The MountainWorld™ Blog

Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival

Most of us, understandably, think of Nepal as a place where films are shot, not really where films are watched.

But, starting back in 2000, the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) changed all that. A truly world-class festival, KIMFF each year shows some of the best films from the world of mountains.

I first went back in 2001, where my friends Pemba Sherpa and Ang Jangbu Sherpa and I were dazzled by great films, like He Dances for his Cormorants, about a cormorant fisherman on the Lijiang River in Yunnan Province, China. Another great film that year was the old - but still fascinating - Honey Hunters of Nepal. A film version of the book by Eric Valli and Diane Summers, it documents the Gurung people's annual hunt for honey from the giant, cliffside hives of Himalayan black bees.

Here's some of the film from YouTube:

This year's KIMFF, scheduled to run December 10-14, 2009, will surely be great as well. The film list sounds very interesting, including Dolpo Tulku (see the main website, in German, here), a film about the return of a young, reincarnate lama returning to his monastery in Dho Tarap. Here's a trailer of this film, too:

If you're fortunate enough to be in Kathmandu now, definitely check out KIMFF...I know you won't be disappointed! And, you just might get inspired for your next adventure!

Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

Blind and Naked

I've heard, strangely, many people remark about Erik Weihenmayer's 2001 climb of Everest that it really wasn't that remarkable.

Sure, he's blind, people say, but it's only Everest...and he had a ton of guides dragging him up.

Guides or not, the reality is Erik climbed Everest. He crossed ladders in the Khumbu Icefall, scurried up the Lhotse Face, climbed the Hillary Step, and stood on top of the world. Blind or not, Erik's a pretty darn good climber.

But, Everest, schmeverest. That wasn't enough for him. Since 2001 (and before), Erik has done some amazing climbs, like Losar, the 14 pitch stunning ice climb near Namche Bazaar, which he climbed with Rob Raker in 2008.

But, probably his most impressive climb that I know of happened just recently when he did the famed and feared Naked Edge in Eldorado Canyon to raise money and awareness for The Access Fund. Filmmaker Cedar Wright was on hand to document it (along with my friend Charley Mace, who said it was a stunning climb, too!)

Check out the video below...and let me know if you still think Erik's accomplishments are trivial!! Oh, a while you're telling me that, write down when you last climbed the Naked Edge...with a blindfold on.

Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

The Wildest Dream preview screening

The Wildest Dream is a new film on the story of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, starring Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding and filmed primarily on Everest in 2007.

There has been quite a bit of buzz about it on the web since it's debut at Banff last month, and it is due to be released by National Geographic and Atlantic Productions in 2010. 

 

There will also be a special screening of the film in Bozeman, Montana, on December 20th, to benefit the Khumbu Climbing School and their construction of a new, passive solar, earthquake-proof building in the village of Phortse. Great stuff!

Check out the trailer to The Wildest Dream below, and get a ticket to the special preview screening...and let me know how it is! And, keep your eye out for the film in your neck of the woods sometime in 2010!

Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

Thursday Thought: The Mountaineer as Artist

Climbers approach the Hillary Step on Mount Everest.

George Mallory is known for his climbing, or, more specifically, for his disappearance climbing.

And, of course, he's known for his famous quip in 1923: Because it's there.

But, rarely written about are Mallory's more philosophical works and thoughts, of which there are many. And, one of my favorites is the subject of today's Thursday Thought.

In 1914, ten years before his death on Everest, Mallory wrote a piece in The Climbers' Club Journal entitled "The Mountaineer as Artist". Mallory perhaps overstretches at times while trying to tie mountaineering to a symphony. But, at its core, "The Mountaineer as Artist" strikes a chord (no pun intended) with the sublime experience of mountaineering.

I will only share a portion of his thoughts here. If you want to read the full piece, visit the GORP website, or, better yet, pick up a copy of The Armchair Mountaineer for this an many other great writings on climbing.

But, back to our Thursday Thought...What is the essence of climbing? What makes it valid...and valid enough for many to risk life and limb pursuing it? And, why is it so difficult for climbers to describe the sublime rewards of the mountain environment?

Here are some of Mallory's thoughts:

Climbers...like myself...have much to explain, and it is time they set about it. Notoriously they endanger their lives. With what object? If only for some physical pleasure, to enjoy certain movements of the body and to experience the zest of emulation, then it is not worthwhile. Climbers are only a particularly foolish set of desperadoes...The only defense for mountaineering puts it on a higher plane than mere physical sensation. It is asserted that the climber experiences higher emotions; he gets some good for his soul. His opponent may well feel skeptical about this argument. He, too, may claim to consider his soul's good when he can take a holiday. Probably it is true of anyone who spends a well-earned fortnight in healthy enjoyment at the seaside that he comes back a better, that is to say, a more virtuous man than he went. How are the climber's joys worth more than the seaside? What are these higher emotions to which he refers so elusively? And if they really are so valuable, is there no safer way of reaching them? Do mountaineers consider these questions and answer them again and again from fresh experience, or are they content with some magic certainty born of comparative ignorance long ago?

We do not think that our aesthetic experiences of sunrises and sunsets and clouds and thunder are supremely important facts in mountaineering, but rather that they cannot thus be separated and cataloged and described individually as experiences at all. They are not incidental in mountaineering but a vital and inseparable part of it; they are not ornamental but structural; they are not various items causing emotion but parts of an emotional whole; they are the crystal pools perhaps, but they owe their life to a continuous stream...

Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

National Geographic Adventure...is no more...

Some sad news coming today from Steve Casimiro, West Coast Editor at National  Geographic Adventure. On his blog, The Adventure Life, Steve reports today that National Geographic decided to end Adventure's ten year run as one of the top adventure and outdoor magazines in the world.

