Thomas Hornbein

[Wheezle]

Thomas Hornbein will be giving a talk entitled "Adventures in Himalayan Mountaineering", January 23rd in Bellingham. Info at:

http://www.bellinghammountaineers.org

[catbirdseat]

I had heard that all his Everest West Ridge slides were stolen when he was in Brazil a couple of years ago. Hopefully he has been able to restore his collection.

[girlclimber]

thanks for the heads-up. i think i'm too cheap to pay 25 bucks to hear someone talk though

[rbw1966]

He's doing a slideshow tonight in Portland. I'll post a review tomorrow.

[catbirdseat]

thanks for the heads-up. i think i'm too cheap to pay 25 bucks to hear someone talk though

I think it is a banquet. The price includes food.

[girlclimber]

you're right. but i'm picky

[rbw1966]

In Portland, the show is a fundraiser. I don't mind supporting a worthy cause and listening to a guy spray about his impressive accomplishments. Its tax-deductible.

[rbw1966]

The 'slide show' was opened by the daughter of David Brower (sorry, I don't recall her name) who is a scholar on Yaks and gave a rather interesting presentation on Sherpa history and the environmental impact of yaks following the increase of tourism to Everest base camp.

 

After a short break Thomas Hornbein gave his presentation. While light on the slides and long on the direct readings I found it interesting--what I could hear. He wasn't talking into the mic and mumbled a bit from time to time making it extremely difficult for old guys like myself who've blasted their hearing from gunfire and loud music. I particularly found it touching when he talked about the loss of his teamates over the years.

 

The food was real good. The beer in the conference room was ridiculously expensive ($5.75 for a 12oz bottle of mirror pond) but Shredder quickly turned me onto the fact that you could walk down to the bar and get a pint of Terminal Gravity IPA for $4.50.

 

A good time for a good cause. Two thumbs up from me.