Peter Athans

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Peter "Pete" Athans (born March 1, 1957 ) is an American mountaineer.

Life

Athans is one of the most famous high altitude climbers in the world. He became known as the only non-Sherpa to have climbed Mount Everest seven times . He got the unofficial honorary title "Mr. Everest ”, and its nickname is“ Seven ”after the number of its summit climbs. Meanwhile, other non-Sherpas have surpassed him in the number of summit climbs. (For comparison: The Sherpa Kami Rita holds the record of most ascents of Mount Everest with 22 ascents, as of May 2018.)

On his first attempt in 1985, Pete Athans tried to climb Everest over the west ridge. It failed, and further attempts in 1986, 1987 and 1989 also failed. In 1990, on an expedition with Scott Fischer and Wally Berg, he was successful for the first time.

Pete Athans has participated in 16 expeditions to Mt. Everest in 18 years. He is one of the many Himalaya - mountain guide , the Nepal adopted as their second home and the Sherpa and their culture learned to appreciate.

Rescue missions and prices

In 1996 he was one of the key participants in the rescue operation for several mountaineers in the accident on Mount Everest in May 1996, which is described in Jon Krakauer's book "In icy heights". Two commercial and two other expeditions got into a snowstorm high up near the summit late on the afternoon of May 10, 1996, a situation that is not unusual on eight-thousanders, but which was caused by incorrect assessments, a chain of carelessness and bad luck, by a lack of ambition and competitive situations ultimately caused the death of 12 climbers.

Athans is also the winner of the “David A. Sowles Award”: presented by the American Alpine Club. This award is given to mountaineers who stand out for their willingness to take personal risk and help other mountaineers in life-threatening situations: In 1996, Athans showed great sympathy and commitment when he was involved in the rescue of the American Beck Weathers and the Taiwanese Gau Ming Ho ( "Makalu" Gau) participated in one of the deadliest Mount Everest climbing seasons.

The next year, Athans recovered the body of Bruce Herrod, a British climber who had died after being completely exhausted and hours after a normal turnaround time, hopelessly entangled in fixed ropes on Hillary Step during the slow descent . Athans brought down his camera and took the ice ax to hand over to his widow.

Athans received the “Golden Baton Award” from Columbia University-DuPont for journalism: The production team for the film “Everest: Into the Death Zone” received this valuable award in the spring of 1997.

He is a laureate of the “Explorers Club” and in 2005 received the “Tenzing Norgay Prize”.

Employment

Pete Athans has worked as an expedition leader for commercial climbing companies for years , preferably on Mount Everest. After climbing Everest for the seventh time, he renounced his own summit ambitions. He manages the team from the base camps.

Participation in films

  • The Vision and the View (Light in the Himalayas), Himalayan Cataract Project / The North Face / Rush
  • Survival on Everest: 50 Years of Exploration, a National Geographic special. Peter assisted with scripting, filming, videography at high altitude and editing the film.
  • The High Route to Tibet: A National Geographic film documenting 30 years of adventure and exploration by Joseph Rock, the most knowledgeable traveler about Tibet and China. Peter Athans plays in the film and worked with the production team.
  • Explorers in the Ice: A National Geographic film that shows the exposure and fear of climbers in the Khumbu Icefall. Peter Athans assisted the production team.
  • Everest: The Mountain in the Millennium, an NBC and American Adventure production in collaboration with the group "The North Face". This program documents a small team of scientists and mountaineers who measure the height and movement of Everest. Peter Athans led the expedition, served as a performer and assisted the production team.
  • Everest: Into the Dead Zone: Peter Athans recorded a high-altitude video for his award-winning Boston for Nova program showing the difficulties of climbing at extreme altitudes along a two-month expedition to Everest.
  • Seven years in Tibet: a film adaptation by Mandalay Productions. A classic story of exploration and self-exploration, written in 1953 by Heinrich Harrer . Peter Athans worked with the reserve film crew in locations in Tibet.
  • The Dark Side of Everest: This film from Great North Productions (for National Geographic in Great Britain) examines the ethics and interaction of mountaineers in the death zone on Everest.