Little help here.

I have been an avid mountaineer and climbing enthusiast ever since the Discovery Channel aired their groundbreaking mini-series "Everest: Beyond the Limit" last fall. I have been waiting over 8 months for the chance to live my dream- taking my wife and teenaged son on a expedition to Nepal and the summit of the great behemoth- Mount Everest. And I'll tell you mano-a-mano, I plan on making it to the top-period.

Lack of experience does not concern me at all. I am a very quick learner. In business one has to hit the ground running, and this is what I intend to do when we arrive. We have been doing extensive scenario training at Trabuco Canyon and Ramona Trail, here in California.

OK. I am a man of considerable means. The 15,000 USD permit is no obstacle. After watching Russell and his team summit Everest last fall, I realized I had been waiting for this challenge all my life. It is like they say, Mount Everest must be summited because it IS THERE. What I need from you guys are some pointers from some of the more experienced climbers out there to help complete my intinerary.

What gear will I need? (Money is no obstacle)
How many shirpas should I rent from base camp?
When is the best time to go during summer?
How many oxygen bottles will I need to buy per person?

Thanks for all your help.

Keep reaching for the stars,
Mel

Is this a troll or serious post? I think most likely a troll.

When is the best time to go during summer?

Oh yeah, go in the summer (monsoon season). Let's see. Messner did it in August. I think he's still the only one to do so. No one has done it in July. Maybe you could be first.

Forgive me, but your post sounds like a joke. Or at least we all hope it is.

If it is not a joke, but you are serious, then you should be contacting AAI or Russel Bryce for those questions, or whoever and see if they would like to have you along. Most likely not, but you could try. It won't do any good asking this kind of thing on Summitpost.

I'm guessing it's a serious post. My advice would be to get in touch with a guide service - they'll be able to walk you through all the details. Current rate is 65000 USD Looks like they require a 6-day training.

http://www.alpineascents.com/everest.asp

OK, if it really is serious then here are some pointers:

I plan on making it to the top-period.

Getting to the top is optional. Getting down should be mandatory. Climbers with the attitude the summit at all cost are often the ones dying or causing danger to everone else on this or other mountains. If serious, yours is a very poor and dangerous attitude to both yourself and others.

Lack of experience does not concern me.

It should.

I am a very quick learner.

Which doesn't mean that you can learn climbing quicky.

We have been doing extensive scenario training at Trabuco Canyon and Ramona Trail, here in California.

Do they have big crevasses, 8000 meter peak oxygen levels, etc. in those areas?

The 15,000 USD permit is no obstacle.

If you are inexperienced you definately should go with a reputable guide service. For someone inexperienced, plan on $35,000 to $80,000 per person including gear, airfare, and services.

What gear will I need? (Money is no obstacle)

Contact the guide service for a complete list.

How many shirpas should I rent from base camp?

Messner did it with none. If what you say is accurate, you will need a complete guide service and sherpas will be arranged. You usually can't rent them from basecamp.

When is the best time to go during summer?

Anyone who knows even a shred of anything about Mount Everest knows that this is the worst time of year to climb there.

How many oxygen bottles will I need to buy per person?

Once again, contact the guide service and they will arrange them for you. It's not like you can show up on the mountain and try and buy all your stuff. Some might be left over from an expedition headed home, but don't plan on it.

All the above questions makes me think that this is a troll. No one could be that naive.

You should also go and rent Vertical Limit - this film is highly educational and has many useful tips.

You should also go and rent Vertical Limit - this film is highly educational and has many useful tips.

Yeah, good point. Forget Everest. Just go for K2. Acclimatization isn't important and you can ride a helicopter way up there. They have some happening parties with bon fires at base camp and if you fall into a crevasse, you can just blow your way out with explosives.

rhyang wrote:You should also go and rent Vertical Limit - this film is highly educational and has many useful tips.

I agree, great source of accurate knowledge about mountaineering. Watch this, go for a jog a couple of times and you'll be ready to go.

But seriously, you would have to be completely insane to go without a tour company with your lack of experience. Plus organizing an Everest is a huge undertaking, even for experienced Himalayan mountaineer.

For training and acclimitizing, perhaps the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat? It's not as high as Everest (obviously!!) so of course, it's not as hard, right?

Mel_Torino wrote:I have been an avid mountaineer and climbing enthusiast ever since the Discovery Channel aired their groundbreaking mini-series "Everest: Beyond the Limit" last fall.

