Montana State University geologists are home safe after completing a two-month research expedition on Mount Everest. MSU professor Dave Lageson and his team of researchers returned to Bozeman this week after spending roughly eight weeks studying geology, glaciology, climate change and other topics near the world’s highest mountain.
The research was in conjunction with an expedition of Americans, including renowned mountaineer and Bozeman resident Conrad Anker, who were attempting to reach the highest point on Earth. Five members successfully reached the top of Everest at about 8 a.m. Nepal time on May 25, according to National Geographic. Hilaree O’Neill, Kris Erickson, Sam Elias, Emily Harrington and Mark Jenkins pushed toward the summit early May 24.
Anker stayed behind to assist another group’s descent, but once that was completed he began summiting himself. He reached the top of Everest without oxygen at 10:10 a.m. on May 26. This was Anker’s third Everest summit but his first from the Southeast Ridge, according to NatGeo.
Everest has become a popular, albeit dangerous, spot these days. Last weekend four climbers died in the midst of more than 200 people trying to climb the mountain amid poor weather. An estimated 225 climbers have died while trying to climb Everest over the years.
After reaching the top, Jenkins, a writer for National Geographic, wrote an insightful epilogue on the achievement.
“Climbing Everest is not curing cancer. It is a narcissistic pursuit, not a noble one. But, there is grandeur in the endeavor. A common goal of magnificent difficulty, with everyone sharing in the brief moments of pleasure and extended periods of pain, binds heart to heart more strongly than the rope itself. Because Everest is so high and so indifferent, it calls upon every mountaineer, at some point during the climb, to rise to his or her better self—that person inside us all who has unquestioned courage, who will sacrifice without doubt, who will commit without complaint, who will put life on the line. This is the answer to the inevitable question: Why? Because: The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, expects of you, demands of you, to reach for the highest qualities inside yourself.”
The expedition, sponsored by National Geographic and The North Face, originally had two main goals. Climbers wanted to summit Everest from the rarely climbed West Ridge for a 50th anniversary celebration of the 1963 expedition, when the first Americans ascended from that route. But dangerous conditions arose on the West Ridge and the plan was scrapped.
The expedition was also focused on studying the changing ecosystem in the high Himalayas. The Montana State University team passed along some of the info they were gathering for students across Montana throughout their research. The classroom exercises and lesson plans were developed with a grant from the National Science Foundation and support from The North Face and National Geographic.