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On TV: Surviving Everest Tells of Triumph, Tragedy |
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Sharon Guynup National Geographic Channel |
| April 24, 2003 |
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Fifty years after the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, take a remarkable journey back to the Summit with the sons of three legendary Everest climbers—Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Barry Bishop, one of the first Americans to reach Everest's peak. Experience the dangers and drama of Everest, and uncover untold stories of tragedy, triumph, and rivalry that color this mountain's history—"Surviving Everest," airs on April 27, 2003 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. (NGC will encore "Surviving Everest on the 50th Anniversary of the first Summit on May 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT). Mount Everest, the crown of the Himalayas, is a sacred peak, revered by the Sherpas who live in the villages nestled in the valleys far below. Everest is known to the Sherpas as Chomlungma, "Goddess Mother of The World." Over the last century, the towering 29,035 foot (8850 meter) mountain has proven formidable to mountaineers. Those who attempt to stand on top of the world do so at great risk from sub-zero cold, gaping crevasses, avalanches, and the falling ice. Once they near the top, climbers face a steep, knife-edged ridge to the final crest. Some of those who climb the world's highest mountain pay the ultimate price—her slopes have taken the lives of 175 mountaineers. At 28,000 feet, the rarified air contains just one-third as much oxygen as at sea level, requiring that most climbers use oxygen tanks. Scientists believe that Everest's peak is about as high as humans can ascend without wearing a pressurized suit. When this extreme environment is combined with powerful winds and bone-chilling cold, the mix can prove lethal. During the filming of "Surviving Everest," two cameramen got caught in a collapse in the Khumba Icefall on their way down from the team's first failed summit attempt. They barely escaped being crushed by huge ice blocks. Rattled by the experience, the film crew was unable to reach the Summit and descended to Base Camp. The National Geographic 50th Anniversary Expedition leader Pete Athans—who has summited Everest more than any Westerner—took over filming from Camp II, capturing the team's final ascent to the Summit. One of the team's Sherpas, Kami Sherpa, shot some critical footage at Camp IV on the South Col. Top of the World Everest first seduced western climbers in the early 20th century. In 1920, the first permit to ascend one of the world's last great exploration challenges was granted to the British, and the race to the "Third Pole" began. In the thirty-two years that followed, seven major expeditions pushed the limits of human endurance in attempts to reach the summit—and failed. These expeditions were outfitted with comparably primitive equipment and faced extreme challenges. Then in May 1953, 33 year-old New Zealand beekeeper Edmund Hillary and 39-year old Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, became the first humans to stand atop Earth's highest peak, five and a half miles above sea level. Ten years later, National Geographic Magazine photographer Barry Bishop was part of the first American expedition—sponsored by the National Geographic Society—to summit Everest. Although Bishop reached the Summit and came back alive, he paid a price—he lost all his toes and the tips of several fingers to frostbite from severe sub-zero weather during his descent. On the same expedition, two other Americans, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld successfully pioneered a route to the Summit up the perilous West Ridge. Since their astounding achievement, the West Ridge has been successfully climbed just six times out of 40 attempts—and 23 people have died there. Climbing Everest altered each of their lives forever. Upon his return to England, Edmund Hilary was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa reached the peak on his sixth Everest expedition—his first encounter with the mountain was in 1935 when he was a young porter. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa's accomplishment made the name "Sherpa" known throughout the world. He became a celebrity, both internationally and among his own people. As a result, he devoted his life to helping the Sherpa people cope with the changes that the climbing boom brought to the region. Improving the Life of Sherpas Sherpas are mountaineering's unsung heroes. For them, climbing these mountains is a livelihood—and without their contributions most westerners would never reach the Summit. Living at high altitude has allowed them to adapt to this environment, giving them strength and stamina at great heights. Leading the way on Mount Everest, however, has not come without a price: 56 Sherpas have died climbing her slopes. Like Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, Sir Edmund Hillary devoted his life to improving the life of the Sherpas—whose tribal name means "people of the east." When the two of them reached Everest's Summit in 1953 most of