No kidding? It's a small world. I've been an avid cardiac surgeon and alternative medicine enthusiast after watching "Surgery Saved My Life" on the Discovery Channel.

Um, yeah, troll.

jfox wrote::shock: Geesh...will Everest be the first mountain you've ever climbed?

I'll say no thanks to the sarcasm young friend. In the first week of May we climbed Mammoth Mountain as one of my short term goals before the big one. FYI Mammoth is over 12,000 feet.

But as to your query:"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." Cecil Beaton

Why not aim high? Why not go for the gold and attempt a summit?
I recently told an employee of mine, one who attempted to nay-say my dream, that life demands a daring spirit, something I doubt he possesses. While I am not glorifying the fact I do drive an M5 and he something more economical.

I have received some very insightful comments thus far, I would appreciate your input as well. You as an individual DO have something constructive to offer the team.

Motivation comes from never saying never,
Mel

Be daring

Climbing any mountain without he proper experience (or at least guide if you must go that way) is not daring, brave, or heroic. It is stupid.

Don't confuse bravery with foolery. They are not the same thing.

Now this is an entertaining thread. How long before it moves to pnp?

Aim High! Yes! Let's go. I'll lead the trip. Hire me to be your guide. We'll do some easy stuff here in the lower 48 over the next year, at your convenience, to get ready.

But let's go to Everest when everyone else does so we can use their fixed ropes and save ourselves some work! Let's go next spring when everyone else goes. We'll plan on summiting first week or so in May. We'll get an early start, leaving about March 1, 2008.

I'll have to quit my job to do it but I'll have a new job: your guide. I'll have to fund my retirement from this one trip in case I don't get any new clients. I can't guarantee we'll be climbing legally since I'm not too familiar with the permit process. Hope we don't get thrown into prison or shot for climbing illegally if we can't get a permit.

My fee for your training and our summit attempt: $500,000 up front, $250,000 1 week prior to departure and $250,000 when we return. $1,000,000 total. You have to provide your own gear, food, travel expenses, tickets, climbing permits, and if we have to use other guides that too. I'm expensive but I'll work hard. Highest I've been? Between 18 and 19,000 feet.

Let me know if you are interested. I'll be honest: you could get a guide service like alpine ascents international or mountain madness or Dan Mazur or someone for a lot less money and with a lot higher chance of success, but I need to fund my retirement and I believe in going for the gusto.

Mel_Torino wrote:

jfox wrote::shock: Geesh...will Everest be the first mountain you've ever climbed?

I'll say no thanks to the sarcasm young friend. In the first week of May we climbed Mammoth Mountain as one of my short term goals before the big one. FYI Mammoth is over 12,000 feet.

But as to your query:"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." Cecil Beaton

Why not aim high? Why not go for the gold and attempt a summit?
I recently told an employee of mine, one who attempted to nay-say my dream, that life demands a daring spirit, something I doubt he possesses. While I am not glorifying the fact I do drive an M5 and he something more economical.

I have received some very insightful comments thus far, I would appreciate your input as well. You as an individual DO have something constructive to offer the team.

Motivation comes from never saying never,
Mel

This is friendly honest advice, not sarcasm:

Abandon your idea of climbing Everest now, and at least for the next few years. Wait until you have some exceptional experience first.

This upcoming winter take a winter mountaineering course on Mount Rainier. This will give you some very realistic ideas of what the truly big monsters can be like. Without proper experience, you are asking for very serious trouble on Everest. I don't think you have the first idea how brutal the high mountains can be in bad weather/conditions.

Then, start climbing your tail off. Climb every glaciated peak in North America that you can: Denali, the Cascades, the peaks in BC and the Yukon, the volcanoes in Mexico. Graduate to Aconcagua in South America. Go to Europe, everywhere. Learn about varied terrain, ropecraft, wilderness survival, crevasse rescue, orienteering, weather, etc.

If money is no obstacle, then you should be able to pull all this off, and still be ready for Everest in 2012, for example. It'll still be there.

If you are being honest then I hope that someday you pull off the biggie, but right now, you are asking for trouble and likely putting yourself and others in danger with your hubris and feelings of entitlement.

Scott

Acclimatization isn't important and you can ride a helicopter way up there.

That's exactly what I need to get away from.