The Gear Junkie Profiles Seven Summiteer

The Gear Junkie has posted a story today about Troy Aupperle, an American climber who has successfully climbed each of the Seven Summits. He shares a few stories from his adventures, including hiding in the back of a 4x4 to get a crack at Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, while taking the opportunity to plug his nutritional philosophy that he claims helped to get him to the top of all of those mountains.

When he began his quest to scale the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, Aupperle hoped to set a new record for shortest time to complete those climbs. That didn't happen, but he still managed to knock off each of the mountains in just two years time, which is plenty fast and ambitious in my mind. In the process, he spent roughly $150,000 realizing his goal.

But for the 44-year old business man this was just another opportunity to promote his products, which in this case, are a series of enzyme nutritional supplements that he swears helped him increase his energy and conditioning. Aupperle thinks that other mountaineers and athletes can see performance gains from his example as well. He also credits a number of other supplements for helping him be successful in the mountains, such as antioxidant products, probiotic bacteria, and medicinal silver.

As someone who works out regularly and tries to stay fit, reading about the nutritional habits can be interesting and useful at times. But in this case, I would have preferred more of the story focus on the Seven Summits and Aupperle's experiences there. The story of being smuggled into Carstensz Pyramid is the stuff of high adventure, and I would like to hear more about that, rather than the pills he was popping on summit day. Still, I thought some might find his story interesting and possibly helpful. Anyone else use enzymes and other supplements to improve their performance at altitude?

The Costs of Climbing The Seven Summits

The Outpost, the official blog of Outdoorzy.com, has an interesting post up today that examines the costs of climbing the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on all seven continents.

The article looks at several broad categories and gives a good estimate of what each of them costs. For instance, they say that it'll set you back roughly $1170 for training to ensure you know what you're doing on those mountains, and another $9200 in airfare just to fly to the various countries that is home to one of these mountains. Throw in another $1500 for "incidentals", which covers such things as visas and passports, and things start to add up quickly.

Of course, the largest category is for the guide services necessary to climb the 7 (+1) mountains. The Outpost says that you can expect to pay between $105,850 - $169,900 on guides depending on who you choose to go with. They do note that this is an area that can be highly customized, and that's why there is such a large variance in the cost. Guide services are not all created equal, and sometimes you get what you pay for. Besides, do you really want to go cut-rate on this kind of trip?

The one category that I might disagree with their estimate on is gear, which they say will cost you $2000. In my opinion that is on the very low side, as I've seen down suits and thermal boots for Everest that will cost you that much alone. But I suppose, that this is, once again, an area that can really vary greatly, and you do indeed get what you pay for here as well.

So what's the bottom line? Outdoorzy says that the grand total of making a Seven Summits bid is about $119,720 - $183,870. That doesn't include the time you'll need to get off work, as most of us aren't sponsored climbers either.

Should Jordan Romero Climb Everest?

Backpacker Magazine has an interesting story and editorial asking the question Should 13-year-old Jordan Romero Climb Everest? This seems a fitting question, considering the young man is planning on making an attempt on the world's highest mountain next spring, which would cap his quest to become the youngest person to climb all the Seven Summits, assuming he knocks off Vinson on schedule later this year.

I've been following Jordan's climbs fairly closely these past couple of years, updating his progress every time he managed to summit another one of the seven, which consists of the tallest mountains on each of the continents. This story from Backpacker is great for introducing Jordan to anyone who hasn't been following him thus far however, and it talks about how he became captivated with the idea after seeing a mural of the Seven Summits at school. The article also emphasizes the parental support he has gotten from his dad, as well as other adults in his life too.

Backpacker also goes into the criticism that Jordan and his father, Paul, have had to endure. There are plenty of people who think it's just plain wrong for a child to be climbing these mountains, and that the teenager is at risk every time he goes up. They also accuse Paul of being the kind of dad that pushes his son into doing things that he doesn't necessarily want to do. Reading the story you can tell that the criticism has stung on more than one occasion.

The family has plenty of supporters as well however, and chief amongst them are mountaineers who have climbed with Jordan or spent time with him in camps on the five mountains he's already completed. Others say that if nothing else, the teenager has goals and aspirations, and he's not sitting on the couch playing video games like so many other kids.

