It’s time for a change…..
It’s Time For A Change…..
Hello faithful Everest Rockstar followers….We love that you have been watching what we get up to however we have been pretty slack in recent months and have given you all nothing to talk about.
The reason?…..over the past 6 months Dave and myself (Mike) have been working on the next stage of our Adventure Travels and with this comes our new Blog and Website called….
Zero Vanilla
Zero Vanilla is all about our adventures past and present plus our new expedition to the fabulous Iceland….
So with this in mind it’s time to announce that this will be the last post here on The Everest Rockstars but we do invite you all to jump onto the new website and subscribe to our new Blog where you can keep up with all of our adventures.
Be sure when your on there you like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram with both links on the front page of the new site http://www.zerovanilla.com.au
Hope to see you all soon and a huge thanks for the years of support.
Cheers from Mike
Hello Rockstar Followers….
2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,700 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.
Who want’s to blow something up!
The Shooting Video has arrived!
Well we kept on being asked about the side adventure we had recently with Matt the U.S. Marine and his gun collection not to mention the fun we had blowing stuff up with our new found friend…..So for everyone who likes to watch things getting shot at or blown up plus a bit of float plane action and fly fishing this is for you….
Andrew Lock meets the Rockstars!
Well maybe it was the Rockstars who met Andrew Lock….
Last night Dave, Nat, Mike & Lisa headed down to Sydney to meet an Australian adventurer of the year recipient…… Andrew Lock.
Andrew is another one of those living legends who has done some incredible climbs around the World and now having met the man and listened to some of his stories im even more impressed.
Whats even cooler is that he has climbed with some of our old pals in Ed Viesturs and Michael Groom which made his talk that little more interesting for us personally.
If you want to know a little more about Andrew and his adventures you can read his book…..
Check out our new Mt Rainier video.
Our new video has arrived
Hope you enjoy what we managed to get on film…..you’ll experience some of the nerves, exhaustion and emotion of the climb not to mention a view from the top……I blame the emotion and the death threat purely on the altitude…..
Watch to find out more….Enjoy!
Here’s the next lot of photo’s…..
New photos of the climb have just arrived!
The new professional shots have just arrived.
We were so lucky to have Jon Mancuso with us on the climb taking pro photos for us all, there are too many to show all at once so im breaking it down into stages for you…..first up is training day and the climb to camp Muir @ 10.500 feet….
check out Jon’s website at….. http://www.jonmancuso.com
Just click onto any of the photos and you can see them in full size…..Cheers Mike
My thoughts on our return from Mt Rainier.
Mikes thoughts on Rainier.
Hey everyone, I wrote a email to the guys who climbed with us on Rainier and once I wrote it I thought it summed up the climb for me pretty well……As always I’m never sure if I should share all my private thoughts but you have all treated them well in the past so I’m happy to do so again…..
Cheers Mike
Hi Guys…
Well it’s been a week or so since we all came off the mountain and if your re-entry back to everyday life has been anything like mine then you have been fielding questions from family and friends about how the climb went.
It seems the more I talk about the climb the better I can explain to everyone what went on during the long 30 hour adventure.
I say 30 hour adventure but as we all know this climb took a lot longer than 30 hours, we all put in massive amounts of training, some maybe more than others but either way we all sacrificed family time or dug into time that was normally put aside for work or other day to day activities so the main event may have been 30 hours but the commitment and investment in this climb was far much more.
In reflection I now have a far better handle on my thoughts and can better explain how I now feel.
When I think back the questions started the second we walked off the snow and onto the paved car park…..
So!…. Dave asked…want to go back up?……I’m sure you can guess what my answer was……No Bloody Chance!
As days went by and I was able to feel my legs again, smile without re-cracking my lips and the sunburn on the backs of my hands stopped stinging in the shower I started to really think about what it was we have done and whether I would ever consider doing anything like Rainier again.
I can only really speak for myself but this climb was full of highs and lows for me…..As far as the highs go its hard to go pass getting to meet your hero’s never mind knowing you get to hang out with them for the next few days.
