K2 2001 is here !

K2 2000 is here !

K2 2000 Coming Soon to EverestNews.com

For the third year, EverestNews.com will cover Summit Attempts on K2. K2 2000 is expected to be special with numerous Expeditions on the mountain from around the world.

Sponsored by O BOTICÁRIO and TAM, Waldemar Niclevicz will face K2 again in 2000.

Niclevicz launches his new site www.niclevicz.com.br

Strategy to face K2 in 2000 includes a rigorous training, with escalates in Chile, Venezuela and Colombia. 

The Brazilian alpinist Waldemar Niclevicz, will do a new attempt, between June and August, to climb the most difficult and dangerous mountain in the world - K2, with 8,611m, located in the North of Pakistan. After reaching 8,040m of K2, in 1998 and giving  up climbing in 1999 after a Rumanian alpinist's death. It will be his third attempt to conquer the called Death Mountain, where just 164  have succeeded  and 54 have lost their lives. No alpinist has reached the top for two years and half.

For Niclevicz, the secret of the success to climb K2 this year is the background got  in the last attempts and mainly the exceptional team that he will be in charge of.

Niclevicz believes that the two attempts to climb K2 themselves will help him to discover its secrets and guarantee the success this year. Knowing details about the climb path, called Southeast Crest or Abruzzos Ram, as  well the precise place to camp and the solutions in the most difficult parts,  Niclevicz says  his confidence  in succeeding is bigger as well the safety  while climbing.

Other positive factor is his experience about the weather in the region, through observations about  winds direction and  clouds formation, all that learned in the previous experiences.

In the last two years, the Brazilian alpinist has climbed the three of the highest mountains in the world, all over 8 thousand meters of altitude: Cho Oyo (8,201m) and Shisha Pangma (8,046 m) in Tibet and Gasherbrum (8,035m) in Pakistan. All of those achievements were done without artificial oxygen help and were fundamental to increase the Niclevicz's body's ability to adapt to the rarefied air, as well his technical level in high altitudes

Other positive factors for 2000 is the alpinists team. The Italian Abele Blanc, 47, Project K2's companion  since the beginning, will be with the project again. Other Italian, Marco Camandona, 28, who was with them in Cho Oyo and Shisha Pangma, also is reinforcing the team. The biggest surprise in the expedition is the Italian alpinist Hans Kammerlander, one of the best alpinists ever, who has already climbed most of the 14 highest mountains in the world. Kammerlander will be sharing the same climbing   permission with two other alpinists. Participating  in the same team is the German Peter Guggemos, also an expert in climbing in Himalayans with 5 eight thousand meters. The teams will develop independently inside the same expedition, although all the work will be  done in group. 

STRATEGY TO FACE K2 IN 2000 INCLUDES A RIGOROUS TRAINING, WITH CLIMBINGS IN CHILE, VENEZUELA AND COLOMBIA

Niclevicz's strategy for 2000 has been based on an intense training aiming to increase his aerobic resistance and his technical level. Running 10 km daily (50 minutes), muscles work and swimming (from a thousand to 2 thousand meters each other day), together with long distance walking (20 to 30 Km) in the weekends, all that to guarantee an aerobic resistance. His technical level is guaranteed with periodical climbing and with preparative expeditions.

The first preparative climbing was held in January. Niclevicz left Curitiba by car, crossing Argentina from East to West, whose main goal was to reach the mountainous region next to Atacama Desert, known as Central Andes, where there is the highest concentration of  high mountains  all around the Cordillera. That region, located in the north of Chile is little inhabited and has a rare beauty, extremely arid and with many rocks blooming. There are volcanoes all around, some of them active, and numberless lagoons appear in deep  valleys. 

The next preparative expedition happened from Feb. 8th on -  Aguilas Blanca  Expedition (Venezuela) and Sierra Nevada Expedition (Colombia).  A group of high- technical expeditions , aiming to climb the tallest mountains in Venezuela and Colombia ( mountains that had never been climbed by a Brazilian). The biggest Niclevicz's worry was to get close to Cristobol Colon Peak (5,766m), a mountainous region in Colombia dominated by guerrilla fighters.

In March Niclevicz is participating in a 500-year boat race, travelling from Lisbon to Madeira Island on a Hozzoni Boat, sponsored by TAM. Afterwards he goes to Italy  in order to adjust some details with his team. Before returning to the sailboat, to carry out  Salvador-Cabrália way, he will climb the Neblina Peak, in honor of Brazil 500 years, requested by the Minister of Sports Mr. Rafael Greca.

Niclevicz launches new site. Now his address in www.niclevicz.com.br

For Niclevicz, the greatest star in his Project keeps being Internet. Through his site more than 100 thousand people  ( 20 % were in English version) could follow the climb last year, checking all expeditions steps with daily transmissions, via satellite, of photos and information.  The alpinist's site is updated every week with photos about his training and climbing. This year during K2's climbing, the information will be updated daily again, so it facilitates the public to get more details about his expedition and also feel the emotion about what is happening. Communication equipment via satellite also facilitates interviews alive with journalists and exchange e-mail with the public.

Niclevicz's site is being re-launched this week developed by !hey Interativa, and can be accessed by www.niclevicz.com.br, containing information about all the project K2 and other climbing, orientating people that want to start the alpinism.

EverestNews.com will work with Waldemar Niclevicz once again to post reports in English.

The Mountaineering Must Haves

Books: 

• Moving Mountains Reinhold Messner
• Shisha Pangma: The Alpine Style First Ascent of the Southwest Face by Alex MacIntyre, Doug Scott Paperback - 322 pages 
• Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition by John Roskelley (Paperback - September 2000) 
• Nanda Devi: Exploration and Ascent by Eric Shipton, et al
• Ecuador : A Climbing Guide by Yossi Brain (Paperback - September 2000)
• Climbing the World's 14 Highest Mountains by Richard Sale, John Cleare (Photographer). Hardcover 
• Climbing Everest: A Meditation on Mountaineering and the Spirit of Adventure by Pat Ament (Hardcover ) 
• Mount Everest : The Highest Mountain (Great Record Breakers in Nature) by Aileen Weintraub 
• Fragile Edge : A Personal Portrait of Loss on Everest
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• The Great Arc : The Dramatic Tale of How India Was Mapped and Everest Was Named by John Keay  Hardcover - 160 pages (September 2000) 
• Snow in the Kingdom : My Storm Years on Everest by Ed Webster
• Everest : Mountain Without Mercy -- Broughton Coburn, et al; Hardcover
• Order Peter and Leni Gillman's new Mallory Book:  The Wildest Dream : The Biography of George Mallory Hardcover - 320 pages (September 2000) Now !
• Ghosts of Everest : The Search for Mallory & Irvine -- Jochen Hemmleb, et al; Hardcover
• Everest : A Mountaineering History -- Walt Unsworth; Hardcover

Video: 

• Everest (IMAX) (1998) -- Liam Neeson; VHS

Popular Music: 

• Everest: Soundtrack From The IMAX Film Experience [SOUNDTRACK] -- George Harrison, et al; Audio CD