Follow the first Dominican expedition to climb Mount Everest in the Himalayas

[Robert]

The latest report is that the team of Ivan Gomez, Karim Mella, Federico Jovine and their assistants Dr. Julio de Pena, Juvenal Brenes and the filming team arrived at 5am Dominican time to the Khumbu Ice Falls base camp in Nepal. Their support team is Excelsior Group. It took them an entire day hike to get to the base camp. The team reports it gets colder as they climb and at the time of the report it was snowing. They say they have adapted to the height, and they are only tired of the monotonous breakfast of fried eggs with bread.

[Dolores]

Federico Jovine, Ivan Gomez and Karim Mella are the first Dominicans to attempt to scale Mount Everest as part of a project to climb seven of the world's highest mountains since 2004 known as Siete Cimas. The mountaineers on 27 March began the climb by spending a month's training at the three camps at Mount Everest to acclimatize their body to the extreme temperatures.
The hike is programmed for 10 May. The 8,850-meter mountain is the highest in the world. "Whoever starts the hike using their own feet needs to come down the same way," they said. The bodies of climbers who died in the attempt can be seen along the climb.

The group has already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa's highest mountain at 5,895 meters or 19,341 ft (2005), Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain in the Americas at 6,962m (22,841 ft (2006) and Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in the Russian Caucasus at 5,642 meters (18,510 ft) (2009). They got their start in mountaineering locally practicing at the Duarte Peak, the highest in the Caribbean at 10,000 ft -- Ivan Gomez has 47 ascents, Federico Jovine has 52 ascents, and Karim Mella has 47 ascents.

The budget for the 2011 climb is RD$11,340,000. The registration fee alone for each climber is US$25,000.

Previously, climbers from Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Puerto Rico from Latin America and the Caribbean have climbed Mt. Everest.

expedicionarios01.jpg

[Frank the Tank]

Way cool. I wish them luck. It is not a trip for the weak or faint of heart.

[AZB]

The santo domingo chiropractor also had a small hand in this mission. hahahaha.
Thanks to him, one of the members is going to be in better shape.
AZB

[Hillbilly]

Sorry but to me it is a waste of good money. I am sorry, but After Hillary and Tsing, I really do not care. The place is now a junk pile of discarded oxygen bottles and a cemetery for the weak..

I hope they are safe and return, because I would not wish them harm..

HB, the curmudgeon

[frank recktenwald]

The latest report is that the team of Ivan Gomez, Karim Mella, Federico Jovine and their assistants Dr. Julio de Pena, Juvenal Brenes and the filming team arrived at 5am Dominican time to the Khumbu Ice Falls base camp in Nepal. Their support team is Excelsior Group. It took them an entire day hike to get to the base camp. The team reports it gets colder as they climb and at the time of the report it was snowing. They say they have adapted to the height, and they are only tired of the monotonous breakfast of fried eggs with bread.

Send them some coditos with some tomato sauce they'd really feel at home

[Mr_DR]

Hahaha, even on Mt Everest we may be dancing merengue if god is willing.

[ExtremeR]

I've become an Everest Junkie after I read this news and the only think I can ask is for GOD to take of them on their JOURNEY as a lot of people has lost their life trying to reach the Everest Summit or lost primordial extremities (eg. Beck Weathers, awesome bravery story right there).

Muchachos con Dios delante nada es Imposible! Claven esa bandera en ese pico Coño que yo confio en ustedes!!!

PS: Guys, plz read "Into Thin Air" "The Climb" & watch the 1998 IMAX Masterpiece "Everest". Then you'll have a live footage to compare against...

[dms3611]

With luck they will get pictures of the "Yeti" .......................

[Robert]

Mountain climbers Ivan Gomez and Karim Mella successfully completed the second round of acclimatization as they prepare to hit the last trek to climb Mount Everest in mid May. They climbed from Base Camp at 5,400 meters on 22 March and crossed the dangerous Khumbu Ice Fall, a frozen snowfall known for its immense glaciers. The ascent needs to be made at dawn before the sun rays make the platform unstable and susceptible to avalanches. They have also climbed to base camp no. 2 at 6,500 meters, crossing a crack of 30 meters depth using a ladder of five sections placed by the expert sherpa guides. There they dealt with the difficult conditions of high altitude, where the amount of oxygen is a third less than at sea level. The third climber, Federico Jovine was affected by bronchitis, but expects to resume the climb this week.