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Golden climbers attempt Everest's West Ridge
By John Meyer, The Denver Post
Like many mountaineers of his generation, Charley Mace was captivated by the photo on the cover of Tom Hornbein's classic 1963 book, "Everest: The West Ridge," inspiring him to an impressive career that has included ascents of Everest and three other 8,000-meter peaks.
Now the Golden resident hopes to follow in Hornbein's footsteps on the West Ridge route that only three others have climbed since Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld did so 49 years ago on the first American Everest expedition. Others on the team include Golden's Jake Norton and two Seattle climbers, Brent Bishop and Dave Morton. Bishop's father, Barry, took the famous picture of Hornbein and Unsoeld on the West Ridge.
"All of us are students of the genre," Mace said. " 'The West Ridge' by Tom Hornbein is one of those things that a lot of people blame for getting me into climbing."
Mace, who arrived at base camp Wednesday, summited Everest via the South Col in 2001 while serving as a cameraman on an expedition featuring blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer. Mace also has climbed K2, Manaslu and Gasherbrum II.
Norton has been on Everest six times before, including three research expeditions, searching for evidence of George Mallory's 1929 expedition, and has summited three times.
This trip is different, however.
