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- Everest
- Trekking in Nepal
- Climbing in Arizona
- Climbing Gyms in the Phoenix Area
- Hiking in Arizona
- Books
- Climbing Schools
- Discussions
| PHOENIX-AREA ROCK GYMS | ||||
| Gym | Day pass | Monthly pass | Annual pass | LWG Special Award for: |
| AZ on the Rocks | $15 | $60 | $500 | Coolest Website, Air Conditioning |
| ClimbMax | $8 | $30 | $270 | State's smallest gym (bouldering only) |
| Phoenix Rock Gym | $10 | $40 | $350 | Close to Ted's, great staff |
| Solid Rock | $10 | $40 | $395 | Rock-like climbing surfaces |
Into Thin Air is Jon Krakauer's first-hand account of the most deadly month on the world's tallest mountain. In May of 1996, TBD climbers from four different expeditions (including the leaders of the two commercial expeditions, Scott Fischer and Rob Hall) lost their lives on Mount Everest. Krakauer was a client on one of the commercial expeditions, sent by Outside Magazine to collect data for an article on the growing commercialization of Everest.
Krakauer, an accomplished climber for most his life, jumped at the chance to join Rob Hall's New Zealand expedition. Hall's company, Adventure Consultants, had already successfully led several groups of client climbers to the summits of the tallest peaks on all seven continents. Hall was the most highly regarded guide in the Himalaya, and had no trouble filling his client list for Everest in spite of the $65,000 fee.
In his book, he speaks honestly about the many factors he believes contributed to the disaster, including some of his own actions. Two other survivors took issue with his criticisms of them, and wrote lengthy letters to Outside Magazine to defend their positions and reputations. One of them, Anatoli Boukreev, wrote a book
Into Thin Air got me so interested in Everest and the events of May 1996 that I have tracked down many other resources-- web sites, documentaries, and books by other climbers who were on Everest that fateful May.
I was struck by an interesting coincidence upon my return to Phoenix. I had not yet spoken to Bradley (Teri's son) about the Everest book-on-tape when Teri unpacked his backpack to see what assignments he had brought home from school.
DISCUSSIONS
April 4, 2002 - Into Thin Air
Faced with the prospect of the long drive back to Arizona last week, I must have looked pretty resigned to many hours of tedium. Fortunately for me, two of my Mom's friends (Deborah and Troy) lent me a book on tape to pass the time.
Krakauer himself reads the book aloud, so it is as though he is telling you the story. I won't say a lot more here, since I hope everyone will have an opportunity to read or listen to this book themselves (see the new Lunch With George Puzzle for a chance to win a copy!).
containing his version of the events entitled The Climb. Boukreev died in an avalanche on the slopes of Annapurna, another Himalayan peak, only a year after the Everest disaster. Sherpa Lopsang Jangbu, another surviving guide from Scott Fischer's team and a colleague of Boukreev, also died the next year while assisting a Japanese expedition on Everest.
Web Sites
Books
Films
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At least two employees from Honeywell have reached the summit of Everest in recent history: Mike Otis and Dave Schooley. I heard it told that Mike Otis has a tradition of doing a hand-stand on every summit he reaches, and did so on Everest. I couldn't find a photo of any handstand, but I did find a photograph of Mike at the summit.
April 11, 2002 - More on Climbing
As a result of all my recent reading about Mt. Everest, I've become intrigued enough that I want to learn to climb (although I have no personal interest in climbing the world's tallest mountains). Here in Phoenix there are many opportunities to learn and practice climbing. There is the Arizona Mountaineering Club, and a few climbing schools. It seems that with the advent of what is called Sport Climbing (climbing prepared sites both natural and artificial-- it does not require a lot of technical ability), true climbing is now referred to as "Trad" climbing, for "traditional."
The Arizona Climbing Center is a large indoor 
climbing facility near 19th Avenue and Peoria. They offer indoor and outdoor classes in climbing. There is also the Arizona Climbing and Adventure School. They offer a variety of climbing courses, including programs for kids as young as 10.