All in all, this is a good story about a good kid, who happens to have very big dreams. Everything I've read or seen on Jordan seems to indicate that he is a level headed climber, wise beyond his years, with a great support system around him. You have to admire his determination and toughness, that much is certain.

And what do I think about a 13-year old climbing Everest? Personally, I don't think its a very good idea. The mountain is challenging enough at any age, and sending someone so young up there just seems like it's asking for trouble. The mountain is fraught with dangers, and a death on Everest is always tragic. It just seems like it would be even more so for a climber of this age.

That said, I feel like if anyone can do it at 13, it is probably Jordan. I also know that his family won't put him into a position where he'll be going up higher than he should. But, as I said when 13-year old Laura Dekker was planning on circumnavigating the globe solo, I'm against these kids doing these things to earn a "record" for being the youngest to accomplish something. And if it isn't about a record ,then why not wait a few years? The mountain will still be there when Jordan is 16 for instance, and that three years can make a big difference in his physical maturity.

Either way, I wish him the best of luck. To find out more about Jordan, check out his website at JordanRomero.com

Book Review: Die Trying

In the world of mountaineering and adventure, the Seven Summits is one of the most sought after goals. In order to complete the challenge, a climber must successfully climb the tallest mountains on all seven continents. The list includes Kilimanjaro in Africa (19,340 feet), Aconcagua in South America (22,841 feet), Denali in North America (20,320 feet), Mt. Vinson in Antarctica (16,050 feet), Mt. Elbrus in Europe (18,442 feet), Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia (16,024), Mount Kosciuszko in Australia (7,310 feet), and of course Mt. Everest in Asia, the tallest mountain on the planet at 29,029 feet. Sharp eyed readers will have already noted that that was eight mountains and not seven. When the original list was put together by Dick Bass, the first man to climb all of the Seven Summits, he included just the continental mountains, and thus Kosciuszko in Australia was on the list. Later, the list was amended by Reinhold Messner to to included all of "Oceania" which then added Carstensz Pyramid to the list. Most climbers do both just to cover their bases.

The Seven Summits are the the central theme for the book Die Trying by Bo Parfet and Richard Buskin, which was released earlier this year. The book follows Parfet's quest to climb each of those mountains, as he goes on a journey of self discovery along the way.

Parfet does a competent job of telling his own story, starting as a young man who struggled with a learning disability, but over came that to go on graduate college and get a lucrative job on Wall Street. But in the midst of working many long hours, while constantly eating takeout, and slowly getting out of shape, Parfet decided he needed to put a little excitement into his life. So, he planned a trip to Tanzania to make the trek up Kilimanjaro. While in college he had done some climbing, and caught the bug, but he had never been up as high as he was on Kili, and when he reached the summit, it gave him a sense of accomplishment that ended up changing his life.

From there, Bo decided that he would move on Aconcagua, which other climbers told him was a nice test to see if he could handle even higher altitudes. At that time, he wasn't even considering the Seven Summits, just going on a mountain adventure that would get him out away from his desk and out of his office. Parfet became creative with his approach, even using his corporate ties to do fund raising for a variety of charities that would help get him to the places he wanted to go climbing in. Not only was he getting to climb mountains, he was doing some good along the way too.

Eventually mountaineering began to become a more important part of his life, and by the time he left for Denali, his third peak in the Seven Summits, he was in better shape, carrying more appropriate equipment, and had experience level had risen dramatically. After topping out successfully on that mountain, which is often seen as a warm-up for Everest, he began to think about completing the Seven Summits in earnest.

Overall, I enjoyed Die Trying, as it is a good read to familiarize yourself with the mountains that make up the Seven Summits, and learn the basics of mountaineering. Parfet does a good job of describing the conditions that are faced on each of the Summits, and explains the various approaches to climbing each of them as well. He also mixes in plenty of his own personality, giving the story a more accessible, personal approach. He comes across as a likable guy that you wouldn't mind sharing a camp fire with, swapping stories into the night.

But make no mistake, this book isn't amongst the all time great mountaineering books. It is a fun, light read, and if you're looking for something new for your bookshelf, then by all means, give this one a go, just don't expect Into Thin Air or even Dick Bass' own Seven Summits, which I preferred to this book, although it is a bit dated now. For a fun adventure story though, you could do a lot worse.

