How Black Climbers Are Closing the Adventure Gap

Overheard at National Geographic

National Geographic

Science, Society & Culture

4.5 • 10.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2022

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ever since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest, there has been a long list of firsts: the first ascent without supplemental oxygen, the first in winter, and the first full ski descent, to name a few. The first Black climber reached the roof of the world in 2003. But until this year, no team of Black climbers had done it. Meet one of the climbers in the Full Circle Everest expedition, and learn why he hopes this historic accomplishment shows that Black people belong in outdoor recreation too. For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard Want more? Read more about Full Circle Everest, the revolutionary team that made history on the world’s highest peak. And go deeper with James’s podcast episode featuring an interview with Demond “Dom” Mullins, as well as James’s website The Joy Trip Project and his book The Adventure Gap. Black Americans make up just two percent of National Park visitors, according to a 2018 report. Read about how the National Park Service is trying to live up to its credo to provide “Benefit and Enjoyment of the People”—all people. Income disparities and an inability to take time off work can restrict people of color from outdoor recreation. Follow a group of people strapping on crampons and climbing frozen waterfalls for the first time. Also explore: Check out other groups—like Outdoor Afro and Melanin Base Camp—dedicated to diversifying the outdoors. See Everest from above. Panoramic drone photography shows what it’s like to stand on the roof of the world. In 2021, researchers announced a new height for Mount Everest: 29,031.69 feet above sea level. Learn how they arrived at such a precise measurement, as well as the biting-cold, middle-of-the-night ascent that made it possible. Everest may be the world’s tallest mountain, but K2 is often called the most dangerous. In another Overheard episode, we chronicle the all-Nepali team that climbed K2 in winter, something that had never been done before. If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go to natgeo.com/exploremore to subscribe today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Earlier this year, James Edward Mills did something I've always wanted to do.
0:12.8	He flew to Nepal and directed the base of Mount Everest.
0:16.8	I did travel with the team from Kathmandu to from Lukla, then we basically walked from
0:24.0	Luke Woods to the Everest Base Camp.
0:37.2	James is a journalist who's covered the outdoors for decades and he's been following
0:41.2	a climbing expedition called Full Circle Everest.
0:44.5	Okay, Mount Everest, obviously a big deal, all is mountain on earth more than 29,000 feet
0:49.7	above sea level.
0:51.2	James wasn't going for the summit, just base camp, but even that's no small task.
0:55.6	Everest Base Camp is at 17,500 feet and at that altitude, you're right on the edge of
1:00.9	what the human body can handle for any length of time.
1:04.2	I think we got like a light rain on the way up, you know.
1:10.4	It wasn't anywhere near as cold as it was going to be.
1:14.0	It was every bit as steep as I knew it would be.
1:17.0	I like a lot of oxygen is a very real thing.
1:21.9	Hundreds of people attempt to climb Everest every year.
1:24.6	Most of them, including Full Circle Everest, rely on Sherpas and other local people as guides.
1:30.2	I've always heard base camp is like a mini-unit.
1:33.0	People come from all over the world to chase a common goal and there's usually a little
1:36.5	competitive tension in the air, but also a sense of a shared journey.
1:41.5	James says the Full Circle team really felt like everyone was in it together.
1:46.4	We had the Punjas ceremony, which basically is the blessing for the client basically
	...

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