7 Summits Success - Ian McKeever

SUMMIT SUCCESS!!

Ian McKeever has broken the World Speed Record for the 7 Summits – Completed in 156 days
Previous World Record = 187 

Dave Pritt, Director of Adventure Peaks and friends Ian McKeever and John Whittle are attempting to break the world record for climbing the seven summits.

The Team Leader: Dave Pritt

John Whittle

1st July 9:30am – Ian Mckeever is now the proud record holder of the World Speed Record for the 7 Summits. The team summitted Denali yesterday (30th June) to complete the challenge in a total of 156 days, knocking an incredible 31 days off the old record. Summitting alongside Ian was Dave Pritt, Director of Adventure Peaks, who was also completing his 7 Summits.

A huge “well done” to Ian who only started climbing last year but has now proven himself on some of the worlds biggest mountains. They’re hoping to fly back to Talkeetna tomorrow when we’ll be able to bring you the whole inspirational story…..

29th June 9:00pm – There was a message left last night to say that Ian and the team had to turn around at 5550m due to strong winds. They have now returned to the top camp and will make another attempt tonight. Fingers crossed the weather will be a bit more favourable for them.(Day 155)

28th June 5:40pm – Dave called this evening to say that they will making their summit bid tonight. At present the winds are a higher than they would like. If it doesn’t subside then they will turn around and make another attempt tomorrow. The forecast, although not very reliable for tomorrow, is meant to be slightly better than today.(Day 154)

26th June 9:00am – The waiting game continues…. Dave, Ian & John are all established at the 14,000′ camp waiting for a break in the weather. The forecast is predicting high pressure but the critical factor is the wind speed. They were hoping to move up to the high camp at 17,000′ last night and all being well to make their summit attempt tonight (Day 152)

22nd June 9:30am – The group will carry the equipment up to 16,000 feet tomorrow and hope to reach High Camp on Sunday.    If the weather remains good they expect to summit on Monday or Tuesday.

19th June 11:00am – Dave called the office today to report that they will move up to 14,000 feet tomorrow and if the weather remains good they will attempt to summit on Saturday or Sunday (Sunday would be the 150th day of the challenge!).  Watch this space …

16th June 1:00pm- The team flew on Thursday to the glacier, they have now moved up to Camp II at 11,000 ft. All the team are well and looking forward to making their final summit bid.

13th June 10:00pm- The team are still waiting to fly, unfortunately weather is hampering take off.

11th June 5:00pm- The team are heading to Talkeetna today and all being well will fly out to the glacier this evening.

9th June 9:00am-Ian Dave & John have flown out to Anchorage today to begin their ascent on the last of the Seven Summits. This really has been a whirlwind adventure, they aim to reach the summit on the 24th June.

31st May 12:30pm-Ian and Dave are now down off the mountain and are now trying to re-arrange their flights to get back to the UK & Ireland early. They head out to Denali on the 9th June, for the Grand Finale.

31st May 7:45am-Ian and Dave have reached the summit of Elbrus – they are now on their way back down. A very quick ascent indeed.

28th May 10:00am-Ian and Dave are flying out to Moscow today, they will start their ascent of Elbrus on the 30th May.

23rd May 11:00am-Ian is returning back to Ireland today.

20th May 9:30pm-Ian’s eyes are much better and they are now back with the rest of the group at BC. They leave for Kathmandu tomorrow.

19th May 11:00pm-Ian has got his vision back although his eyes are still quite sore. Dave & Ian will head down to BC tomorrow and then leave for Kathmandu on the 22nd.

18th May 2:29pm-Ian is now safely down at ABC after a very long descent from the summit. He will need to have his eyes bandaged for a couple days to protect them from the light and will travel down in the dark to BC. The team aim to be back in Kathmandu on the 21st May.

17th May 4:00pm-Ian is currently at 7400m with the sherpas, he will reach the North Col in a couple of hours where he will stay for the night and then head down to ABC tomorrow.

17th May 11:30am-Ian is currently at 7800m, he is suffering from some snow blindness after the summit day but is being assisted down by the sherpas. The snow blindness should clear within a few days. He will spend the night at the North Col before heading back down to ABC tomorrow.

16th May 3:18am-Ian has done it, he is now standing on the top of Everest along with leader Robin Beadle and Dorjee Sherpa. This is a huge achievement for somebody who last year had never climbed. So that’s five down and two more to go. Well done Ian and have a safe return journey to ABC.

16th May 2:00am-Ian is making the final approach to the summit ridge and all being well will summit within the hour.

