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Bold Dreams on Everest
12:21 p.m. EDT Aug 7, 2003
The past few years have demonstrated that Mount Everest is no longer just the ultimate realm for climbers alone. While purists may cringe, the highest mountain in the world is also attracting a number of bold new dreamers – those who would dare to ski, paraglide, or even snowboard down Everest’s slopes. The American Snowboard Expedition’s Stephen Koch, Jimmy Chin and Eric Henderson are a few among them.
The team is currently in ABC on the North side of Everest with the goal of ascending the mountain and snowboarding down its steepest route: the Hornbein Couloir, a difficult, vertical direct line to summit. (This feat was attempted only once before by Marco Siffredi, a young French adventurer who made the first successful snowboard descent from Everest’s summit via the Norton Couloir in May 2001. Marco vanished during his descent of the Hornbein Couloir in September 2002.)
Everest is Koch’s final peak in his quest to snowboard down the Seven Summits. He plans to travel light using no fixed ropes or oxygen. As an experienced alpine climber, Koch understands the challenges of scaling Everest's most difficult route during monsoon season. Yet the season's heavier snow, warmer weather and, hopefully, lighter winds should benefit the snowboard descent.
Now on their way up the glacier, Koch, Chin and Henderson are taking time to acclimatize, working in some ice climbing and snowboarding on the neighboring lower peaks and ice formations along the way.
The team reported the other day that “Stephen led a charge to the glacier for a morning of ice climbing on the giant ice tours. We found great climbing and bouldering. The dry glacier below ABC, has miles of amazing blue ice tours that form an endless labyrinth to explore and climb in.”
Stephen Koch aims to snowboard the Seven Summits. With only one left to go – Everest – he chose the hard way; down one of the world’s most famous direct lines, the Hornbein Couloir. Jimmy Chin plans to climb to the top with Stephen and then ski down. Off season, in the Monsoon, there are no sherpas, no fixed ropes and no O2. Stephen, Jimmy and Eric are friends from Wyoming. The expedition uses Contact 2.0 software to provide Web updates and to send their stunning photos.
Image of Stephen Koch climbing an ice formation at Everest North ABC courtesy Stephen Koch.
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