Beyond the Summit

I am the place with only three colors-

blue of sky,

white of snow,

black of rock.

I am the place where the temperature

is often very cold.

...and where the air

is uncomfortably thin...

I am the place where life,

ALL Life, is very fragile.

I am the mountain so high

that no bird can fly over me

although many have tried.

To the Tibetans, I am Chomolungma

goddess mother of the earth.

To the Nepalese I am Sagarmatha

goddess mother of the sky.

And to the rest of the world,

I am Mt. Everest.

the United States

bound for the Kingdom of Nepal

to join the Inventa Everest 2000

Environmental Expedition.

They will team up with

the largest contingent of Sherpas

ever assembled for

a clean-up operation.

Their goal is to unburden Mt. Everest

of over 40 years of

expedition garbage

and to summit

the world's highest peak.

Here the Westerners

meet their Eastern guides

and make their final preparations.

Bob Hoffman, a former airline manager,

is the expedition leader

and mastermind behind the half-million

dollar clean-up operation.

Apa Sherpa is responsible for

managing all Sherpas on the expedition

and overseeing the climbing logistics.

Pemba Nurbu will help coordinate

a team of 22 clean-up Sherpas.

Professional mountain guide

Jim Williams, along with Apa,

will lead the 9 member climbing team...

Each member has paid their way

for a chance to summit Everest.

Sometimes called "Mr. Everest"

for reaching the top

in his 10 previous climbs,

Apa will climb this year for

a world record 11th summit.

Apa combs the back alleys of Kathmandu

in search of materials

for the Base Camp Puja ceremony.

Rice, incense, kata scarves,

and prayer flags

are all on the shopping list.

The prayer flags are gonna

go over our complete camp area...

and we'll have 5 lines of

prayer flags going out.

I still have mine

from the '98 expedition.

Prayer flags are thought to

bring good luck in Buddhist cultures...

The blue is the sky...

The white is the...

clouds...

clouds, yeah...

The red is for fire...

The red is fire...

The green is earth...

Yellow.

And the yellow is water.

And also each one has a prayer on it,

and the Lung-la horse is

the fast-carrier of the prayers

to the heavens

...and it's believed that

each time the wind blows

the flags are sending those prayers

for safety to heaven...

so that's the significance of them.

Before the expedition

can set out for Base Camp,

Apa must bring the ceremony items

to a Rimopche to be blessed.

However, Rimpoches are not always easy

to find in the bustle of Kathmandu.

Finally, after many turns,

they find him.

Rimpoches are Buddhist holy men

considered to be the reincarnates

of former high lamas.

The traditional tea is served,

and the puja offerings are blessed.

accompanies Hoffman

on a dawn run at the Monkey Temple.

Should the surgeon from Connecticut

succeed in this summit bid,

he will be the oldest human being

to do so.

This will be his 4th attempt.

Having completed their preparations,

the team embarks on the last air leg...

...the one-hour flight into

the Khumbu Valley

and the beginning of the trek

to base camp.

Coupled with gusty winds

and a very short landing strip

that requires good brakes...

...Lukla airstrip gives even

the most experienced Khumbu pilots

reservations about landing here...

That was some ride...

Our pilot kept saying

"Holy sh*t, holy sh*t,

it's a holy sh*t"

From here they will walk

the rest of the way to Base Camp.

Porters and yaks shoulder

much of the load...

Each porter carries up to 70-pounds...

...everything is instinctively weighed

simply by touch...

Mt. Everest lies on the border

between Tibet and Nepal,

in the Sagarmatha National Park.

The word "Sherpa" does not mean

"mountain porter,"

as it is often mistranslated

in the West.

It simply means

"People from the East"...

referring to

the neighboring region of Tibet...

The Sherpa people have been migrating

to the high reaches of the Himalaya

from Tibet for over 500 years...

With a population of 1000,

Namche Bazar is the largest village

in the Khumbu region.

Even today, Tibetans come weekly

to this Sherpa capital

to ply their wares

at the Saturday market.

The team will return here

at the end of the expedition,

carrying all the collected

refuse to be recycled or incinerated...

Canadian, Jamie Ross is

the environmental director

of the expedition.

Ross was also a member of

Hoffman's 1998 expedition.

We are working with a group here

called the Sagamatha Pollution

control committee,

and they are a group organized to oversee

environmental issues in this park

which is the Sagamatha national park.

The most important thing

to come out of this expedition

is have a major impact on the clean-up

up at Base Camp

and on the mountain...

Get a lot of trash off...

and raise awareness of what we're doing,

so that other people will do the same.

The SPCC will work with the 17 teams

climbing MT. Everest this season.

Each team must provide accurate counts

of equipment going to Base Camp.

The government requires that teams

must pack out expedition garbage

or lose a 4000 dollar deposit.

By current Himalayan standards,

this Expedition is a massive operation.

It will utilize 200 yaks... to carry

and 1 ton of food to sustain

the entire team for 8 weeks...

The Tengboche monastery lies

approximately half-way between

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