, you're screwed.

The bottom of the ocean might feed the world.

There's no food in space.

At least, not any we can get to before your grandchildren starve.

 

[thør]

French climber falls to death on McKinley (Denali)

From the adn.com:

"A 51-year-old French climber has died after falling more than 1,000 feet down Mount McKinley into a crevasse, park officials said Monday.

The National Park Service said Pascal Frison died Sunday afternoon after trying to keep his sled from sliding off a ridge. He and a climbing partner of 28 years were about 12,000 feet up on the West Buttress route.

Frison, of the French town Auxerre, is the 107th person to die since 1932 on the 20,320-foot mountain in Denali National Park. Four people died last year.

The bodies of 39 people were never recovered and remain on the mountain. Park officials are considering recovery options for Frison’s body.

Frison’s climbing partner Francois Rosati, 50, of Paris, was not injured.

Park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin said the temperature was around zero and the clear, calm weather was not a factor.

She said the men had climbing experience in Europe, South America and the Himalayas, but were not roped together as park officials recommend. They were on McKinley last season but had to turn back at 17,000 feet.

On Sunday before the fall, they were in an area where the trail was not steep, but the adjacent terrain was, McLaughlin said.

“It was just a split second reflex” to go after the sled, McLaughlin said. “It certainly wasn’t something he thought and deliberated on, it was just an instantaneous decision that proved to be a fatal one.”

McLaughlin said the climbers were on their fifth or sixth day of climbing at a conservative pace.

Natalie Novik, an honorary French consul in Anchorage, on Sunday night phoned Frison’s mother in the Savoy region of France. Novik said Frison was unmarried and had no children.

He was the head of a railroad crew for the SNCF, the French national railroad.

Novik said Rosati, an electrical engineer, was staying with park officials in Talkeetna.

As of Monday, 266 people were on the mountain, with most on the same West Buttress route the Frenchmen were attempting, which is considered the easiest of the ascents."

 

[Peregrinator]

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=324974

Senate Passes Resolution Establishing a National Search and Rescue Week

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution introduced by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) honoring our nation’s Search and Rescue personnel by designating May 16 through May 22 as National Search and Rescue Week. The bipartisan resolution was also sponsored by Senators Patty Murray, Mike Crapo, Jeff Bingaman, Barbara Boxer, Mike Enzi, Lisa Murkowski, and Ron Wyden.
“As an avid hiker and mountaineer, I take steps to prepare myself and minimize my risk whenever I pack for a trip,” Senator Cantwell said. “But I understand that no amount of preparation can protect you from an accidental misstep or an unforeseen circumstance, and it is often the swift response of trained search and rescue personnel that makes the difference between tragedy and survival. Every day in Washington state and across our nation, these brave volunteers exemplify courage, commitment and compassion in performing their duties. Today, we have passed a small act of recognition for their heroic efforts.”
Search and Rescue organizations are composed of paid and volunteer experts in search and rescue and disaster response. They work for military, law enforcement, and civilian organizations. Search and Rescue personnel come from a wide range of skilled backgrounds, including pilots, mountaineers, divers, urban technicians, dog handlers, backcountry horsemen, and snowmobilers.
A 2009 study reveals on average, national parks launch 11 search and rescue operations per day. Typically weekends are busiest, and it is day hikers, young men and boaters who are most commonly in need of help. Washington state is home to three of the 58 National Parks in the United States.
Early Sunday morning in Washington state, Search and Rescue workers came to the aid of a snowboarder who went missing Saturday afternoon on Mount Hood. Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue volunteers worked through the night and helped Portland Mountain Rescue volunteers finally locate the missing man. And just a few weeks ago, the King County Search and Rescue found an injured mountain biker near Lake Tradition.
LINK TO:

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/051410_Natl_Search_and_Rescue_Week_statement_for_record.pdf

