Mountain Clients

Expedition Intrigue

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

EXPEDITIONS AND INTERNATIONAL MATTERS

Walter Bonatti: ‘Is mountaineering today sick and polluted? Certainly. Is there hypocrisy in the world of the mountains? Undoubtedly.’ (2000, in his book: The Mountains of My Life) 

Every climber who has ever dreamed of an expedition to China, Nepal or Pakistan knows that permission is necessary. And many of you also know that individual climbers approach these governments directly. No permission, no trip. But what most of you do not know is that in Western Europe there is a large and growing commercial guide business that takes clients even on 8000 metre peaks who are seeking to control commercial Himalayan climbing.

Now for the intrigue!
In 1993, The American Alpine Club (AAC) noted with more than a passing interest the formation of an Expedition Commission by the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme – the UIAA. Since the AAC participates as a voting member at the highest UIAA levels, it is entitled to representation on the various commissions. The AAC’s suspicions were aroused when it learnt that the Expeditions Commission was to meet on the issue of permissions (Himalayan permits). Wasting no time, the AAC arranged for Dr James Morrissey,one of its most experienced expedition leaders and long-time member of its Board of Directors, to attend the meeting in Chamonix.

Dr Morrissey was not surprised that the meeting was heavily attended by major European guide services. It was proposed that the UIAA take control of the permission (permits) process. As this might not exactly benefit the interests of American climbers, Dr Morrissey very vigorously opposed the move and was instrumental in defeating it – for the time being. In 2001, Hialayan Heli Ski Guides UIAGM/IFMGA became the sole holders of permits to take clients heli-skiing in Nepal – you were warned. http://www.himalayanheliskiguides.com/guides.html

This is another example of what The American Alpine Club has done not only for its members but also for climbers generally in recent times.

Interestingly, at approximately the same time as Dr Morrissey’s timely warning, the British Mountaineering Council’s International Access and Conservation Committee were planning a conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London to discuss ‘the environment and social development impact of mountain tourism in the greater ranges’. Many expedition climbers and trekkers, as well as commercial trekking/expedition companies, will be aware of the various codes drawn up by bodies such as Tourism Concern, Himalayan Environment Trust, UIAA etc. The conference considered practical steps, which could be taken to address the most important environmental problems and development issues. Supposedly!

Members of the Association of British Mountain Guides had a great interest in the controlling of Himalayan permits. Being also members of the UIAA, and as usual, strongly supported by the BMC, they had a vested interest in the matter. Apparently and interestingly, neither organisation used their veto during the meeting in Chamonix in 1993.

According to High magazine (the official magazine of the BMC before its demise) in its May 1998 issue, a new trading organisation had just been formed called – IGO 8000. Supported by the UIAA, IGO 8000 is made up of ‘the most respected commercial operators/guiding expeditions to 8000 metre peaks’. Apparently, the Expeditions Commission of the UIAA has drafted a ‘revised Recommended Code of Practice for High Altitude Guided Commercial Expeditions’ after consultation with IGO 8000. IGO 8000′s declared objective is the establishing and promoting of the highest possible standard of professional high altitude guiding – which means don’t loose too many clients because on Everest your professional mistakes tend to be sitting around, frozen, for many years.

I comment in this section on their safety record to date and you can be the judge of whether they are achieving their objective.

In the eight years since Dr Morrissey’s warning, the moves to gain control of Himalayan permits have stealthily moved on. IGO 8000 having established ‘their’ professional standards on 8000 metre peaks, supported as they are by the UIAA, and having already started to ‘rubbish’ other commercial operators through the pages of High Mountain Sports, the stage is set. It also appears that any problems that non-members of IGO 8000 have will be given full publicity whilst any problems suffered by members of IGO 8000 will not be publicised (if at all possible).

Many more IGO 8000 clients may be lost whilst climbing in the Himalayas with their ‘official high altitude guides’ with, as in the European guiding circus, total impunity. The way now seems to be clear for control of all Himalayan permits.

Europe was insidiously covered and now they are after the Himalayas…
I am reminded of some words of Reinhold Messner (yes that man again):

“The highest values of mountaineering – self sufficiency, cool-headedness, team spirit, the practice of learning from experience – have become corrupted into farce over the space of the last decade. The consequences are disastrous: a trashed mountain [Everest] with hundreds of empty oxygen cylinders and human waste littering the South Col, sweating columns of Sherpas, more and more tragedies, and dozens of dead (many of them clients) lining the route…The cycle of greed churns on, to the bitter end.”