Jordan Romero Summits Carstensz Pyramid

I've written about Jordan Romero in the past. He's the 13-year old who is attempting to become the youngest person to complete the Seven Summits, and the latest entry on his blog indicates that he is now one step closer to that goal.

Jordan is currently in Indonesia where the word is that he has successfully reached the summit of Carstensz Pyramid, the tallest peak in Oceania. In the process, the teenager also managed to set a new record as the youngest person to complete that technical climb and reach the top of the 16,023 foot mountain. He now has just Mt. Vinson in Antarctica and Everest in Asia to complete the Seven Summits.

The current record for the youngest person to complete the Seven Summits is held by Johnny Strange, who finished his quest this past spring by topping out on Everest. Johnny is 17 years old, so obviously Jordan has a few years working in his favor to catch him. Despite that, his website says that he hopes to finish off the two remaining peaks within the next year, presumably going for Vinson in the December/January timeframe and then turning towards Everest in the spring.

The Seven Summits represent the highest mountains on the seven continents, and over the past 25 years or so have become one of the landmark achievements for outdoor adventure. The list has actually grown to include 8 mountains, as Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest point in Australia, has been supplanted with the much more challenging, and taller, Carstensz, but most of the Seven Summiteers do both, just to cover their bases. Besides those two, Vinson and Everest, the list includes the following: Mt. Elbrus (Europe), Denali (North America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), and Aconcagua (South America).

I know we recently had some discussion around here regarding Laura Dekker and her plans to sail solo around the world at the age of 13, and now we have another 13-year old who is planning on tackling Everest next year. The difference between these two is vast however, as Jordan won't be making his Everest attempt alone, and his father, who goes with him on every climb, happens to be a high altitude medical specialist. That said, I'll still say that Everest isn't the best place for a 13-year old kid. I know they'll use sound judgement in their approach, but much like Laura, I think it would be okay for them to wait a few years before making the attempt. After all, what is the hurry?

Climbing The Seven Summits: What's it Cost?

There is a very good post over at Stewart's Climbing Blog that lays out the costs of climbing the Seven Summits. The article is a bit of an eye opener for those who would love to pursue this goal, but aren't sure what it all entails nor how much it would hit them in the pocket book.

Stewart breaks down the costs in a very logical manner and into several categories. He takes a look at the guide fees, gear costs, training fees, airfare, and more. And when he tabulates the final bill what does it come to? A whopping $170,250.

As you might imagine, Everest makes up the bulk of that cost, although both Vinson, in Antarctica, and Carstensz Pyramid, in Indonesia, are not cheap either. Stewart estimates roughly $65,000 for Everest alone, and while that is a safe estimate, it is also a bit on the high end of the scale. You can find expeditions to the highest mountain on Earth at cheaper rates with some very good companies. The same can be said for Vinson and Carstensz, although the options are not as plentiful.

And the cheapest of the mountains to climb? Kilimanjaro clocks in at $3150 (My climb was considerably cheaper than that) and Aconcagua is second at $3700.

All in all though, it's a decent estimate and does put some things in perspective. Certainly an interesting read for armchair mountaineers and climbing enthusiasts alike.

Thanks to Jason over at The Adventurist, who is back off his hiatus and updating regularly again as well.

Photo Gallery of the Seven Summits

Allie over at the Sierra Blogging Post came across a very cool gallery of photos from the Seven Summits, courtesy of Environmental Graffiti. The shots are purported to be from the summits, but in at least some of the cases that doesn't seem to be the true. None the less they are some stunning shots of these wonderfully iconic mountains.

The article that accompanies the photos does a solid job of explaining the concept of the Seven Summits, even though it calls them "the seven highest peaks on Earth" at the beginning of the article. We all know that's not the case, and the text further down the page corrects the error, and they do list the actual highest peaks at the very end. They also do an admirable job of laying out the whole Carstensz Pyramid vs. Kosciusko debate as well, but the bottom line is that it's just a nice gallery of photos that I though you might enjoy.

Outside Interviews Jordan Romero

I'm not sure why Jordan Romero is suddenly getting a lot of press, but the kid seems to be everywhere in recent days. I first wrote about him way back in December of 2006 when he climbed Kilimanjaro, but now that he's got his sights firmly set on the Seven Summits, he seems to be on a press tour or something.