I love the fact that we all summited and most importantly returned with zero injuries both physical and mental.
I really enjoyed the mental challenge that the climb put forward to us all, firstly getting your head around the massive bulk of the mountain itself then trying to break it down into small bite size pieces plus trying to keep your nerve in those “No Fall” zones.
As for the lows I had quite a few during the climb, I really thought I had prepared for the climb well and arrived at Rainier confidant that I was going climb strong and impress my experienced guides…..boy!….. Didn’t I underestimate the mountain and my ability?
There were several times even during the first part of the climb to camp Muir that I questioned what I was doing and wether I should even be attempting the climb, the altitude really messed with my head and for whatever reason all my training wasn’t translating to the effort we were putting in on the climb itself……that alone now seems to be the main reason for my frustration while on the hill.
My other low on the climb was more about disappointment, we were in such a beautiful environment and especially when the sun was coming up just before the summit and because I was so exhausted at that stage I really didn’t take it all in, with a fresh mind I would have taken just a little more time to just sit and take in the view and to make a more permanent mental picture.
So after a few days of reflection what did I learn?……well I learned that I’m tougher and more determined than I thought I was.
Over the past few years I have challenged myself in many ways both in business and in adventure and at times I had pushed myself to the limit…..or so I thought.
If I had listened to the voices in my head on the climb and had stopped when they told me too I then would have stopped somewhere near to top of the Cleaver ridgeline or going past the 13.000 ft mark or when I heard the call from someone saying only 300 feet to go, it seemed that every step toward the summit was a step in the wrong direction and my head new that.
One driving force behind wanting to reach the summit and our goal was fear of failure, we have over the past few years made our goals very public by telling everyone about what we are doing and by running our blog, by doing this it really drives us to complete what we started and to sit down and write on our blog why we didn’t complete our goal is not something I really ever want to do…..alot of people tend to sneak up on their goals, attempt them, then if their successful tell of their triumph which is fine however we enjoy the pressure and the support we get from everyone watching what we’re taking on.
What’s cool to me is that when I was sitting on the summit all I could think about was that I was only half way there…what the hell was I going to do to get back down the mountain, I felt I had pushed myself beyond my limit and that’s not a great feeling when your sitting at 14.411 feet.
What I discovered is that I was able to take a few deep breath’s…….steady myself…….suck it up and keep on going, not only to get myself down the hill but doing it while being roped up to my mates and with every deliberate step were able to navigate down the tricky trail all the way to base camp and safety.
It’s a great feeling now to have learned that when you think your broken and you’ve given everything you thought you had…….. That there’s always more inside and you just have to look a little harder to find it.
So would I climb again?……Hmmm……the answer to that is unclear to me at this time but my gut feeling is Yes…… I think when and if the right challenge presents itself I’ll be ready to jump on board for another crack however next time I’ll have this experience under my belt and go into the next challenge better prepared.
To wrap up I feel I can now say with certainly that yes I had a fantastic time on the climb, I met the challenge, I finished on my feet and know now that I could have kept going until the job was finished no matter how long it was going to take. I have left the mountain with more friends than when I started and the experiences from the climb will last a lifetime.
Cheers from Mountaineer Mike
Rockstars in Vegas!….what could possibly go wrong!
Vegas put on a show…..
Well the trip has come to an end and we’re sitting in the Qantas lounge at LAX before our flight home….
It certainly took a few days to recoup after the climb and even now Dave still has no feeling on the tips of some fingers from the cold and can’t crack a smile without splitting his lips open from the snow burn……I can now walk up stairs again and can even get down them from time to time even though I think I might need therapy before I look at another snow capped mountain…..
All in all we are wrapped with our efforts and it certainly has sunk in better now than it did the day we came off the hill, we can appreciate our accomplishment better with clearer heads and without doubt know that all the training we did for the past 6 months paid off.
