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Astronaut Reaches Top of Everest

(May 20) — Scott Parazynski achieved a milestone early Wednesday, becoming the first astronaut to scale Mount Everest.

Parazynski, a veteran of five space shuttle missions, reached the summit at 4 a.m. local time and stayed on the world's highest peak for about 30 minutes, according to a report from True/Slant by Miles O'Brien, a former news anchor and space reporter for CNN.

The feat must be especially sweet for Parazynski. He tried to summit Everest last year, but a slipped disc in his back foiled his plans. After climbing the peak with his sherpa, Danuru, on Wednesday, Parazynski returned to a camp lower on Everest to rest, O'Brien wrote.

O'Brien's report has lots of material on the climb, including audio of interviews he conducted via Skype with Parazynski and others on the mountain. He also has dozens of photos from the astronaut's time on Everest.

Parazynski's trip wasn't driven purely by the thirst for adventure. He also was on a science mission, setting up instruments to detect evidence of life at the top of the world.
"We're looking for evidence of life in the extreme," Parazynski told Space.com. "Things that can live in the harshest environments on Earth may be the kinds of things that once existed on Mars or other planets."

The astronaut, who left NASA in March, is working with scientists from the space agency to hunt for forms of life such as bacteria and lichens that might live in the thin oxygen on Everest. He also planted sensors to determine if liquid water exists at any time during the day on the peak.

Another milestone.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8060649.stm

Veteran British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes
'He becomes the oldest Briton and the first British pensioner to scale the world's highest mountain.'

I climbed with Scott last year on Everest. He gutted it out all the way to camp 3 at 24,300' on the Lhotse Face with his back in pain when he finally decided to descend.

I always have great pride when one of my clients achieves something great and it happened on May 19 of this year when Rohan Freeman became the first Jamaican to reach the summit of Everest. Here is a shot of us on the top of Whitney November 30, 2008. Congratulations Rohan!

He went from Whitney to Everest in 6 months? Pretty impressive.

Any chance you have a shot of him on Everest? I'm guessing no, given the posting of the Whitney shot. Did you summit Everest again this year?

Lot's of photos and videos of him here: Scott Parazynski on Everest Regular updates were coming during his ascent at Twitter.

He had tried Everest last year and didn't make it. He has done a lot of other climbing. Whitney was just one more in a long line of climbs. The last thing I'd want to do is give the impression that someone can go from Whitney to Everest in 6 months.

I don't have any pics of him on Everest from this year but here is a link to his entire gallery from last year's climb.

I wasn't on Everest this year but here is my photo gallery from last year.

Kurt great pictures.I was facinated with your story after last years Everest summit and the relationship with your young Sherpa.I am curious about your energy level on Everest. I have read so many books on successful and tragedies on Everest and the physical toll it takes. You are young and must be amazingly fit with all your continous mountain climbing. Did you find yourself pushed to your physical limit and had to finish on will and determination, or are you one of those gentic freaks who had plenty of reserve?
Did your Jamacian client Freeman want to Bobsled down?

I didn't have a whole lot of spare energy up there. I felt good and in control of my situation but both times I climbed Everest I felt pretty tired at the end of my summit day.

You should have been tired at 29K,oxygen deprived, energy output to the max, sleep deprivation etc. But was it your experience that near the summit after the Hillary Steps(I forget if that was your route), it was agonizingly difficult to take a step and you had to "force yourself" to keep moving forward like most people who attempt to summit Everest? Did you ever have doubts that you could not physically make it due to the way you felt?
Thanks. I am trying to decide if you are actually human...lol
Do you have an opinion if there are too many people attempting Everest now days? i just read an article a few days ago where they showed base camp currently with 29 expeditions and it looked like tent city.There has to be a dangerous log jam with that many groups on the mountain.I am pretty sure they aren't using wag bags either.