PATHS

Forming the way

In the spring of 2008, a North Carolina adventurer headed off to Nepal to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain. He partnered with Martin GT Magnet Middle School in Raleigh to make the journey an interactive one, sharing photos and firsthand accounts of the expedition’s successes and dangers. This slideshow tells the story of Chip Popoviciu’s attempt to climb Mount Everest in photos, video, and text, including excerpts from his journal.

Avalanches are very dangerous and are the leading cause of death on Mount Everest. They are also very common — sometimes occurring more than a dozen times a day. As a result, the Base Camp tents must be positioned away from the potential path of avalanches. Some avalanches are so large, however, that they still dust some tents with ice and snow. But despite all the hazards posed by avalanches, they are quite a spectacular sight.Tents of all shapes and sizes occupy any flat piece of ground that can be found at Base Camp. In addition to the climbers’ tents, Base Camp has a kitchen tent, a first-aid tent, and outhouse tents.

Wearing their crampons, the climbers went off to the surreal world of ice, which is both beautiful and dangerous. They crossed crevasses on ladders and scaled up ice walls to the top of what is called “the popcorn” because from afar the blocks of ice look like a bowl of popcorn. Some of the crevasses are so wide that three or four ladders are tied together to make the crossing. Because the ladders move with the glacier, highly experiencedsherpas known as “”Icefall Doctors”” work every night to maintain the ladders — tightening them or moving them to a better position. As a result, the route through the Icefall changes almost daily.As they were coming back to Base Camp, a serac collapsed 200 feet away and they could feel the glacier crack under their feet. They quickened their pace to get back to camp.Wearing their crampons, the climbers went off to the surreal world of ice, which is both beautiful and dangerous.

They crossed crevasses on ladders and scaled up ice walls to the top of what is called “the popcorn” because from afar the blocks of ice look like a bowl of popcorn. Some of the crevasses are so wide that three or four ladders are tied together to make the crossing. Because the ladders move with the glacier, highly experiencedsherpas known as “”Icefall Doctors”” work every night to maintain the ladders — tightening them or moving them to a better position. As a result, the route through the Icefall changes almost daily.As they were coming back to Base Camp, a serac collapsed 200 feet away and they could feel the glacier crack under their feet. They quickened their pace to get back to camp.
"As they were coming back to Base Camp, a serac collapsed 200 feet away and they could feel the glacier crack under their feet."

STONES OF
WONDER

Camp IV, on the South Col, is at 26,300 feet above sea level. The camp is in the “death zone” — so called because the body can only endure this altitude for a few days. The death zone begins between 23,000 and 26,000 feet, an altitude at which the body actually begins to begin to die because it cannot acclimate to the harsh conditions. If a climber stays at this altitude for too long he significantly increases his risk of experiencing high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) or high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), a fate that has killed many climbers.
"There are split opinions whether the human body acclimates at this altitude but there is full consensus that the human body suffers a lot up here. We push ourselves to the limit for several reasons: Produce more red blood cells, learn to sleep with an oxygen mask, prepare for what it means to spend a night here, learn to deal with all challenges we face up here (simple things like eating)."

HEADING WEST