Since leaving Seattle we jumped on a plane for Vegas for a little R&R and maybe a night or two of celebrating Rockstar style!
Of course in the true tradition of Vegas and Rockstar celebration discretion is mandatory however there are a few photos we can actually share with you all…..we decided sleeping was overrated and simply took a swing at everything we thought we could handle (and some we couldn’t)…
We managed to squeak in driving Nascar Racing Cars at the LV Speedway at well over 240km to 18 holes of golf buggy shotgun shooting (only in Vegas! right?!), sunset helicopter flights to the Grand Canyon (we managed to land on the bottom!) to driving Ferrari F430/Lamborghini Superleggara/Audi R8 v10’s at insane speeds, crazy shows and out of this world Vegas style day club pool parties…..we certainly used our time to the fullest and left the Rockstar stamp on every non-vanilla activity we could get our hands on.
Actually we have started seeding new ideas and challenges to encompass a non-vanilla adventure/business lifestyle but there will be more on this later…..
Again thanks for all the kind messages of support and as soon as I have the professional climb photos I’ll post them for everyone to see…..I’ll leave you with a few photos of our “rest & relaxation” in the sleepy town of Las Vegas.
Cheers from Mike & Dave – Mountaineers!
The Rockstars successfully summit Mt Rainier
How to get your butt kicked?….climb Mt Rainer!
Well we did it guys…..at around 5.30am on Wednesday 25th June we made it!
We are now MOUNTAINEERS!… But it really was one of the hardest things we have ever done. The mountain did not care about us at all…..it made it as hard as possible.
Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker were better than we expected – true hard men and excellent guides. To summit we needed to apply specialised pressure breathing, rest stepping techniques, adjust to walking in full climbing boots and ice crampons, traverse 45+degree slopes where one slip literally means death, cross 300 feet deep crevasses and climbing in the dead of night to avoid softer snow (we departed high camp at midnight), past glacier ice falls- one of which contained 11 dead climbers still buried, all the climbing above 10,500 feet was in rope teams with avalanche transceivers to spread the risk of falls, over 100 switch back climbs on the upper reaches to negotiate, 30 hours of almost continuous climbing and a nine mile route down taking 12 hours which had very difficult shin deep snow with a 60 pound pack…
Seriously I thought this was going to be a difficult ‘hike’ but it was a real mountain with a very real challenge and to be perfectly honest it kicked our butts from one end to the other and it’s now a lot easier to understand why only 40% of people make the summit.
But not the Everest Rockstars! We had a 100% success rate. We can now stare down a mountain with a glint in our eye and call ourselves MOUNTAINEERS.
I apologize for the lack of photos on this post but there was very little to no chance to take photos on the climb itself as it was just to dangerous to pull a camera out while climbing and just about every time we did we would trip or go off-balance so as a result very few climbing photos……however we were thrilled to hear that on our climb Ed & Pete had arranged for a professional mountain photographer to tail us and document the climb from start to finish, we won’t see these photos for a week or so but as soon as we receive them I’ll have them up for everyone to see, what a great bonus and a big thanks to the guys and to John the photographer for the awesome surprise.
We want to take the chance to thank Ed & Pete for a fantastic-slash-agonizing climb and the great team of guys that made up our team that we met for the first time only a few days ago but are now new friends.
A massive thanks to our gorgeous wife’s and families and to everyone’s support…..we cannot thank you all enough.
Cheers and looking forward to sharing the photos with you and seeing you all soon….Mike & Dave
So far so good….
Our first full day on the hill.
So yesterday was a huge thrill for both of us, we arrived at Rainier base camp to pick up our gear and from across the car park comes a familiar voice….”Hey you guys must be the Aussies!”…and there he was the man himself Ed Viesturs, so cool that he knew right away who we were which made our first meting just so easy and comfortable, then came Peter Whittaker bounding over with a huge smile and greeting.
Both Ed & Pete have been exactly what we were hoping for and exceeded all expectations so far, both very personable and always with a story to tell and happy to answer any question we throw at them.