SENATE RESOLUTION
Designating May 16 through May 22, 2010, as ‘‘National Search and Rescue Week’’.
Whereas the National Association for Search and Rescue and local search and rescue units across the United States have designated May 16 through May 22, 2010, as ‘‘National Search and Rescue Week’’;
Whereas the Senate recognizes the importance of search and rescue services that are provided by both salaried and volunteer citizens through county sheriff offices and military entities;
Whereas throughout the history of the United States, search and rescue personnel have served the people of this Nation by helping to save the lives of fellow citizens who are lost or injured;
Whereas search and rescue personnel continually offer educational services that provide individuals with the survival knowledge necessary to live safely in diverse environments, from mountains to deserts and across both the urban and remote areas of this Nation;
Whereas search and rescue personnel train continually in order to maintain mission readiness and to be able to address complex search and rescue situations with both knowledge and skill;
Whereas search and rescue personnel are instrumental during national emergencies or natural disasters, as they are willing and able to respond and remain on missions for many weeks;
Whereas search and rescue personnel are required to be focused and dedicated in order to carry out missions that involve personal sacrifice of time, finance, and property, and place their own lives in danger;
Whereas in the United States, more than 500 individuals have sacrificed their lives during search and rescue missions or training; and
Whereas search and rescue personnel shall always be recognized as essential to protecting the lives of the citizens of this Nation: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) designates May 16 through May 22, 2010, as ‘‘National Search and Rescue Week’’; and
(2) encourages the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities that promote awareness and appreciation of the role that search and rescue personnel perform in their communities ‘‘so that others may live’’.

 

[Byron In Exile]

There's a lot more to the ocean than mud.

Don't necessarily wanna drill for oil, at least not at a mile depth. Didn't mention it. My point was that since it's clearly happening anyway, wouldn't it be nice to have more practice moving around down there so we could fix it before the Gulf becomes a bucket of goo.

Add an addendum to my first statement as such: There's a lot more to the ocean than mud and oil.

And in space there's no pressure at all. If anything goes wrong, you're screwed. In either case, the solution requires investing hugely in very specialized transport that gives you a good chance of surviving where you oughtn't be.

No, you're comparing a difference of one atmosphere with a difference of 150 atmospheres.

 

[thør]

Croatian was healthy but demanded airlift at 14,200 feet

From the ADN.com:

"For six days last May on Mount McKinley, a climber from Croatia played chicken with Denali National Park rangers and volunteers. She was at 14,200 feet with no apparent injury or illness, but she insisted she wasn't going to walk off the mountain and demanded she be given air transportation. Rangers were willing to do just about anything, short of an air evacuation, to help her down.

In the end, the climber won. And the rangers who oversaw the whole ordeal still aren't happy about it.

Once Jadranka Luca-Mrden was flown off the mountain in the National Park Service's special high-altitude helicopter and she reached Talkeetna, rangers slapped her with a rare citation for "interfering with agency function" and creating a hazardous situation. The citation carries a maximum penalty of $5,000 and six months in jail, according to the National Park Service.

"When I gave it to her she said I was a big jerk," said John Leonard, a South District ranger responsible for Denali's mountaineering program. "She just left the country. It's my understanding that she didn't pay it."

And so ended a standoff that, as described by Leonard and mountaineer ranger Tucker Chenoweth, sounds like a case of high-altitude attitude sickness that included:

• Three 911 satellite-phone calls from Denali by Luca-Mrden;

• Numerous face-to-face encounters with Chenoweth and volunteers at the 14,200-foot camp, including an examination of Luca-Mrden by a registered nurse who found no sign of injury;

• Assistance from rangers and volunteers at 14,200 feet that included setting up a tent and providing food and water;

• A late-night satellite-phone call from Luca-Mrden to family or friends in Croatia, who then called someone they knew in Tacoma, who then called the 911 operator there, who then transferred the call to Alaska operators, who then called Leonard, who then reached Chenoweth at 14,200 feet. At 2 a.m., Chenoweth went from his tent to Luca-Mrden's, about a hundred meters away, where a head-to-toe assessment revealed pain in the woman's arch. "The 911 call provided her with a hot-water bottle," Chenoweth said.

• The hiring by the National Park Service of two climbing guides to descend with Luca-Mrden, her climbing partner and her gear. At the last minute, Luca-Mrden refused to go and the guides descended with Luca-Mrden's partner and her gear, but without Luca-Mrden, who decided to wait for a ride out.

"It's not an area where we like to go in and pick people off. It's a high-altitude area, and there's a risk in any sort of helicopter operation," Leonard said. "For about six days we took the stance that we were not going to fly her off. The last thing in the world we ever wanted to do was fly this person off. We're here to rescue people in true emergencies. This was a misuse and abuse of the system for us, because it was such a drain on our resources. We kept having to feed and take care of her and deal with her.