16th May 0:36am-Ian and the rest of the Adventure Peaks Summit team have reached the Second Step on Everest’s North East Ridge at a height of 8600m. This is the largest and most technical of the three steps along the ridge. From the top of the Second step it is around 1 to 2 hours to the summit.

15th May -Ian and the rest of the Adventure Peaks Summit team have now reached Camp VI at 8200m. At around 10.30pm Nepali time he will begin his bid to reach the highest point on earth.

14th May 3pm -After a long day Ian has now reached Camp V at 7800m.

14th May -The summit bid is on. Ian & Dave are now aiming to summit on the 16th May. Yesterday the team spent the night at the North Col and today they are heading up to Camp V at 7800m. After spending the night at 7800m the team will then start to use oxygen to move to Camp VI at 8200m. At Camp VI they will rest on oxygen and prepare to leave for the summit that night.

8th May -The acclimatisation process is nearly complete and thoughts are turning to the summit. There is a weather window forecast for the 14th – 16th May so potentially we could see an attempt on the 16th. Dave & Ian plus a full complement from the main Everest group and a team of very strong Sherpas would climb to the North Col (7000m) on the 13th, Camp 2 (7800m) on the 14th and Camp 3 (8200m) on teh 15th. Everyone will usually be on oxygen above Camp 2 to conserve their strength for the task ahead. After a few hours of R&R (rest and rehydration) at the high camp it is usual to begin the final climb at around 11pm. This is the most technical part of the route with the infamous Second Step to surmount but if everything goes according to plan then they should summit around 8.00am or 3.00am BST on the 16th. We’re closely monitoring the weather and the final decision will be made in the next few days – watch this space…

3rd May – Acclimatisation is going well with Ian & Dave, along with Carrie from the main Everest team, spending Tuesday and Wednesday nights sleeping on the North Col before climbing above 7000m. They’re due back into Base Camp later today for a good rest.

27th April – Ian & Dave walked to the start of the fixed lines below the head wall of the North Col today. They made excellent progress taking only 1 hour 20 minutes, normally this would take around 2 hours first time up. Tomorrow they will head up to the North Col to sleep.

23rd April – Having reached Everest BC and had a couple of days rest after the long journey from Kathmandu. the team will head up to ABC at 6400m tomorrow. The trek covers a distance of 22km and at over 5000m would normally take two days the first time. However due to Ian’s acclimatisation he will be able to go straight up to ABC in one day.

19th April – Ian and the team arrived in Kathmandu on the 17th April. They spent a couple of days going over the last few preparations before heading out to Tibet, this also allowed a bit of time for sightseeing around this wonderful city. Today they crossed the border into Tibet and are spending the night at Nylam, circa 3700m. All being well they will arrive at Everest Base Camp in the next 2 days after a night at Tingri. Normally this journey would take six days, but due to Ian’s previous acclimatisation they will be able to travel in, in the shortest amount of time.

9th April – Life can be hard in the mountains. The team have had to retreat from Elbrus without the summit. They reached the Saddle (5350m), with the summit still another 2-3 hours away, before the decision was made to turn back. Extremely harsh conditions on the mountain meant that they were unable to establish a high camp leaving them with a mammoth 1600m of ascent to reach the highest point in Europe. Storm force winds had stripped the mountain of snow leaving large expanses of bullet hard blue ice which demanded the utmost concentration. The correct decision was made and everybody is now safely off the mountain. Despite this setback the ‘7 Summits Speed Record’ is still very much on. A winter ascent of Elbrus was always going to be a real challenge and plans are already being made for the team to return to the mountain after Everest & Denali. Potentially this would still knock a staggering 32 days from the current record. Within the next few days the team will arrive in Kathmandu to begin the journey to the North side of Everest. With their time on Elbrus their bodies will have adapted to the altitude and they should quickly catch up with the rest of our Everest North Ridge team at Base Camp. Next stop the roof of the world around the 16th May or day 112 of the challenge.

5th April – The team have now returned to the valley. The weather has been very clear today giving fantastic views out across the main Caucus mountains.

4th April – The team have moved up to Purit II and acclimatised up to the rocks of Pastukhov at 4650m. The temperature has dropped significantly today -10C to -15C. Tomorrow they will all head down to the valley for two days rest before starting the summit bid.

3rd April – The team have arrived at the Barrels (3800m) today, they are planning to walk up to 4200m and stash some kit. The weather is cloudy but the temperature is fine just above freezing. Tomorrow everyone will move up to Purit II (4200m) to sleep before heading back down to the valley on the 5th April.

