Pat Falvey Irish and Worldwide Adventures



	Previous news updates To view current news updates click here ------------------------------------------------------------ Kilimanjaro The Irish 7 summit Kilimanjaro expedition was successful yesterday as 15 of the 16 team stood on the highest point in the African continent. For a report on the expedition check in, in a few days. Irish 7 Summit team are successful on Meru ( 4565 Metres). A team of 17 Irish climbers have successfully summited Mt. Meru in Africa in preparation for their attempt on Kilimanjaro. The team consisting of Maria Clarke, Pamela Coleman, Anthony Crone, Lar Fant, Kevin Kelly, Seamus Mc Namara, Mary Mc Dermott, Damian Nation, Tony Nation, Killian O Brien, Colette Real, Irene Scott, Padraig Shelly, Joanna Traynor, Joe O'Leary and Pat Falvey left Ireland on Thursday June 23rd. They stayed overnight in Nairobi and then travelled to Moshi. On Saturday the team went to Arusha and the start of their acclimatisation climb on Meru. The team were escorted by armed guards for most of this climb as there is an abundance of wildlife in this area. The climb to the summit of Meru took 3 days. All of the team are well and are resting today in preparation for their attempt on Kilimanjaro which begins tomorrow. ------------------------------------------------------------ Report on Denali The summit was sweet after a tough period of waiting. Patience was the name of the game, respect of this great mountain was called for. Denali tested our resolve and challenged our frustration. News Update Denali - Summit success for Irish seven summit team, 15/06/2005 At 11.00hrs on June15 (20.00hrs GMT), five of six members of the team summitted Denali. The members were Pat Falvey, Ger Mc Donnell, Dr. Clare O Leary, John Roche and John Dowd. John Carey had returned to base after sitting out 10 days of bad weather at camp 5. The team sat out 13 days of bad weather at camp 5 (14,200 feet) where temperatures plummeted to minus 27 degrees celsius (at night in the tent) and wind speeds reached 30-50 miles per hour. June 15 was d-day; work / travel commitments were pressing and we could no longer afford to stay on the mountain; our choice was to go for the summit or lose it. Anxiety was building as the countdown began - the weather had been frustrating and had tested our patience to the last; although tired, each of the team was really keen for a successful summit and to have to turn without any real opportunity would have been devastating. Forecasts had become more disillusioning daily until finally, a glimmer of hope for a weather window came through. Excitement built quickly; we were ready and waiting. At 4am we woke to clear skies; the winds had abated and we knew this was our chance. In high spirits, we set out on an amazingly beautiful climb. We were the first team on the move that morning and so had the luxury of enjoying a peaceful summit bid. Luck was finally on our side. Snow conditions were favourable, there was almost no wind and the temperatures were bearable; the sky was clear and we could see for miles across the spectacular Alaskan Range. We moved well and together successfully reached the summit (20,320ft) of what is reputed to be the stormiest, windiest and coldest mountain in the world - the highest mountain in the North American Continent. A mountain know to the locals and the world as Denali, (the great white one) Success for Clare This is the fourth successful summit of Clare's seven summit challenge. She aims to become the first Irish Female to complete this challenge. Only 15 women world wide have so far succeeded in this objective. This is Pat's second time in the pursuit of this objective. He first completed it in 1996 when he became the 38th person in the world to achieve this. On this occasion, he is in support of Clare as team leader and logistical organizer. Few people in the world have completed this objective twice. Previous summits: Everest Aconcagua Kilimanjaro And now Denali We wish to thank our team mate and Everest summitteer Ger McDonnell for his great contribution to the success of this expedition. We woul d also like to thank Annie for all her help while in Alaska. They are a great couple, with an even greater spirit. Ger is also a member of the Irish Beyond Endurance Expedition to the Antarctic. This was a great opportunity for the team to work together. See http://www.beyondendurance.ie/ for more information on what will be without doubt one of the greatest expeditions ever to leave Ireland. A tough Descent 36 hours of a torturous, toe bashing, down hill descent, pulling sleds and hauling rucksacks. The rush was on. Our flight was leaving Anchorage at 17:25hrs Friday June 17th and here we were on the summit of North America's highest mountain on June 15th. Not wanting to miss our flights and have to buy new tickets, the pressure was great. Pat was to be in Africa on June 23rd for yet on another climb on Kilimanjaro. The rest of the group had work commitments. There was no time to waste, no time to enjoy the glory of the summit, the drive was on for home. The punishing descent was long and physically draining; we came from high Camp (20,320ft) to Camp Honda (Base Camp) at 7,200 ft in one day having had little or no sleep for 3 