"... I tried every trick in the book to get her to walk down and so did the rangers in the camp. She was not going to leave."

Finally, Luca-Mrden was flown to the 7,000 foot base camp by the park service's high-altitude helicopter, which came to the 14,200-foot camp to airlift another climber who suffered a dislocated shoulder and other injuries in a fall. She took a fixed-wing plane to Talkeetna.

Efforts to contact Luca-Mrden to get her side of the story were unsuccessful.

FIRST 911 CALL AT 15,800 FEET

Leonard said Luca-Mrden attended the two-hour orientation that all climbers are expected to attend before beginning an ascent of Mount McKinley, which at 20,320 feet is the highest peak in North America. The meeting stresses self-reliance, he said.

Climbers must register with the park service and pay a $200 mountaineering special-use fee before beginning their McKinley ascent, but other than the orientation meeting, there are no other requirements.

Luca-Mrden and a male companion were climbing the West Buttress route, which is considered the least technical and is by far the most popular way up the mountain, with camps staffed by rangers and volunteers at 7,000 feet, 14,200 feet and usually 17,200 feet.

Chenoweth said Luca-Mrden made her first 911 call after she decided to turn back upon reaching the fixed lines that start at about 15,800 feet. Her partner went up; she went down.

He said she arrived at the 14,200-foot camp with a slight limp and with no assistance.

"I asked if she needed assistance and she said no. I asked if she made the 911 call and she said yes," Chenoweth said. "She indicated she wasn't in need of assistance other than her partner had her stove and her tent."

A volunteer agreed to give up his tent and move in with someone else in order to provide Luca-Mrden with a tent and a stove. Meanwhile, rangers tracked down Luca-Mrden's partner higher on the mountain and told him to return to 14,200 feet with the pair's gear. He agreed to do so.

Later that same night -- after Chenoweth and volunteers had rescued and brought into camp the climber with the dislocated shoulder -- Luca-Mrden called 911 again. That's the call that resulted in the 2 a.m. delivery of a hot-water bottle.

"Her 911 call was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen up there," said Chenoweth, who started working on Denali nine years ago as a volunteer and is in his fifth year as a National Park Service ranger. "She's in a camp surrounded by people, her call went all over the world, and she was a hundred meters away."

When Luca-Mrden's partner returned, Denali rangers arranged to pay two local guides already on the mountain to descend with the pair.

"She consents to this plan, we get everybody geared up, and they're leaving in the morning," Chenoweth said. "She refuses to go at the last minute.

"We explained the rescue policy, which in short says that rescue is discretionary, that we assume people are going to take care of themselves and self-reliance is a requirement on the mountain. We are forcefully explaining this ... and she refuses, refuses, refuses.

"By now it becomes completely obvious to me that there's only one option for her and that's flying her out. We exhausted every negotiation avenue we had."

WAITING OUT A STORM

For the next four or five days, bad weather kept the high-altitude helicopter from coming for the man with the injured shoulder. Meanwhile, Luca-Mrden held her ground.

"She just sat out the storm in our tent. We brought her food in the morning and the evening," Chenoweth said. "Even after waiting for four days, she had no motivation to walk down."

Chenoweth said he continued to urge Luca-Mrden to walk down, telling her she'd get to the base camp faster by walking down than she would by waiting for a break in the weather. Other climbing parties that passed through the camp on their descent offered to take Luca-Mrden with them, he said.

But she refused to budge.

"She wanted to pay somebody to (fly her out)," Leonard said, "and we told her we don't have commercial flights."

NOT A NORMAL MISSION

Both Chenoweth and Leonard, who has been a Denali ranger for 10 years, say they've never before encountered an able-bodied climber who flat-out refused to climb.

"People get scared and don't want to go down, but we're able to work with them," Leonard said. "This was a person who simply refused to move because she just didn't want to do it. It got to the point where she just decided she was done."

As a result, Luca-Mrden has been unofficially 86'd from Denali. Leonard said he will do everything he can to prevent the woman from making another attempt to scale the mountain.

"From my perspective it was a headache," he said. "For the rangers and volunteers on the mountain, it was a nightmare."

Chenoweth is still frustrated by the whole thing. The high-altitude helicopter can be crucial to rescue operations and has saved lives on Denali, but he worries critics may point to this episode and say it's being used frivolously.