these villagers were illiterate and nearly half of their children died within the first two years of life. Hillary has sought to ensure that the Sherpas benefited from the rise of the adventure industry that has altered their lives and land forever. Over the last half-century, Hillary has built 42 schools, two hospitals and 11 medical clinics through a non-profit organization he founded, the Himalayan Trust. In 1975, he helped establish Sagarmatha National Park to protect the region's flora and fauna. That same year, tragedy struck when Hillary's wife and daughter were killed in a small plane crash in Nepal. Barry Bishop returned to the National Geographic Society, where he served in a variety of roles, including Chairman of the Committee for Research and Exploration. As chairman of the CRE, Bishop helped to grant millions of dollars in research funds to scientists and explorers. From 1968 to 1970, he conducted a geographical research project on the economic hierarchy of Nepal, which earned him a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Chicago. Following Their Fathers' Footsteps Each of the three mountaineers planted the seed of adventure in their sons. Peter Hillary unsuccessfully attempted to climb the West Ridge in 1984—and vowed never to attempt that route again. But, he did summit Everest in 1990 via the South Col route—making the Hillarys the first father and son to have reached the top of the world. Jamling Tenzing Norgay, the son of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, was already scaling mountains in Sikkim with his father by age six. In 1986, his father passed away, and Jamling began to contemplate returning to Everest. In 1996, he was the climbing leader for the famed Everest IMAX expedition. During the 1996 climbing season nine people died and Jamling vowed never to climb Everest again—during the anniversary expedition he provided communications expertise from Base Camp. While Jamling's father was the most famous climber in the family, a total of 12 relatives have subsequently reached the Summit—perhaps more than any other family in the world. Brent Bishop repeated his father's climbing feat in 1994. Tragically, just four months later his father, Barry, died in a car accident. The young Bishop also felt the need to give back to this land he'd come to know. In 1994, he led the Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition to the top of Everest to remove decades of trash left behind by climbers. The high-altitude team dragged 5,000 pounds of refuse off the mountain—and in yearly garbage-collecting expeditions over the next five years, Bishop and his team collected another 20,000 pounds of mountaineers' rubbish. To commemorate their father's achievements 50 years after the first ascent and 40 years after the first American ascent—the sons of the three much-celebrated Everest mountaineers returned in a two-month anniversary expedition. At the top, Peter Hillary placed an emotional call to his father on his satellite phone—telling him he'd arrived at the top of the world, he was okay—and that he wasn't ever going to do it again. In the last 50 years, over 10,000 men and women have tried to climb Everest—more than 1,200 have triumphed. Despite the danger, many are still seduced by the challenge. Weather conditions make Everest climbable only a few weeks each year in the spring and fall. Summer monsoons blanket the Himalayas in drifts, and winter winds are murderous. Why suffer such hardship and take such risk to climb Everest? In the words of George Leigh-Mallory, who perished in 1924 with companion Andrew Irvine during an unsuccessful quest to reach the summit: "What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for." National Geographic Today, 7 p.m. ET/PT in the United States, is a daily news journal available only on the National Geographic Channel. Click here to learn more about it. Got a high-speed connection? Watch National Geographic Today in streaming video. More Mount Everest Stories From National Geographic News: 1963 Flashback: First Everest Summit by Americans Everest Attempt Is Focus of New Reality TV Show Everest Climber to Emcee Summit Attempt on Live TV Everest: Now Just Another Tourist Trap? Everest Clinic Tends Ills on High Everest Time Line: 80 Years of Triumph and Tragedy Making Movies on the Roof of the World Everest Snowboarder Vanishes On Second Try Altitude a Major Challenge to Climbers The Sherpas of Mount Everest Everest Melting? High Signs of Climate Change Everest Anniversary Expedition Wrap-Up National Geographic 50th Anniversary Everest Expedition Reaches Summit Everest Anniversary Team Makes Final Summit Attempt Jet-Stream Winds Trap Climbers on Everest Sons of Mount Everest Pioneers to Repeat Historic Climb Related Stories From National Geographic Adventure Magazine: After the Storm: '96 Everest Survivors (Audio) Romance on Everest: The Highest Taboo The Everest Mess Little Sister, Big Mountain: Climbing the Himalaya's Cho Oyu Life on Assignment: Himalaya's Cho Oyu (Audio) The Last Cairn: A Climber's Tragic Saga (Excerpt) The Slipping Point: Disaster on Mount Hood 8,000-Meter Man: Ed Viesturs Q&A: Eric Simonson, Everest Sleuth Q&A With the Man Who Found Mallory |
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