I recently received three books in the mail which I hope to read: The Climb, by Anatoli Boukreev; High Exposure, by David F. Breashears; and Climbing High, by Lene Gammelgaard. I've already begun the Breashears book, and it is keeping my interest. Jon Krakauer's forward to the book paints the picture of Breashears as a fearless climber, whose greatest and most legendary climbing feats occurred far from Everest.
April 18, 2002 - (not STAR) TREKKING
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| Ama Dablam |
From what I've read, visiting Nepal is a breath-taking experience (although maybe that's due to the high altitude :-). The vistas along the trail are supposed to be truly spectacular, and the people of Nepal seem to be friendly and welcoming.
The biggest challenge is to be in good enough physical shape to hike for three weeks at high altitude. Lukla (where the treks usually start, following a helicopter flight from Kathmandu) is above 9000 feet, and Everest Base Camp sits at 17,600 feet above sea level.
A typical trekking package goes something like this:
- 18-21 days on the trail
- Hotel and meals in Kathmandu on the way in and out
- All meals and hot beverages during the trek
- All camping gear is provided
- Sherpa porters carry your gear duffel
- Visit the Namche Bazaar (trading hub for the Sherpa people)
- Visit and stay as guests in Sherpa villages such as Tengboche
- Visit Everest South Base Camp
- Optional climbs of lesser peaks such as Island Peak
- Cost: $2000-$3500.00 (does not include getting to Kathmandu and home again)
The best of the lot seems to be International Mountain Guides, or IMG for short (Mike Otis climbed Everest as an
unguided climber supported by IMG). It's not just that they provide everything 
for you once you get yourself to Kathmandu-- they do! But while other groups only stop off at Everest Base Camp for an hour visit, IMG trekkers get to actually have dinner and spend the night at Base Camp with IMG climbers who are preparing to climb Everest. You even get to walk up and touch the Khumbu Icefall!
Several of these guiding companies also offer an optional climb to the summit of Island Peak, a relatively easy-to-climb 20,000-foot peak near Everest Base Camp. Some climbing experience is usually required for this additional 3-day expedition. Here are some of the companies offering treks through Nepal:
- ARUN Treks and Expeditions
Don't know much about these guys-- they have offices both in Austin, Texas and Kathmandu, Nepal. - Canadian Himalayan Expeditions
personally recommended by Gordon Cook, author of the Cook Report on Internet. - International Mountain Guides
Led both recent expeditions to resolve the mystery surrounding the failed Mallory/Irvine assault on Everest in 1924. - Mountain Madness
Originally founded by Scott Fischer. His family has kept the business going, dedicated to his memory. - Adventure Consultants
This is Rob Hall's guiding company, still in business following his death on Everest is 1996 (and seeming to be doing very well).
April 25, 2002 - Everest Report III: Into Thin Air
I finally found the time to watch my DVD of Into Thin Air, the made-for-television movie adaptation of Jon Krakauer's book of the same name. Having read and listened to the book, I can honestly say the movie is pretty awful. The characters are caricatures of the people in the book-- the screenwriters latched onto one or two failings of each and amplified them to be the sole representations of each character (e.g., Scott Fischer never says anything in the movie without claiming he's more laid back than Rob, or hinting at the great publicity he'll receive from putting Sandy Hill Pittman on the summit. I had no such impression from the book).
I'm always a little irked when movies change facts from a book to make it "work better" in the film version, but even more so when it's coming from a true story. In essence, they're lying! The worst example I found was when Scott Fischer and Rob Hall bring their two teams together at Camp II or Camp III and tell them that they are combining into a single team to better help each other and successfully reach the summit. That never happened!
The scene depicting Rob Hall's last radio conversation (which included his 8-months-pregnant wife patched in from New Zealand) was pretty acurate, however, and had both of my daughters in tears (Hannah made me promise I would never climb Everest!).
If you think you'll never get around to reading the book but are interested enough to invest the 90 minutes it would take to watch this movie, then it's probably worth it. You'll get a good feel for the overall story, and see the extreme conditions under which all Everest climbers attempt to survive. I have a copy I'm willing to lend, and I'm in no hurry to get it back (I'd give it away as a prize in one of our contests, but who would want it?).
If you are going to read the book (or already have), I would recommend you stay away from the movie version, and consider renting or buying the IMAX Everest film, whose crew was on Everest at the time of the tragic events chronicled in Into Thin Air.
