Travel to Kathmandu

I flew from Denver to San Francisco, Tokyo, Bangkok to Kathmandu to start my Everest expedition. Four airplanes, four countries and 48 hours later I checked into my hotel in Kathmandu!

Trek to Base Camp

All Everest Nepal expeditions start with a flight to Lukla then a 9 day trek stopping at Sherpa villages like Namche each night. Yaks and porters carry the heavy gear while the climbers enjoy the views and get used to the altitude.

Khumbu Icefall

2,000 feet of frozen ice, the Icefall is the first obstacle to the summit of Everest.

Many ladders are used to cross deep crevasses or high ice cliffs. But climbers can also rappel down instead of taking ladders as shown in this clip.

Finally we look at Camp 2 just above the top of the Icefall and at the end of the Western Cwm .

Lhotse Face & Camp 3

Lhotse is the 4th highest mountain on Earth at 27,939' and sits next to Everest. Camp 3 in at 23,500' is on the face

It was very windy but not a lot of new snow as shown this video but it shows how harsh the conditions can be at times.

South Col at 8000 meters

Camp 4 is set on the South Col, the saddle between Everest and Lhotse. It is the beginning of the 'Death Zone' at 8000 meters or 25,500 feet. The summit bid starts from here about 9:00 at night and last for 12 to 18 hours with climbers returning late the next afternoon.

This video is taken from the South Col and pans up towards the route. You can see the Balcony at 27,500' and the South Summit at 28,700' on the left.

Karakorum Highway

The Karakorum Highway or KKH is one of the most famous roads in the world. It took 20 years to build and was finished in 1986 at a high human cost of 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers.

The road is mostly paved but is subject to landslides and has incredibly steep banks to the fast flowing rivers below. It is quite a ride and took two days to reach our destination.

Road to Askole

Askole is the last village before the Baltoro Glacier. You must take special 4-wheel drive jeeps along incredibly rough 'roads'. Rock slides are common along the way.

Summit Celebration

The High Altitude Porters (HAPs) of Pakistan get very excited about a summit. This video is of the greeting and celebration for our Broad Peak climbers.

K2 Panorama

K2 is the 2nd highest mountain at 28,250'. This video was taken from Concordia (the end of the Baltoro Glacier) and from our Broad Peak Base Camp.

Aconcagua Summit

Aconcagua is the highest mountain in South America and one of the 7 Summits. have summitted twice - 2005 and 2008 via the False Polish Traverse route.

Aconcagua has a mixed reputation as a 'slag heap' and a challenging climb depending on your experience. I found it a fun climb a great way to gain high altitude experience without all the Himalayan hassles.

Stuck on Denali

Mt. McKinley or officially Denali is the highest mountain in North America and also one of the 7 Summits.

I have attempted it twice via the West Buttress route. This video shows the route and what happens when weather stops everyone at the Ranger Camp at 14,000'.

Orizaba Summit

This Mexican volcano is the 3rd highest peak in North America after Denali and Mt. Logan in Canada.

It is a simple climb with only one camp above a small hut. The views from the summit crater are incredible!

Rainier Summit

Mt. Rainier is another volcano climb in the US State of Washington. This video is of my climb with 8 friends in 2004.