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The Dutch eagles have started their final ascent
May 19, 2004 20: 32 EST
"18.00 Netherlands time 24.00 Everest time.
The start signal for the final push has passed. Wilco, Rex and Dawa are headed up to the top. Step by step. It is calm in camp 4, the winds gusts lightly here and there. The men realize that every step higher in altitude is another bit of the mountain that they conquer. One step at a time. We expect more news around 02.00 in the morning to be able to give more details on the final push."
Second attempt for the third pole
Dutch climbers Wilco van Rooijen, Rex Snelder, Gelderse Groessen and Ron Doorakkers are on Everest this spring for an oxygenless attempt on the North side. Wilco plans to paraglide down from the summit, an attempt he also tried in 2002 with Hans van der Meulen. Hans reached the summit, but Wilco turned back.
Having already made it to both the North (with Hans in 1997) and South Poles, the ascent of Everest would be the “Third Pole” for the Dutch adventurer - in his own way. Hans van der Meulen ascended Gasherbrum II in 1988, K 2 in 1995, Cho Oyu in 1998 and Everest (without bottled oxygen) in 2002. Wilco has ascended Shisha Pangma Central-Peak in 1998.
‘Half-summit’
In the 8000m realm the descent is one of the most harrowing and dangerous parts of the climb. You’re exhausted beyond your wildest dreams and weary after a huge summit day.
This combo can lead to mistakes or slip-ups with grave consequences. We’ve heard a sherpa say over radio to climbers celebrating on top that they were only at their ‘half-summit’ – getting down to Base Camp in one piece is when a full-summit is reached. So, it makes a great deal of sense that the less time you spend on the descent, the less chance you have of dieing.
Quickest way down - 11 minutes
The quickest way down we know of, besides a slip and fall, is with a paraglider. This spring, Dutchman Wilco van Rooijen will attempt Everest for the second time. He plans to leave the oxygen behind to make room instead for a parasail. What better way to celebrate a summit than to glide effortlessly through the thin air all the way down to Base Camp? Two or three days of descent condensed to a mere 11 minutes contemplating your accomplishment in the company of birds.
History of Everest Eagles
Others before have paraglided from Everest. In 1988, French climber Jean-Marc Boivin summited Everest from the South Col route and made his descent in 11 minutes in a paraglider. In 1990, Jean-Noël Roche and his son Bertrand (Zéb ) became the first father-and-son-team to reach the top of Everest. On their descent, they paraglided from the South Col to Base Camp. Zéb was just 17.
Eleven years later, Zéb and his wife Clair scaled Everest from the North and sailed down in a paraglider. Zeb is back on the mountain today, leading a small team of climber who summited two days ago.
A few days after Zeb and Claires paraglide of Everest, MountEverest.net translated their unforgettable summit day and descent, in the classic story "Where the Eagles fly":
"The sail started to shake violently at the top of the North Col"
"Then, sitting in front of Zeb and stepping out of the ledge, the mountain inflated the sail and very quickly the wind carried off with us leaving this mythical place. For a few minutes we transformed into birds. A rapid fall on the western face, then we left full north, direction the Chinese base Camp.
"We marveled on the descent, it was magic, the paraglider gliding easy, and yet the landscape below was blurred. The conditions were however not as calm as it had appeared, the winds picked up on us. We must make a change of the flight plan, and chose direction ABC to the right.
"At the top of the North Col, the sail started to shake violently, recalling in Zeb flight competitions, and we moved away from all that could create turbulence. At 10.22am we landed gently on the Rongbuk glacier, just above 6400 meter. We were immensely happy.”
Ron's fall of the North face
The current Dutch expedition have had some drama already. Ron had an accident:"As we say in the Netherlands: He must have had an angel sitting on his shoulder!"
Wilco van Rooijen and Rex Snelder stayed in camp 3 (7900meters) for the night. Ron Doorakkers instead decided to return to ABC. While descending from camp 2 towards the North Col, he started to fall down the steep slope. As he tried to grab the fixed rope which was lifted by an unknown climber, he picked up speed. Using his crampons and walking stick, he tried to slow his descend.
At the very last moment, only 5 meters (15ft) before a final drop into a crevasse, some pieces of rock allowed him to self arrest. Czech climbers helped him down to ABC. Ron had a sprained ankle, bruises, and his climbing suit some 50 holes in it.