May 9th, 2002 - Phoenix Rock Gym
George and I paid a visit to the Phoenix Rock Gym in Tempe. It won't be our last! They have a friendly staff, many different challenging climbing routes, and easy-to-use equipment. I've already taken Emily and Hannnah to the PRG, and they love it. Before you can climb, you |
| Emily on a 5.7 |
George and I started out (as all newbies do) on the "Beginner's Death Slab". The beginner's wall is just as tall as the rest (30 feet), but is slightly inclined and has really generous hand-holds ("bombers", as George calls them).
As you move around the room counter-clockwise, the wall becomes more vertical, the hand-holds become smaller and more sparsely arranged. About halfway down the first wall, brightly-colored pieces of tape begin to appear on the wall, placed at specific holds. These are routes that are designed by PRG staff. The intention is that a climber attempts to reach the top using only the holds marked with a particular color tape. Climbers always name their routes (on real rock, too), and the PRG is no exception. George climbed the "Evil Clown", and I think he tried "That's Entertainment". I saw a 5.8 called "Mis-fired Synapse".
I suppose I should explain the rating system (I learned about this while reading David Breashear's book High Exposure). all free climbs are rated 5.n, where 5 indicates it is a free climb (just you and the wall or mountain), and n is the level of difficulty. In the 1970's when Breashears was climbing in the mountains near Boulder, Colorado, all climbs were rated between 5.2 and 5.11, with 5.11 being the most difficult. Since then, climbers have found ways to ascend on routes once thought impossible, so the upper end of rating system has been expanded upward to 5.14.
At Phoenix Rock Gym, the easiest routes begin at 5.4. I've climbed one of these routes without cheating (using a hand-hold which is not designated as part of my intended route) only once. Emily seems to be more of a natural at climbing-- she scrambled up a couple of 5.6 routes on her second visit! I can take comfort on knowing that it will be a long time before I get bored from exhausting the available routes at PRG. I bought a monthly pass for $40, which means I'll need to go at least once a week to break even (a day pass is $10). That should be no problem, since I'll most likely be there once a week with George, and another dat each week with Emily and Hannah. The rental gear (climbing shoes, a harness, and a caribiner for belaying) is $5 each visit. I stopped by REI, but even their cheapest climbing shoes are $100. I'm going to keep renting for a while, because PRG lets me rent a size 14 for my left foot and a size 13 for my right! Buying shoes that way will cost me over $200.
PRG hosts birthday parties for kids, and also does a lot of corporate team-builders during the daytime hours (the gym's regular hours on weekdays are 3:00 to 10:00 pm).
May 30, 2002 - Eric Weihenmayer
I bought my first copy of Climbing Magazine. The feature story introduced me to Eric Weihenmayer-- an accomplished climber who has lead some of the most difficult routes in such notable places as Yosemite, and summited Everest via the South Ridge route on his first attempt. Oh, he's also completey blind! Weihenmayer had normal sight as a young child, but suffered from Retinoscheses (a genetic disorder which destroys the retinas) which rendered him sightless by the age of 14.
He has already climbed five of the "Seven Summits" (the highest points on all seven continents) by age 34, and continues to climb around the world and give slide shows to amazed audiences.
Eric seems to have a great sense of humor, and likes
to tell blind jokes and stories (he's allowed!). Such as the story about the
time when he mistakenly drank from his tentmates's piss bottle on a climb in the Andes:
"Jesus!" said Weihenmayer, gagging.You can read the story in its entirely at Climbing Magazine's web site. For further reading, checkout his recently-published book, Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye Can See. I haven't read it yet (I'm almost finished with the title, though), so I can't give a personal recommendation.
"What the hell, are you blind or something?" replied his friend, Chris Morris. "I wrote 'PEE' on the bottle!"
I still wonder how he was sure he made it to the top? If the guys climbing Everest with him were tired and wanted to go down, they could just take him to the top of a ridge or outcropping, say "Wow Eric-- you made it!", and head back down...
October 24, 2002 - Arizona Mountaneering Club
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| AMC Instructors were ready |
We finally made it onto real rock. George and I have been taking the Arizona Mountaineering Club's Basic Rock course. It's a total of 40 hours of instruction, focused mostly on equipment usage and safety. We had two evening sessions in a classroom-like setting, but on Saturday & Sunday we were on real granite North of the McDowell Mountains!