We hit the Mountain with them this morning to start our mountaineering training, they took us through everything we need to know spending a full day on the snow and ice practicing our ice axe rescue drills, how to use our crampons and training on pressure breathing and rest step climbing….a huge amount to take in but we feel we’re on top of it and ready for the start of the climb in the morning.
We hardly slept a wink last night and probably even less tonight, we defiantly have a huge challenge ahead and the guys certainly have not sugar-coated anything for us which to be honest is pretty terrifying……we’re nervous but ready!
We won’t be able to send any updates until our return so we look forward to sending you all good news in a few days…..
Cheers from Mike & Dave
We have arrived at Mt Rainier!
Our first real look at Rainier…
Well we got our first real look at Rainier tonight, as we approached the National Park, Rainier was out of sight until we rounded the last hair pin bend at the top of the range we were driving across….as we turned Rainier came into view just as you see it below, the sun had just dropped behind the mountain at 9.30pm….another 45minutes and we arrived at our lodge to rest up before we meet with Ed & Peter tomorrow and we start our mountaineering training on the lower slopes before the start of the main event Monday our time……
Talk soon…Mike & Dave
Rockstars Rock Seattle….
Our first couple of days have been busy….
Hey All, well we have arrived in sunny Seattle and hit the ground running….we felt we needed some “special” extra training……we needed a bright yellow muscle car to make sure we are seen when we arrive at the mountain…..we took some some photos of Rainier from Seattle so we recognize it when we drive out there tonight and of course we found a really nice local guy called Matt to train us in automatic weapons just incase we come across bears on the early part of our climb……
Alls going well so far and we will arrive in Rainier tonight for our first day of mountaineering school tomorrow…..talk soon!
Cheers Mike & Dave
Only one day to go!
Hi everyone….So we’re off on Wednesday morning, the bags are packed and our crampons, ice axes and ropes are waiting for us at base camp Mt Rainier….Dave & I have over the past posts have told you all about the climb and are raring to go……thanks to our Families and friends for all your support and we look forward to showing you all the photos and videos of our climb on our return from the summit.
The last word goes to my beautiful wife Lisa in a letter she wrote to me and Dave…Thanks Babe xxx
Oh the places you’ll go.
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So………get on your way.
Dr Seuss
Wednesday is the day that Mike & Dave leave for their “Most Excellent Adventure” – climbing Mt Rainier with Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker. In a previous blog entry Mike has answered the question of why they are doing this trip. We can have a laugh and say it is their “Mid-Life Crisis” but I don’t think that is it at all. Climbing a snow covered mountain has been a dream of Dave’s and the opportunity arose which was also in his 40thbirthday year so why not celebrate? As you all know Mike and I are very family focussed and our family extends to our very close circle of friends. And this is what this trip is – an opportunity for Mike to support Dave as a friend by doing something that they both want to do and in the process meeting a man they admire in Ed Viesturs (which may be a little bit of a bromance.)
So now the question is “How do I feel about this trip?” I am truly happy that Mike has the opportunity to go and our boys & I are behind him 1000%. Did I freak out when I heard of the avalanche on the mountain – of course, but I have never told Mike in our 25 years together that he can not do anything and I am not going to start now. It has been a difficult few months with the amount of time Mike has had to dedicate to training but thankfully he has learnt how to wash his smelly training gear himself. Both Mike & Dave are physically and emotionally in the right place and all good to go – giggling like school girls when they discuss the trip, but good to go.
I would like to say to both Mike & Dave that they are being excellent role models to all our boys by showing them how you have to work hard at both your private and work life to get the rewards.
To Dave – Enjoy the climb, keep safe, have fun and embrace the journey.
To Mike – Have fun, keep safe and enjoy the experiences. Take me, Mitch & Bay with you in your heart and know we have your back. Love you with all of my heart and could not be prouder of you.
