Steps to the Summit - Available Now!

After many years providing just a glimpse into the ultimate Seven Summits adventure through this blog, the full story is now being told. Not only does "Steps to the Summit" dramatically recount the eight-year long quest to climb the highest mountains on each continent around the world, it's also a guidebook for achieving true success in business and life. Each chapter has an exhilarating story about a high and faraway place and also a corresponding "step" required to get to the summit ...YOUR summit, whatever that may be.

Visit: http://StepsToTheSummit.com/endorsements to read endorsements from:

- Bill Walton, Basketball Hall of Famer & Emmy Award Winning Sportscaster
- Jenna Wolfe, Co-Anchor & National Correspondent, NBC Today Show
- Craig Levra, President / CEO, Sport Chalet
- Aron Ralston, Mountaineer, Speaker, and Subject of the Major Motion Picture 127 Hours

It's available now in hardcover exclusively at: http://StepsToTheSummit.com
Get your copy today and help others at the same time as 100% of the profits go to the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

The Today Show & NBC News!

For those of you who may have missed our big debut on national TV, here's a replay of our story on the Today Show with Jenna Wolfe: (click on screen second time to see larger view)

And later the same day on July 29th, here we are with Chuck Henry, Colleen Williams, and Dr. Bruce on NBC Channel 4 News airing in Southern California:

To view our prior stories check out our blog posts from April 3rd and the live satellite phone interview from Base Camp with Chuck & Colleen on April 28th. Thank you NBC for providing such great exposure for the Challenged Athletes Foundation!

Two Tickets Back Home From Paradise

We returned home this weekend from our epic Everest adventure after a requisite five days of "re-acclimatization" to sea level at the Four Seasons Resort in Koh Samui, Thailand. It's true, just about any hotel with a hot shower, a bed with actual sheets, and a sit down toilet would have made us happy after two months of living in a tent. However, this place was over the top luxury and just what we needed! We actually brought along a brochure for this resort to hang in our tent during our expedition and it served us quite well as motivation! When the going got tough on the mountain and the weather was miserable, we only needed to say two words to one another to keep pushing on: Four Seasons! We would like to give a special thanks to the Resort Manager Alex Porteous, who went out of his way to make sure we were treated like royalty. He even had this watermelon carved for us with an incredibly accurate portrayal of Mt. Everest! If you have an urge for an unforgettable vacation at one of the most stunning resorts in the world - you must consider this place! http://www.fourseasons.com/kohsamui/ ...and ask Alex for a special watermelon!

Ironically, the Four Seasons had the movie "Everest" in their DVD collection and we enjoyed watching the cold & stormy scenes from the comfort of our villa, with stunning views of the ocean and a warm tropical paradise and our own private pool just beyond the TV screen.

Waving goodbye from the driver's seat of our new elephant friend Nong Dao. Thank you for joining us on our journey to the summit of Mt. Everest and the final peak of our Seven Summits for CAF quest! And of course thank you AGAIN to all who have helped us and the members of our Everybody to Everest Team in raising a grand total to date of $104,671 for such a worthy organization as the Challenged Athletes Foundation!

Gratefully Yours,

-Paul & Denise

Back in Kathmandu with Photos & Video!

After 7+ weeks living high up in the mountains, we are quickly adjusting to the modern conveniences of civilized life here in 3rd-world Kathmandu. In all fairness we are staying at the luxury hotel Yak & Yeti, which has been more than capable of providing every single item from our previous Top Ten List of Things We Miss the Most. They also have a wonderful restaurant here that serves all meals buffet-style (all you can eat) which is important considering the weight we each lost while climbing: Paul - 15lbs & Denise - 12lbs. And of course they have "hi-speed" internet here which has allowed us to post these photos (and video) ...hopefully you are able to view and enjoy!

Camp 3 at 24,000 feet perched on a steep ledge above the Lhotse Face.

En route to Camp 4, just above the Yellow Band & before climbing up and over the Geneva Spur.

Gulp ...close up view of the Big E from the crest of the Geneva Spur.

Sunset view from our tent at Camp 4 at the South Col, nervously awaiting 9 pm departure for the summit.

Backup along the climbing route at dusk ...take a number.

Denise at top of the Hillary Step.

Our exhausted but elated team after the final trip through the icefall and arriving at Base Camp.

Crevasse crossing in the Khumbu Icefall.

Arriviving at the South Col & tour of Camp 4.

Final steps to the summit.

View from the highest point in the world, on the GoPro HD Hero cam.


We are heading off to Thailand soon for some much needed R&R, and then continuing on our way home afterwards.

P.S. We are no longer using our Everest 2010/Mountaintrip email address and are back to our old email addresses.

Finally, if you would like to see more photos we have posted them here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=214423&id=580718981&l=848f7ca5ca

Safely Back to Base Camp from the South Col

Since our last call from Camp 4 after summiting, we safely made it down from the South Col! We were reluctant to allow ourselves to be in much of a celebratory mood at the time of that call considering we still needed to descend from 26,000 feet down the Geneva Spur, the Yellow Band, the Lhotse Face, and finally the last trip through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall (photo of Denise crossing triple ladder over crevasse). On top of that a storm had moved in during the final hours of our descent from the summit leaving several feet of snow on our tents overnight and continued snowfall in the morning during our trip back down to Camp 2. There we spent another night of desperately needed rest before continuing on down through the icefall with heavily loaded packs including empty oxygen cylinders.

And finally yesterday morning, physically and mentally exhausted like we never have been in our lifetimes, the welcome site of our tents at Base Camp came into view. We couldn't take off our crampons and climbing harnesses fast enough and then fell into our sleeping bags for a long nap. We woke up just in time for dinner figuring we would eat and return immediately to our tent to rest our severely overworked bodies. Well, our Sherpa team had a slightly different plan! After an amazing dinner and even a congratulatory cake made by our cook Perba Surki, the wine and beer started to flow! The sounds of American and Sherpa party music filled our dome tent, along with 16 members of our Sherpa staff. Eleven of these guys, an unusually large number for an expedition of our size, had the opportunity to climb to the summit along with us! ...so you better believe celebratory dancing and partying was in order, and our tired bodies had to deliver! It was truly an unforgettable experience bonding with and sharing the excitement and memories of our Everest expedition with these remarkable and genuine Sherpa people who made our success possible. And it has been amazing sharing our experiences with all of you through our blog!

We are now packing our bags and breaking down our Base Camp home for the last month and a half, in anticipation of heading out of this glacier-topped town tomorrow. When we return to the land of hi-speed (non-satellite) internet, we will post some additional photos (and video too) which we know you will enjoy!

The Summit!

We did it! After an 18 1/2 hour round-trip, we are safely back at Camp 4 and will make our way down the mountain and home to all of you! Press play to hear all about it, and photos will be on the way soon!

Hello From Camp 4 at 26,000 ft!

We're so close! We're at Camp 4 at 26,000 ft! By the time you hit "play" we should be heading for the summit! We miss you and can't wait to see you all!