Kechu

When Thomas Montgomerie triangulated two new peaks in the Karakoram, he had no idea he’d discovered not only the second highest peak on earth, but also the second most dangerous. And while Karakorum 1 was known locally as Masherbrum, no one seemed to know of a local name for K2. As Fosco Maraini quipped “...just the bare bones of a name, all rock and ice and storm and abyss…it makes no attempt to sound human… it is atoms and stars…has the nakedness of the world before the first man - or of the cindered planet after the last…” so calling the mountain K2 seemed more than appropriate and it stuck.

Superseded only by Annapurna as the most dangerous 8000m peak to climb, 25% of those who attempt the savage mountain perish. Not only is it technically one of the most challenging and committing, its extreme weather patterns can cause deadly delays. Only 302 have successfully summited and at least 77 others have died trying.

The challenges of the mountain make for great story-telling as well. Fatal attempts in 1939 and 1953, a troublesome first summit by the Italians in 1954, and finally the 13 deaths in 1986 and 11 more within hours of each other in 2008 give real-time chronicles of the epics these mountaineers face.

Enter Freddie Wilkinson whose alpinist wisdom and media savvy combined with knowledge of Sherpa culture brings to light what happened during the most recent multiple-fatality day. None of the surviving Western climbers could explain what happened, their memories fogged by hypoxia, exhaustion, and hallucinations. The truth of what transpired lies with four Sherpa guides who were largely ignored by the mainstream media in the aftermath of the tragedy and whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers.

Wilkinson’s narrative voice is biting and witty and, while trying not to be too critical of the media’s push for speed over accuracy, he manages to pull the truth of what really occured when a collapsing serac over the Bottleneck severed fixed lines and dragged more than a dozen alpinists down the mountainside.

We’re excited to have the author present these findings in person on Monday, September 13th, beginning at 6 PM in the Foss Auditorium at the AMC in Golden. Reviews are non-stop positive and there’s much buzz not just about Freddie, but about his ability to weave a compelling tale. As one reviewer stated, a lot of climbers write (and not very well) but not a lot of writers climb.

We interrupt this blogspot for an important announcement…

Hi! My name’s Martha and I’m the new manager at the Base Camp Adventure Store here in the American Mountaineering Center in beautiful downtown Golden, Colorado. I’m really excited to work here and promote such a great collaboration of mountaineering organizations. We have some great holiday gift ideas here that you probably won’t find anywhere else: singing bowls; climbing- and nature-inspired jewelry like miniature ice axe pendants and snowflake earrings; and Colorado 14ers calendars, software, and t-shirts for starters. We also have fun stocking stuffers like prayer flags; Bonnie’s Balms salves; and pewter mountain summit benchmarks in paperweight and pendant sizes.

But there’s more! We have more climbing and mountaineering books than you can shake a gris-gris at, great quality CMC logo denim shirts and actionwear, and ornaments made from the shavings of oxygen bottles retrieved from Mt. Everest. Really.

For the kids? Cooperative board games like Search and Rescue, Explorers, and Berries, Bugs and Bullfrogs. Fuzzy stuffed animals like llamas, black bear, buffalo, and moose. Kid-sized CMC and AMC t-shirts. And ocarina flutes hand-crafted in Peru. How many of you can say you’ve heard Happy Birthday played on an ocarina?

For you art collectors, some of our proudest offerings are the photographs from the Jake Norton Collection. We’re fortunate to have Jake as our Museum Director and the images he’s brought back from his multiple summits of Everest and time spent in Nepal are spectacular. Alongside his work is that of Jessica Sarkisian whose photographs of the Colorado 14ers and the Himalayas are as inspiring as they are beautiful. When she’s not piloting an Airbus 320 out of Denver she’s logging miles on her camera from some of the 35 countries she’s visited and photographed.

Please visit me at the American Mountaineering Center at 710 10th Street in Golden. If you have any more questions, I’m here to answer them either at 303-996-2755 or at marthaperantoni@mountaineeringmuseum.org. We’re open today from 10 AM to 6 PM, Sunday from 11 AM – 4 PM, and Tuesday –Thursday from 10 AM – 5 PM for that last minute shopping. We'll be closed Christmas Day and most likely making some turns in the backcountry.

We now return to our regular blogspot programming. And Happy Holidays to all!

