Adventure Consultants

Last updated

Adventure Consultants, Ltd.
FormerlyHall and Ball Adventure Consultants
Company type Limited
Industry Adventure travel
Founded1991 (1991) in Christchurch, New Zealand
Founders Rob Hall
Gary Ball
Headquarters
Lake Hāwea
,
New Zealand
Areas served
  • Himalayas
  • Antarctica
  • Arctic
  • South America
  • Seven Summits
  • New Zealand
  • Europe
Key people
Guy Cotter (CEO)
Services
Website adventureconsultants.com
Everest's peak from Gokyo Ri Mt. Everest from Gokyo Ri November 5, 2012 Cropped.jpg
Everest's peak from Gokyo Ri

Adventure Consultants, formerly Hall and Ball Adventure Consultants, is a New Zealand-based adventure company that brings trekking and climbing groups to various locations. Founded by Rob Hall and Gary Ball in 1991, it is known for its pioneering role in the commercialisation of Mount Everest and the 1996 Mount Everest climb during which eight people died, including Hall, a guide, and two Adventure Consultant clients. [1] [2]

Contents

Prior to starting Adventure Consultants, Hall and Ball climbed the Seven Summits in a seven-month time frame. Heavily covered by the media, they became celebrities in New Zealand. [3] They undertook 47 expeditions together; their friendship was noted in the mountaineering world. [4]

Following the deaths of Ball and Hall, the company was purchased by Guy Cotter, who continued to operate the business. [2]

History

Dhaulagiri is also in the Himalayas and peaks at 8,167 m (26,795 ft) Dhaulagiri mountain.jpg
Dhaulagiri is also in the Himalayas and peaks at 8,167 m (26,795 ft)

Gary Ball and Rob Hall founded Adventure Consultants in 1991, while based in New Zealand. [2] They were famous New Zealand climbers that got attention for offering commercial trips to Mount Everest's summit. [1] However, Gary died in 1993, and Hall in 1996, leaving the company to Guy Cotter. [2] By the time of Rob's death, Rob had led 39 people to the summit of Mount Everest. [3]

Rob Hall's friend and climbing partner Gary Ball died in his arms on 8,167m Dhaulagiri in October 1993. [5] Ball had come down with a case of high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) at six and a half kilometres altitude. [5] [6] Despite this loss, Hall went on to lead a highly successful expedition to Mount Everest in 1994 with Ed Viesturs. [5] This was Hall's fourth summit of Everest. [5] In 1995 Hall's expedition had to turn back because of bad weather as they neared the summit. [5] In May 1996 Hall and a group of climbers made it to the summit of Mount Everest, but he and several other members of his party died on the way down. [1] This event had a noted impact on media, appearing in various books and films. [1] The disaster became very well known, with ten million people reading about it in the book Into Thin Air , written by Jon Krakauer (who was actually on the expedition) and hearing it referenced in a highly acclaimed IMAX film, shot during the same disastrous climbing season, although the filmmakers summitted later in the season. [7]

In 1996, Hall also employed two Sherpa people, Ang Dorje Sherpa and Ngawang Norbu Sherpa who managed to survive. [8] (see also List of people who died climbing Mount Everest)

Despite the disaster in the spring 1996 and the death of Rob Hall, the company already had clients for a Cho Oyu expedition. [9] Rather than cancel, Guy Cotter took over and successfully led the Cho Oyu expedition in the autumn of 1996. [9]

The company guided a climb on the Matterhorn. [10] Another peak they have offered guided climbs on is Carstensz Pyramid. [11] The pyramid has noted difficulties that have to be navigated when getting to the mountain. [11] One route is through jungle, although some have tried to go through a nearby mine only to be taken prisoner, caged in a metal box, and escaping only after paying a bribe. [11]

By 2013 the company had led 19 expeditions to Mount Everest. [12] Cotter suggested an "Everest ID" for each climber at this time, basically like a snow-pass for Mount Everest. [12]

Adventure Consultants was contacted for information about hurt climbers during the 2015 Mount Everest avalanche, and they reported that people had been evacuated, including one Sherpa who was sent to Kathmandu Medical College. [13] In the aftermath of the avalanche, Adventure Consultants worked to collect and donate to the victims of the disaster. [14]