According to Steve, it's final issue is the December/January issue, which is on newsstands now.

I've had a great time not only reading, but also contributing to, Adventure over the years, and my heart goes out to Steve, founding Editor John Rasmus, and all the others affected by the closing.

Steve put it quite well at the end of his post:

For those of you who are just passing readers of the magazine, its demise might be a mere curiosity or random note of economic discord. But for those of us who care about good writing, great photography, insight and curiosity and advocacy for an engaged relationship with the world at large, it is a truly remorseful day. The outdoor culture is far emptier for this news. Magazines are, of course, businesses, and some of them are nakedly commercial. But some are built around an idea or a calling, and these, the best of them, can create an emotional bond with their readership based on shared philosophy, common passion, and mutual respect. National Geographic Adventure’s tagline, “Dream It. Plan It. Do It.”, is a powerful call to action. More critically, it puts the focus on the reader, where it should be, to get up, get out, and get going. If past experience is any guide, those of us who have been connected to National Geographic Adventure, either as readers, contributors, or both, will carry fragments of that DNA with us, whether we’re writing, shooting photos, or simply out in the world. The magazine might not have survived this economy, but its ideals will. And for that, we should be thankful.

Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

Lost on Everest & "Thin Air" at the American Mountaineering Museum

Mallory & Irvine at the North Col, June 6, 1924.

This Thursday, December 3rd, please come on down to the  American Mountaineering Museum to help celebrate the opening of our newest exhibit, THIN AIR: An Exhibit on Altitude and Oxygen. 

And, if you're interested, stay after the reception to hear me share Lost on Everest: The Enduring Mystery of Mallory & Irvine.

The reception, opening, and my presentation are free for Friends of the Museum and the American Alpine Club Library, $3.00 for AAC and CMC Members, and $5.00 for non-members.

It'll be a fun evening, so come on down to the Museum!

Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.

The Basics of Altitude: A Primer on AMS, HACE, & HAPE, Part III

Members of Nepal's cabinet will meet on December 4th in Gorak Shep in an effort to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on the delicate Himalayan environment. The move is quite similar to the underwater meeting held by the Maldives' cabinet a few weeks ago.

While the cause is worthy, it's more than a bit concerning to think of Nepal's ministers hopping in a helicopter from Kathmandu (about 4,600 feet) and flying - with a brief pit-stop in Lukla for a medical checkup - to 17,000 foot Gorak Shep. Even though the meeting is supposed to be brief, clouds come in quickly in the Khumbu, and helicopters there can only operate in VFR, and thus are grounded when the weather comes in. Thus, even though a short meeting is planned, the weather might make other plans...and the potential for AMS, HACE, and HAPE increases dramatically. 

So, that brings us to the final part of this series on altitude sickness: how do we avoid - or at least reduce the chances of - getting AMS, HACE, and HAPE in the first place?

As a high altitude physician once said to me, the first thing to do is choose your  parents. This is because medicine is now discovering that much of high altitude physiology, of who does well and who does not do well at altitude, may depend on your genetic makeup.

Unfortunately, no matter how much we want to, none of us can choose our parents! So, we've got to take some other steps when traveling to high altitude to reduce the chances of getting sick.

• Rule #1: Plan. This is pretty basic, but important. The altitude rule of thumb is to ascend no more than 1,000 feet per day to allow your body time to properly acclimate.
  
  So, set your schedule accordingly, especially if your itinerary involves altitudes higher than you've been before. If you must go up more than 1,000 feet in a day, try to fit in a day of rest and acclimatization. And, of course, monitor yourself and your teammates for any signs and symptoms.

• Rule #2: Hydrate. Water pretty much helps with everything, altitude included. And, keep in mind that at high altitude, the air is drier, resulting in increased fluid loss. So, drink up...and keep it to water or other non-alcoholic and decaffeinated beverages!

• Rule #3: Know Your Body. This is perhaps the most important rule. While I, as a guide, can watch my clients for signs of trouble, only they can truly know and understand what their body is telling them. Likewise, your teammates can only know so much about you and your body. So: know your body, listen to it, trust what it is telling you.
  
  If you have a headache at altitude, take an aspirin. But, remember that the headache is your body telling you something important: it's not getting enough oxygen. It may be dehydrated. So, take the aspirin, kill the pain, but remember to breathe and drink.

• Rule #4: Let your body do the work. In today's world, we tend to want to pop a pill and let chemistry solve our problems for us rather than letting our bodies do the work. Often, this can be counterproductive.
  
  I can't tell you how many times I've had clients on a trip who, on the advice of a physician, are popping Diamox prophylactically without ever having tried to let their bodies adjust to altitude first. As a result, many have suffered the side effects of Diamox (tingling in the extremities, antsyness, dehydration, etc.) without ever knowing if they could have gone to altitude without chemical help.
  
  So, my rule here is let your body try. Give it the benefit of the doubt. Breathe a lot. Take it slow. Monitor for any signs and symptoms and treat accordingly. And, finally, take Diamox when and if needed, but give your body a fighting chance first!

• Rule #5: Be flexible and relax. Altitude, like mountain weather, is a fickle thing. I've climbed with people who have done fine on big mountains and then suddenly got sick at an altitude they had been to before. Simply put, you never know. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to altitude sickness.
  
  So, be flexible. Rest if needed. Build extra days into your itinerary. If you get stopped by a storm, don't rush upward to make up days as soon as the sun comes out. Take your time, relax, make sound, safe, smart decisions...and enjoy the hills!

And, if you want to learn more about altitude and oxygen, be sure to stop on by the American Mountaineering Museum and see our new exhibit, Thin Air!

Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.