2001 NFB Everest Expedition

Climbing Team \| Base Camp Team \| Film Crew

click any photo to enlarge	Eric Alexander, Vail, Colorado, Climber age 31. Eric grew up in the Colorado Rockies and started climbing and backpacking in his teens with a local youth group. Since then he has traveled a nd climbed throughout the Rockies, Tetons, Alps, and scampered up a few volcanoes in Washington and Mexico. Eric has has worked as a professional ski patroller in Vail and in the French Alps. Eric teaches skiing to children and adults with various disabilities at Beaver Creek resort for a full time winter job, and this summer hopes to create an outdoor program in the Vail area for youth with disabilities. Eric always returns to the mountains even after adventures like bicycle and motorcycle touring throughout the US and Europe.
	Luis Benitez, Boulder, Colorado, Climber, age 28. Luis has spent more than half of his life working and playing in the mountains. Working both as a senior course director for Outward Bounds mountaineering programs, and a professional guide for Alpine Ascents International. Luis logs more time in tents and snow caves per year than he does at home. Work and play has taken him to every corner of the world from Africa to Russia to Nepal to South America to Europe, and all over the US and Alaska. Luis' passion for mountaineering is only surpassed by his desire to educate and share the experiences with his clients and students. This unparalleled drive was shown in 1998 when he and 2 other outward bound course directors set the American high point on Gangapurna in Nepal. Luis has currently been developing mountaineering programs for outward bound in south america,and is looking forward to heading back up the khumbu for another fantastic season.
click any photo to enlarge	Bradford Bull, Denver, Colorado, Climber, age 33 Brad has been on four previous Himalayan expeditions summitting Mt. Everest in 1995, and Mt. Lhotse in 1998. He "worked" for 3 years as a guide at the University of Colorado's Outdoor Adventure Program teaching courses in rock & ice climbing, avalanche safety, kayaking and mountain biking. His passion for photography has resulted in published photographs in Outside and Rock & Ice Magazines. Brad will be joined on the mountain by his favorite climbing partner, his father, Dr. Sherman Bull, who reached Everest's South Summit with him in 1995. Also coming to Basecamp is Brad's adventurous wife, Reba. When not in the hills, Brad is a Project Manager at JG Johnson Architects in Denver.
	Jeff Evans, Denver, CO, Climber age 31. Jeff moved from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado when he was 18 and began his pursuit of high places. He has spent many seasons in the Alaska Range, guiding expeditions and working Search and Rescue on Denali, Mt McKinley. Jeff has also climbed in the Andes, Sierras, Cascades and done multiple big walls in Yosemite. He is now a practicing Physician Assistant in a busy Denver Emergency Room. Jeff is also an avid mountain biker, distance runner, and telemark skier.
	Didrik Johnck, San Francisco, California, Team Photographer and Climber, age 28. After a successful climb on Cho Oyu in 1997, running base camp for an Everest Expedition in 1998, and attempting Ama Dablam last spring,, this will be Didrik's fourth expedition to the Himalayas. Didrik has been climbing since the age of 15 and was lured into mountain climbing by his love for backcountry snowboarding. Didrik made his way through the Sierra Nevada with the Boy Scouts and then the Oregon Cascades and after finishing school he went on to travel the world in search of remote and exciting places and ended up in the mountain regions of Russia, Africa, Central and South America, and ultimately the Himalayas. Didrik is a Geography graduate from the University of Oregon and lives and works in San Francisco as a photographer. Some of his imagery from previous expeditions is at www.johnck.com.
click any photo to enlarge	Chris Morris, Wasilla, Alaska, Climber, age 33, began rock climbing at age 13. Growing up in the northern New Mexico mountains gave him many opportunities to hone his rock climbing skills. Chris climbed and guided professionally throughout the southwest for four years before moving to Alaska. He currently owns his own guiding business, Mountains and Rivers, which gives him the opportunity to run trips throughout North and South America. Guided trips include Aconcagua in Argentina, the mountains of the Alaska Range, Chugach and the Brooks Range. He also guides remote wilderness treks and the many rivers of the Alaskan Arctic. His interests include ice and rock climbing, mountain biking and boating.