2nd April – The private trip to Elbrus is well under way, the group left for Russia yesterday and have flown to Minvody today. They then travelled by minibus through the Caucus mountain range along the Baskan valley to a small village at the base of Elbrus. Tomorrow the team will make their preparations before they begin the ascent.

17th March – Success! There was a phone call from Dave during the early hours of this morning. Ian and the team reached the summit yesterday, they were lucky enough to get clear weather for the ascent despite the large amounts of snow that had fallen recently. Dave commented that it was almost t-shirt weather on the summit, however the descent was a different story. The team had to endure heavy snow which was soon followed by torrential rain as the dropped back down to Base Camp, the face turning into a huge series of waterfalls. All the team are now safely back at base camp and after a days rest will prepare to trek out.

15th March – The team have now safely arrived at base camp. They flew in by helicopter just before a major storm front came through which deposited a large amount of unseasonable snow on the Carstensz Pyramid which could make for interesting climbing conditions! After a brief recce they plan to go for the summit in the next couple of days.

12th March – The team have now set off for peak number 4 Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. It will take them 3 days to fly into base camp from the UK. They will spend a couple of days acclimatising before attempting the summit.

5th March – Success! The team reached the highest point in Africa on Saturday morning 3rd March. Although this is a speed record attempt, Ian still had enough time to take in the beautiful and dramatic sunrise over the African plains from the summit of Kilimanjaro. The team will arrive back in the UK & Ireland today and will have a few days before heading out to Peak number 4 and crossing the half way mark!

1st March – The team have moved up to Camp 3 at 4200m, compared to the last two peaks Ian has climbed, the pace has felt quite relaxed. Although when the team go for the summit they will still have a long night ahead of them, setting off around midnight so that they reach the summit around sunrise. Whilst filming on the mountain one of the local porters was interviewed about the trip and was asked what was his favourite part of the journey, his reply… The tips! A good honest answer.

26th February – The team have now flown out to Kilimanjaro – number 3 on the list. They will be attempting the Rongai route which is a very scenic trek but a lot quieter than the normal routes.

14th February – Everyone’s safely back to the road head at Puente del Inca after a very fast descent from base camp. The twenty six mile trek that took 3 days on the way in was completed in one long day. By the end of today they should be back enjoying the comforts of Santiago.

12th February – Success! Dave contacted the office this morning to say that Ian and himself summited Aconcagua yesterday at 1pm. So it’s two down and five to go. They are heading down to base camp today and will be flying back to the UK & Ireland on the 16th for a few days before heading out for Carstensz Pyramid & Kilimanjaro.

8th February – The team have now moved up to camp 1, tomorrow they will carry enough equipment to move and stay at camp 2. The weather is holding at present so they anticipate to make their summit attempt on Saturday 10th Feb.

4th February – Dave rang this morning to say that the team are starting their trek into the Vacas valley. It will take three days to reach base camp, Ian is feeling refreshed after a couple of days rest and ready to take on the second highest of the seven summits.

30th January – It’s 7.00am in Chile and the team have just arrived safely in Punta Arenas after an uneventful flight but meaning another night without sleep. The wind dropped last evening and ALE managed to get their plane in and pick up the final expeditions before the weather closed in again. They’re relaxing back at their hotel before flying to Santiago & Aconcagua on the 1st February.

29th January – The team are still stuck at Patriot Hills Base Camp as the high winds are preventing the plane from landing on the blue ice runway. They’re permanently on standby so could fly at any time but every time they think the wind speed’s dropping it suddenly starts to blow again! We’ll try and update this page as soon as we hear they’re on the move…

27th January – Everyone’s now safely down at the Patriot Hills Base Camp. They’re all well but were on such a high that they spent all last night reliving their experiences in the mess tent. I think it was too windy to put there tents up as well. It’s now 6.00am and the sun’s blazing down but that viscous wind is still blowing. It’s forecast to drop later today so there’s the possibility that they could be sampling the delights of Punta Arenas by this evening. Next stop Aconcagua.

26th January – Success!!!  The clock has started for Ian! Dave & Ian summited yesterday and returned safely to their high camp. John had turned around earlier in the day after injuring his ribs but is doing fine now. The sat phone signal was very poor but we know they’re all well but tired. They’re continuing to descend down to Base Camp today.

