Behind the Scenes

Full Episode: Part 2 Climbing Cholatse

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Behind the Scenes: Lobuche

The nice thing about trekking and acclimatizing is that there’s plenty of time to talk. Ueli, Rob, Jim, Ongchhu and I left Namche and headed up-valley; it took another two days of trail time to reach Lobouche, a small cluster of sheet-metal and stone buildings tucked behind the lateral moraine of the Khumbu glacier. We rested there for a day, then scrambled to the summit ridge of Lobouche East, at around 6000 meters, to sleep for the night. Along the way, I learned three things about Ueli Steck: Read More »

Behind the Scenes: Khumbu Valley

In this installment of Project Himalaya’s Behind the Scenes video series, the team preps for Lobouche. Read More »

Behind the Scenes: Namche

Greetings from Namche! We’ve been here in the heart of the Khumbu for a few days, acclimatizing and enjoying the refreshingly slow pace of life… As usual, our stay here has been that much more relaxing thanks to the wonderful Sherpa hospitality – a special shout-out goes to Pemba at the Khumbu Lodge. Read More »

Behind the Scenes: Getting to Lukla

Our first attempt to escape Kathmandu was thwarted by rain showers and high-winds. After five hours of waiting in barely-contained chaos of the domestic terminal of the airport for our plane to Lukla, all flights were finally, definitively cancelled for the rest of the day. The next morning, however, dawned clear and calm. Rob, Jim, and I boarded our twin-engine Otter plane, and silently said a few prayers – the flight could well be the most dangerous part of our entire journey. Read More »

Behind the Scenes: Kathmandu

The world first heard of Ueli Steck in the inaugural issue of Alpinist Magazine, back in 2002. Ueli, with Canadian badass Sean Easton, had pulled off an incredible ascent on East Face of Mount Dickey, a mixed horror show they dubbed “Blood From Stone”. In only three days, the pair merged big-wall climbing with cutting edge mixed-techniques – the equivalent of ascending a face half-again as big as El Cap with ice tools and crampons. Because the ascent was so startling, and occurred on a relatively low-altitude peak lacking big-name stature, it escaped attention for many mainstream adventure media outlets. Only the true alpine crazies recognized the achievement for what it was: a ground-breaking achievement that heralded the arrival of a world class talent. Read More »

Behind the Scenes: Khumbu Spring Training

It’s a funny thing how much the human animal is a creature of habit. People tend to say the same things, watch the same movies, hangout with the same people, go to the same bars, set the same goals and make the same mistakes over and over, day after day and year after year, throughout the trajectory of experience that we call life. Climbers are no different, although I suspect the arch of the pendulum swings a degree wider for us than it does for most other folk, ranging from the extreme masochism to unchecked indulgence in equal time. Read More »

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