Anker's Rare Feat

(The Khumbu Glacier is reflected in Conrad Anker's sunglasses near Base Camp. Anker reached the summit of Mt. Everest without using supplementary oxygen.) 

Written by Margie Hiser   June 05, 2012

Reaching the summit of the world’s highest peak is nothing new to one Groveland-area native, but his most recent climb brought him into an elite group to accomplish the feat without the use of supplementary oxygen.

World famous mountaineer Conrad Anker, 49, made it to the top of Mount Everest for his third time at 10:10 a.m. on May 26, much to the surprise of his family in Big Oak Flat.

“We were shocked because we thought he would just send his team up and he would go down with them. We didn’t think he would summit,” said Anker’s mother, Helga, who owns Priest Station Cafe & Store at the top of Old Priest Grade.

Anker’s much-publicized expedition has been chronicled in National Geographic’s “On Everest” project, a website that featured daily updates and photos from the Anker-led team of climbers hoping to join the 3,500-plus who have previously reached the summit of the mountain at 29,029 feet above sea level.

His climb was almost derailed in late April when his climbing partner, Cory Richards, had to be taken off the mountain by helicopter after suffering from altitude sickness at about 23,000 feet.

The pair were supposed to attempt taking Everest’s seldom-used West Ridge to the summit, while the other climbers in the team were taking the traditional Southeast Ridge route.

National Geographic reported that Anker decided to accompany the rest of the team after determining conditions on the West Ridge were too dangerous.

The expedition that began March 15 came to a head on May 24 when the team made the climb from Camp 2 to Camp 4, which is the last stop before the summit.

Anker initially decided to remain at the final camp, which is about 1,804 feet from the summit, and assist his team by providing any additional support with equipment, according to a National Geographic statement.

After the rest of the team summited and made their descent May 25, Anker decided to go for it on his own without supplemental oxygen — a rare feat first accomplished by a pair of climbers in 1978.

“I made a decision with about two hours notice in the middle of the night,” Anker said in an audio message posted on a blog for outdoor gear maker North Face, which funded the expedition with National Geographic. “I wasn’t feeling too well on the 25th, so I declined to climb with my other teammates and the weather. The wind died down and it was time to go and it was game on, and we had fun.”

Anker’s wife, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, said several sherpas and other climbers were with her husband on his final ascent.
“His team made it safely down and the weather was perfect,” she said. “Others were starting to leave so he took off and just went.”

Lowe-Anker said Conrad hadn’t told the rest of the team he was going to attempt to summit without oxygen because he wanted to first make sure the weather was right and there were no issues holding him back.

She heard her husband made it to the summit from her son, Max, who was at the base camp doing photography work for National Geographic. Lowe-Anker married Conrad after the death of her husband, Alex Lowe, who was Conrad’s best friend and died in an avalanche on the Himalayan mountain Shishapangma in 1999.

Helga Anker said she’s happy her son accomplished his goal of summiting without oxygen and was relieved to hear he’s safe. “We’re all proud of him,” she said.

Conrad Anker first summited Everest in 1999. On that trip, he discovered the body of long-lost climber George Leigh Mallory, who disappeared in June 1924. He again reached the peak in 2007.

His mother said she’s used to him leaving on expeditions for weeks and months at a time, but admits she was worried much more about this trip. “He is careful, safe and very experienced, but he’s also going to be 50 this year,” she joked. “He isn’t a spring chicken anymore.”

Ever the risk-taker, Anker wasn’t finished after summiting Everest. He is currently doing maintenance work on the Extreme Ice Survey’s digital cameras that are monitoring the effects of global warming on the Nare Glacier on the south side of Ama Dablam, another popular mountain in the Himalayan mountain range.

Anker, who lives with his wife and three adopted sons in Bozeman, Mont., is expected to return home June 5.
He is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. June 23 in Tioga High School’s auditorium, in Groveland, where he will discuss his latest adventure.

Helga Anker said tickets are $15 in advance and free for children under 12. Tickets can be purchased at Priest Station Cafe & Store, Yosemite Bank, the Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum and, soon, at Mountain Bookshop in Sonora, she said. Proceeds will go toward building a new wing at the Groveland museum.