"Any time that helicopter flies, it's a special use. It is not a normal mission to land on a glacier at 14,000 feet. There's a risk to everybody involved, and we use it sparingly," he said.

Chenoweth is worried, too, by the advent of so many safety nets that allow some adventurers to be less self-sufficient than they should be.

"Cell phones, sat phones, personal locator beacons -- they all add a sense of security. What we hope as rescue personnel is they don't become substitutes for decision-making skills," he said. "People have access now to guide books and all this information on how to climb Denali, and they want it to be predictable, they don't want any unexpected events or challenges. That's not why people climb big mountains. They climb big mountains for that element of the unexpected and, in Alaska, hopefully for the idea of being in the wilderness: I'm going to a place where I can only help myself.""

 

[Alt]

Unfortunately, "what's next" has for many become waiting to see who'll rocket from obscurity to stardom in this season's American Idol.

I think "what's next" should be exploring our deep oceans. They're amazingly diverse, mostly unexplored, barely utilized, and already on our planet. They just need better marketing. Space is so romantic. Oceans are...well, they're dowdy. They're in serious need of a change in image.

It remains the unknown because it is invisible to the naked eye. Dreamers' gaze reach out to the mountains and stars with the inherent wish to touch. Yet the deep ocean has removed those precious senses that are so easily taken for granted. Unfortunately, humans remain imprisoned in their own tangible world.

 

[atmas]

From the ADN.com:

"For six days last May on Mount McKinley, a climber from Croatia played chicken with Denali National Park rangers and volunteers. She was at 14,200 feet with no apparent injury or illness, but she insisted she wasn't going to walk off the mountain and demanded she be given air transportation. Rangers were willing to do just about anything, short of an air evacuation, to help her down.

There is much discussion in climbing circles and even in the general public about the cost of rescues. Most rescues don't cost the rescuee anything, but many SAR organizations are beginning to rethink that. I came across a very informative article in the December 09/January 10 edition of the National Geographic Adventure magazine. At the time the article was published only 3 states could bill for SAR if the person was deemed "negligent:" HI, NH, and OR. Beyond that, Maine can bill even in the absence of negligence.
However, the practical point the article makes (written by Laurence Gonzalez) is that many if not most SAR services are volunteer, and almost all want to keep the bulk of their services as a no-charge thing. Moreover, they want more people to be aware that there is likely to be no charge because many who get into trouble wait far too long out of fear of the bill, and by waiting put the eventual SAR volunteers (and 90% of search and rescue operations in the US are conducted by volunteers) into danger.

The article opens with a discussion of an experienced hiker, an Eagle Scout to boot, who set out to hike the Presidential Range in New Hampshire in late April 2009. He twisted his ankle, but the weather was good and he had a reasonable amount of supplies. As time went on, though, he sought a shorter route. He had food and was able to make a fire. A search was begun when he didn't return in the time he had planned. The complexity spiraled, and before long 5 different agencies, including the Maine Forest Service helicopter, were involved. The hiker was found 4 days later, in good condition. His parents sent $1000 to Fish and Game, the agency that found him, to show their gratitude. Fish and Game responded by calling the hiker "negligent" and sending a bill for $25,238.


On a separate topic, I came across a section of Youtube that has the film Touching The Void for your viewing pleasure, though it is broken up into 12 segments http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=0F21C48031AF13BB&search_query=touching+the+void

 

[thør]

Yeowsers! A 1000' fall.

From the adn.com:

"Canadian climber Luc Benoit had worked his way about 15,000 feet up Mount McKinley's steep and treacherous West Rib on a gorgeous Wednesday evening when he drove his ice ax into some mixed rock and ice to hoist himself along.

It didn't hold.

Benoit, who was climbing alone, fell backwards and tumbled an estimated 1,000 feet down the face before a narrow, flat section stopped him. Though shaken and bruised, with an especially sore shoulder, Benoit was a lucky man.

"I'm surprised," Denali mountaineering ranger Kevin Wright said on Friday. "Several people familiar with the route told me, 'How can you possibly fall that far and not go all the way to the bottom to your death? You have to hit everything perfectly."

Not only was Benoit, 40, alive, he was healthy enough to descend another 1,000 feet to a safer area to spend the night in minus-5 degree temperatures. While he lost much of his gear, Benoit still had his sleeping bag and his stove. Early the next morning, he radioed the Denali mountaineering rangers.

