Inspiration for Project Base8000 came from the rich history of mountaineering in the Himalaya and Karakoram. This post reveals some of the mountaineers and expeditions in whose footsteps we followed.
Everest
Inspiration for our first Himalayan trek came from the opportunity to trek to Everest Base Camp. The goal was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt Everest by Edmund Hillary (read one of his many books such as View From the Summit) and Tenzing Norgay (read his autobiography Tiger of the Snows.)
Walking in the footsteps of that 1953 expedition (read The Ascent of Everest by John Hunt) was incredibly inspiring, never mind to see Mt Everest for the first time! We could only imagine what it would be like on an expedition back in those days.
On the trail we enjoyed meeting climbers returning from their summit attempts, and we’d ask them how they went. Among the guest speakers at the celebration were Greg Mortimer (one of the first two Australians to climb Everest, with Tim Macartney-Snape). Also, Brigitte Muir (the first Australian woman to climb Mt Everest) who inspired our group with their stories.
Back in Kathmandu, we discovered the treasure trove of bookshops, where many mountaineering books were to be found. We read about early exploratory expeditions as well as more recent expeditions.
We were hooked!
Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet
Our first Himalayan trek also opened our eyes to the rich culture of Nepal. In particular, the Sherpa culture of the Khumbu region and the extraordinary feats of local climbers who are an important part of these expeditions. Read:
- Sherpa by Pradeep Bashyal & Ankit Babu Adhikari
- House of Snow – an anthology of the greatest writing about Nepal
As our project progressed we also read about expeditions in Pakistan e.g.
- Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage by Hermann Buhl
- In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods by Galen Rowell
And of course, expeditions in Tibet e.g.
- Everest 1922 and Fallen by Mick Conefrey. About the first attempts on Mt Everest from Tibet in 1922 and then in 1924 when George Mallory and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine did not return
- Maverick Mountaineer by Robert Wainwright, about Australian mountaineer George Ingle Finch
New Zealand and Australian Mountaineers
Back in Sydney, we wanted to stay connected to the Himalaya. We read mountain books, watched mountain movies and followed expeditions that would post on social media about their latest expedition. Being from Australia (Trevor) and New Zealand (Emma), of course any Aussie or Kiwi mountaineers were of special interest. We also found local mountain film festivals and presentations to attend.
One such presentation was by Australian mountaineer Andrew Lock (read his book Summit 8000), who had not long finished his project to climb all the 8000ers. He became one of the very few in the world, and the first and only Australian, to complete the challenge.
As we learned more and more about the 8000ers we were further inspired by other New Zealand and Australian mountaineers. Such as
- Zac Zaharias (first Australian ascents of Broad Peak and Dhaulagiri)
- Lydia Bradey (NZ mountaineer, first woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen – read her book Going Up Is Easy)
- Rolfe Oostra (professional Australian climber – read his book One Way Ticket)
- Lincoln Hall (part of the first Australian Everest expedition – read his book Dead Lucky)
- Christine Jensen Burke (the first New Zealand-Australian woman to climb K2).
Inspired Mountaineers
We also learned how mountaineers themselves were inspired e.g
- Andrew Lock (as above) was inspired by attending a presentation by the first Australian Everest summiteers, Greg Mortimer and Tim Macartney-Snape
- Ed Viesturs (first American to climb all the 8000ers) was one of many who were inspired by the book Annapurna by Maurice Herzog (see link below). Read Ed’s book No Shortcuts to the Top).
- Kurt Diemburger (Austrian mountaineer, first ascents of Broad Peak and Dhaulagiri) who was initially attracted to the mountains through crystal-hunting. Read his book The Kurt Diemburger Omnibus, containing 3 of his books.
Expressive Mountaineers
And discovered mountaineers who were deeply thoughtful in their writings about the mountains e.g.
- Wojciech (Voytek) Kurtyka (Polish mountaineer known for especially hard climbs eg West Face Gasherbrum IV) – read The Art of Freedom by Bernadette Macdonald, about his life and climbs
- Anatoli Boukreev (Soviet-born Kazakh elite mountaineer of many 8000ers) – read Above The Clouds
- Lionel Terray (renowned French climber and mountaineer, including first ascent of Makalu, member of 1950 Annapurna expedition) read Conquistadors of the Useless
- Francis Younghusband (especially known for the 1904 British expedition to Tibet) – read Everest: The Challenge
Following in Their Footsteps
So needing a new challenge, we created our project based on the mountaineering challenge to climb all the 8000ers. Instead of climbing, we decided to trek to the base camps of these mountains. Project Base8000!
Throughout our project, as we trekked to each base camp, we felt the presence of past expeditions. We pictured what it must have been like for those early explorers to find the route up these mountains.
As we took on each challenge, we were motivated by thoughts of mountaineers who’d trodden this path and faced even bigger struggles. For example read Annapurna by Maurice Herzog – the story of the first summit of an 8000er in 1950 in a French expedition.
Now, having completed our project, all of these stories mean even more. We’ve experienced aspects of mountaineering expeditions and have seen these incredible 8,000m mountains. And we’re still reading books, watching films and following expeditions.