The latest blog to write on Jordan is over at Outside Online where they interview the 12-year old as he prepares to go for his final three mountains in his Seven Summits quest. Having already taken care of Denali, Elbrus, Aconcagua, and Kosciuszko, in addition to Kili, that leaves him with just Carstensz Pyramid, Vinson, and Everest.

The interview notes that Jordan still needs to raise about $180,000 to complete these last three climbs, the bulk of which will go to Everest and Vinson. In order to raise the money, Jordan sells t-shirts and was recently awarded a Polartec Grant to help him in his quest.

You've got to hand it to the kid, he's very dedicated to achieving his goal of becoming the youngest person to ever climb the Seven Summits, and he seems to really love being in the mountains. If he does indeed achieve his dream by the age of 14 as the interview suggests, how does he follow that up with an encore? More 8000m peaks? By the way, he has until he's 18 to actually break the current record, so six years to claim the three remaining mountains.

Polartec Announces 2009 Grant Winners

Polartec has announced the winners of it's 2009 Polartec Challenge Grant, which awards $14,000 to worth adventure expeditions for the year ahead.

This years winners are:

Majka Burhardt: Later this spring Majka will lead a team of climbers to make a first ascent on Van Zyl, a 2000 foot big wall located in Namibia. The expedition has a cultural side to it as well, as the team will visit and interact with Himba tribe, whose way of life is being encroached upon by outside influences.

Bernice Notenboom: Bernice leads the Himalaya Alert expedition, who will be traveling to the Himalaya to survey the impact of global climate change on the Sherpa people who live in the mountains.

Jordan Romero: The 12-year old climbing sensation that I've mentioned here before has earned part of the grant money to focus on his continued pursuit of the Seven Summits. Jordan hopes to become the youngest climber to bag each peak, and will be headed to Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia later this year. If successful, he'll have just Antarctica's Mt. Vinson and Mt. Everest left to do.

Congrats to the winners! These each sound like great expeditions and I hope they are successful for everyone involved.

Nicki's Back In BC After Carstensz Summit!

Yesterday I noted that Nicki Branch was currently on Carstensz Pyramid as she worked towards her next goal of achieving the Seven Summits. She was projected to be going for the summit yesterday, but there had been no word on her progress.

Today, her blog has been updated with word that she did indeed top out on The Pyramid yesterday, after a long 16 hour climb that involved a treacherous Tyrolean Traverse over a large gap. The update is rather brief, but from the wording it sounds like this was a tough day on the mountain, but thankfully everything went well, and the whole team is now back in BC, safe and sound.

With Carstensz out of the way, she now has five of the Seven Summits down, having already knocked off Kili, Aconcagua, Denali, and Elbrus. From the looks of her plans, she'll next head to Australia and hike up Kosciuszko, so that she'll have both version of the Seven Summits covered. Then it's on to Vinson in December, and Everest next Spring.

Congrats on the latest peak Nicki. You're in inspiration to us all. Have fun down under!

Nicki Branch Tackles Carstensz Next!

Adventure Babe Nicki Branch has set off once again! Having already completed, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, and Elbrus, she has her sites firmly set on Carstensz Pyramid now. In fact, as I write this, she's been in BC for a couple of days, and has projected a summit bid sometime today. No word yet on if that summit climb took place or not, but I'll update as word comes in. You can read her blog for news on the trip thus far, including a harrowing ride through underground mine shafts that has to be read to be believed.

Carstensz is Nicki's latest climb as she goes for the Seven Summits. From here, she'll head to Australia, while she's in the neighborhood, and knock off Kosciuszko. With that out of the way, there will be just two left. Vinson in December, and of course Everest in the Spring.

Some people may wonder why I've followed Nicki's adventures so closely. After all, there are dozens of people who go for the Seven Summits each year. But I just love Nicki's enthusiasm for her goal, and the fact that she had little mountaineering experience before she started. Obviously she has a love for adventure, and I have a great deal of respect for someone who chases their dreams. She's done an amazing job on all of these mountains so far, and I can't wait to see photos of her on top of Everest next Spring.

Good luck on The Pyramid Nicki! Climb safe!