At midday Thursday, Denali National Park's A-Star B3 helicopter piloted by Andy Hermansky flew to the West Rib with Denali mountaineering ranger Tucker Chenoweth. Unable to find a suitable landing zone, Hermansky performed what is known as a "toe-in" landing maneuver, hovering with only the tips of his skids touching the snow, while Chenoweth helped the climber aboard.

"It was a little bit out of the ordinary, but the pilots are trained for toe-in technique," Wright said. "They do it all the time heli-skiing and on other contract work. It's well within our abilities."

Only about 5 percent of the more than 1,000 climbers attempting McKinley each year ascend the West Rib, which Denali National Park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin described as more dangerous as the popular West Buttress route.

"We don't see many solo climbers on that route," Wright said.

In 2008, 42 of the 1,272 climbers who attempted the summit chose that route. Crossing glacier ice in the crevasse-strewn lower section "makes it dicey for solo climbers," Wright said. Farther up, the slope steepens to 30-55 degrees as climbers negotiate mixed ice and rock sections.

"I would say it's much more dangerous," Wright said. "There are just a few places on West Buttress where you could take a 1,000-foot fall. The entire West Rib is that way."

Benoit, of Montreal, was flown to the Kahiltna base camp at 7,200 feet where he was examined by a volunteer physician before being flown to Talkeetna in a plane and released.

This was Benoit's third time on McKinley. He previously summitted via the West Buttress route.

As the McKinley climbing season nears its apex, with more than 400 climbers on North America's tallest mountain, three other air evacuations occurred recently.

• On the night of May 20, park rangers treated a guided climber for high-altitude pulmonary edema at the 17,200-foot camp. The next day, rangers assisted him down to the 14,200-foot camp and he was evacuated on Saturday after his condition did not improve.

• On Monday, a climber suffering severe altitude illness was evacuated from the 14,200-foot camp. His symptoms eased once he reached Talkeetna.

• A climber suffering severe pain due to a kidney stone was evacuated from the 7,800-foot camp on the West Buttress Wednesday. The park helicopter flew him Talkeetna, where an ambulance brought him to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

So far this season, 165 climbers have reach the summit."

 

[thør]

Some aren't so lucky: (adn.com)

"Two climbers from Canada have died in an avalanche in Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve.

Park officials say 39-year-old Canadian Andrew Herzenberg and 42-year-old Israeli Avner Magen were descending a steep gully of Ruth Gorge Saturday when they were swept away by the avalanche. Both men were residents of Toronto, Ontario.

Officials said other climbers witnessed the avalanche and skied closer to the site.

In the debris, the climbers saw what appeared to be two people and gear and called rangers with a satellite phone.

The bodies of the two men were recovered Sunday morning."

 

[BoomerP]

Why can't people leave Billy Buckner alone?

"Because he's there"
I'm hilarious

 

[veryblueeyes]

I beg to differ, Sigh. Not in all of what you say; though that we have not explored the ocean as much. Living near the ocean most of my entire life and I worked for NOAA for a brief time *I was in IT, though knew a lot of the people that dived and did exploration and restoration*, I would say that we have placed a lot of money and time in exploring the ocean.


http://www.noaa.gov/ocean.html

 

[thør]

Vern Tejas reclaims Seven Summits record at age 57

From today's ADN.com:

"The latest feat for Alaska climbing legend Vern Tejas is a high-altitude, record-setting sprint that took him to every corner of the planet and to the top of the highest peak on every continent.

Tejas, who became a household name in Alaska in 1988 when he became the first climber to complete a solo winter ascent of Mount McKinley, returned to the summit of his beloved McKinley on Monday to break the world speed record for climbing the Seven Summits. He did it with two days to spare.

Tejas, 57, climbed the highest peaks on each of the seven continents -- plus a peak in Papua New Guinea that many consider a mandatory eighth climb to complete the package -- in 134 days. The old record, set in 2008 by a Danish climber, was 136.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the accomplishment was the speed with which Tejas made it from the top of Mount Everest in Asia to the top of Mount McKinley in Alaska. He stood atop Everest, which at 29,035 feet is the tallest peak in the world, on May 24. One week later he was standing atop McKinley, which at 20,320 feet is the tallest peak in North America.

