Mt. Everest 2005: ALTRUISTIC COUPLE CLIMB EVEREST FOR CHARITY: Looking like the last week of May

Update; the team has announced strong wind forecasts, and stated it looks like summit attempts near the last week of May.

Update: Greetings from Everest Base Camp. We have had a lot of snow these past few days, and now have a window to leave for Camp 1. Camp 1 has been rebuilt due to the avalanche that struck last Thursday. Those persons who were affected by the avalanche were evacuated to Katmandu for treatment are are being well looked after.

Tuesday morning at 4:30 am we will head up through the Icefall to Camp 1 were we will sleep for one night, then go up to Camp 2. On Wednesday night we will stay at Camp 2 and then wait to be able to climb up and sleep at Camp 3, which is at 7,000 meters. We will stay at Camp 3 until Saturday and then come back down and rest on Saturday and Sunday - then do the final Summit push, so we're getting close!

Previous Updates

Background

Rob Follows, Founder and Chairman of Altruvest Charitable Services as well as Chairman of Maritz Canada Inc., the largest performance improvement company in Canada, and his new bride, Katrina Sandling, will scale Mt. Everest in May 2005, it was announced today at a kick-off event at the Sutton Place Hotel.  The event drew over 100 influential attendees from the business and philanthropic sectors to celebrate and support the Everest campaign.

In the presence of Ang Dorjee Sherpa, a famous Sherpa, who has now scaled Everest 10 times and will be climbing with them, Follows explained that for the Everest trek the team represents Everest for Altruvest, a one-year fundraising initiative to raise over $1,000,000 to launch the Altruvest Vision Fund. The Fund will help ensure Altruvest’s long-term sustainability to help hundreds of charities improve their performance. The couple's altruistic wish is to inspire more contributions to Altruvest, all of which will leveraged to help small and medium sized charities in Canada contribute more to their communities.

Why Everest for Altruvest?  Rob Follows commented, "With over 250,000 board volunteers needed annually, most Canadian charities need help to find the skilled and dedicated volunteers to build better governed organizations and deliver more services to their communities. Altruvest is a bridge between new business and professional volunteers who can contribute a lot to the charitable sector and charities that need and want new board members.”

He continued "As Everest inspires people to stretch their performance, so too can Altruvest, through further funding, help charities improve their performance and strengthen communities. Through a growing donor base, Altruvest can generate tools for charities for generations to come. And in closing, "Just as Everest has become an international inspiration, Altruvest, as a Canadian best practice, will also become an inspiring global leader."

Murray Koffler, Founder, Shoppers Drug Mart and Philanthropist of the Year Award recipient remarked, "Altruvest has made an enormous contribution by innovating the means whereby volunteers are encouraged and assisted to serve on boards of charitable organizations.  This further expands their ability to serve the communities they support.  As well, Altruvest assists these organizations in improving their governance to function more efficiently.  Rob Follows' exciting venture, with Katrina, climbing Everest for Altruvest will go a long way in highlighting their work and deserves every support".

In conclusion he added, "One should also underline that this is not a self promoting stunt. 100% of donations go directly to charity and Rob and Katrina are covering all of their own costs for the climb."

This climb marks the fifth of Rob and Katrina's 'seven summits' on their goal to scale the highest summit on each continent in support of the Everest for Altruvest campaign.  So far, they have summitted 4 of the 7 summits, with the plan to do the 5th in June:

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania                      (19,563 ft.) Oct. 2003

Aconcagua, Argentina                     (22,841 ft.) Jan.  2004

Elbrus, Russia                                  (18,481 ft.) Aug. 2004

Vinson, Antarctica                           (16,066 ft.) Nov. 2004

Everest, Nepal                                (29,035 ft.) May 2005

McKinley, Alaska                           (20,320 ft.) June 2005

With a departure date of March 31st scheduled, altitude training and physical conditioning are vital. To ensure strong conditioning, Rob and Katrina have just completed a qualifying climb on Mount Vinson, Antarctica in severe, –60C° conditions.  Their commitment goes beyond simply reaching the summit, as they were also wed at the top of Mt. Vinson, just last November. 

Millet One Sport Everest Boot  has made some minor changes by adding more Kevlar. USES Expeditions / High altitude / Mountaineering in extremely cold conditions / Isothermal to -75°F Gore-Tex® Top dry / Evazote Reinforcements with aramid threads. Avg. Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz Sizes: 5 - 14 DESCRIPTION Boot with semi-rigid shell and built-in Gore-Tex® gaiter reinforced by aramid threads, and removable inner slipper Automatic crampon attachment Non-compressive fastening Double zip, so easier to put on Microcellular midsole to increase insulation Removable inner slipper in aluminized alveolate Fiberglass and carbon footbed Cordura + Evazote upper Elasticated collar. Expedition footwear for mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold.  NOTE US SIZES LISTED. See more here.

A cold weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight double boot has a PE thermal insulating inner boot that is coupled with a thermo-reflective outer boot with an integrated gaiter. We used a super insulating lightweight PE outsole to keep the weight down and the TPU midsole is excellent for crampon compatibility and stability on steep terrain. WEIGHT: 39.86 oz • 1130 g LAST: Olympus Mons CONSTRUCTION: Inner: Slip lasted Outer: Board Lasted OUTER BOOT: Cordura® upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated removable footbed/ Vibram® rubber rand See more here.

   Ascenders

   Atlas snowshoes

   Atomic

   Big Agnes

   Black Diamond

   Brunton

   Carabiners

   Chaco

   Cloudveil

   Columbia
   CMI

   Crampons

   Edelweiss ropes
   Eureka Tents

   Exofficio

   FiveTen

   Featured

   FoxRiver

   Gregory

   Granite Gear

   Harnesses
   Headlamps

   Hestra
   Helmets

   Helly Hansen

   HighGear

   HornyToad
   Ice Axes

   Julbo

   Kavu Eyewear

   Katadyn

   Kelty

   Kong

   Lekisport

   Life is Good

   Lowa

   Lowe Alpine

   Lowepro

   Millet

   Motorola

   Mountain Hardwear

   Mountainsmith

   MSR

   Nalgene

   New England Ropes

   Nikwax

   Omega

   Osprey

   Outdoor Research
   Patagonia

   Pelican

   Petzl

   Prana

   Princeton Tec

   Primus

   Rope Bags

   Royal Robbins

   Salomon

   Scarpa

   Scott

   Seattle Sports

   Serius
   Sleeping Bags

   Sterling Rope

   Stubai

   Suunto

   Tents

   Teva

   Thermarest

   Trango

   Tool Logic

   Trekking Poles
   Yaktrax
   and more here