Adventure Consultants experienced a great tragedy in the 2015 Avalanche, in which six Nepali employees died and another nine were injured. [15] In response the company coordinated aid to both its employees and other aid organisations in Nepal (because of widespread damage from the 2015 Nepal earthquake). [15]

Some of the victims: [16]

Also:

One of the charities Adventure Consultants set up was the Adventure Consultants Sherpa Future Fund, which helps provide education and other benefits to the children of those killed. [15]

Sunset on Everest.JPG
Sunset rays light up the peak of Everest's North face

Everest area

Khumbu Glacier + Khumbu Icefall + Mount Everest Khumbu glacier in relation to everest.jpg
Khumbu Glacier + Khumbu Icefall + Mount Everest

See also

Related Research Articles

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eight-thousander</span> Mountain peaks of over 8,000 m

The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognised by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise definition of the criteria used to assess independence, and at times, the UIAA has considered whether the list should be expanded to 20 mountain peaks by including the major satellite peaks of eight-thousanders. All of the eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia, and their summits lie in an altitude known as the death zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Fischer</span> American mountaineer (1955–1996)

Scott Eugene Fischer was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for ascending the world's highest mountains without supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were the first Americans to summit Lhotse, the world's fourth highest peak. Fischer, Charley Mace, and Ed Viesturs summitted K2 without supplemental oxygen. Fischer first climbed Mount Everest in 1994 and later died during the 1996 blizzard on Everest while descending from the peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Viesturs</span> American mountain climber

Edmund Viesturs is an American high-altitude mountaineer, corporate speaker, and well known author in the mountain climbing community. He was the first American to climb all 14 of the eight-thousander mountains, and the 5th person to do so without supplemental oxygen. Along with Apa Sherpa, he has summitted eight-thousanders on 21 occasions, including Mount Everest seven times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasuko Namba</span> Japanese mountain climber (1949–1996)

Yasuko Namba was the second Japanese woman to climb the Seven Summits. Namba worked as a businesswoman for Federal Express in Japan, but her hobby of mountaineering took her all over the world. She first summited Kilimanjaro on New Year's Day in 1982, and summited Aconcagua exactly two years later. She reached the summit of Denali on July 1, 1985, and the summit of Mount Elbrus on August 1, 1992. After summiting Vinson Massif on December 29, 1993, and Carstensz Pyramid on November 12, 1994, Namba's final summit to reach was Mount Everest. She signed on with Rob Hall's guiding company, Adventure Consultants, and reached the summit in May 1996, but died during her descent in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Hall</span> New Zealand mountaineer (1961–1996)

Robert Edwin Hall was a New Zealand mountaineer. He was the head guide of a 1996 Mount Everest expedition during which he, a fellow guide, and two clients died. A best-selling account of the expedition was given in Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air, and the expedition has been dramatised in the 2015 film Everest. At the time of his death, Hall had just completed his fifth ascent to the summit of Everest, more at that time than any other non-Sherpa mountaineer.

Lincoln Rossl Hall OAM was a veteran Australian mountain climber, adventurer and author. Lincoln was part of the first Australian expedition to climb Mount Everest in 1984, which successfully forged a new route. He reached the summit of the mountain on his second attempt in 2006, miraculously surviving the night at 8,700 m (28,543 ft) on descent, after his family was told he had died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Mazur</span>

Daniel Lee Mazur is a mountain climber, expedition leader, and philanthropist who has ascended nine of the world's highest summits, including Mount Everest and K2. In addition, he is known for several high altitude mountain rescues: the 1991 rescue of Roman Giutashvili from Mount Everest, the rescue of Gary Ball from K2 in 1992, the rescue in 2006 of Australian climber Lincoln Hall from Mount Everest, and the rescue of British mountaineer Rick Allen from Broad Peak in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Mount Everest disaster</span> Death of eight climbers

The 1996 Mount Everest disaster occurred on 10–11 May 1996 when eight climbers caught in a blizzard died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit. Over the entire season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest season on Mount Everest at the time and the third deadliest after the 23 fatalities resulting from avalanches caused by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 16 fatalities of the 2014 Mount Everest avalanche. The 1996 disaster received widespread publicity and raised questions about the commercialization of Everest.

Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineering guide, climber and porter, best known for his work as the climbing Sirdar for Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness expedition to Everest in Spring 1996, when a freak storm led to the deaths of eight climbers from several expeditions, considered one of the worst disasters in the history of Everest mountaineering. Notwithstanding controversy over his actions during that expedition, Lopsang was well-regarded in the mountaineering community, having summited Everest four times. Lopsang was killed in an avalanche in September 1996, while again on an expedition to climb Everest for what would have been a fifth ascent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrett Madison</span> American mountaineer and guide (born 1978)

Garrett Madison is an American mountaineer, guide and expedition leader. Madison began guiding professionally in 1999 on Mount Rainier and has reached the summit of Mount Everest 14 times. His company, Madison Mountaineering, specializes in climbs on Mount Everest and other high altitude peaks, operates on the highest peaks on all seven continents, and also provides training programs and summit climbs in Washington State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ang Dorje Sherpa</span> Nepalese sherpa (born 1970)

Ang Dorje (Chhuldim) Sherpa is a Nepalese sherpa mountaineering guide, climber, and porter from Pangboche, Nepal, who has reached the summit of Mount Everest 23 times. He was the climbing Sirdar for Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants expedition to Everest in spring 1996, when a freak storm led to the deaths of eight climbers from several expeditions, considered one of the worst disasters in the history of Everest mountaineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Trekking</span> Adventure travel company

Asian Trekking is a Nepal-based adventure company, specializing in mountaineering expeditions and trekking in the Himalayas. Started in 1982 by UIAA Honorary Member Ang Tshering Sherpa, it is Nepal's oldest mountaineering and trekking company still in operation. In 2008, Tshering's son Dawa Steven Sherpa, an environmentalist and mountaineer, took over the leadership of the company and continues to serve as the managing director to this day.

Gary Ian Ball was a New Zealand mountaineer who summited Mount Everest twice, in 1990 and 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wright, Walter Clifford; Wright, Walter (2005). Don't Step on the Rope!: Reflections on Leadership, Relationships and Teamwork. Biblica. pp. 115–116. ISBN   978-1-84227-359-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Musa, Ghazali; Higham, James; Carr, Anna Thompson (5 June 2015). Mountaineering Tourism. Routledge. p. 95. ISBN   9781317668749 – via Google Books.
  3. 1 2 Child, Greg (31 July 2000). Postcards from the Ledge: Collected Mountaineering Writings of Greg Child. The Mountaineers Books. p. 184. ISBN   9780898867534 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Monteath, Colin (31 December 1997). Hall & Ball: Kiwi Mountaineers : from Mount Cook to Everest. Cloudcap. ISBN   9780938567424 – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Dickinson, Matt (31 May 2011). Death Zone. Random House. pp. 15–16. ISBN   9781446474815 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Fearnley, Laurence (29 May 2015). Lydia Bradey: Going up is Easy. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN   9781743486979.
  7. ↑ Matzer, Marla (28 March 1998). "'Everest' Lifts Imax to Dramatic New Peaks". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Boukreev, Anatoli; DeWalt, G. Weston (16 July 1999). The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest. Macmillan. ISBN   9780312206376 – via Google Books.
  9. 1 2 Viesturs, Ed; Roberts, David (27 November 2007). No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks. Crown. p. 179. ISBN   9780767924719 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Jeffries, Jane (12 July 2015). "Facing up to the deadly Matterhorn". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Masheter, Carol (27 November 2014). Brightest of Silver Linings: Climbing Carstensz Pyramid In Papua At Age 65. eBookIt.com. ISBN   9781456623388 – via Google Books.
  12. 1 2 Jenkins, Mark (4 June 2019). "Here's How Climbers Are Ruining Mount Everest". Reader's Digest.
  13. ↑ Schaffer, Grayson (26 April 2015). "The Aftermath on Everest". Outside Online.
  14. ↑ "Everest Base Camp Avalanche 2015 Victim Support". Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 Human Edge Tech, Explorersweb Inc. "Adventure Consultants Everest 2015 – Dispatches – By CONTACT5.0" . Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Explorersweb Everest: List of Avalanche Victims". Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  17. 1 2 Sad News
  18. ↑ AC111
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.