In early March 2009 Lee Farmer 'the ordinary guy doing extraordinary things' is continuing his Himalayan Odessey. 

After successfully climbing Everest via the South East ridge from Nepal, summitting at 5.37 a.m. on the 24th May 2008. Lee was the only expedition team member to summit this day and climbed unguided.  He fulfilled part of his life long ambition to follow in the footsteps of his climbing heroes.  He did this by taking the same route the 1953 expedition led by Sir John Hunt did, who successfully put Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on the summit.  They were the first people to stand on the highest place on Earth.

Hillary and Tenzing were the first mountaineers to summit Everest.  However there were several attempts prior to this both from Nepal and the then mysterious country of Tibet.   Perhaps the biggest climbing enigma ever, is the events surrounding Lee's other climbing heroes: George Leigh Mallory and Sandy Irvine, who in 1924 were last seen alive on the North East ridge of Everest in Tibet. Did they or didn't they summit? is the unanswerable question, that's caused endless debate since that fateful expedition attempt.

Lee Farmer has proved himself as a competant self-reliant mountaineer and has once again been invited on an unguided private expedition to attempt the mountain via the North East ridge.  Lee has been selected as one of only three British mountaineers, making up the eight person team.

Reaching the summit height of 8,850m the Everest for a second time, will call for stamina, endurance, self reliance and reliance on other team members  for the success of summitting the highest mountain in the world. Lee expects that if successful he will be only the fifth Briton to achieve this amazing achievement.

Lee has gained much TV, radio and print media interest with his recent Everest expedition.  This interest was gained prior, during and after the three month expedition. He sent live 'Challenge Everest 2008' dispatches via email to subscribers (free subscription) which was received by an audience worldwide of over 3,000 avid followers.  He expects that Challenge Everest 2009 will have a larger media interest and hopes that more followers will read his dispatches.

On the North side of Everest typically the following camps will be established:

 Base Camp will be established at 5380m where the climbers will remain here for a couple of weeks to acclimatise.


Camp 1 (6065m)

Camp 2 (6500m) situated at the top of the North Ridge snow slopes

Camp 3 (7470m) high up on the North Ridge

Camp 4 (7920m)

The following pictures and text are taken from:

http://www.alanarnette.com/alan/everestnorthroutes.php

Base Camp (17,000/5666m) to Advanced Base Camp (21,300'/6400m) From BC to ABC it is about 12 miles (22km) of rugged hiking on boulders, ice and snow. The route follows the Rongbuk Glacier until it merges with the Eastern Rongbuk Glacier. ABC is on the northwestern side moraine of East Rongbuk Glacier, under the slopes of Changtse Mountain. It normally takes 2 days for the first trip to ABC then 1 day after acclimatizion. ABC is the primary home for North Ridge climbers during the expedition.

ABC to North Col (Camp 1) (23,000'/7000m) The North Col Camp is a 2,200' climb from ABC. The route starts on scree (loose rock) then moves to snow followed by increasingly steep slopes up to 60 degrees. Climbers use crampons and fixed ropes from now on. It takes between 4 to 7 hours to reach the North Col depending on acclimatizion and weather.

Camp 1 to Camp 2 (24,750'/7500m) C2 starts the "high camps". The route is usually pure snow but can be rock since this section is known for high winds. It should take about 3 to 5 hours to reach C2.

Camp 2 to Camp 3 (25,600'/7900m) Some expeditions do not use a Camp 3 and go directly to 8300 m. At almost 8000m, most climbers now sleep on supplemental oxygen. The climb is extremely windy and the tents are on small rock ledges since there is limited large and level areas. At Camp 3, the wind is usually blocked by the North Face of Everest so sleeping is easier. Climbers will take 3 to 6 hours to reach C3.

Camp 3 to C4 (27,390'/8300m) Camp 4 (or Camp 3 if the previous camp is skipped) is a short rest stop on the way to the summit for most climbers. At 27,390', you do not want to spend a lot of time here. Climbers will have some food and water, perhaps a short nap and start for the summit around 10:00PM. The Northeast Ridge is a few hundred feet above C4.

Camp 4 to 2nd Step The Northeast Ridge represent the most difficult climbing on this route. There are three "steps" or rock climbs along the way. The first Step is straightforward but the second step is the most difficult involving a 10 foot rock climb to a 30 foot vertical wall. This is where the famous Chinese ladder is located that helps climbers. However this often is the source of traffic jams that bring a summit bid to a compete stop.

Second Step to Summit The Third Step is another straight forward rock climb but challenging at this altitude. Climber now spend the next hour to climb the steep snowfields of the Summit Pyramid. The Summit Ridge is short (500') but narrow with 10,000' drop-offs on both sides leading directly to the Everest Summit. At this point climbers have spent 8 to 10 hours to summit.  It will take another 4 to 6 to return to C3.

Fund Raising



 
 

Lee is raising money for the National Society for Epilepsy and aims to raise the height of Everest in pounds sterling.  (He raised just under £4,000.00 during the Challenege Everest 2008 expedition).

That's £8,850 to raise! Click on the icon above or follow the link to sponsor Lee at:  www.justgiving.com/challengeeverest2009

For more information about NSE please visit www.epilepsynse.org.uk



Latest Everest News
To follow Lee's progress please click on the live updates  link below: 

 The Challenge Everest 2008 dispatches have now ended.  To read any of the dispatches go to www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/leefarmer

Also:

For general updates of the team there will be regular releases posted on http://www.everestnews.com/ look for 'Everest Expedition North Altitude Junkies' team.

For the latest team updates direct from expedition leader Phil Crampton, please go to http://www.altitudejunkies.com/

There will also be updated information on http://www.mounteverest.net/ and http://www.blog.mountainhardwear.com/

Insurance

Click on the link below for BMC Insurance services.  For outdoor activities it is the only choice.

 


Everest Weather

Go to http://www.adventureweather.com/ for the latest weather reports in the Everest region.  Let's hope it's a warm one and no early monsoon!

Everest History and Statistics

Go to http://www.adventurestats.com/  for the facts and figures on high altitude mountaineering.

For more history about Everest, go to http://www.everesthistory.com/ did Mallory and Irvine really make it to the summit?  Find out what might have happened here.

 
 

Mount Everest The British Story For all facts, stories and events concerning the British on Mount Everest, we will provide all the answers.

 

Everest ER
Go to http://www.basecampmd.com/ for the low down on all high altitude ailments and the good work the BC doctors and medical staff do.