days. After leaving the summit, we rested at camp 6 for three hours then started to descend the serrated ridge to camp 5 along the west buttress, we came down the 700 feet of fixed rope to camp 5 where we had a brew of tea and noodles. We then dismantled camp 5 and repacked all gear into our sleds and rucksacks before making the push around Windy Corner and down Motor Cycle Hill. We collected our cache from camp 4 at the bottom of this slushy hill. The sleds and packs weighed heavily with all our gear and waste. We travelled as two rope teams; Ger and John Dowd and Pat, Clare and John Roche. John Dowd and Ger forged ahead. The midday sun baked down and dehydration set in on the long push. We needed to keep going despite our exhaustion; there was no time to stop and rest. We didn't even eat. It took a further 10 hours before we finally ascended Heartbreak Hill and arrived at Base Camp Honda. Ger and John Dowd arrived two hours ahead of the rest of the team on June 16th at 20:00hrs and managed to catch the final Ski-plane from Base camp Honda to Talkeetna that evening. It was soul destroying for us arriving just late for the final flight off the glacier and having to turn around and erect the tent, melt more snow and eat yet another dehydrated meal. Our parched throats hurt, our feet were blistered, their skin macerated and our faces burnt. It was 1.30am before we got to finally rest and we were up again at 6am. At 08:00hrs on 17th June, Air Talkeena arrived to pick Pat, Clare and John Roche up from the glacier. It was no doubt one of the most beautiful mornings of the expedition. We packed into the small ski-plane aircraft and headed down the eastern fork of the glacier. Denali towered above us in the morning sun as we flew down the Glacier, over One Shot Pass then along the Talkeetna river to Talkeetna on an amazing one hour flight. We unpacked our gear and sorted it out for home, then three hours later packed into Ger's jeep and Annie's Volkswagon van for the three hour journey to Anchorage. There we hopped on a 1500 mile flight to Seattle, changed flights for the 3500 mile flight to New York and 10 minutes after our arrival there caught our final connection for the remaining 3500 miles to Dublin. We arrived there at 06.45hrs on Sunday morning June 19, 2005, completely exhausted from our ordeal. We had put our bodies under severe pressure from the 14th of June with little or no sleep in the six days since we had summitted. This was an excellent expedition, one that tested our stamina and our friendships to the limits and once again we all rose to the occasion. Mountains are special places to be in and to work in; the bonds and friendships that are formed amongst these beautiful places last forever in a very special way. Report by Pat Falvey and Clare O'Leary ------------------------------------------------------------ Irish 7 summit team is still stuck at 17,400 ft waiting for a break in weather so that they can move to the summit. They have spent the last 7 days sitting out this storm in -20 Degree C weather, 50 Mile an Hour winds and tons of snow. Their food rations would have expired by now but on Saturday there was a brief break in the weather and as most teams were deciding to leave the Mountain our team borrowed and purchased any excess food that these teams had. They are hoping for a break in the weather today so that they can make a summit attempt. Because of work commitments the team realise that if they cannot get a chance at the summit today they will have to leave the Mountain without having the chance to stand on its summit. The story to far... 23-May the team leaves Ireland for their flights to Anchorage Alaska. 24-May the team spend the day finalizing their equipment, food and permit applications. 25-May The team travel to Talkeetna and visit the national park, here each team member was interviewed about their previous experience and training achieved in preparation for the climb. They also book in their luggage for the flight onto the glacier. 26-May They flew to Kahiltna Airstrip. Only 4-seater aircraft are able to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier, so it took several flights to get the entire team to Kahiltna airstrip. This is a wonderful flight, taking off from the Alaskan plain and flying over forest and tundra and on up to the mountains. This is the first time they were able to appreciate the awesome scale of the Alaskan Range, as you fly past mountainsides only a few wingspans away, until breaking through to the vast Kahiltna Glacier. Here they got their first good views of Denali. After landing they packed all of the food, equipment, tents stoves etc into sleds and rucksacks and began the journey to base camp. 27-May Today was their first day on the Mountain and they succeeded in doing their first Load carry to 8,000ft camp at North East Fork Junction. 28-May Today the team packed up all of the extra food, fuel, and extra equipment as they moved up the mountain to set up camp at 8000ft. 29-May Today the team carried a load to the camp at 11,000ft. Today's climbing involved a long haul up "ski hill" to the head of the Kahiltna Glacier. The route then bears right up the actual West Buttress of Denali. From here, the climb became considerably more interesting! Before returning to 8000ft. 30-May Today was hard work the altitude and the fact that the team have been moving everyday took its toll. They eventually arrived at 11,000ft tired and decided on a rest day tomorrow. 