The 2009 Everest climb has come to an end. We'd like to thank all our climbers, writers, photographers and the production team for making it possible to document this amazing event.
Stay tuned! Season 3 of Everest, Beyond The Limit premieres this fall, only on the Discovery Channel.
Can't wait till fall? Check out last season's site, complete with videos, puzzles, games and more to hold you over until the new season begins! See you on the mountain!
Within the last couple weeks, Scott Parazynski became the first astronaut to summit Mount Everest -- with moon rocks in tow!
Check out pictures, video and more from Scott's Everest adventure on Onorbit.com
IMG guide John Shea sent these gorgeous pics from his successful summit on May 21.
By Ed Wardle
I reached the summit of Everest via the South Col at 4:15 a.m. on May 20, 2009. It wasn’t what I expected.
Fear is a very real issue for people attempting to climb Everest. “I'm having second thoughts, serious second thoughts!” said one team member two days before the summit push. The next day he booked a helicopter out of Base Camp and flew home to his family.
Another climber, who is planning to get married next month, watched in horror as an avalanche engulfed the Khumbu Icefall and decided to return to his fiancée without trying for the summit. For weeks before anyone goes for “the top,” Base Camp doctors see Everest climbers with psychosomatic symptoms they can only diagnose as relating to fear. They gently tell climbers that they are allowed to go home.
Our first Everest team reached the summit early this morning and we have Sherpa Cam footage beamed straight from the summit to your computer in record time.
These videos were sent to us by Keith Cowing two to three hours max after summit. Discovery Channel along with the Everest climbers and crew members are proud to present what is probably the first and only footage of a successful summit attempt so close to the actual climb.
Summit Team Arrives
Astronaut Scott Parazynski, Dawes Eddy and Ed Wardle arrive at the summit of Mt. Everest on May 20th at approximately 4:00 a.m. Nepal time.
From Eric Simonson, IMG Expedition Leader
I spent last night up at Pumori Camp 1 watching live Sherpa helmet cam video come in by microwave from the summit climbers, as part of the Discovery Channel filming. It was pretty exciting to watch, and I will look forward to seeing the show (scheduled for November I think).
Here is the wrap-up on our first big summit day:
May 20: Descending all the way to Camp 2 were Li Hui and Panuru, Chris and Pemba Dorje, Jane and Kami, Scott and Danuru, Dawes and Mingma Chhirring, Louis and Dasona, and Greg, Phillipe, Chhewang Lendu, Gyalgen Dorje (Lhotse). Staying at the Col for another night are Mike, Ed, Esther, Samduk, and Jamling. Matt is at the Col, climbing tonight with the Himex team, accompanied by Mingma Dorje. Kamen, Petya, Jon, Justin, Peh Gee, and Joanne are at C3, ready to move up in the morning. The weather report continues to be good!
Stay tuned for videos we'll be posting via Sherpa cam from the team's climb to the summit.
From Dick Colthurst, Everest: Beyond the Limit executive producer:
Our astronaut, Scott Parazynski, Dawes Eddy, the oldest American to summit, and Ed Wardle all summitted first thing this morning. Still waiting on news that they’re safely down to Camp 4, but Ed and Scott were moving very fast downhill according to the last report, which is a very good sign that they’re in good shape.
Astronaut Scott Parazynski - in the midst of a historic summit bid at Mount Everest - is carrying some small pieces of moon rock as he climbs to the top of the highest spot on Earth.
Scott holding up sample 10085,134 inside its protective housing
This sample was loaned to Parazynski's team by NASA which seldom gives out pieces of the lunar regolith gathered by the twelve Apollo astronauts who flew to the moon between 1969 and 1972.
By Scott Parazynski
May 18, 2009 (Thursday)
High Winds at Everest
Scott has reached Camp III which is located on a small ledge at an elevation of 7,470 meters (24,500 ft). He will spend tomorrow at Camp III resting before pushing on to Camp IV (South Col) at an elevation of 7,920 meters (26,000 ft).
Keith Cowing: We all awoke this morning to some rather stiff winds here at Everest Base Camp. Add in a few avalanches overnight and it was a rough and tumble night for sleeping. While our tents (large and small) are well-secured, one still gets the regular impression that the wind is about to rip them free of their anchors.
Scott Parazynski chats with Discovery.com's Dave Mosher from Mt. Everest about his experiences surviving in extreme environments, from outside the space station to the top of the world's highest mountain.
Take a look at Discovery Space Extreme Environments
This will be Ed Wardle's third season as a crew member on Discovery Channel's Everest production team. In 2006 he was stationed at Camp 4 as a cameraman and in 2007 he summitted for the first time. |
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Keith Cowing will report for Discovery.com from the camp of International Mountain Guides (IMG) at Everest Base Camp during the month of May. |
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