Americans on Everest / Not rated but would be G or good for all
During the last couple of weeks of May, 2013 during the height of the Himalayan climbing season, Mt. Everest (29,029 or maybe 29,035 ft.) was climbed by it’s oldest mountaineer ever, 80 year old Yiuchiro Miura. Without a walker. He said he was a little tired when he made it back to base camp. Really? By the time you read this his record may have been broken. Former record holder Nepal’s Min Bahadur Sherchan set the prior mark in 2008 when he was 76. Now 81 he is on the way back to Everest to reclaim the record . Good luck, Min. Don’t worry about BINGO, they will wait till you get back to finish the game.
Also summiting were Americans Melissa Arnot and Dave Hahn. At 29, Melissa has summited 5 times which is the record for the ladies. Dave Hahn made it number 15. He has quite a few more climbs before he takes the record but he seems to be on the way. Whew!
May 1st 1963 was the day Jim Whittaker, now 84, became the 1st American to make it to the top. JW has chronicled his trip in his book A Life on the Edge : Memoir’s of Everest and Beyond published in 1999. JW was also the first employee of REI and it’s first CEO. As if he weren’t busy enough already. A new edition of Jim’s book in hard back is now available. If you visit his website www.jimwhitaker.com you can obtain a copy directly from him for the same price you would pay at a bookstore or on-line site. As a bonus he will sign your copy and add a small inscription of your choice. Great both for yourself or makes a unique gift.
The original 1963 expedition was led by Norman Dyhrenfurth who also filmed a lot of the trip. ND made it quite high on Everest but didn’t summit. He turned 95 on May 7th 2013. Besides a book on the expedition, National Geographic also used the footage including the first film ever taken on the summit to produce a TV special. The 1 hour show was broadcast September 10th 1965. It was the very first TV special ever produced by NatGeo. Got to start somewhere. It might as well be at the top. Now they broadcast 24/7.
The show has been on a few DVD collections from time to time but usually in truncated form. It is currently included in the DVD collection documenting the first 125 years of the magazine (1888 to 2013) and it’s explorations. If you get the NatGeo channel on Cable or Satellite they are also broadcasting this show in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the expedition. Directed by Dyhrenfurth and written by mountain novelist James Ramsey Ullman, it is narrated by none other than Orson Welles. Orson never climbed Mt. Everest.
Jim Whittaker and his twin brother reside in Washington State. At 84 he returned to the Mt. Everest vicinity but was affected by the altitude and had to cut short his plans to hike to base camp. I doubt I could have made it as high as he did at 84 when I was 24.
Be sure to check out the vintage show on NatGeo channel. It’s free or you can look for the DVD on the pricey anniversary set. Jim W. is the guy running the movie camera on the summit.
Congratulations to all of this year’s climbers; the young and the old. If you order a book from Jim tell him you love a mix of vanilla and mint chocolate chip ice cream and that you only eat it outside. See what he says.
Rated 4.0 out of 4.0 firsts. For NatGeo, Jim and America.