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| George rappelling |
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| Dueling Hammers |
On Sunday, we went back to the same general area, but this time is was like a real AMC outing. Several climbs were top-roped (meaning someone free-climbed to the top, set anchors, and installed ropes to provide the safest climbing situation), and we had the whole day to climb whichever ones we wanted.
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| George on Dueling Hammers |
George and I finished the day attempting the "Slot," a climb to which a fair
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| Paul on Dueling Hammers |
Next week we will learn self-rescue techniques, and Saturday we'll embark on our graduation climb. More news next week.
November 1 - Graduation Climb
| George on the 1st Pitch |
| AMC Climbers atop the Praying Monk |
It all started with us hiking up the Echo Canyon trail before dawn. As we reached the vicinity of the "Praying Monk", we left behind the trail used by early morning hikers to ascend to the top of Camelback. Instead, we headed South toward the rocky "head" of the Camel. Rogil started the climb (she was the lead climber-- this means she free-climbs the route, clipping her rope into safety bolts every fifteen feet or so.) before the Sun rose.
Once the leader reaches the top of the "pitch", he or she sets anchors using boulders, trees, or pre-installed bolts. Then the remaining members of the expedition climb the pitch one by one, belayed from above.
As the last of the climbers are ascending one pitch, another lead group will begin the next pitch.
| The Big Rappel |
| At the Summit: Kareen, Rogil, James, Keith, Jennifer, George |
Another group of AMC students climbed to the top of the Monk, and I guess I wouldn't mind trying that some time. We went a lot higher, though.
To get back down, we scrambled around to a ledge on the East side of the "head", where the instructors set up a double-rope rappel for us to descend. While waiting, we avoided boredom by watching a Phoenix Police helicopter fly below us, heading toward the top of the main mountain where a casual hiker had broken their ankle.
I have to admit that the 100-foot rappel freaked me out initially, but I was able to relax and enjoy it... mostly.
Several grad climbs were rained on last Saturday, but the first drops fell on us as we retrieved our packs from behind some rocks. Cool! We were at it for eight hours, and the rain storms just kept blowing around us.
For a complete visual tour of our climb, check out the photos here.
November 15 - Queen Creek Clean & Climb
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| Queen Creek |
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| Hannah does a foot jam! |
We met up with about 30 AMC members in the parking lot of Mesa Community College just after midnight (OK, it was actually 8:00 am). From there, we convoyed out U.S. 60 to just past Superior (we got to drive through the cool tunnel!). We parked at the Oak Flats Campground entrance, and proceeded to pick up trash along a mile-long stretch of the highway. 62 huge garbage bags in all!
After a very quick lunch eaten while standing at the tailgate of the CRV, the whole group headed off through the campground to a canyon I didn't even know was there. We scrambled down a trail to an area halfway down the canyon wall, and found several top-roped climbs ranging from 5.4 to 5.10.
The only down side to the outing was the number of people vs. the number of climbs... it was like a busy night at the climbing gym. We had to get in lines at least three climbers long at each rope. We only got to climb twice before heading out.
September 25, 2003 - Solid Rock
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| Bouldering area at Solid Rock |
daughters and I were wandering from table to table at REI's club day expo, and discovered another rock gym is being built in North Phoenix! Solid Rock is actually a little further along in their construction, and hope to be open on November 1st.
They are offering very competitive pricing on memberships, and if purchased during the month of October, you can buy one membership and get another one free (or double the length of one membership). Their rate for a day pass ($10) is identical to that of Phoenix Rock Gym in Tempe, where George and I have climbed countless times.
Solid Rock will offer top-roped climbing, a rapelling tower, a bouldering area with a cave roof, and a lead-climbing area. Check out these great 3-D drawings! This situation is very cool for me. By the start of 2004, there will be a rock gym less than two miles from my house, another one less than a mile from my work, and a third one only a mile from my usual route home after picking my daughters up at school. Of course, with Ted's Hot Dogs being only two miles away from PRG, it still wins hands-down.
Copyright © 2003, Paul Wren. All rights reserved.