Everest climbing course + Instagram feed

[Max]

Mountains are something man. They will make you alive while facing death.
I am glad that 007 discovered...and I am jealous that I am not there.
The extra push beyond adrenaline fix....
You take risks and you get rewarded - this applies to women too !

PS: The link I posted earlier on this thread has to do with Maanam - I love the vocalist - Kora...(PS When I go to to places where it gets tough going I like hang onto something)

This song is special too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vswq_qcGOOk

Anyway....VoV at this moment you setting the example...Cheers and Take Care ! and have Fun !

(10-17-2014, 05:07 AM)William Wrote: Seems like he is still alive as a couple new photos have been added to his instagram. Van, let us know how things are going.

[007 Game]

I'm alive and well, in Kathmandu. We returned two days ago. I summited all three peaks + captured my Swedish flag on the mountains, a really awesome girl who is planning to become the 4th or 5th or whatever Swedish girl to summit Everest. One of the best sex of my life. What a month.

We started the trip 14 people and only 7 finished it. The rest had to leave due to AMS, weakness or other problems. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, harder than the North Pole. Summit nights are murderous. You start at 00:00 and climb in darkness, and make it to the final stages of the climb at 7-8 AM fatigued and breathless.

On the first peak I was so fucked up that I could not remember the name of my guide. I was so out of it I could have easily died up there. Most deaths happen not on the way up but on the way down, because you're so damn tired. One mistake and you're dead.

Our guide is an Everest legend. He's leading expeditions to the mountain since 1994. In 1991 he was part of the last non commercial expeditions, back in the day when you couldn't just "sign up" with a company but when everything had to be organized from scratch. He took hundreds of people to the summit, everybody here in Nepal knows him. Every night we'd sit for hours in the dining tent listening to Everest stories.

Two of the summits were very technical - Lobouche and Island Peak. Island Peak was the first. When we arrived to the final push I couldn't believe my eyes - a 300 meters wall, the last 50 meters or so almost 100% vertical. I thought it was a joke and that there is no way we'll be doing it. Then the guide goes "OK, don't wait for me.... start climbing". The 3rd peak, Lobouche has a 500 meters wall with no vertical parts, but it was even harder.

It was a trip of a lifetime and it was further complicated by this girl. I had a terrible crush on her from the moment we met and I couldn't take her off of my mind. It took me more than two weeks to kiss her and as soon as we started making out in her tent, the relationship spiraled out of control because it was going on parallel to the expedition and the complex relationships between all the team members and with the pressure of the last summit push.

Now I'm back to civilization and 400+ emails are waiting for me. I have no idea if I'll climb Everest or not, it's a complex subject, I'll get back to it later.

This past year has been mad. I feel like I didn't have a rest at all, between New Zealand and Australia, the North Pole, Vietnam, Burning Man, the Navy Seals week, and now this madness here. I think I'll force myself to stay here for a week and let everything sink in, work, go over photos, write some story posts... but I'm already planning ahead, as I wrote before I think my next project is going to be Tango in Buenos Aires. But I might jump to NZ again and I need to stop in HK/China for work too.

It's good to be back.

[Max]

Yes indeed- trip of a lifetime !

[TideRide]

007-
How did you access Navy Seals Week?

You're mountaineering is impressive-you must be a top condition athlete. i cannot belive about that guide-hes been ascending the miuntains regularly for over 20 years-a total warrior.

Were the physical demands of this trip comparable to a marathon or iron man or even more?

[007 Game]

Navy seals - google Navy Seals Extreme Experience.

I workout 3 times a week at the gym, nothing more. But we had a guy who does half a marathon, the girl is a professional cross fit competitor, another has been climbing mountains for 5 years, and we had a 62 years old who does 3 miles a day. We had much stronger guys (an ex Ranger and an officer in the Bermuda military) who couldn't make it but it was AMS and running stomach related. But yes, you need to be in good shape. Summit nights are murderous. (literally)

[TideRide]

I found extremesealexperience.com- an ex seal with mad contacts who lets you simulate for 7 days nd that's cool but the DOD wouldn't let the public get on the beaches in San Diego with the cadets right? If I were them Inwouldnt either-that's crazy and a total security risk. I'd be opposed to civilians interfering with training if I were the CO but that ex Seal has a cool business going there letting people simulate training-that's got to be a lot of fun.

Btw- do you like guns? I figure if you did the seal thing you like guns. Marines tend to be the best shooters though on average. I've know some who regularly did 150m headshots in combat- there have even been news stories on this. They leftists thought marines were executing Arabs by they were such crack shots with there M4s with Acogs that they would bust them at 200m so accurately that it looked like a head shot execution. I know a Marine who could hit @1000m with Irons-that's bad ass by any standard with 5.56 NATO ammo.

The seals were right in choosing Sigs they are the best pistols IMO as they slayed everything else except the Glock (wasn't out in full circulation yet) in the Army trials. I like HK 91s the best for rifles. German weapons are great.