Let me return to IGO 8000 for a moment:

The following organisations (press release from the IGO 8000 01/06/2000) are founder members of ‘International Guiding Operators – IGO 8000′, at the cutting edge of Himalayan safety/professionalism:

Adventure Consultants (who lost several clients along with their lead guide in 1996 on Everest).
Himalayan Experience (whose lead guide acknowledged that their qualification does not have a high altitude component).
Himalayan Guides (now ice8000) run by Henry Todd who, as the leader of his organisation and expeditions has apparently, never climbed Everest and was banned from Nepal for two years in 2000 for physically assaulting – a client who had paid £10,000 to fail on Everest.
Himalayan Kingdoms Expeditions, who changed their name to Jagged Globe shortly after they apparently lost a client below 4,000 metres in the French Alps in 1998.
International Mountain Guides.
Mountain Works run by Mark Whetu who abandoned Mike Rheigburger near the summit of Everest; and OTT Expeditions who, changed their name to Alpine Mountaineering Limited (after losing a client on Everest on the 13th May, 1999) before going out of business in 2001, thus leaving clients out of pocket and struggling to make last minute, alternative arrangements.

So much for the professionalism of IGO 8000. A self-regulating body with a Recommended Code of Conduct for High Altitude Commercial Expeditions approved by the UIAA. The same UIAA whose President, according to The Sunday Times, when asked about an IGO 8000 client who disappeared near the summit of Everest said: “There is no sentimentality.”  Not even when a young Nun was shot and killed near an Everest Base Camp by Chinese border-guards - the murder was initially covered-up by Western guides.

What we are told is that these reputable companies are trying to protect their reputation from cut-price operators. The same story was enacted in Europe in the 1970′s/80′s where mountain-clients are die regularly.

According to John Bedway on an Internet chat-site on Friday 26th October 2001. He and his fellow group of climbers had just discovered that despite having paid their deposits and insurance money for a climbing expedition 9 months in advance, the company with whom they had booked, Alpine Mountaineering (formerly OTT – an IGO 8000 member) had ceased to trade. John and his friends were left in the lurch by one of the above reputable companies.

It is not known just how many clients of members of the BMG/UIAGM/IFMGA in the UK and Europe have been lost below 4,800 metres but information is now appearing. It seems to me that the same track record has been transferred to the slopes of Everest and the Himalayas where their clients are allowed to wander up and down the highest mountains in the world, alone.

In August 2001, an Internet thread reported: “Summit fever verses humanity at 28,000 feet.”

Apparently, Chris Warner a guide working with Himalayan Experience (an IGO 8000 member) reached a high camp on the North ridge of Everest with desperate news; two members (one client) of their team had collapsed with cerebral oedema at the Third Step. Guide Andy Lapkiss and a client had summited at the ‘unusually late time’ of 3.00 pm. The two climbers, being virtually blind on starting the descent by dusk were unable to walk. A ‘team mate’ [another IGO guide?] who summited with them, realised that in his exhausted state he could be of no help [who helps the client when the guide packs-up?]. He left the others with a few partially used oxygen bottles and a space blanket [which apparently works well at 28,000 feet!]. The entire (almost) Himalayan Experience high-camp team had gone for the summit that day and were exhausted. They apparently had no reserve supplies or climbers on the mountain.

One observer apparently commented: “Surely criticism should be directed towards the organisers of the Himalayan Experience expedition: the guides for failing in their duty by not turning back earlier and the rest, for not having the resources to attempt to get their team out of trouble”.

A similar criticism, ironically, has been levelled at various other Everest teams by Russell Brice of Himalayan Experience in the past. Climbers in a desperate, life threatening situation (luckily no one died – this time) were eventually rescued by other climbers on the mountain. Though it has been reported that some teams walked past them refusing to assist.

The background to and detail of the 1996 disaster on Everest involving Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness resulting in the deaths of Rob Hall and Scott Fischer and a number of clients,are too well known to be recited here but serve to strongly reinforce my view.

As predicted, IGO 8000 are now associated with embarrassing rescues of their clients, avoidable deaths and the disgraceful Everest circus. Or as IGO 8000 would say: “We are at the cutting edge of Himalayan quality and safety with irrefutable expertise”.

I fear there was a good reason for Sir Edmond Hillary to say recently:
“It’s all bullshit on Everest these days ….”

A disgraceful incident at Everest Base Camp has been reported in various web-sites. Interestingly, High Mountain Sport has not taken-up or printed the information. Yet the individual involved places monthly adverts in High, soliciting mountain clients.

Finn-Olaf Jones was attempting to climb Mount Everest on a permit acquired by a commercial guiding outfit (Himalayan Guides, who advertise that they are a founder of member of IGO 8000 in the pages of High Mountain Sport). The same outfit was also supplying, for a fee, other ‘services’. Finn was in fact a client and was visited in Washington USA by Henry Todd  (Operation Julie), the company’s guide/owner, and was sold on the Everest attempt. Finn apparently paid Todd $10,000 to be included on his permit. Finn was sending dispatches back to Discovery.com about his experiences on the mountain.