And yes Dave I love you like a brother and am proud of you too x
Lisa x x x x x
The EVEREST ROCKSTARS are now official sponsors of TEAM HTFU in the Porsche Cup Challenge. This is fully sanctioned, national title, high-end racing and we are excited to be a part of it!
As we are sponsoring Team HTFU we could say the philosophical alignment of our respective companies mirrors our own corporate image…. or we could say it mirrors our HARDEN UP attitude which we apply to our training (let’s face it, running up 100 flights of high rise stairs with a 30KG back-pack needs some motivation!)…. but to be honest….. it’s just because we just wanted to sponsor a kick-ass racing team, and get in some hot laps with real race drivers! Our driver is Dr Sam Shahin MBA DBCU CMA MBBS DRACOG DCH FRACGP (yes, he is a real doctor, check out the alphabet after his name!) and his Team HTFU Porsche is doing well in the Cup.
We will keep you posted when the fun days come up! More info here… thenationals.com.au/index.php?page=porsche-gt3-cup-challenge
What next? Stay tuned…. First we gotta go ring the bell on top of Mt Rainier!
Best!,
The Everest ROCKSTARS RACERS!
Are You Ready!
Less than a week to go!
Well everyone we leave this Wednesday for Seattle……Everyday for the past month without fail we get asked the question…..”Are you ready?”……Well im sure I can speak for both Dave and myself when I say….. YES! we are ready.
Have we run enough Ks?…..lifted enough weights?…..trekked up enough ridgelines?…..Yes I reckon we have, both of us have discussed this and we feel that we really could not have done more than we have, if we get turned around on this mountain and don’t summit because of our fitness then it will be due to the fact that we have under estimated what is required for this challenge but at least we can say we gave it every chance and prepared the best we could.
We cannot control the conditions of the Mountain or the weather, both of which will have a huge impact on our success, if one of these factors turn us around and prevent us from reaching the summit then I can live with that, a safe return is the goal…..As Ed always says “Getting to the top is optional, getting down is mandatory”.
The video today is Ed’s thoughts on some of the dangers of the climb and his thoughts on safety on Rainier.
Introducing Peter Whittaker
Introducing Peter Whittaker
In my last post you learned about Ed, which is only half the team guiding us up Rainier……the other legend on our team is this man……Peter Whittaker.
Here’s a quick look at his accomplishments followed by a quick video showing some of Rainiers highlights…..
PETER WHITTAKER, MOUNTAIN GUIDE, RMI EXPEDITIONS
Clients find Peter Whittaker’s passion for the outdoors contagious. But what else would you expect from someone who climbed Mount Rainier when he was only twelve years old? As a mountain guide for over twenty-five years, Peter has organized and led trips all over the world.
In 1995, Peter organized Expedition Inspiration, in which he led a group of breast cancer survivors to the summit of Aconcagua. The climb raised over 2 million dollars for breast cancer research. Peter also served as the guide for both the oldest man and the oldest woman to reach the summit of Mt. Vinson in Antarctica: the top of the bottom of the world.
Peter co-owns Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. the largest guide service in the United States. Peter also has been the host of Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure, an Emmy-nominated outdoor adventure series on National Public Television. Born into a mountaineering family, Peter’s uncle Jim Whittaker became the first American to climb Mt. Everest in 1963. Peter’s father, Lou Whittaker has led numerous expeditions to the Himalayas, including the world’s three highest peaks……Peter and his Family are climbing royalty and Peter is a legend in his own right…..to have him on our team is a complete honour and we can’t wait to learn from a master.
