J. Armand Musey and his climbing team successfully reached the 29,028-foot summit of Mt. Everest, capping an arduous six-week expedition over the most challenging terrain in the world.
Musey reported via satellite telephone that he and his eight fellow climbers reached the peak at 7:30 am local time on May 24 after a 10½-hour ascent through darkness from Camp 4 at 26,000 feet. Musey had feared that the approaching monsoon season and a brief delay due to closure of the mountain for the Olympic torch relay would cut short efforts by his and other groups to reach the peak.
“We are almost too exhausted to be excited,” Musey said by satellite phone, the fatigue evident in his voice, after coming back down to the 23,500-foot level at Camp 3. “The main thing is that everyone is safe. I have some frostbitten toes but otherwise am doing very well.”
Musey, a widely-respected securities analyst in the telecommunications and satellite industries reported later that conditions coming back down the mountain were treacherous, with melting ice loosening ropes and ladders that had been secure on the ascent. When the team arrived back at base camp on May 25, they finally held a celebration of their achievement. They were in good company, as more than a dozen other expeditions which had been forced to wait at Base Camp due to the Olympic torch relay had finally be able to also achieve their goals of reaching the summit.
The Musey team is now trekking back to Katmandu, Nepal, and expects to arrive there by May 31.
Musey set out to climb Mt. Everest to both fulfill a personal goal and to raise funds for the American Red Cross’ International Relief Fund (IRF). Communicating regularly via satellite telephone and email while at lower altitudes, Musey had maintained steady contact to update his blog, www.museyeverest.com, and actively pursue more donations for the IRF.
To date, Musey has secured pledges to the Red Cross in excess of $40,000 in support of his climb. These include contributions of $15,000 each from SES and Intelsat, the two largest satellite operators in the world. A number of other firms and individuals have pledged either cash contributions or donated satellite communications equipment or airtime to Musey’s effort.
Sponsors and supporters can get details about Musey's expedition and find information on how to make a donation to the Red Cross in support of his achievement at www.museyeverest.com. Musey paid the entire cost of the Mt. Everest expedition out of his own funds; all money donated goes directly to the American Red Cross' International Relief Fund. Since he began climbing in 1991, Musey has scaled the highest peaks on six of the seven continents in the world. With his successful ascent of Mt. Everest, he has now completed the mountaineering challenge of the Seven Summits.
Musey climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2002 and has since climbed Mt. McKinley (also known as Denali) in Alaska, Mt. Elbrus in Russia, Acconcagua in Argentina, Mt. Rainer in Washington, Mt. Vinson Antarctica, and the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. As part of his training for the cold weather of Mt. Everest, he went on a ski expedition to the South Pole in 2007, dealing with -30 to -35 degree Centigrade weather almost the entire journey.
