Just days from the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt Everest, by Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand climbers are continuing to achieve some major milestones on the world's highest mountain.
The Otago Daily Times yesterday reported Mr Staples' New Zealand record-making ninth ascent of Everest while guiding for Wanaka's Adventure Consultants. Queenstown climber Mark Woodward remains on track to equal that record today if his Himalayan Experience expedition's summit bid is successful.
After returning to Everest Camp 4 from the summit on Tuesday night (NZ time, 11am Nepal time), Mr Staples and Swedish client Thomas Stromstedt rested for about 16 hours before setting off on their Lhotse climb. Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col.
Adventure Consultants marketing manager Tania Pilkinton said Mr Staples' goal was not to accomplish the two summits within a certain time frame or to break any records, but rather to enable his client to achieve the double summit. Mr Stromstedt decided he was up to the challenge after the pair returned from their Everest climb.
They got to the top of Lhotse about 4pm (NZ time) yesterday. Their summit-to-summit journey took 26 hours, within the previous fastest New Zealand time for the feat set just two days earlier by Mr Staples' co-worker, Mike Roberts, of Wanaka.
Mr Roberts was to guide a private client on Mt Everest this month for Adventure Consultants, but his client left Everest a couple of weeks ago because of severe foot pain. Mr Roberts decided to stay on and gained a Lhotse climbing permit so he and Tendi Sherpa could tackle the double Everest-Lhotse climb, which they completed on Sunday in 35 hours. Their goal had been to finish within 24 hours, but Mr Roberts became involved with a rescue operation on Lhotse in between climbs, which delayed his Lhotse departure.
The Adventure Consultants Lhotse group expedition - including guide and company director Guy Cotter and general manager Suze Kelly - also reached the summit yesterday, shortly before Mr Staples and Mr Stromstedt.