224+ Ascents of Mount Rainier, Washington (14,410′)
2 Ascents of Mount McKinley, Alaska (20,320′)
12 Expeditions to “The Roof of Africa” Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,340′)
5 Expeditions to the Ecuador Volcanoes: Chimborazo (20,703′) and Cotopoxi (19,348′)
4 Expeditions to Bolivia: Huayna Potosi (19,870′) and Illimani (21,201′)
6 Expeditions to the Mexican Volcanoes: Pico de Orizaba (18,701′), Popocatepetl (17,802’)
2 Expeditions to Antarctica, Mt. Vinson (16,067′)
1 Expedition to Huascaran, Peru (22,334′)
8 Expeditions to Aconcagua, Argentina (22,841′)
3 Expeditions to Mt. Kenya, Africa (17,068′)
4 Expeditions to Russia’s Mt. Elbrus (18,481′)
Mt. Everest Summit on May 19, 2009 (29,035′)
Member of the 1984 American Everest Expedition: Tibet/China (Reached 25,500′)
Hiking and Skiing in the Dolomites, Italy
Member of the 1987 Snowbird Everest Expedition: Nepal/India (Reached 27,000′)
Numerous ascents of major Pacific Northwest Peaks
Introducing Ed Viesturs
Introducing Ed Viesturs
As you will all be aware by now we are doing this climb with two of Americas premier climbers being Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker, I wanted to give you a quick run down of their accomplishments…..First up we have Ed followed by a short 3 minute video explaining the up coming climb…..I will post a short Bio about Peter shortly.
Ed Viesturs, Mountain Guide, RMI Expeditions
Ed made the first of his 200 plus summit trips up Mount Rainier while he was studying at the University of Washington during the winter of 1978. Most of his other ascents have been made while working for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc.
Ed has repeatedly proven himself as America’s leading high-altitude mountaineer, having ascended many of the world’s most challenging peaks, many of those without the aid of supplemental oxygen.
He has made the summit of Mt. Everest seven times, most recently on May 19, 2009, with the RMI/First Ascent Team. Ed also became the first American and one of only five people to climb the highest peaks on all six continents, yet again without supplemental oxygen.
His latest quest is to climb all fourteen of the world’s highest mountains with elevations over 8,000 meters without the use of supplemental oxygen. On May 12, 2005, he successfully completed his quest when he stood on the top of Annapurna. Only nine others have done so, seven of them forgoing oxygen.
Ed is the first American to top all fourteen eight thousanders and has without doubt placed himself in the history books as America’s most successful mountain climber and has ensured his spot as a legend amongst his peers.
200+ ascents of Mt. Rainier, Washington (14,410’)
3 ascents of Mt. McKinley, Alaska (20,320’)
11 expeditions to Mt. Everest (29,035’) with 7 successful ascents
Successful ascents of all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen
2 ascents of Ecuador’s Volcanoes: Chimborazo (20,561’) and Cotopaxi (19,348’)
5 ascents of Mexico’s Volcanoes: Orizaba (18,701’) and Popocatepetl (17,802’)
1 ascent of Vinson Massif, Antarctica (16,067’)
2 ascents of Peak Lenin, Russian Pamirs (23,406’)
2 ascents of Aconcagua, Argentina (22,841’)
1 ascent of Mt. Elbrus, Russia (18,510’)
1 ascent of Mt. Cook, New Zealand (12,316’)
Numerous ascents of major Pacific Northwest Peaks
Introduction video to the Mt Rainier climb from Ed & Peter
Sad News on Mt Rainier.
Breaking news on Mt Rainier
This morning I was going to post a video introducing everyone to Ed & Pete and showing you all the mountain and the climb ahead…..unfortunately over the weekend there was a tragedy on the mountain, 6 climbers including two experienced guides fell 3300 ft to their deaths. It’s not known how they all fell but it looks like an ice shelf may have collapsed beneath them or they were swept off the mountain in an avalanche…..
We’re not sure how this will affect our climb which is less than 3 weeks away but rest assured that we will take every precaution to be as safe as we can possibly be and our guides are two of the best in the world with safety records beyond reproach, knowing their climbing philosophies they will turn us around at the first sign of danger, with their years of experience I’m positive that even if they were to feel that things were off in any way they would not hesitate to put our safety first and the summit second.
Click on the link below for the local TV news bulletin (there is a 20 second ad before the report begins sorry)
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of everyone involved.
All our best Dave & Mike