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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  His
Sights on New Achievement for Amputees
San
Rafael,California -- December 9, 2005 Inspiring amputees and others around the world by scaling
one 8,000 meter peak is not enough for American Alpine Club member and
Nepali citizen Nawang Sherpa. He and his Friendship Beyond Borders team
now plan to scale another one this spring—the world’s 6th-highest
peak, Cho Oyu (8,201m;
26,906ft).
The 2006 Friendship Beyond Borders team will include Colorado Springs
mountaineer Pete Lardy, who in 2003 climbed Mustagh Ata (7546m; 24,750ft) in western China with Tom McMillan to prepare for his Everest
climb. Also on the team will be their friend Nima Gombu Sherpa, a 10 times Everest summiter and
Cho Oyu veteran,
and Nawang’s younger brother, Ang Dawa Sherpa helping as Climbing Guide. Nawang’s lifelong goal to climb Mount Everest, despite
a see-saw chain of great opportunities and terrible tragedies, was achieved
thanks to his Friendship Beyond Borders team, supporters, and sponsors. Nawang Sherpa’s left leg was crushed
six years ago in a motorcycle accident in Nepal. A year later, a group
of his American friends drew together a network of people willing to
provide him with donations of high-quality prosthetic care and equipment
from clinics in California and Minnesota. A chance to climb Mount Everest in 2003 with the legendary
American mountaineer and double amputee Ed Hommer was dashed when Ed
was tragically killed by rockfall on a training climb of Mount Rainier.
Later that year, Tom McMillan received the opportunity to climb Mount
Everest, and invited Nawang to climb it with him. They gained the summit
of Everest on their first attempt, despite the fact that Nawang had
decided not to train for the climb and risk injuring his leg or prosthesis.
Climbing
Cho Oyu will make Nawang the first amputee to climb two of the world’s
fourteen 8,000m peaks. Nawang points out that in today’s world of armed
conflicts and disasters "There are so many disabled people in the
world! I would love to give encouragement to all of them by climbing
these high peaks with the help of my international friends and sponsors."
Expedition
leader Tom McMillan highlights just how important and effective this
type of encouragement can be. Not knowing quite what to do for Nawang
a few months after his motorcycle accident, Tom sent him a copy of the
book “Second Ascent“, showing the struggles and remarkable accomplishments
of climber-amputee Hugh Herr. The effect was life-changing: "When he saw that Hugh had overcome his severe
injuries and regained his ability to enjoy climbing at a high level,
Nawang realized he too might be able to do that. Hugh’s story enabled
Nawang to envision a better future for himself. His American friends
then came together to find any way possible to turn that vision into
a reality. Like Hugh, Nawang is an inspiration to everyone who meets
him and learns of his extraordinary achievements. In five years he overcame
terrible tragedy, suffering and hardships to become one of the world's
top disabled athletes, and is now focused on helping other amputees,
just as Hugh helped him. He deserves the respect and support of all
of us." One
of the team’s supporters this year is Erik Weihenmayer, who has suggested
that the team visit the energetic and courageous blind Tibetan teens
from the Braille Without Borders school in Lhasa who climbed with him
to 21,000ft on the north side of Everest in 2004. We are also inviting
the Chinese Mountaineering Association and other alpine clubs in the
region to have amputees from their countries trek to our Cho Oyu base
camp to meet Nawang and his team. Our
CHO OYU Spring 2006: Friendship Beyond Borders Expedition is intended
to focus public attention on the huge economic and social value of helping
amputees find ways to succeed in life. In particular, it will show what
amputees and others can achieve when given the opportunities of friendships,
beyond the borders of nationalities, cultures, and
physical abilities. And it will certainly challenge
all of us to reconsider what might be preventing success in our own
lives. Linda
McMillan, who will serve as the team’s Base Camp Manager, explains the
team’s motivation and the choice of their Cho Oyu objective this way:
“Amputees, especially those in the developing countries
of the world, struggle to overcome a huge ‘mountain’ of personal, financial,
and social obstacles every day. The Friendship Beyond Borders team,
sponsors, and supporters recognize this, and honor amputees’ efforts
to keep going despite the constant challenges they face in their lives.
By climbing in China this year, we hope to highlight the important accomplishments
and aspirations of amputees there, as the country prepares to host the
Olympics and serve as an important leader in the world economy.” The team plans to begin its expedition to China in early April,
stopping first in San Francisco’s sister city, Shanghai. They will be
welcomed at an event held at the new offices of San Francisco-based
AMB Property Corporation, which helped to sponsor the team’s 2004 expedition. From there they will fly to Lhasa where they will rest, acclimatize to that altitude,
and rendezvous with their Sherpa teammates. They will then travel to
the mountain trailhead by truck, trek to the Cho Oyu Advance Base Camp
(18,700ft; 5,700m), and begin their acclimatization regime. They expect
to reach the almost 27,000ft summit via the Normal route some time in
late April or May, depending on when the optimal “weather window” on
the mountain presents itself. Our expedition is again sponsored by The American Club, which
confers tax deductible benefits to
your donations. We welcome all monetary and in-kind donations,
and have arranged a way this year to make donating fast and easy with
a link on our website to the AAC’s “Blacktie-Colorado” donation system:
http://friendshipbeyondborders.com/expedition/contributors.htm Further information, news, images, and updates on the expedition
can be found at the Friendship Beyond Borders website (http:///FriendshipBeyondBorders.com).
For additional information, contact: Linda McMillan, MBA CHO OYU Spring
2006: Friendship Beyond Borders Expedition
c/o McMillan Associates 721 Appleberry Road San Rafael, CA 94903 415.309.7961 mobile 415.479.0526 fax
http://FriendshipBeyondBorders.com McMillan
Associates, located
in Marin County just north of San Francisco, is a business consulting
firm focused on creating innovative solutions and sustainable economic
success for businesses and communities. We also believe that strong
businesses and communities result when their people contribute in many
ways to overall economic, environmental, and social success. Not only
do we encourage this in others, we make it an important part of what
we do. For further information, please visit our website at: www.lindamcmillan.com.
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