RAN - Summer 2005 08.indd - Regis High School

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12 Regis Alumni News “A MARGIN OF LUCK”: A Photo Essay April 6, Lhasa, Tibet. Elev. 12,000 ft. Greg and Dan in front of the Potala. Before the Chinese invasion and illegal annexation of Tibet in 1950, the Potala was the home of the Dalai Lama and center of Tibetan life with Buddhist monasteries and government offices. April 4, 2005, Kathmandu, Nepal. Elevation 4,000 feet. Dan and Greg spinning prayer wheels at the Monkey Temple. Buddhists believe that each time the wheels are spun prayers are sent to the heavens. We prayed for good weather and a safe journey. Later, before our summit attempt, we had another prayer ceremony called a Puja to show our respect to the mountain, which both the Nepalese and Tibetans hold sacred. April 26, Elev. 23,000 ft. Climbers, clipped to fixed ropes, crossing a crevasse directly below the North Col. Large commercial expeditions with numerous Sherpas, fixed new rope on the climbing route above ABC to increase safety. This critical task was organized by Russell Brice (a.k.a. “Big Boss”), the most experienced guide on the mountain and leader of the Himalayan Experience Expedition. In the picture, tents of the Russian Team are visible. Our team’s Camp 1 on the North Col was a few meters higher, out of sight. May 2, Camp 1. Elev. 23,000ft. View from the North Col of our line of ascent. The North Ridge is directly ahead and connects with the Northeast Ridge, which leads to the summit. On summit day the most difficult sections were the First, Second and Third Steps visible as three bumps on the ridge crest, just before the final steeper summit pyramid. The Steps are relatively short, but contain steep technical rock climbing sections, including a 20 foot vertical ladder on the Second Step. May 2, Camp 2. Elev. 25,500ft. The view from the tent at Camp 2, high winds and storm clouds moving in. The summit pyramid of Pumori is on the left. Cho Oyu the 6th highest peak in the world at 26,906 ft. is the broad flat-topped peak in the distance. The shoulder of Changtse is on the lower right.
Summer 2005 13 April 15, Everest Base Camp, Tibet. Elev. 17,000 ft. The team arrived at base camp on April 10 after a three day jeep ride on dirt roads from Lhasa and spent several days acclimatizing. Despite being dusty, windy and cold, BC was the warmest camp on the mountain, and we would return twice during the expedition to recuperate. In the picture the yellow dome tents are Dan and Greg’s and the blue a-frame tents belong to the Sherpas and cooks. Larger dining (green) and cook (blue) tents are on the right. The team and Tibetans are weighing gear for yak loads to Advanced Base Camp (ABC). The immense north side of Everest is in the center of the picture. The Northeast Ridge to the left of the summit was the team’s line of ascent. The air at BC has half the oxygen of air at sea level. yak herder for a dzi stone necklace replica. Dzi stones are believed to have magical properties that bring good luck and ward off evil. Genuine dzi stones are hundreds, if not thousands of years old and are passed from generation to generation. Life at base camp revolved around sleeping and eating, but we also read, played chess, visited other expeditions, and explored the nearby Rongbuk Monastery. April 19, Elev. 22,000 ft. The North Col is at the top of the picture and climbers can be seen on the steep snow slopes and ice cliffs winding their way up. Our first acclimatization climb to the North Col took five hours and we were completely exhausted. Six weeks later, during our summit push, it took us under four hours and we were still fresh, the wonders of acclimatization. Our near super-human Sherpas, who live above 12,000 feet most of the year and have a genetic advantage at high altitude, would regularly carry 40 pound loads to the North Col in two and a half hours and sometimes continue to Camp 2 the same day. June 2, Summit Elev. 29,028 ft. View from the summit of Everest toward Tibet, the climber in red approaching is Greg. We struggled to stay on our feet on this final section of the Northeast ridge as 60 mph crosswind gusts threatened to blow us down the corniced, 10,000 ft. Kangshung Face to the right. The winding river of ice in the middle of the picture is the East Rongbuk Glacier, our route to and from ABC. June 4, evening, Base Camp. A close-up farewell of Everest at dusk, as we packed into jeeps with our mountain of equipment for the drive back to Kathmandu. June 2, 9:30 AM, Summit. The Big Green Everest Expedition on top of the world, temperatures were below 0 F and windy. From left, Greg, Ang Mingma Sherpa (5th summit), Dan, and Mingma Dorjee Sherpa (2nd summit) with the Nepalese flag. We stayed for a little less than a half hour taking pictures and gazing at the incredible views of Nepal, Tibet and India. We could see five of the six highest mountains in the world: Kangchenjunga (3rd), Lhotse (4th), Makalu (5th), and Cho Oyu (6th). The second highest mountain in the world, K2 (28,250 ft.) is eight-hundred miles away in Northern Pakistan.
Page 1 and 2: Volume 70 | Number 4 | Summer 2005
Page 3 and 4: Summer 2005 3 Letter From The Presi
Page 5 and 6: Summer 2005 5 To The Right: Rob Gro
Page 7 and 8: Summer 2005 7 Regis Repertory: A Ye
Page 9 and 10: Summer 2005 9 Ladies and Gentlemen
Page 11: Summer 2005 11 “A Margin of Luck
Page 15 and 16: Summer 2005 15 the Jesuits. By the
Page 17 and 18: Summer 2005 17 in the classroom. If
Page 19 and 20: Summer 2005 19 appears on the Home
Page 21 and 22: Summer 2005 21 1979 Richard J. Webe
Page 23 and 24: Summer 2005 23 1998 Daniel D. Kirch

RAN - Summer 2005 08.indd - Regis High School

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