It was Todd’s involvement with another group of American climbers, who claimed to be sponsored by Discovery.com that sparked the incident. Apparently, Finn-Olaf’s dispatches were annoying the other group. For some bizarre reason Todd ended up attacking Finn-Olaf on behalf of the group of Americans.

Here is a little more detail:

“Once I was at Everest Base Camp and I saw how this outfit behaved around the Sherpas and picked up some of the awful stories about the outfit from other climbers on the mountain. I realised I needed to keep as much distance from them as possible. Which I did”.

Whilst preparing for the climb, Finn, an American journalist, was sending dispatches back to Discovery.com where they were available on the web site. Reading those dispatches, even though Finn was already being treated badly, it is clear he had printed nothing derogatory about the outfit:

“You will notice that my dispatches were/are pretty generous towards Henry.”

Finn, was suddenly attacked physically by Todd for no apparent reason. He was injured to such a degree that he was airlifted from Everest Base Camp by helicopter:

“I do not believe that I was attacked for my coverage of the outfit, but rather that Henry had stupidly set himself up as the chump for a group I was having problems with – the so-called ‘Everest Clean-Up Expedition.”

In order to try to appear legit, this group had claimed Discovery.com as one of their sponsors (not knowing Discovery was already sending someone up the mountain, Finn Olaf himself).

“When I contacted Discovery about this they commenced an investigation into the group and all hell broke loose. The leader of the group, one of Henry’s pals, is Bob Hoffman”.

As for Finn the client, his attempt at climbing Everest was ruined after paying out an awful lot of money.

Co-incidentally Mike & Peggy Woodmansee, who were also clients of the same outfit at the same time as Finn, experienced problems. Mike believes that his chance of climbing Everest was ruined by “faulty oxygen equipment” supplied by the same outfit. In a long eight page e-mail to Finn after the expedition about their joint treatment, Mike explained the reasons for his failure and his treatment at the hands of the outfit and concluded with:

“I have come to hate Henry.”

That many mountain guides have an “attitude” about their clients seems to be embodied in a number of these particular incidents.

Apparently, Finn-Olaf has 30 hours of video tape, witnesses and numerous witness statements to back-up his claim and the personal account of the assault suffered by Finn Olaf, can be read in the November issue of Forbes and at www.Forbes.com – the web site of the magazine.

It will remain to be seen if mountain clients continue to be enticed by Todd’s advertising.

Here is another case in point.

According to The Guardian on the 30th April 1999: “A climber leaves his friend [possible client?] behind to die on Everest.”

According to Radio 4′s Between Ourselves (9.00am April 27th 1999), Mark Whetu described what it was like to make such a decision. Here is the relevant exchange: Olivia O’Leary (the radio presenter): “Were you conscious of the fact that in leaving Mike behind (disabled and – snow blind) on the mountain it would mean the end of Mike?”

Whetu: “…he could not see; he was blind. I guessed immediately he was snow blind”.

Thus, Whetu, who had descended below his friend and was too exhausted to reascend and help his now blind companion, left him alone on the mountain to a horrendous, lonely death.

Whetu, as we know, runs Mountain Works – an IGO 8000 member. Whetu was told over his radio to leave Mike behind and rescue himself by another member of IGO 8000 who was monitoring the radio messages from the safety of base camp.

Potential Himalayan clients are once again warned about potential injury and death that they might face with qualified mountain guides who claim to be at the cutting edge of Himalayan safety.

In the November 18th 2001 article in the New York Times: “A Storm Swirls Around a Son’s Death on Everest” members of IGO 8000, backed by the UIAA and the Association of British Mountain Guides (who have already found Michael Matthews’ BMG guide as ‘not at fault’) are trying once again to defend the indefensible.

In 2001 Himalayan Heli Ski Guides UIAGM/IFMGA became the sole holders of permits to heli-ski in Nepal – you were warned. http://www.himalayanheliskiguides.com/guides.html

On the 12 Oct, 2009, Alan sent mountain-clients an e-mail: ‘Absolutely amazing site, well researched and gives answers and food for thought on so many mountaineering related topics. I served as an ML1 in the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Cadre. Now retired but made a living as an independent guide, mostly taking UK clients to nepal and South America. I would often go to Plas-y-Brenin to refresh first aid etc, the reception I got (when they knew I took clients away without their approval (lol) was sometimes very very annoying. I guided and instructed for over 40 years and never lost a clients, or called out Mountain Rescue. Keep up the site. I genuinly know where you are coming from – it all wants saying.’

My investigations continue…

Category : Misc

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