31-May The team re-organised supplies and established a cache for snowshoes. Any unwanted items of equipment and several days of food and fuel will also be left at this camp for the descent. Above this camp, the terrain becomes steeper and it is a long day to the next camp. The team will therefore need to travel as lightly as possible. 1-June The team moves up onto the West Buttress. The initial snow and ice slope curls its way around rock buttresses and is known as Motorcycle Hill. This leads to a large basin beneath Windy Corner (13,000ft). We were able to get a load to 13,000 ft before returning to our camps truly exhausted. 2-June Move up and establish camp just around Windy Corner. 3-June The team carried a cache to the base of the Headwall at 14,200ft. This is a very large but busy campsite, which is the main springboard for summit assaults. 4-June The team moved up and established camp at 14,200ft. 5-June Rest day. Again, loads were sorted out and a cache will be left for the descent. It was such a nice day that the team decided to do some practice on the headwall. 6-June Carry a cache up to 17,200ft and locate the site for the top camp. This is the best day of climbing on the route. The Headwall involves around 800ft of 40° ice climbing (fixed with ropes) and the ridge crest above provides really enjoyable airy climbing in a fabulous setting. On the way back to camp at 14,2000ft we could see the bad weather approaching. 7-June There is a storm on the way and the team spent the day fortifying their campsite. The day was spent shaping the snow into blocks and building walls of these around the campsite. Our little site is called Tir Na Nog, this storm looks like a big one and we need to make our campsite as secure as possible. . 8-June The storm beat our tents with 50 Mile an hour winds, laden with tons of snow, we had cycles of digging out the tents to make sure we wouldn’t suffocate. 9-June We are not going anywhere today. The temperature is reading at –15 degrees Celsius, the winds are whipping the snow and our tents with great force. 10-June Another storm day spent re fortifying our campsite and trying to not get frustrated with the delay. 11-June Today the weather is a bit better so we are going to move to 17,200ft. If the break in weather continues we can make a go for the summit from there. 12-June Rest day today in preparation for our Summit bid tomorrow. . 13-June We started out this morning but the high winds and freezing conditions forced us to turn. One of our team has made the decision to get as low as possible and to move off the Mountain. The rest of us have decided to sit it out. 14th June No break in the weather today. Our summit options are quickly disappearing before our eyes. ----------------------------------------------------------- Norway April 20th to 26th The final winterskills week in Norway was the best week away I have had in a long time. I hadn’t laughed so much since I was a kid. The week began with a very early start and an argument with a taxi driver in Dublin airport. Everbody arrived on time and we had an uneventful check in and flights. On arrival in Norway we were met by one of our guides, Bjorn. Bjorn is your typical Norwegian, tall blond, strong and very endearing...well myself and Mary thought so anyway. Our journey to Sirdal took us on ferry and road among some breathtaking scenery. After a short while we started the climb into the Mountains, frozen lakes and a winter wonderland. Our Mountain lodge was set in an idyllic landscape made from wood and it had a wood burning stove. Our guides made a fantastic meal of hunter’s stew, which contained reindeer and wild berries. Our first day began with an introduction to Nordic skiing. This was done on a flat piece of land outside the lodge, to us beginners it was a hill. After at least a hundred falls in the first hour I slowly began to be able to stay upright until I needed to stop. This it seems isn’t very important when you can choose to just throw yourself to the ground. After a few hours of falling over we set off on a mini expedition on the skis. This I have to say was the most exhilarating and funny experience of the trip. We were like a bunch of skittles on uneven ground and fell over much to the amusement of everyone else. But after a short while we were brave enough on take on our first downhill and onto the flat of the lake. We returned to the lodge feeling very tired, battered and bruised. The sun and beer went along way in making these ailments fade. Our second day was a day of skills training in ropeskills, crampons, ice axe etc. We travelled on snow shoes to an ice and snow crag not far from our lodge and got to spend the day climbing this. Our third day was a 15 km trek on skis across the mountains. This involved skiing uphill, down hill on flat and generally in a heap as we continued to fall over practically on every downhill section. After Lunch Tim and Alan took on th e Norwegians and built a snow cave in 50 minutes. The given time was a few hours, Tim swears next time he will bring