HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED

Hello and thanks for visiting my climbing blog!

My name is Scott and I live in Atlanta, GA. I always had an interest in climbing mountains, but never really knew how to get started. In January of 2005, the company I was working for decided to open an office in Memphis and I volunteered to move and help get things kicked off. When I arrived in Memphis I only knew one person, whom I met a few years prior at a wedding, so I gave him a call. He agreed to meet me that evening, but couldn't stay out late because "...he was heading to Africa the next day." Upon meeting him that night, I learned he was leaving the next morning to try his hand at climbing Kilimanjaro.

The next morning, I was talking to my mother and telling her about the conversation from the previous night. During this conversation she asked me if I realized my Uncle Steve had been a climber for years. "No," I responded. She gave me his phone number and the following weekend I made a call to a relative I hadn't spoken to in years. Little did I know how much that call would change my life!

In the 6 years since, I've been to Africa (Tanzania & Kenya), Russia (Moscow & Mineral'Nye Vody), Mexico, Georgia (The country, not the state), and South America (Chile & Argentina), summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Elbrus, and Mt. Rainier, made two attempts at Cerro Aconcagua, an attempt at Ixta, made quick stops in London and Quito, Ecuador, met an endless number of extraordinary people, and developed a new relationship with my uncle.

The blog entries, pictures, and details below are my attempt to share my adventures with the rest of my friends and family. I hope you enjoy!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Fast Fact - From the "Unbelievable" Department

I was just reading online that a guide from Alpine Ascents, Lakpa Gelu, set the record on Aconcagua a couple days ago for the fastest speed climb of the mountain. He climbed from base camp to the summit in 4 hours and 45 minutes!! To put this into perspective, it takes regular climbers 6-8 days to safely do that same climb.

The internal body differences between Khumbu region folks and normal human beings absolutely amazes me. This same guide has also summited Everest 13 times and also held the speed record on Everest for a while - he went from base camp to the summit in 11 hours. Insane.
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownFebruary 20, 2010 at 8:28 AM

    That's a fast time, but I might caution others who think mountaineering is a race, it isn't. There is a reason why they don't give out numbers at the trail head. For me, and I know for Scott, it's about the climb, the group, and the day-in and day-out interactions. It's not about racing from trail head to summit and back again. So while it’s interesting to hear about someone “setting a record on a speed climb” it’s not very realistic for most climbers. Genetics have a lot to do with it.

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