Arrested without charges
In addition, right at the start of the expedition, the Dutch Everest paragliders lost their ‘man in Kathmandu.’ Their otfitter was arrested – without cause or any charges against him. The recently released Surya Bastakoti wrote to the team:
"Sorry about what happened with me these last months. I heartily thank you for your great help and all the letters to the minister and Prime minister. Because of that I was released sooner rather than later. The whole time I was in a dark room, blindfolded and handcuffed.
I was arrested without a charge against me and when I asked them about my arrest they didn't give me any reason except, ‘just for inquiry’. Anyway last night I was released without any charges and all of my family and friends are happy to be with me again. I wish you very very good luck and all the success for your great Everest Expedition."
The Dutch team contacted several top dogs in Nepal, as well as the embassies and Amnesty International requesting Surya’s release. There is no word on whether an investigation will be held on the matter, but it is unlikely - after all this is Nepal.
An interview with Wilco - what happened last time?
In a recent interview with ExWeb, Wilco talked about the climb, now up in the next hours:
ExWeb: You attempted Everest before, but didn't make it, what happened?
Wilco: There was just the two of us, Hans van der Meulen and I. We didn’t use sherpas and really needed more time for our logistics, like getting our tents and other stuff at the right place at the right time. It was bad enough that Hans became ill too; we ended up losing even more time.
The good weather came in the beginning of May that year when we were otherwise busy with our logistics and setting up our camp at the South Col. This all was in the first half of May, but then the good weather went and never came back… so until the end of May we didn’t think the weather was ever right to attempt to reach the summit.
Although the circumstances weren’t ideal, we still pushed for the summit three times. On our last attempt the wind was blowing at about a 6 on the Beaufort scale. With Beaufort 7 you will be blown of the descent, so I decided to give up my attempt - reaching the summit is one thing, but returning is a second and even more important thing.
Priorities this year
ExWeb: Is paragliding off the summit this year the main priority, or is getting to the top without Oxygen?
Wilco: To reach the summit without supplemental oxygen is my first and most important goal, but if the circumstances are good I really want to use the chance to fly down..
ExWeb: What are your biggest concerns? Summiting without oxygen is difficult enough, let alone having proper conditions for a jump.
Wilco: There is no one biggest concern for me, I think they are all equal. Some concerns that I do have are about keeping the team together as planned, to stay healthy, to get the logistics in place in time and of course for the weather to be good to us this year...
The Team
ExWeb: Tell us about your team, have you climbed with these guys before?
Wilco: Our team is Ron Doorakkers, Rex Snelders and I. Ron and Rex do not have the same experience as I have at high altitude, but we have climbed together on several mountains in the Alps and in Europe. Their lack of high altitude experience doesn’t concern me too much - for me the most important thing is the team spirit and how we get along. After all we will be together for 10 weeks, 24/7.
ExWeb: You've climbed, are a Polar skier, and paraglider - what would you call yourself first, a mountaineer, adventurer, etc...
Wilco: First I’m an adventurer, second a mountaineer, third a polar traveler, and last a paraglider. Who knows what will follow now?
The idea to jump
ExWeb: What sparked the idea to jump from Everest? Besides the fact that you'll be down in Base Camp in a matter of minutes, while everyone else spends days on the descent!
Wilco: I feel that most of the people that die on the Mount Everest, die on there way down. So at first my idea was to paraglide down during acclimatization. But, after a while the idea grew, if I can use it during acclimatization, why can’t I use it from the summit? After reconsidering the advantages and disadvantages I made the decision to do it.
ExWeb: How long have you been paragliding for? Noticed that you used sails for your South Pole expedition, did they help quite a bit?
Wilco: As a little child I already loved to play with the wind. I did things like windsurfing at an early age. Four years ago I used a kite to ‘surf’ to the South Pole. If it weren’t for that I wouldn’t have reached my goal. After that I started to fly with a paraglider and realized the possibilities of using the wind as an advantage during my expeditions.
ExWeb: Have you ever BASE jumped before, like off a fixed object, cliff, or span - what are your thoughts on the sport?
Wilco: Yes I did, I always felt that BASE jumpers were mad, crazy - but one day the Dutch North Face Skydiving Team invited me to make a jump with them. From that moment on I was addicted. So I will use it in one of my next expeditions for sure, but I can’t do it all at once.
ExWeb: If you make Everest, you'll have that and the North and South Poles - what next?
Wilco: That will be a surprise again for everybody, but first I have to complete this one.
Image of Willco Paragliding another mountain, courtesy of the team.
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2004
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