his own shovel. The next 2 days were spent technical training on fixed rope techniques and glacier travel techniques. With almost real crevasse rescue sessions. The sun shone all week and our group were full of laughter, bruises and very fond memories of our winter week in Norway. Scotland Winter course March 2005 Despite the lack of real Winter conditions our skills training in Scotland went off very well. We stayed at the beautifull Nevis Bank hotel which is situated in Fort William and is the ideal location for our week. The first day was spent in one of the corries learning the basics of moving roped together, walking in crampons, using ice axe and we had some great fun learning how to ice axe arrest. This made the walk in all the more worthwhile. The next few days were spent in a haze of great days out making the most of the weather and the day that it was particularly bad we went to the ice climbing wall in Kinlochleven. This was a great day spent learning the ropeskills required in the comfort of the climbing wall as well as having some time actually ice climbing. Unfortunately we did not get to the summit of Ben Nevis because with the wet snow there was too much of an avalanche risk. Since Pats return from Aconcagua he has been motivating Ireland’s workforce with his lectures at Dell, Diageo, the Irish Farmers Association , the NATC, the Chartered Institute Personnel Development, GlaxoSmiykKleine, Ernst and Young and National Geographic. --------------------------------------------------------------- News update from Irish Seven Summits challenge Newsflash - Tuesday 11th January 2005 SUMMIT SUCCESS FOR PAT FALVEY AND THE IRISH 7 SUMMIT ACONCAGUA EXPEDITION At 1600 local time on Monday the 10th of January 8 members of the Irish Seven Summit Aconcagua expedition summited the 7000 Metre Giant. The team endured a very tough summit day with high winds and temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius. All of the team members are now back at base camp and feeling well. Today the team begin their journey back to civilisation and are due back in Ireland January 17th. Congratulations to all the team members from all of the home based team. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsflash - Monday, January 10th, 2005 PAT FALVEY AND THE IRISH 7 SUMMIT EXPEDITION MEMBERS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE SUMMIT OF ACONCAGUA. Early this morning the Irish team of 17 climbers left their tents at camp 2 for their first Summit attempt on Aconcagua. Aconcagua Mountain is the highest peak of the Southern Hemisphere and the highest Mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas, it is known as the Everest of the Southern Hemisphere. It stands at 6972 Metres and is well known for it's atrocious weather. The team members will have experienced winds of up to 90 Km per hour and temperatures as low as -35 Degrees Celsius to get to this point.The team had been stuck in camp 1(5000 Metres) for 3 Days and only got to camp 2 on Sunday. The weather for today is good so they have made the decision to go for it. The Summit push will involve from 8 to 12 hours of continuous strenuous walking before they reach the Summit. Team members include Mary Casey, Eoin Cleary, Gerry Cooke, John Delaney, Deirdre Harte, Martin Hennessy, Sheila Kavanagh, Richard Mc Carthy, Donal McGrath, John O'Mahony, Mark Orr, Joe Queally, Eanna Tynan, Gerry McDonnell, Katie O'Connor, Dave Roche and Pat Falvey. For further updates contact Gillian Roche on 086-3883133 or 021-4876770 or send us an email. --------------------------------------------------------------- All of the team are doing well, and the conditions on the mountain are so far very good. Team members include Mary Casey, Eoin Cleary, Gerry Cooke, John Delaney, Deirdre Harte, Martin Hennessy, Sheila Kavanagh, Richard McCarthy, Donal Mc Grath, John O'Mahony, Mark Orr, Joe Queally, Eanna Tynan, Gerry McDonnell, Katie O Connor, Dave Roche and Pat Falvey. Everybody arrived safe and well in Mendoza after a non-eventful flight. There were a few bags missing but that is almost to be expected these days. The team enjoyed 2 relaxing days arranging climbing permits, tracking the lost bags and clearing the many barrel’s shipped in advance containing the tents, stoves, food and many other pieces of expedition equipment. On December 30th the team left Mendoza for the mountain. The 31st of December saw the team on their first days walking. Today gave us an unexpected and very welcome rain shower, and this shower cooled the temperatures for a while and made life a little easier. After we set up camp our Muleteers entertained us with a BBQ and Pat produced the wine and champagne necessary to ring in the New Year. January 1st. Today began with a hangover like everywhere else in world. We had a very long walk but it was worth it when we got our first views of Aconcagua. The mountain was framed perfectly between the surrounding mountains. January 2nd. Today we had another long day with big height gain to get to base camp. Base camp will be our home while on the mountain so we did our best to make it as comfortable as possible. January 3rd. Today is a rest day. Yippee! tea and chocolate all day long. January 4th. Today we did our first carry to camp 1 at 5000 