2005 Newsletters
To Chamonix in Preparation for The Eiger
Mar 16th, 2005
Erik's 2005 is devoted to his preparation for climbing The Eiger, one of the most formidable and heralded faces in the world, 5000+ feet of vertical rock and ice above 10,000 feet of elevation, in March 2006. This week he is training in Chamonix with Mike O'Donnell, long his teacher and mentor on ice, and Jay Smith, who trains U.S. Special Forces in mountain skills. Enroute to Geneva, Erik stopped by Phuket, Thailand to speak at an international conference for American Express, where he saw tsunami devastation first-hand. The Eiger team will first tackle The Super Couloir on Mt. Blanc du Tacul, a mixed rock and ice route requiring 2000' of difficult climbing up a narrow gully (couloir). Following that, they will head to the Argentiere basin for two more climbs: the North Face of the Droities and the North Face of the Courtes, two of the most difficult north faces in the Alps, 2000-3000 feet of rock, ice, and snow. An agreement has just been concluded between Erik and Jaffe/Braunstein Films to produce a TV movie for A&E -- Erik's life story-- based on his book, Touch the Top of the World. Work is already underway. The screenwriter is Peter Silverman, who wrote the screenplay for Something the Lord Made. Produced for HBO, this film won the 2004 award for Best Made for Television Movie. This October, 2500+ students from 20+ schools in the Boston area will be reading Erik's book, Touch the Top of the World, be visited by Jeff Evans (Erik's climbing partner, a star of the book, and conveyor of Erik's message), attend Erik's presentation at the Wang Center on October 26, return to their schools to discuss the implications of the message to their lives, and then see the award-winning documentary of Erik's historic climb to the top of the world. The intent is get traction in the minds of young people who are thinking about what they want to do with their lives. The program is designed to encourage students to dream the impossible dream. On March 30, schools interested in participating are invited to a breakfast at Lesley University to learn more about this city-wide program. Please call Tricia Kramer of the Office of the President at Lesley, 617/349-8583, if you would like to attend.In Preparation for The Eiger
A&E To Present Erik's Life Story
Boston Schools Program Breakfast on March 30
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