"That was a pretty quick one," said Tejas, who spent four days on the slopes of McKinley, a mountain that he said takes most people two weeks to climb.

This is the second time Tejas has owned the Seven Summits speed record; in 2005, he accomplished the feat in 187 days. A guide for Alpine Ascents International whose job takes him to Everest and McKinley almost every year, Tejas also boasts the record for the most Seven Summits completions with nine.

"I have made a career of doing the Seven Summits, so it's nice to know that not only can I do them, I can do them the fastest and the most. It's my stamp," Tejas said Friday in a phone interview from his home in New York City. "It's my chosen career, and because of that I want to do it well and I want people to know me for it. It's also something I'm very proud of. I've put a lot of energy into it."

KEEPING ACCLIMATIZED

Tejas said he's been thinking about making a new run at the speed record ever since his previous record was broken back in 2006 by an Indian climber who accomplished the feat in 172 days. Ireland's Ian McKeever lowered the record to 156 days in 2007 and Denmark's Henrik Kristiansen lowered it to 136 in 2008.

"I got motivated after some uppity Indian climbers decided they were gonna go after it, and it just stuck in my craw that these guys from India who didn't know anything about climbing were going for it," Tejas said. "Neither had much of an inkling or a love of the mountains and it just kinda busted my chops that they were so well-funded they were gonna pull this off and take the record away from me. That made me hungry to get it back."

Kristiansen's 136-day achievement gave Tejas the final nudge he needed to try to reclaim the record.

"It was like a gauntlet going down," he said. "I thought, 'Oh, I should be able to do this.' "

A series of fortunate circumstances helped him along the way, including the chance to share a helicopter ride off Everest with one of his clients who wanted to get to Katmandu in a hurry, saving Tejas a couple of days of hiking. Also assisting his efforts: a guiding job that both paid his expenses for three of the climbs, including Mount Vinson and Everest, and kept him acclimatized to high altitudes on his round-the-world whirlwind.

The guiding job took Tejas up Antarctica's Mount Vinson three times last winter. His third climb up the 16,067-foot peak ended with a Jan. 18 summit -- and started the clock ticking on his record attempt. From there, his journey took him far, wide and high:

• A Jan. 30 summit of South America's 22,820-foot Aconcagua, followed by a quick trip home to New York's Greenwich Village "to say hello to my wife and grab some new gear."

• A Feb. 19 summit of Carstensz Pyramid, a 16,032-foot peak in New Guinea that he climbed while guiding a party of Alpine Ascent clients.

• A Feb. 27 summit of Australia's 7,310-foot Kosciuszko, a one-day climb after which he returned to New York for one day, mostly because airfare to his next stop -- Africa -- was cheaper if his itinerary took him through North America;

• A March 6 summit of Kilimanjaro, a 19,340-foot climb he managed to do in 48 hours instead of the usual six or seven days, in large part because he was already acclimatized;

• A March 20 summit of Russia's 18,510-foot Mount Elbrus, a one-day climb for Tejas but a week-long climb for most others -- another feat made possible by pre-acclimatization, Tejas said.

• A May 24 summit of Everest, an ascent slowed by the fact Tejas was again working as a guide and had to move at his clients' pace, not his. He summitted a week ago Monday, giving him till June 1 -- or nine days -- to descend, fly from Nepal to Anchorage and get to the top of Denali. "That was one of my biggest challenges," Tejas said. "On the 24th of May I was on top of Everest thinking, how am I going to get down, get back to Alaska and get up (Denali) fast enough?"

Providing the answer was a client who, upon reaching Everest's summit, called his girlfriend on a satellite phone and proposed. She accepted, which made the climber so eager to get home that he hired a helicopter to take him off the mountain. The climber knew about Tejas' pursuit of the record, so he invited Tejas to ride to Katmandu.

Once he made it to McKinley, Tejas needed four days to reach the summit of a mountain he has scaled more than 40 times. He climbed to 10,000 feet the first day and 14,000 feet the second day, spent the next day at 14,000 and on the fourth made the push for the summit, getting there in nine hours.

At about 5 p.m. Monday, the clock stopped ticking and the record was his again.

TRAVELING CHEAP

Tejas suspects it's only a matter of time before someone tries to lower the mark even further. And he thinks it can be done faster -- by others, and by him.

