Russell Brice

Russell Reginald Brice , (born July 3, 1952 ) is a New Zealand mountaineer and executive owner of the expedition company Himalayan Experience (Himex). He climbed the Himal Chuli , Manaslu , Mount Everest twice and Cho Oyu nine times . In 1988 he and Harry Taylor were the first to climb the so-called " Three Pinnacles " on the northeast ridge of Everest, which are inaccessible east of the normal route .

North face of Mt.Everest
green: normal route from the north with high camps at approx. 7700 and 8300 m
purple: lower northeast ridge with the Three Pinnacles , first ascent of H. Taylor and R. Brice
† ₂ : site of David Sharp

Mount Everest from the east
green: normal route north
red: northeast ridge (12), Three Pinnacles (8)

Brice has been leading expeditions to the Himalayas since 1974 . Together with Peter Athans , he is considered the most experienced expedition leader on Everest.

He became known in the media when his 2006, 2007 and 2009 expeditions on Everest were filmed by the Discovery Channel for the television series Everest: Beyond the Limit .

criticism

In May 2006, Brice was part of the controversy surrounding the death of British David Sharp, who died while filming the documentary Everest - Game with the Death of the Discovery Channel. Sharp had only bought minimal support with little oxygen and a Sherpa from another company ( Asian Trekking ) for his summit ambitions . He had been on the summit the day before. On the descent from the summit, however, his strength failed. Due to exhaustion on the “First Step” on the northeast ridge at an altitude of approx. 8500 meters. He was left alone by his accompanying Sherpa on the instructions of the team leader so that he could get to safety. Sharp had used up all of his oxygen. He suffered frostbite in the freezing, windy night and passed out the next morning.

Nearly 50 climbers passed him early in the morning. Brice's team also passed the dying Sharp on the climb to the summit. At that time, Brice himself was on the North Col at an altitude of 7,000 meters and then observed his team with a telescope in daylight. This team and Brice were later heavily criticized in the media and by Edmund Hillary for abandoning the British and doing nothing to save him. Brice's justification that a rescue could not be carried out at this height is in contrast to the fact that in 2001 two climbers from Russell Brice's expedition group from Eric Simonson's expedition came from a much more difficult and higher position - namely from the third step - were saved.

Web links

• Russell Brice in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Himalayan Experience website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Russell Brice Mountain Guide . Himalayan Experience (BVI) Ltd, archived from the original on November 8, 2006 ; accessed on September 9, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).  
2. ↑ The most shameful act in the history of mountaineering: "Everest: Beyond the Limit" airs Tuesday . Explorersweb , accessed May 12, 2019 .  
3. ^ Reflections on Everest 2006 . Himalayan Experience (BVI) Ltd, archived from the original on June 17, 2006 ; accessed on September 9, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).  
4. ↑ Tom McKinlay : Wrong to let climber die, says Sir Edmund . In: New Zealand Herald . NZME. Publishing , May 24, 2006, accessed May 12, 2019 .