MOUNTAINEERING NEWS ITEM

Everest Adventure Exhibit at Science North

MONDAY, 30 APRIL 2007

MOUNT EVEREST, NEPAL – A Sudbury native and mountain climber has reached two more significant milestones on her attempt to summit the world’s tallest peak. Meagan McGrath arrived at Camp 1 on Monday, at an altitude of 5,900 metres or 19,500 feet. Camp 1 is considered to be the point at which a climber is officially “on” Mount Everest.

Meagan then continued her arduous journey up the mountain, arriving at Camp 2 on Wednesday at 6,500 meters or 21,300 feet. Nepal’s Mount Everest is 8848 metres (29,028 feet) tall at its peak.

To arrive at her current altitude, Meagan had to endure some very challenging conditions. She had to cross gaping crevasses on “double ladders” – two step ladders tied together with ropes and laid across giant fissures in the ice. She also had to endure sauna-like heat when the sun came out on the Khumbu Icefall. She compared the 6.5-hour climb to Camp 1 to alternating between a treadmill and trying to climb up the walls of a sauna.

The climb to Camp 2 was her biggest challenge yet – the increasing lack of oxygen and the need to ration water, the heat from the sun, the hazards of crossing crevasses on ladders and the weight of her pack all creating unique and potentially life-threatening challenges.

“On and on, and Camp 2 came into view, but I knew it was still forever away,” wrote Meagan in her latest dispatch from the mountain. “I would take few steps, and stop to rest. It is something you have to experience, to know how altitude affects you - you get weak, and there is a lack of energy that is totally foreign. That's why it is so necessary to come here strong, so that you feel the weakness less.”

The climb only becomes more challenging from this point. Once Meagan feels she has acclimatized to the altitude at Camp 2, she will ascend the Lhotse face on fixed ropes up to Camp 3, located on a small ledge at 7,470 meters (24,500 feet). From there, it is another 500 meters to Camp 4 on the South Col at 7,920 meters (26,000 feet). It is from Camp 4 that she will attempt her “summit push”. The timing of her summit attempt is unknown at this point since many factors including weather and the physical condition of a climber can affect the timing.

Meagan is a 29-year old Sudburian, and a Captain in the Canadian Air Force. She is an aerospace engineer and works at the Air Force Experimentation Centre in Ottawa. As a child, Meagan regularly visited Science North and was a regular participant in Science North's summer camps and programs…and that inspired her to pursue a career in science.

Meagan calls herself an adventurer. She has already climbed six of the seven tallest continental summits. Mount Everest (the 7th Summit) is her latest challenge. If she is successful in climbing the world’s tallest peak, she will be the first Canadian Forces member (male or female) and the youngest Canadian female to achieve the Seven Summits.

Visit travelvideo.tv for more details about this news story.

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