Tejas took time off between Kilimanjaro and Elbrus to meet his son in Alaska for a spring-break ski trip to Alyeska. His original plan was to climb McKinley during that span, but his boss at Alpine Ascents worried that a winter ascent of McKinley might make Tejas fatigued, late or both for the start of the climbing season on Everest. So Tejas went to Alyeska instead and put off McKinley.

He joked that his four-month adventure probably set two records -- the speed record, and one for what he called "the most insignificant budget for the Seven Summits."

People like McKeever and Kristiansen often get sponsors to provide six-figure budgets, he said. Tejas was able to cover expenses for three of his climbs -- Vinson, Carstensz Pyramid and Everest -- thanks to his job, and he said he spent an average of $1,000 apiece for the others. He said he's learned to travel cheap over the years.

Tejas will remain in New York for about another week -- his wife, Carole, is a Manhattan attorney he met while guiding on Elbrus a few years ago and married at the top of Mount Vinson in December 2007-- but will be back in crampons in a week or so, when he returns to Alaska to resume guiding on McKinley.

He celebrated his 57th birthday in April, while preparing for the Everest climb, and said he feels fit and strong enough to keep chasing big goals.

"I feel like I'm pretty primed right now," Tejas said. "I feel lucky to have a supportive wife, and a boss who's supportive of my desires to be strong and unusual and different, and to still have my health.""

 

[sigh]

No, you're comparing a difference of one atmosphere with a difference of 150 atmospheres.

And yet in either case, if anything goes wrong, you're screwed. Dead is dead, hon.

I saw a program just this evening on the oceans (which made me think of this thread, actually). Discovery Channel or something like that. Anyway, in part of it they were talking about placing CO2 depots in the deep ocean and at one site where they've tried this, the released CO2 has allowed a huge explosion in underwater life. Apparently some small critters can live off the CO2 and bigger critters eat them and so on until the ocean floor was literally covered with pale-looking crabs. I'm not sure that's a good thing or not, but it does show the potential for agriculture in the depths.

veryblueeyes, you're right. That same TV program illustrated how much is going on undersea, but still, it's never captured our imagination like space has.

I guess my feeling is, if we're going to spend money exploring, the chance for a real return on the investment is greater underwater than in space.

 

[thør]

Not a big mountain, but one above my town:

Linkage to pics

 

[Peregrinator]

Not a big mountain, but one above my town:

Linkage to pics

Fucking gorgeous. I see I need to get caught up with this thread.

 

[thør]

Denali rangers order paraglider off mountain, into hospital

From the ADN.com:

"A 25-year-old climber from Pennsylvania who reportedly planned to paraglide off the summit of Alaska's Mount McKinley has been flown off the mountain and taken to a Fairbanks hospital.

Denali National Park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin says the unidentified man was strapped to a backboard Wednesday and plucked from the 14,200-foot level of the 20,320-foot peak by an Army Chinook helicopter.

The park's medical director prepared a 72-hour protective custody order after Park Service volunteer medical professionals evaluated the man's behavior, described as "increasingly unusual and erratic."

The spokeswoman says rangers confronted the man when they learned of his plan to paraglide, a prohibited activity in the park. He reportedly agreed not to bring that equipment. But when he reached the 14,200-foot camp, "cold, wet and in distress," rangers found paragliding equipment in his sled. Other climbers reported the man lacked proper gear and was not climbing safely.

His hometown was not immediately available. "

 

[The Mutt]

From the ADN.com:

"A 25-year-old climber from Pennsylvania who reportedly planned to paraglide off the summit of Alaska's Mount McKinley has been flown off the mountain and taken to a Fairbanks hospital.

Denali National Park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin says the unidentified man was strapped to a backboard Wednesday and plucked from the 14,200-foot level of the 20,320-foot peak by an Army Chinook helicopter.

The park's medical director prepared a 72-hour protective custody order after Park Service volunteer medical professionals evaluated the man's behavior, described as "increasingly unusual and erratic."

The spokeswoman says rangers confronted the man when they learned of his plan to paraglide, a prohibited activity in the park. He reportedly agreed not to bring that equipment. But when he reached the 14,200-foot camp, "cold, wet and in distress," rangers found paragliding equipment in his sled. Other climbers reported the man lacked proper gear and was not climbing safely.

His hometown was not immediately available. "

Your tax dollars at work.

 

[Peregrinator]

Your tax dollars at work.

:avery: