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©EverestNews.com |
March 28, 2007: Hello from
Phakding, where the team rests for the night and well deserved at that. Our
day started at 4:30 a.m. in the lobby of our hotel in Kathmandu where we
arranged bags and boarded a bus to make our way to the airport. Four twin
otter planes later, we arrived in Lukla where we set about organizing our
gear. The local staff is headed up by Tshering Sherpa, who hikes along with us
and keeps everything in order, making our logistics effortless.
After a hot breakfast, we set off down the trail out of Lukla. Much of our
walk was downhill today, with our destination of Phakding at 8700 feet.
We already today have experienced some of the great wonders of this region,
perhaps most strikingly the mani stones. These are natural rocks, some of them
50 feet tall, on to which prayers have been carved in the beautiful Devanagari
script. The premise of this practice is to expose the prayers to the elements
where they will be carried away by the water and wind. Fortunate are we to
walk beneath these towering walls on one side of our path, with the other side
dropping off into the Dudh Kosi river valley.
The word Dudh means milk in Nepali and this river is silty white from its
glacial source. Carving its way through this valley, it is the artery that has
allowed people to inhabit this region for centuries.
We experienced our first suspension bridge across the Dudh Kosi today, making
camp just along its banks where it is singing us to sleep just now. The team
is healthy, happy and well fed for the night and drifting off into dreams of
Himalayan peaks.
March 27, 2007: Hello friends and families! We write to you from Kathmandu
where our day has been well spent. Most of us have adjusted to the time
change, more or less, and are keeping ourselves healthy and rested up. We did
a Kathmandu city tour today including three distinctly different, and
beautiful temples. The first of these was Pasupati, a series of many temples
beside the Bagmati river. Here the Nepali people cremate the deceased, along
with performing many associated rituals. The second temple is the striking
Bouddhanath, a huge white dome structure surrounded by a wide walking path,
lined on the outside with shops and restaurants. Thousands of people a day
walk clockwise around this temple, spinning the prayer wheels lining its outer
walls. The third temple was Swayambhu, commonly known as the monkey temple.
Appropriately named, here you can expect to encounter hundreds of monkeys
along the thirteen staircases rising to the top of the structure. Thick in
foliage and vast in magnitude, it is one of the highest points in the city and
offers good views of the Kathmandu valley.
We regrouped for dinner at the famous Rum Doodle restaurant, where
mountaineering expeditions have gathered over the decades to sign and design
their own giant footprint and hang it on the wall. With a rather humbling
line-up of climbers represented on the walls, we are feeling lucky for the
opportunity to embark on our own adventures in the Khumbu region.
There are three objectives for the Mountain Madness team this spring. First we
have those who will trek to Everest base camp, spend a few days, and return to
Lukla. These base camp trekkers include: Mark and Patricia Earnest from Los
Angeles, California; David Harrison and Lisa Wolfe from a little country we
call "Canada;" Laxman Kamath from Florida; Anne and Birgitte Horve just in
from Norway; Simon Carter from the UK; Mark Stephenson from Scotland; and trek
leader Teddy Anderson from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Our second objective is to climb beyond base camp through the Khumbu icefall
to camp two. These Khumbu climbers include: Trond Stenerson and John Inderdal,
also just in from Norway; Grant Musgrove from Alabama (or somewhere in the
south, it's all the same to us); the fair and beautiful Erin Lally straight
outta Aspen, Colorado; and their leader Jaime Laidlaw from McCall, Idaho.
The third objective is to climb to the top of Mt.Everest. These climbers
include Brian Smith from Colorado; Eric Dalzell from Washington state; Eirik
Tryti and Bjorn Evensen from Norway; and Mustafa Mustafa all the way from
Jordan! Their leaders are the talented and charismatic Casey Henley, of the
world; and Willie Benegas of Salt Lake City, Utah. Willie will be meeting us
in Namche Bazaar in a few days.
With such a handsome and dynamic group of people, we are sure to have plenty
of fun ahead of us as we fly into Lukla tomorrow to begin our stay in the
mountains. Lots of good thoughts to all of you!
Background
Mountain Madness will return to Everest in Spring 2007 with
a commercial expedition led by Willie Benegas, The final commercial team will
be announced soon... But they have several clients. They will again attempt from the South (Nepal) side of
the mountain. Christine Boskoff, owner of Mountain Madness sadly passed away
in 2006.
The Climber: Willie Benegas
| Born and
raised in the wild heart of Patagonia, Willie Benegas, along with his
twin brother Damien, have pursued a long apprenticeship in the
mountains. As one of the "young bucks" of the world-class North Face
team, Willie has pushed his craft on the big-walls of Yosemite, the airy
summits of South America, and the loftiest peaks of the Himalaya.
The boundless duo, now
hailing from Berkeley California, completed their first major new ascent
with a route up Patagonia's West Face of Pilquitron (VI, 5.9, A3) which
is still unrepeated. |
©
David Keaton |
At 20, they climbed Fitz
Roy's impressive Supercouloir as well as routes on Guillaumet and Poincenot.
In the following years, Willie has ticked off the South Face of Aconcagua, a
new route on the North Face of Pakistan's Nameless Tower (VII), record speed
ascents in Yosemite valley, and attempted major new routes on the legendary
North Faces of Thalay Sagar and Jannu.
But simply overcoming
technical routes or highest summits is not enough for this 30 year old
climber. He gathers equal satisfaction by introducing others to the
wide-world of mountain experience. To help fulfill this goal, Willie and
Damien established Patagonian Brothers Expeditions specializing in South
American guided climbs and treks. They also lead expeditions for Out There
Trekking (UK, OTT) in Africa, South America, and on Himalayan giants such as
Cho Oyu.
Willie has many plans for the
future, but he often gets the same question; why do you climb? When asked
about the draw of high places, he says "a mountain adventure will carry over
into many facets of your life, teaching about yourself, your co-existence with
nature, and respect for other people's cultures."
Willie's Brief Resume below
FILMS:
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2001 OLN "Outlaws of the
Aconcagua Trail"
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1991 "Swimming with
whales" discovery channel
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HIGHLIGHTS:
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Nameless Tower "Book of
Shadows" VII 5.10+ A4 WI4, 1995
|
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Mt Kenya all massif towers
in 16 hrs, 2002 |
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Mt Cuerno 17.600ft South
Face First Ascent 5.7 WI 3 4640ft in 4.36hrs R/ trip solo, 2000 |
|
Fitzroy Super Canaleta VI
5.10b A1 WI 3,1987 |
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Atensoraju 19.328ft. new
route North ridge/face "The Pandora Box of Artensoraju:" 5.9 WI 3, 1998 |
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Oshapalca new route South
face "My Message" 5.7 WI 4/5 2.400ft., 2000 |
|
Aconcagua World record
ascent/descent 54miles 13500ft elevation gain, 2000 |
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First Ascent Argentina Andes
"Welcome to a Dream" V 5.11 A4+.,1999 |
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Patagonia Exploration, first
ascent "Swept by the Wind" 5.13a, 1,000ft. |
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Patagonia 62.5miles
endurance run first place 9.35hrs., 1986 |
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The Nose VI 5.11 A1 16
ascents, ten one day ascents. |
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South Seas (VI 5.10 A5) |
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Sea of Dreams (VI 5.10 A5) |
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Regular Route (VI 5.10 A1)
twenty times. Fastest time was 3:30 |
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20/20 Classics Climb's in
twenty days of the 50 Classic's Climbs of North America Book. Ascended
60,080ft, traveled 137 miles on foot, 2hrs in canoe, and climbed 241
pitches. 1993 |
ABOUT WILLIE: Born and raised
in the wild heart of Patagonia, Willie Benegas has pursued a long
apprenticeship in the mountains. Willie has pushed his craft on the big walls
of Yosemite, the airy summits of South America, and the loftiest peaks of the
Himalayas. Willie completed his first major ascent in the winter of 1987 with
a route up Patagonia's West Face of Pitriquitron (VI, 5.9 A3 W2/3), which has
still not been repeated. At age 20, he climbed Aconcagua's impressive South
Face, as well as Fitzroy. In the following years, Willie "ticked off" the
first ascent of the North Face of Pakistan's Nameless Tower "Book of Shadows"
(VII, 5.10+ A4 W14), made record speed ascents in Yosemite Valley, and
attempted major new routes on the legendary North Faces of Thalay Sagar and
Jannu. In 2001, he set the world record speed ascent/descent of the highest
mountain in the Western Hemisphere, Aconcagua (22,831 ft.), summited Everest
for a second time, and ran the legendary Leadville Ultra 100-mile Race. In the
spring of 2002, Willie reached the Top of the World yet a third time. However,
simply overcoming technical routes and conquering summits around the world is
not enough for this 34-year-old climber. He gathers equal satisfaction by
introducing others to the world of mountain experiences and exploration.
Willie has many plans for the future, but he often gets the same question, why
do you climb? To this he simply says, "A mountain adventure will carry over
into the many facets of life, teaching yourself about yourself, your
co-existence with nature, and the respect for people's cultures."
 |
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Expedition footwear for
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SIZES LISTED. See more here. |
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A cold
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See more here. |
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