Two Grand Openings Announced

The Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum has announced that it will open its doors to the public for its Grand Opening on February 16, 2008. Before then, however, the museum will open its new gift store, Base Camp, on November 23, 2007. The store, located within the American Mountaineering Center, will feature exciting items from the museum and the world of mountaineering that can be found few other places in the country. Featuring official products from the partnering organizations of The Colorado Mountain Club, American Alpine Club, and National Geographic Society, including:

• National Geographic Society items, including topographic maps
• Photography prints from the museum exhibit
• CMC Press books
  
• Gift items such as calenders, note cards, and jewelry
• Unique holiday items including stocking stuffers
• Mountain art
  
• Books from culture to Colorado, from mountaineering to the world's mountains

Today, we unveiled a new banner that hangs from the outside of the American Mountaineering Center. Phil Powers, Executive Director of the AAC, and Doug Skiba, Development Director of the CMC, rappelled down the face of the building to help unfurl the banner. Have a look...

New Artifacts

Artifacts keep coming to us here at the museum. Some of the details have yet to be worked out on major acquisitions, but no less important are the treasures that people come across when they're cleaning out their garage.

This 10th Mountain Division tent came to us recently, and so we set it up outside of the AMC to give it some fresh air. The label reads "Dickey Mfg. 1943."

We'll keep you posted with more news on acquisitions as they become final. And keep checking back with us here as images of the construction of the mezzanine are soon to appear.

And if you uncover any treasures in your garage, be sure to let us know. Contact information is available to the right.

Upcoming Event: Brotherhood of the Rope

The Event: This free event will see the launch of Bernadette McDonald's biography of Charles Houston entitled "Brotherhood of the Rope." Charles Houston was the leader of the heroic K2 expedition of 1953 and a pioneer researcher in the field of high-altitude medicine. The evening will include a reading and presentation by the author, a conversation with Dr. Houston, and a reception and book-signing.
Where: American Mountaineering Center, Foss Auditorium
When: May 24, 2007 7-9 pm
For more information: contact Barbara Lommen at 303.724.1670 or barbara.lommen@uchsc.edu

The BWAMM, along with the American Alpine Club, Colorado Mountain Club, The Mountaineers Books, and Altitude Research Center at the University of Colorado are sponsoring this event at the American Mountaineering Center on May 24th. Please join us for a very entertaining evening--and check out the progress on the new museum in person.

Construction, Day 7: Feel the Noise

Today has been a little distracting for us here at the AMC. The walls were shaking, the earth was quaking. And the demolition of the concrete will continue all week long. Check out the sophisticated machinery (read: toy) they have to demolish the floor.

New Display Case

We've installed a new display case to tease visitors to the AMC of the coming museum. It contains artifacts from our collection including the boots, camera, and ice axe of Bradford Washburn, as well as a display on Mt. Everest. This includes three models of the world's highest peak--one from 1953 in plaster, a more modern laser-cut piece from Rauda Scale Models in Seattle, and a beautiful alabaster carving--as well as text, maps, and photos of the Himalayan giant. Come check it out.

Sherpa New Year

The American Mountaineering Center is already a world-class center for mountaineering and conservation. It is home to the Colorado Mountain Club, the American Alpine Club, and Outward Bound. It serves as a conference center for numerous events each year, including some of the nation's biggest and most influential conservation forums. The auditorium hosts lectures and movies, speakers and concerts. It is already an amazing place in which to work for those fortunate enough to do so, and a great place to learn and contribute.

But the final punctuation mark on the Center will be the museum. And it will serve to bring in many prestigious events and even greater speakers and movies, and more often. Which brings us to the title of this entry.

When deciding on a venue to host their New Year's celebration, the Sherpa community of Colorado decided upon the AMC because of the ammenities it provided, and also because of the natural connection between Sherpa people and the mountain environment. This past Saturday they celebrated the year of the Fire Pig, and we would like to share a few images from the event. It was a beautiful event and the organizations of the AMC were very proud to play host.

(1) Lhoppon Rechungpa, founding monk of the Buddhist Mipham Shedra of Boulder, began the festivities with a blessing for the New Year. (2) Traditional clothing meets modern technology. (3)(4)(5) Dancing lasted through the night, from traditional dances which told the tale of the Sherpa culture, to modern dances, and most everything in between. (6) At the end of the night, everyone was sad to go.