metres. It was slow but great. We got our first glimpse of the Penitites, these amazing ice formations, found only in the Andes. Everyone is feeling well and looking forward to our rest day tomorrow. January 5. Rest day today was spent organising our equipment and food for higher on the Mountain. January 6th. Today we move to camp 1. --------------------------------------------------------------- Pat Falvey announces a series of upcoming Irish Expeditions for 2005/2006 Wanted: support team members for Irish 7 Summits Challenge: Clare O'Leary and Pat Falvey have announced their intention to climb on each of the Seven continents of the world. Pat has already completed this Challenge in 1997 and is now hoping to do so for the second time as expedition leader for the Irish 7 Summits Challenge. Team members can join in one or more of the adventures as we travel to the highest, coldest and loneliest places on earth. This challenge is not only about climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents but travelling and learning about the people that we meet on our journey. We invite people of similar mind to partake in the Irish Seven Summits Challenge. People can join in on one or all of the journeys to climb each of the seven continental high points by contacting the expedition leader or calling 064 44181 Upcoming dates for 7 summits Aconcagua, Argentina - 26 December 2004 - 20 days Mt McKinley/North America - May 2005 Kilimanjaro/Africa - June 2005 Elbrus /Europe-Russia - July 2005 Vinson/Antarctica - November 2005 Kosciosku/Australia - December 2005 Sub Continent Challenge Carstensz/Austral-Asia - December 2005 --------------------------------------------------------------- Beyond Endurance - August update We are presently in ongoing negotiations with a production company to secure a TV series of this expedition to help us bring out the unsung heroes of our Irish Antarctica history. We have delayed all assessment of those wishing to partake for a further month as this will be beneficial to those wishing to raise sponsorship for the expedition if we get a documentary series for the ongoing training, assessment and running of the expedition. Our intention is to start training sessions and assessments in October/November 2004. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Irish Wyeth Everest Expedition 2004 We are now winding down from our hectic schedule of press, TV and Radio commitment in relation to the expedition. Film Still ongoing negotiations to have a film cut on this, we will keep you updated as we receive any news. Freddy's new book Due to the pressure of time, we have decided to wait until after Christmas. I would like to thank all of you who have followed the adventures of the Irish Wyeth Everest Expedition this year. It has been an amazing success and I was humbled by the amount of following that we received not alone here in Ireland but around the world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Award for Clare Clare receives 'Best Of Irish' honour. Dr Clare O'Leary was recently presented with the award by Ger Colleran, editor of the Star Newspaper, for her achievement of becoming the First Irish Female to reach the summit of Everest with expedition leader Pat Falvey on the 18th of May 2004. She commented that standing on the summit of Everest was like winning a gold medal at the Olympics. " I was so proud to be there with Pat and the Sherpas, shivers ran up my back, and it was as if the hairs on my head where electrified as I stood on that patch of sacred ground the size of a kitchen table five and a half miles high in the sky. Tears of joy rolled down my face as I stood in awe of our achievement. For a short time in the history of our planet, two Irish people, Pat and I, were the highest people on earth. Together we held our tri-colour high with pride. We were so proud to be Irish and I was so proud to be the first Irish woman to stand on top of the world. One of the greatest moments of my life". -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corrán Tuathail Challenge I just want to say well done to the Wyeth team who partook on the Corrán Challenge on the 23th of August, for them it was their Everest. Keep up the climbing lads! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alps Zermatt A group of friends and Pat have just returned from a great 10 days walking and climbing in Zermatt in Switzerland, their main objective was for a traverse of the Matherorn but due to the mountain being out of condition and too dangerous for the climb they decided to return on another date to do the traverse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spórt Corrán Tuathail Ireland's leading outdoor adventure shop has expanded and now presents it's new Patagonia outlet. Visit www.sct.ie for more details. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pumori- First Irish Ascent by Kerry climbers We want to congratulate Mick Long and Aidan Forde on their great success of reaching the summit of Pumori (7,161 metres). Pumori is 10km west of Mt Everest, above the Khumbu Glacier. It was named Pumori by Mallory on the 1921 reconnaissance Expedition, after his daughter. It was first climbed in 1962 by a Swiss German team Via the NE Ridge. Well done lads! Back to top