	Michael O'Donnell Ouray, Colorado, Climber, age 43. Michael in one of the country's most respected mountain guides. He has spent a large part of his 30-year career at the forefront of big wall climbing. He has climbed and guided extensively in every major mountain range throughout the world. Michael, along with a select group including Royal Robbins and Pete Athens, was recently awarded The Honorary Guide Certificate by the American Mountain Guides Association. Michael was involved in Yosemite Search and Rescue and is a graduate of the comprehensive International Rigging for Rescue School located in British Colombia, Canada. He has climbed and guided on several Himalayan peaks. Along with Adrian and Alan Burgess, he made a bold attempt on the south face of Lhotse in 1983. He has also been involved with the British Everest West Ridge attempt in 1984. Michael has also been a consultant for many major motion picture productions. Michael is also the founder and Director of San Juan Mountain Guides one of the country's premier mountain guide services.
	Steve Gipe, Bozeman, Montana, Team Physician and Climber, age 50. Steve has worked as an emergency physician in Bozeman since 1984. He is medical advisor for the Bridger Bowl Pro Patrol, county search and rescue, and Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. He has been an active climber since fifteen,and worked in Wyoming as a course leader for the National Outdoor Leadership School for twelve years until 1979. He climbed Denali in 1990 as a volunteer park ranger, and was a climbing member on the 1994 Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition. This will be his fourth Himalayan climbing expedition.
	Pasquale "PV" Scaturro, Lakewood, Colorado, Expedition Leader and Climber, age 47. A veteran of seven Himalayan Expeditions including summits of Mt. Everest, Cho Oyu and Pumori, Pasquale has successfully climbed in the mountain regions of Pakistan, Russia. Iran, Europe, Africa, the Andes and North America. Pasquale also has over twenty years experience running and guiding white water rafting expeditions throughout the world and has logged a number of first descents of rivers in Africa. When not rafting or climbing, Pasquale works as an exploration geophysicist searching for oil and gas in the remotest parts of the world.
click any photo to enlarge	Kami Tenzing Sherpa, Khumjung, Nepal, Expedition Sirdar and Climber, age 39. Kami was born and raised in the Solu Khumbu area of Nepal and is a veteran of over 22 Himalayan expeditions, including Everest, Shishapangma, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Makalu, Pumori, and Putha Hiuuchuli. Kami has climbed with members of the team on Everest in 1998 and 1995 and Cho Oyu in 1997. He is married and has two children.
	Erik Weihenmayer, Englewood, Colorado, Climber, age 32. Erik is a speaker, writer, and world-class adventurer: an acrobatic skydiver and scuba diver, a long-distance biker and marathon runner, a skier and mountaineer, an ice climber and rock climber, who has scaled Mt. McKinley (1995), El Capitan (1996), Kilimanjaro (1997), and Aconcagua (Argentina - January 1999). What sets him apart, more than his adventurous bent, is that he is blind, but has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for an exciting and fulfilling life. Erik's feats have earned him Connecticut's Most Courageous Athlete Award, ESPN's ARETE Award for courage in sports, the Distinguished Arizonan Award, the Gene Autry Award, induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch through Phoenix. In July, he received the IDEA Award from the Association of Physical Fitness Professionals. When Erik is not climbing, he speaks to over 60 corporations and schools a year about not letting obstacles steer us away from the dreams of our lives. Erik has been featured in Life Magazine, People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Inside Edition, Hard Copy, 20/20, the Today Show, Good Morning America, American Closeup, the Discover and Learning Channel, and much more. On October 31, he was featured on the cover of Parade Magazine. Erik is has just finished his autobiography titled, "Touch the Top of the World, A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye can See", and has published articles in Climbing Magazine, two editions of Chicken Soup for the Soul, The American Journal of Medicine and Sports, and a variety of corporate catalogs and adventure web sites. More information about Erik and his new book can be found at www.touchthetop.com.
	Sherman Bull, New Canaan, Connecticut, Climber and Pysician, a.k.a “Brad’s dad.” Sherman has been on five previous Himalayan expeditions. He has reached Everest’s South Summit on two occasions (first with his son, Brad, in 1995). He summited Cho Oyu with PV in 1997 and has reached six of the seven summits. Everest remains his elusive goal. He has been on three Explorers Club flag expeditions to the high Arctic, including first ascents in Northern Elsimere’s British Empire Range. In addition, he has climbed in the Alps, Andes, Mexico, and the U.S. He has run seven marathons (best time 2:52) and an ultra-marathon. He enjoys century bike rides, scuba diving, and riding his Harley. In his real life he is a general surgeon in Stamford, CT, living nearby with his wife, Peg, and the youngest of his six children, Whitney.