25th January – The summit attempt is on. They woke this morning to perfect conditions and set out at 12:00 GMT today for the final push. They’ve got a long day ahead of them so our next update won’t be for twenty four hours when we’ll hopefully be reporting a successful climb and the whole team safely back to camp 2. Watch this space….

24th January – The day started promisingly with a clearing in the weather but it soon closed out and they’ve been confined to the tents all day. Conditions aren’t horrendous but the temperature’s at twenty below with a stiff wind blowing and there’s almost a white out – Not the conditions to be trying for the summit. Everyone’s well and the plan is to try again tomorrow if things look better.

23rd January – Everything’s now in place for the summit attempt. The whole team are at the high camp waiting for a break in the weather. There’s a couple of other teams at camp with them which should make the trail breaking a little easier in the newly fallen snow.  The plan is still to attempt the summit on Wednesday 24 th . We wish them every success.

22nd January – Well things are starting to move quickly now. They’re now at camp 1 on the slopes on Mt Vinson. They had good weather yesterday but last night was a bit uncomfortable as the wind got up again. The plan for today is to move up to the high camp (3800m) and have a rest day. If everything’s looking promising then they could be looking at a summit attempt on Wednesday 24th.

19th January – The team have now arrived in Antarctica after a memorable flight. At one point they diverted to the southernmost point of Argentina and the flight was almost aborted due to the weather but they got there in the end. They landed at 3.00am but with 24 hour daylight they were still able to pitch the tents and get themselves settled. The skies are blue and the suns beating down but there’s a vicious low level storm blowing across the ice which is creating fairly unpleasant conditions. The next leg of their journey is by a small Twin Otter airplane to Mt Vinson’s base camp but this’ll mean more waiting until the winds ease.

18th January – They’re off!!  We had a quick e-mail from Dave at 3pm GMT saying they’re off in the next 5 minutes. Fingers crossed that the weather doesn’t change during the flight but our next communication should be by sat phone from the Patriot Hills base camp on Antarctica….

17th January – The waiting game continues! There’s now a fair bit of snow on the runway in the Patriot Hills but things can change very quickly in these extreme latitudes. We received this report from Dave this afternoon…

‘It is now the morning of the 17th January and we´ve now been waiting seven days for the correct weather to allow our flight onto Antarctica. The news today is a little more positive….and maybe by 4pm (Chilean time -3hrs GMT)we will get the go ahead. So why the wait?

The flight to Patriot Hills, the base on Antarctica close to Mt Vinson, is by means of a Russian Illussion Jet, an enormous cargo operating beast! The flight is around 4.5hrs and lands on a blue ice runway (pure ice) on wheels not ski´s. The blue ice runway is a natural feature around 3kms long, clear of crevasses, deep snow etc BUT is effected by Catabatic winds, that blow across the runway. These cross winds can’t be more than 20kms per hr, there must also be good viability and contrast to enable manual landings to be made and the temperature must be around -10C to ensure the runway is not too slippery…NOT an easy shopping list for this extreme continent. So we must be patient, most flights generally go in on time or within 2 days of the schedule date. Its not until you´ve actually been to Patriot hills that you can fully appreciate the logistics involved, but its well worth the wait to become one of the privileged few.

So in the meantime we´ve got to know the streets of Punta Arenas quite well over the last week, along with the odd short visit to see Magallane Penguins, the local ski slopes (without snow, its summer down here) for a walk, a bit of a wild life tour where Condors, Wild Rhea (kind of Ostrich), Red necked swans, Sea Lion were a few of our sightings along with seeing some local culture such as sheep shearing. John even managed a bit of a horse ride! The team have gone in the search of Whale´s today.’      Dave Pritt

13th January – I’m afraid it’s still too windy and it’s even started snowing in Antarctica. Surprisingly this is fairly rare as it’s one of the driest places on the planet. The winds are 23 kph, gusting 27 but were 35 kph overnight. They need to drop below 20 kph before the flight will go.

12th January – They’re still in Chile but on a 3 hour standby for the flight. There’s been too much wind and / or cloud so far but they’re all raring to go as soon as they get the word.

8th January – Well the team are now safely in Chile and awaiting their flight to Antarctica. However bad weather is stopping play at the moment so its just a matter of waiting until they get the call.

6th January – The team departed from Gatwick today for the long flight to South America.

16th December – Ian will start his record breaking attempt with Mount Vinson in January. The clock starts ticking when Ian reaches the summit of Mt Vinson and will stop when he reaches the summit of Denali hopefully at the end of June.

The Adventure Peaks team wish him all the best and hope he’s successful in breaking the record.