Everest

[Sanchez]

Anyone ever mountaineer the Himilayas? I'm interested in something high this time, K2 or the Big E. In fact, Lhotse would even do.

I have all of the equipment and I have done some mountaineering before. Your suggestions/stories are appreciated. Happy turns.

[TenSeven]

Its extremely expensive isn't it?

[Sanchez]

It depends which outfitter you go with. Around 35k, I think, was the cheapest. I already have the gear, so that's one less notch in the wallet. It would make some cool photos to post up here, though.

[Justin]

I have all of the equipment and I have done some mountaineering before.

err... some mountaineering... I'd suspect you would want to have a lot of moutainerring under your belt prior to attempting K2, Everest and others of similiar stature. Unless of course you have a death wish.

Then again, i guess you have one if you interested in Everest to begin with....

[Ispoiler]

The are plenty of peaks that you should consider first before attempting something of that magnitude. Have you looked into doing some of the more technical accents in the States? Plenty of people have the gear, its that mentality that gets them killed.

[Tommy T]

Anyone ever mountaineer the Himilayas? I'm interested in something high this time, K2 or the Big E.

I seriously considered it for a while, after climbing over 20,000 feet seven times in Alaska and the Andes. I finally rejected the idea because the time and money commitment didn't measure up to the odds against success.

I was serious enough about it to make some inquiries and found that govenment regulations in both Pakistan and Nepal (Tibet wasn't an option then) were seriously biased against private expeditions. Only those that were backed by a government or at least a recognized national climbing association had a chance to get a permit.

Then I studied the appendices in the Chris Bonnington books and found out what a nightmare the team organization and logistics are and decided that I would rather enjoy the mountains than spend a year or more trying to climb, against the odds, a himal.

Both the government issue and the organizational problem are somewhat dealt with through using a commercial guiding service -- but then you're paying a lot money for what is basically a fancy trip to Disney. The same self-respect that keeps me from helicoptering for turns or running rapids with raft guides keeps me out of the guided climbs of the style now going down in Nepal. I'll hire an Alpine ski guide to show me the local secrets in Chamonix, but my ability is equal to the guide's -- only his knowledge base of the region is greater. I've got to make the turns myself or get carried home on a stretcher.

Tommy T.

[Sanchez]

No, I've done some rather serious climbs. Everest is relatively "safe" (emphasis on safe) these days with the eclipse of outfitters. I know the government regulations, the cost, I would imagine I have the mentality (after hanging around this site enough) to take the world's biggest chunk of ice. Of course, I mean several years down the road (as in maybe 5 or 6 years).

[mainwaring]

No, I've done some rather serious climbs. Everest is relatively "safe" (emphasis on safe) these days with the eclipse of outfitters. I know the government regulations, the cost, I would imagine I have the mentality (after hanging around this site enough) to take the world's biggest chunk of ice. Of course, I mean several years down the road (as in maybe 5 or 6 years).

sanchez,

what climbs have you done?

himalayan climbing (i have not done any, though i have researched as well) seems to be mostly a high priced high risk affair. certainly, it can be done w/o out guides which drops the price, but you will need at a min. an excellent climbing partner and a sherpa most likely.

if you are really serious, i'd start with cho oyu. i was slated to do this climb last may with my climbing partner...total cost somewhere north of $20k. it is not a technical climb and is (i forget) either the 6th or 8th tallest 8000'er in the world. my partner went on the trip and summited, i overtrained, blew out a knee and missed the whole trip.

be fairwarned, he was in excellent shape, and he trekked in the khumbu and surrounding regions for 3 weeks to acclimatise, yet he found summitting to still be extremely difficult mentally and physically.

it isn't a bad idea to start in the US on something like rainier, whitney, longs peak or an alaskan peak to make certain climbing is for you. i did not, but climbed mt. assiniboine in canada several years ago.

note well: there are several more technical lower peaks that require more skill and may be more interesting than a sufferfest up an 8000m peak. also, most people who are on k2 are professional mountain climbers...unlike everest there are no easy routes up k2. even the traditional south-southeast spur route is technical.

[mainwaring]

two summit pix from cho oyu courtesy of my climbing partner that got it done...2nd picture is not so great.

[Justin]

two summit pix from cho oyu courtesy of my climbing partner that got it done...2nd picture is not so great.
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[Affix Snow]

DOoD!

Upload them to your gallery then copy and paste.....

NO CAN VIEW!

[Huckasaurass]

Same as Justin..

Matt

[mainwaring]

sorry folks...there are more pix if anyone is interested.

http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2899

http://timefortuckerman.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2898

[Affix Snow]

What climbs HAVE you done........?