click any photo to enlarge	Reba Bull, Base Camp Manager
	Kevin Cherilla, Base Camp Manager, age 32 from Phoenix, Arizona. Kevin grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and moved to the desert eight years ago from Cleveland, OH where he began rock climbing with the Arizona Mountaineering Club. He has been mountaineering for 12 years in the Andes, Cascades, Rockies and Sierras. Kevin's interests include ice and rock climbing, running, mountain biking and spending time with his wife and two children. Kevin earned his bachelors degree in exercise physiology from John Carroll University in 1991and has been an elementary and junior high physical education teacher for the past ten years, currently at Osborn Middle School. He is the owner of a health and wellness business, Summit Wellness, www.5pillars.com/summitwellness.
	Zachary German, Providence, Rhode Island, age 22. Zac is the sole remaining member of the Brown University research team that’s studying the effects of altitude on speech and cognition. He records the climbers’ speech as they go up the mountain and administers cognitive tests at each camp. Zac is an undergraduate at Brown, majoring in ecology and evolution with a focus on field research. In addition to his role as a researcher, Zac manages the communications in Base Camp while the climbers are on the mountain.
click any photo to enlarge	Maurice Peret, Base Camp Communications, age 35 from Baltimore, Maryland. A Rehabilitation Instructor for the blind at in Baltimore, Maurice, has been blind for nearly all of his life. Teaching computer and travel skills to blind students, using Braille in normal daily activities, a guitar playing and singing troubadour, and being the father of two children and husband to his wife Leigh Anne round out his life. Maurice considers the most important factor in his personal and professional growth to be his longtime membership and participation with the National Federation of the Blind. This experience has given him the most solid grounding in the confidence of being a capable and independent blind person. Maurice also enjoys swimming, weight lifting, long distance running and rapid walking. "The most important task before me is the responsibility to offer these opportunities to other people who are learning to manage their lives as independent blind people."

	Michael Brown, Boulder, Colorado, Filmmaker, age 35. Director of "Vision of Everest" and three time National Emmy Award winner for cinematography. Michael is a filmmaker first who took up adventure sports in the process of making films. Michael has participated in 21 international expeditions that have included first kayak descents of wild rivers, deep cave explorations, rock climbing, skiing and mountaineering. In May of 2000 Michael reached the summit of Mount Everest while making a film called "Everest Dreams" for NBC Sports. Michael is the president of Serac Adventure Films, a film and video production company specializing in expedition adventure films.
	Matthew Sanner, San Francisco, California, Media Technical Communications Manager and Photographer, age 35. Matthew started rock climbing while in Barcelona Spain. Since then he has mastered the art of falling from high places and still managing to survive. After moving to California he started tackling the major peaks of the lower 48 states. When he is not tramping around the Himalayas or the Sierras, he is reviewing digital cameras and looking for full-time employment. His photography can be seen at www.getoutside.net
click any photo to enlarge	Kim Johnson, Boulder, Colorado, age 35. Documentary filmmaker. Kim is the base camp camera person and production manager for "Vision of Everest," the documentary presently being produced about the NFB Everest Expedition by Newport Productions and Aperture Films and sponsored by Allegra. Kim has worked on a variety of international documentary film, live television and Web productions. Kim works in collaboration with Michael Brown at Serac Adventure Films. Kim is an avid outdoors enthusiast, enjoying trail running, rock climbing, telemark skiing, mountaineering and sea kayaking.
	Charley Mace, Golden, Colorado, Climber and Cameraman, age 42. This is the eighth Himalayan expedition for Charley. So far, he has summited three 8,000 meter peaks, but this is his first visit to Mount Everest. He was the first American to summit Manaslu (26,751’) and the Abruzzi Ridge of K2 (28,244’). He also successfully guided Gasherbrum II (26,355’). At home, Charley is the Finance Minister of Trango and Stonewear Designs, a manufacturer and distributor of climbing equipment and clothing. He is also the very proud father of three: Steven, Kelsey and Ben.

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