In 1995 Tom Whittaker and Greg Child teamed up with Russell Brice to climb Mt. Everest by the North Ridge. Moving too slowly to reach the summit and return by daylight, Whittaker and Russell returned to the highest camp in the world at 27,000 ft. Greg Child summited and returned to tell Whittaker that the route was fraught with problems for an amputee and that we should retreat. For the story behind this event and Whittaker's 1989 attempt, you can read "Against All Odds."

Despite falling short of his goal, Whittaker improved on his previous altitude record of 24,000 ft., set in 1989, taking it to 27,500 ft. Whittaker is the first disabled mountaineer to break the coveted 8000 meter mark.

Everest Challenge combined the talents of Katy Flanagan and Gary Grimm at Mountain Visions to create the first web-site to follow the fortunes of a major mountaineering expedition as it happened. You can visit this historic site at the 1995 Everest Challenge.

Leo and Mandy Dickinson filmed Tom and Greg's ascent in a 54 minute documentary. This has aired in the U.K. and France and was presented by Dan Rather on August 10 th, 1996 on C.B.S. This featured Tom and Greg's story on "Fantastic Journey", celebrating 150 years of the Smithsonian Institute.

Chris Bonnington, who conquered the S.W. Face of Everest was delighted to become a Patron of the expedition.

EDITORIAL:

In 1995, Tom Whittaker teamed up with Greg Child in his second attempt to be the first disabled person to climb Mount Everest. "We funded, organized and completed the climb." Whittaker states. "We created a Web Site and made a film that aired on British television...all in under eight months!"

Beyond the success of Greg's summiting and Whittaker adding 3000 ft.to the altitude record for disabled mountaineers; this was the first time the Internet was used to follow the progress of a mountaineering expedition. Despite skepticism, Everest Challenge overcame the technological difficulties of broadcasting from an extremely remote location and the political problems associated with satellite transmission from Tibet (held by Communist China).

It is interesting that one of the most important events in mountaineering this century is not a climbing feat or an equipment innovation. It is the application of communications technology in a mountaineering context. MountainVisions, of Boise, Idaho, revolutionized the way expeditions communicate with the outside world. Because of it's significance, we have left this site intact for your interest.

"Eight years ago, when I first attempted Everest," Whittaker says, "seven people perished. It made one and a half column inches on page 12 in some of the world's larger newspapers. Nobody cared; it was not news. " In the Spring of 1996 eleven people die and it's the front page cover story on every newspaper in the world as well as Life, Newsweek,Vanity Fair, Outside magazine, and feature stories on the major T.V. Networks".

The difference, he maintains, was not the number of people that died, the circumstances, or who the people were. The difference is the accessibility of information through satellite communications and the power of the Internet. Because of their authenticity, adventure, extreme nature, danger and ongoing drama they lend themselves perfectly to web-enhanced magazine media treatment. As a result of this increased immediacy, the news media has taken an unprecedented interest in mountaineering expeditions. As a consequence, the general public's interest in mountaineering expeditions is now at an all time high. Especially those that focus on Mt. Everest.

Everest Challenge features disabled people trekking more than fifty miles on remote and rugged trails and the ascent of Mt. Everest by amputee TomWhittaker. These events will demonstrate the appropriateness and benefits of outdoor recreation for all people.

In the 18 months that have elapsed since Whittaker was last on Everest, he has been busy researching and consulting with some of the foremost authorities on Marketing. I wanted to create a total package." As a result, this web site is receiving between 45 and 64,000 hits a month, he has lined up the BBC to film the event and he has been offered a book contract.

Whittaker has not lost sight of the significance of being disabled. "I'm not prepared to use the disabled or the mountain as a political football." Instead, Whittaker has created a trust called the Wind Horse Legacy. It's mission is to change the way the world views and values people with disabilities. This is to be achieved in two ways. By developing leadership through outdoor recreation experiences and by an educational initiative to raise disability awareness in schools world wide. "I created the Trust" Whittaker says "to provide the structure and confidence that all funds will be administered in an ethical and responsible way". It also will provide the means for tax-deductible contributions to help The Wind Horse Legacy in it's mission

The trust will provide the organization and administer their debut event, Everest Challenge '98 . This combines a historical land mark mountaineering expedition, an international trek into Everest Base Camp for people with disabilities and an environmental restoration project, all centering on the highest mountain on earth.

Whittaker states. "This is a mountaineering expedition of the highest caliber." He stresses that it is not professional mountaineers "dragging a disabled person up a mountain as a publicity stunt." This is a disabled mountaineer organizing an expedition to climb the highest mountain on Earth."How I climb this mountain is as important as whether I climb it!"He says. "In addition to minimizing our impact,we have pledged to remove one ton of garbage and 100 oxygen bottles from the mountain."